[TR] GPS Navigator

[Brian Jones]

I'm on my fourth GPS. From a very basic hand held that could not route  
(but still useful) I stepped up to a Garmin that needed routes and  
maps to be loaded from a laptop. This becomes tedious and inflexible  
very quickly.
I then bought my wife a top of range Tom Tom 910. It does everything  
but a neck massage, yet we use nothing but navigation. It is over- 
adorned with features (phone, music, even pictures, I think). Its  
overkill.

Earlier this year, I bought a mid-range device (TomTom One with  
voice). It does navigation very well. I can hear directions clearly in  
an open car. Garmin and others have equivalent units.

My recommendation: don't be persuaded by blue tooth features etc. Get  
a mid-range unit from one of the bigger suppliers like Tom Tom or  
Garmin that just navigates with voice....(not all do, there is a Tom  
Tom One without voice).

In the convenience of these self-contained units, you lose some  
specificity of route that you had with the lap-top-hookup units, where  
you could just easily drag a route to avoid a congested area or  
something, and you'd have more route data (miles, timing on multi-leg  
routes). I found it an easy trade.

Cheers,

Brian