anyone use gps in car ?

ycl1688 · Post by **ycl1688** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:51 pm

need to know any one use gps system in car ?

any subscription fees ?

what brand do you recommend ? garmin ?

puneri_punter · Post by **puneri_punter** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:09 am

Both my Honda's (Odessey and Pilot) have factory installed GPS.

It is excellent especially with voice activation. I am very happy. I will now not buy any car that does not have a GPS.

There is no subscription. But you may once a year buy a new version of the DVD that contains maps. This is not essential.

I somehow did not like the handheld GPS Devices. They were far inferior to Honda Navigation System.

dink · Post by **dink** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 3:50 am

We have factory installed/voice activated GPS in one car and Garmin in another. No subscription fees for either. GPS is one time investment and IMHO very well worth. We recently moved to Bay area. Without GPS we would have wasted lot of time and fuel trying to find our way.

Factory installed or Garmin, both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Garmin definitely has more features (you can load points of interest from GPS websites) and you can take it to vacations (we took it hawaii and it worked well). However, it doesn't have voice activation and you don't want to leave it on your car because of possibility of theft unless you live in a very safe area or have garage. Otherwise it becomes a nuisance to keep removing it and putting it back.

I have used Magellan in one car rental but I liked Garmin better (I also own Garmin stock! so I might be biased). Ours I think is C330. C340 is better -- I believe it gives out street names as well unlike C330 which just says turn left or right.

Factory installed one is good, works well with voice activation features of Car. No problem of theft. However it expensive about $2000 and can't take it and put it in your rental car in vacations.

Hope it helps.

dink

direstraits88 · Post by **direstraits88** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 6:46 am

I've a Garmin Nuvi 350 which i bought few months ago after some research..

It gives Audible directions which includes street name. (It doesn't just say .. turn on next left. It says "Turn Left on Broad Street". This feature is very useful in downtowns. )

THe LCD screen is pretty nice and it's small enough to be portable (or you can put it in the glove compartment). GPS are the largest theft in cars these days.. Most people leave it on their dashboard or on the windshield which is a immediate target for theives in parking lots..)

No subscription fees. But features like traffic alert has subscription fees..

Basic GPS feature has no subscription...

I paid 450 bucks in December. It costs around $350 now...

GutsyGibbon · Post by **GutsyGibbon** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 9:51 pm

ycl1688;14703need to know any one use gps system in car ?
any subscription fees ?
what brand do you recommend ? garmin ?

I have had a Garmin I5 on a ram mount for my Motorcycle (Honda VFR). Works very well. I have had the Garmin sustain lots of harsh treatment. Minor drizzle/rains, dropping the bag in which the GPS is stored etc. I have used it both with Power adaptors, and AA batteries. It works well with both of them.

IMHO, no point spending $2K on a factory installed one. Some of the new portable ones come with loads of features, including MP3/MPEG playback, & bluetooth connectivity. While you are driving, you can pop the portable one and hand it to the co-driver for programming destinations on the fly, without having to bend down, and key it into the dash. Other benefits have already been highlighted by others.
Hope it helps,
-Prasadee
-Prasadee

r2ibabu · Post by **r2ibabu** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:39 pm

#OP

I used IQUE 3600 of Garmin. It's PDA cum GPS cum MP3 player etc. I really enjoyed the product. It also got tons of Point Of Interest (POI is like moving yellow pages with GPS from your location) You can load so many other PDA programs and utilities. Only phone feature is not there. Usually factory installed GPS systems are costlier.

r2imilan · Post by **r2imilan** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 2:49 am

#OP

You have lot of options, based on the brand, price and features.

Now PDA Phones with bluetooth can be used for GPS navigation, if you purchase gps receiver and software. This way you can combine phone w/ gps. I use tomtom with palm treo. It is very cool.

If you are purchasing portable gps like garmin or megellan, beware of thiefs. They will break your car to steal it. You sould not leave your gps unit in car.

--r2im

sundarpn · Post by **sundarpn** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:18 am

will these things work in india? if there is a dvd to load indian maps :)

r2ibabu · Post by **r2ibabu** » Sun May 06, 2007 6:33 pm

Here is another useful link...

http://www.gpsinindia.com/index.php?n=Main.HomePage

http://www.gpsinindia.com/index.php?n=Main.Maps

restlessdesi · Post by **restlessdesi** » Mon May 07, 2007 1:46 am

We have our own fool proof "GPS" to reach your destination in India, its called "Greatly Populated Streets" ;)