Do You Use GPS Devices?

January 24, 2009

My iPhone 3G was the first GPS device that I've owned since I don't have a car; since then, I've become dependent on the technology, requesting it if I ever rent a car, and whipping it out of my pocket when I don't know where I am (and even when I do). Something I once thought I didn't need has become the ultimate traveling convenience, trumping my confident sense of direction and navigation.

But of course, we're all familiar with the hilarity of what happens when GPS goes wrong (and unfortunately, the unfunny accidents) — but that doesn't negate its usefulness or increasing presence in new devices on the market, like cameras. Tell me, do you use any GPS devices?

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27 Comments

3 years 51 weeks

--- When my current cell phone contract ends (in a year) I plan to buy an iPhone. --- Just a quick note on this, most cell phone providers will allow you to renew early, so you may not need to wait a year to upgrade to an iPhone. On topic, I have an iPhone, but don't use the GPS too much and I also have a garmin nuvi 765t for my van that has come in very handy! It does have it's hiccups though, like telling me to go one way when I know a different way that's faster. However, it always gets me there. So on unfamiliar roads or foreign territory it has been great. Also, I have used it to calculate new routes to avoid traffic and it works great for that too. I'd say if you know the area pretty well that you are gonna be driving in, just turn it off because it may not be all that helpful. Could be just me, but then again I'm pretty good with navigation on my own....

EvilDorkGirl 4 years 16 weeks

Yep, iPhone.

thoroughlymodern 4 years 16 weeks

Gah - that last post didn't work! What I said was: I heart my Garmin. So much better than my iPhone when I'm driving.

thoroughlymodern 4 years 16 weeks

I <3 my Garmin. So much better than my iPhone when driving.

missgnav 4 years 16 weeks

I have one in my car, but I don't use it too often. I still much prefer Google Maps. I consider myself excellent at navigation though. ;) I love how my GPS tells me which side of the road that my destination is located on though.

starangel82 4 years 16 weeks

I have one on my phone, but it is pretty hard to look at when driving. My dad has a TomTom that I use from time to time. I love that thing.

KristinDaBomb 4 years 16 weeks

I want one sooo much. I have an iPhone which helps but you can't look @ it while you are driving.

cupcake_ 4 years 16 weeks

I use the one on my Blackberry but I don't really like it. I REALLY need one for my car because I have the worst sense of direction ever..

Le Luxe 4 years 16 weeks

My car has one built in- this has saved me a TON of headaches!!

danizzle 4 years 16 weeks

I LOVE MY GPS! my parents bought it for me as a chrismukkah gift my freshman year of college (i live 4 hours from home) and now i cant live without it! i wish my G1 had an accurate turn by turn gps now

Happsmjc 4 years 16 weeks

speed time= speed limit

Happsmjc 4 years 16 weeks

i agree geek--this was something i didnt think i needed until i had one. now that i have my garmin im obsessed--i have it on even when i know the way, just to see my arrival time or the speed time--its addicting! i just didnt understand the phenomenon before!

Bksuga 4 years 16 weeks

I dont drive but when I when i do rent a car i use my Iphone. even when i get on the bus on the train for a new destination i use the iphone i hate to be lost.

aistea311 4 years 16 weeks

I bought a garmin last christmas for myself and it really helps around Miami for me. I have my iPhone, but its distracting when I am the only one driving. I love having GPS.

misogi 4 years 16 weeks

I have a Garmin, and I absolutely love it. I don't use it all the time, but when I need it it's so helpful. I'm horrible with maps and streets, and looking at a piece of paper (instead of the road) or relying on someone who gives late directions is NOT how I like to get somewhere. :)

danixk 4 years 16 weeks

Googlemaps should have been an option. I wanted a Garmin but now I have a Blackberry that does the trick. I use the Googlemap before I leave and use the berry for back u.

Katie Kat 4 years 16 weeks

I don't use a GPS device, but I do use Google Maps and MapQuest on a fairly regular basis.

leeluvfashion 4 years 16 weeks

Yes, there is a gps device for the car (cannot remember which company made it.) When my current cell phone contract ends (in a year) I plan to buy an iPhone. I need GPS, since I am horrible with maps and new locations.

macgirl 4 years 16 weeks

I have a Garmin I bought for my car, I like my iphone gps so much better. I wish I could put it in full Nav mode and stick it on my dash at times. The Garmin does an OK job for the most part though. I like the Nav that's in my husbands Acura way better though.

eafolsom 4 years 16 weeks

The few times I've used a GPS it has gone the way of disaster. It either takes 10 min+ to figure out where you are (by that time you have navigated yourself), tells you that you are in the middle of a corn field when you are OBVIOUSLY on a high way, or shouts "recalculating" instructions at you when you are overwhelmed by 100 exits hitting you at once. I've decided that I like plain 'ol maps in lew of GPS.

Anne26 4 years 16 weeks

I use the gps from my blackberry.

kh61582 4 years 16 weeks

Not only do I not use a GPS I can't STAND them! My dad bought me one before moving to Chicago (important fact I didn't and still don't have a car) and the thing didn't work very well at all. It keep loosing the signal if it ever found it to begin with. If you live in a city with less tall buildings and have a car then maybe it works better for for my uses not so much.

syako 4 years 16 weeks

My husband used to be the most anti-GPSer. Then, at his holiday party this year, we won a GPS for the car. We've been using it for weekend trips and for a vacation to upstate New York. Let me just say, he's a complete convert. It's sooooo convenient. But we still keep an Atlas in the car, just in case. :)

JaeB 4 years 16 weeks

I don't have a GPS device. I look at maps online in advance of my excursions, and from there I go on handwritten notes or memory. If I ever got into too much of a jam, I usually have my laptop with me with some map downloaded, but I haven't needed to pull it out, yet. Confidence is good, and hey, if you get a little off track, call it an adventure. :) That said, when I'm out with my sis we do sometimes rely on her iPhone Google Maps for a little direction, usually to find a new route to someplace we already know one or two ways to.

Al Pavangkanan 4 years 16 weeks

My Nokia N82 handles all my GPS needs. Turn by turn voice directions, geotagged photos, trip logger. I love it.

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