LOL,,,someone mentioned a Tom Tom,,,,my mom has one that we have used,,,from time to time,,,,or should I say ,,"Attempted to Use",,,what a Joke that thing is,,,Tells us to get off this exit,,,,only to take us through the city,,,and then under the highway to the exit we needed to get off at,,,,,,then on the way home,,,it Never missed a Beat,,,exactly where I wanted to go,,,,,,,,BUT I ALREADY KNOW THE WAY HOME,,,WHAT A POS!!

I heard Garmins were much more reliable!

 

Well, I have owned a few GPS units. I use a Garmin in my work vehicle. I like it because it allows you to mark a "favorite" and it displays it on the screen. You can label it with what you want. The garmin also shows your "track". Come in real handy if you go off road or even into a big shopping mall. You can also take it, and set it to pedestrian mode, and use it to go walking around. Pretty handy. I also have the lifetime update, so I plan to keep this one awhile.

In my POV I have a Magellan. It has features that the Garmin does not. When you pull up your location, it shows the distance to the next exit, and how far to the exit behind you. Comes in real handy if you are trying to get a wrecker sent to you. I like it for the wife as it is easier for her when she is by herself in case of trouble. I also have a Magellan for hiking. It has everything including displaying the temperature.

All gps units will make mistakes in the best route. I think it's a company called NavTech that supplies most of the maps. I always recommend that you plan your route ahead of time, and also have a road atlas available to double check what the GPS is telling you.

I have found that in the larger cites, where the streets are established, my GPS works the best. Get out in the open country where roads are a scattered, and you might get some stupid side trip. Both of my GPS units will tell me to take a ramp and get right back on again if I select the shortest route vs the fastest. Just on one stretch of highway, and always at the same ramp.

A quality GPS unit is a good investment. I know that mine have saved me alot of time and trouble over the years. Plus when the wife and I take a trip by ourselves, sometimes we take the long way back and stick to the back roads and do some sight seeing. It's the best way to see America.

 

...on the 2011 sync the radio volume controls phone volume...tried that?

 

On my 2010, you just turn the volume up on the radio. It does default pretty low though. For example, I could have the radio up pretty loud, but when I hit the button to change artists, it automatically adjusts the volume to a lower level. If I want it louder, I just turn it up, and the Sync lady gets loud. It's the same process on phone calls. I have to speak a little louder than normal, and concentrate on being clear to get the lady to understand me.

Brandon

 

NavTech is the biggest company that does maps. I think there is one more, but I'll be damned if I know who they are, I'm just wanting to say that there are two of them.

How much of a margin for error that each unit has with regard to how well it pinpoints your vehicle is also something that might get you. Garmin seems to be the more reliable non OEM GPS out there for the little hand helds. I have had Kenwood and Pioneer's GPS units and both of those are pretty good. However, have Google Maps on my smart phone is probably the one that has saved my bacon more when it wasn't in my vehicle's GPS. Those are going to be updated more often for more areas since it's streaming directly from the web compared to what updates you'll get on the handheld GPS only units.

As more and more people get smart phones, I don't really see the handhelds being as prominant as they are, especially considering how appealing they are for thieves to want to steal.