I've been toying with the idea of buying a standalone GPS unit again. I had a very low end small screen Tom Tom back in about 2010 but I don't know what happened to it. I think I would have needed to pay for map updates for it or something like that. It seemed to work OK, but I eventually switched to Google maps and didn't have work that required me to drive a lot anyway. Now I have work requiring somewhat more driving usually to different addresses in different cities, and I also buy a lot of stuff off Craigslist or FB Market.
It seems Garmin is the only real choice now, and the map updates are indeed lifetime. I'm just wondering about the general user experience of a GPS unit vs a phone in 2020. The phone having data can provide real time traffic updates and similar, but I have had situations where I've not gotten maps due to coverage being lost in too rural of an area. My current phone is malfunctioning, and I do have another on the way, but strangely over the years I've liked having more redundancy between me and my phone. For example, all my head units don't even have bluetooth and it's fine, I just use mp3 CDs (very oldschool) or USB drives, just so I never have to worry about my phone's battery/etc (if I run it to 0 it would still need a few minutes to charge to be usable...) while I'm in the car to have the music I want on. I even also have a backup phone with almost no features/apps (iPhone 4) to just have in an emergency. I just don't like having all my hardware eggs in one basket.
So my feeling is now I want this for navigation, but I'm just wondering if the UI is too clunky, or if the general navigation quality is no good in 2020 compared to a phone. In one review I watched of a lower end Garmin from 2017 she said navigation was clunkier and sometimes maps weren't updated as well. I'm more or less just looking for input from anyone that still uses a standalone GPS now on how they like it.
Thanks!
It seems Garmin is the only real choice now, and the map updates are indeed lifetime. I'm just wondering about the general user experience of a GPS unit vs a phone in 2020. The phone having data can provide real time traffic updates and similar, but I have had situations where I've not gotten maps due to coverage being lost in too rural of an area. My current phone is malfunctioning, and I do have another on the way, but strangely over the years I've liked having more redundancy between me and my phone. For example, all my head units don't even have bluetooth and it's fine, I just use mp3 CDs (very oldschool) or USB drives, just so I never have to worry about my phone's battery/etc (if I run it to 0 it would still need a few minutes to charge to be usable...) while I'm in the car to have the music I want on. I even also have a backup phone with almost no features/apps (iPhone 4) to just have in an emergency. I just don't like having all my hardware eggs in one basket.
So my feeling is now I want this for navigation, but I'm just wondering if the UI is too clunky, or if the general navigation quality is no good in 2020 compared to a phone. In one review I watched of a lower end Garmin from 2017 she said navigation was clunkier and sometimes maps weren't updated as well. I'm more or less just looking for input from anyone that still uses a standalone GPS now on how they like it.
Thanks!
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