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lms82
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Washington DC
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:56 pm Post subject: GPS |
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A while back I was considering getting my father a TomTom GO 300 or 700 but ended up not getting him a GPS at the time...but after thinking about it more and reading more about, it could end up as his father's day gift from the fam.
So...back to the drawing board. Anyone have experience with either device? Would love some firsthand thoughts! Thanks! |
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David
Joined: 28 Dec 2003
Posts: 12626
Location: Louisiana
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| Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 5:37 am Post subject: |
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| If it's anything like the navigator built into the dash of my daughters Lexus he will love it on trips.It comes in handy even around town if you tell it where you want to go,it will tell you how to get there without having to get frustrated trying to refold that d***ed map. |
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Flash
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Posts: 520
Location: Malvern/Swansea
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| Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 9:04 am Post subject: |
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Tom Tom is amasing. My dad has it on his XDA2 mini phone. He can tell it where he wants to go inside towns, type in specific addresses/post codes to go to, it's all clearly displayed on a good map.
You can also download maps for it when you're travelling abroad :D |
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lms82
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Washington DC
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| Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:57 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Flash and David! Dad's not the best at directions, so I think he'd really like having the GPS be able to tell him where to go. Leaning towards the GO 700 at the moment because it can also function as a hands-free phone if you have a phone with bluetooth.
Taking it with you when you travel is also a great call...wouldn't a GPS be great for road trips?
Any other advice? Things I should keep in mind? |
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poweRob
Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 22916
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| Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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| The GPS market is lead by Garmin and then followed by Magellen. If you stick with either of those two you'd most likely be fine. |
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lms82
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Washington DC
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| Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks - any information is helpful! Though actually, I saw that TomTom is now #2 when doing my research for this...maybe its grown a lot lately? I definitely see more commercials for it these days! Do you have a GPS? |
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poweRob
Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 22916
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| Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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lms82 wrote: Thanks - any information is helpful! Though actually, I saw that TomTom is now #2 when doing my research for this...maybe its grown a lot lately? I definitely see more commercials for it these days! Do you have a GPS?
Just got into it myself. Garmin and Magellen have been int he biz for a while so they aren't going away. The REI where I bought it said these were the ones to go for but stressed that Garmin had the edge.
Just bought a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx
I have a lot to learn. |
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lms82
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Washington DC
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| Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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Me too. That's why it's helpful to talk to other people trying to figure this out/people who know what they are doing! Is your GPS a handheld? Are you planning to use it for geocaching?
TomTom's been around a long time too, though it is a bit newer to the US. Their devices are mostly meant for car navigation (and motorcycle - there's a TomTom RIDER too) so that might be why you didn't hear about them at REI! If you're at Best Buy sometime, you would likely find them there.
Keep me posted on how it goes getting to know this GPS stuff! |
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poweRob
Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 22916
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| Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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lms82 wrote: Me too. That's why it's helpful to talk to other people trying to figure this out/people who know what they are doing! Is your GPS a handheld? Are you planning to use it for geocaching?
TomTom's been around a long time too, though it is a bit newer to the US. Their devices are mostly meant for car navigation (and motorcycle - there's a TomTom RIDER too) so that might be why you didn't hear about them at REI! If you're at Best Buy sometime, you would likely find them there.
Keep me posted on how it goes getting to know this GPS stuff!
It's a handheld and I specifically got it for geocaching. I've heard of TomTom. They've been saturating the airwaves here with commercials. Didn't read up on them too much though to be honest.
If you become and REI member you can go to classes there for free... or maybe not even have to join. There was a GPS class I missed last week. I'm going to keep my ear to the ground for another one. |
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lms82
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Washington DC
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:26 am Post subject: |
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| I'll definitely keep that in mind if I want to try geocaching...at this point, if I get a GPS for myself, I'd probably prioritize getting one for the car vs. a handheld, since I inherited my dad's getting lost genes! So I'd probably end up with the GO 300, since it is supposed to be especially easy to use...I'll have to check out if it can be used for geocaching too... |
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Patriot911
Joined: 03 Feb 2005
Posts: 6990
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:55 am Post subject: |
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Does he have a PDA based on Windows that has bluetooth? I have an HP Ipaq that I bought a blue tooth GPS receiver and software for that works really slick. Its far cheaper than the hand held GPS systems and allows you to do more than just GPS since it is also a PDA.
Here is a link to ebay with what I am talking about. http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-iPAQ-Navigation-System-Bluetooth-GPS-SEALED-NR_W0QQitemZ5874764729QQcategoryZ15004QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I've tried it on non HP systems and it works fine. I've also tried it with other GPS bluetooth receivers and it worked. |
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poweRob
Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 22916
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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lms82 wrote: I'll definitely keep that in mind if I want to try geocaching...at this point, if I get a GPS for myself, I'd probably prioritize getting one for the car vs. a handheld, since I inherited my dad's getting lost genes! So I'd probably end up with the GO 300, since it is supposed to be especially easy to use...I'll have to check out if it can be used for geocaching too...
That's a horrible gene to have especially if you inherited the combined "don't ever ask for directions" gene as well.
Just make sure you can download waypoints into your GPS. That is how you get the geocache locations in there without having to manually place them in there. |
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lms82
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Washington DC
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| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:17 pm Post subject: |
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The PDA idea is a good one, though I think he'd have an easier time with a portable device separate from a PDA since he doesn't always carry that around. Also not sure how the screen would work for him.
Definitely leaning towards the TomTom GO 700 now since he's mentioned bluetooth a couple of times lately so I think he'd be excited about having that function.
I missed the "don't ask directions" gene...I'll ask anyone before trusting myself! Though if I had my own gps device, maybe I could avoid that most of the time... |
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