Garmin nuvi 260W $99.99 @ Amazon (NEW $230 MSRP)

[swshawaii]

4.3 Inch Touchscreen with Voice Guidance & Text To Speech

Free Super Saver Shipping. Average Rating 4.5 Stars (730 Reviews)



No "Traffic" Feature. (Turn on your radio) lol



UPDATE- 4/28 PRICE IS NOW $160

 

[Kevin Lang]

Free, live traffic updates are the only reason I'd ever get a GPS. It's cool to have a map centered @ your position that you can look at while driving (though I hate that), but the largest reason to do that is to find alternate routes when you're stuck in traffic, which would be useless if you had traffic in the first place.



GPS turn-by-turn is egregious. It's like liposuction--it's a way for lazy people to accomplish something that they could do normally, if they weren't lazy. Like liposuction, it has a sizable chance of death.



It's called a map--memorize it. Failing that, it's called a passenger--get one and give him the map. Pilot and Helmsman are normally two separate people.



:soap:



I didn't think people bought these any longer now that GPS on phones is pretty much standard...guess that could be a reason why these suckers are being liquidated at over 50% off.

 

[swshawaii]

Not everyone has, or needs GPS navigation on their phone, along with the extra gagdets.

I use the ATT "Pay As You Go" plan. For $25. Ninety days, no restrictions with "carry over" minutes. (25 cents/minute)



Wonder what the national average monthly charge is? More than $8.33, I'm sure. :angry:



P.S.- The Garmin nuvi 285WT (With Traffic) is $119.99 at Amazon. ($20 more)

 

[Richard L]

KL,

Free, live traffic updates are the only reason I'd ever get a GPS.

Most larger cities will broadcast traffic reports on the radio so you don't necessarily need a GPS for that either.



GPS turn-by-turn is egregious. It's like liposuction--it's a way for lazy people to accomplish something that they could do normally, if they weren't lazy. Like liposuction, it has a sizable chance of death.



It's called a map--memorize it. Failing that, it's called a passenger--get one and give him the map. Pilot and Helmsman are normally two separate people.



I sure don't think everyone has the capability of memorizing a map, especially if you get detoured off of your intended route, miss a turn off, or make a wrong turn..It happens to eveybody and the GPS gets you back on track much faster.



My head is already filled with useless information as it is...Why do I want to try to cram a map of all roads, intersections, addresses, gas stations, resturants, and other points of interest for the enrtire USA. Besides many things that the GPS can help you locate are not even on a printed map. Almost the whole world navigates and locates themselves by GPS and I would not consider everyone to be lazy. GPS is much faster and far mor accurate than a map or memorization and can even correct us when we have a brain-fart or an attack of CRS.



For someone who has used maps for most of my 62 years, the GPS beats maps, or memorization hands down. It's just too easy to miss a route sign and drive a long way before you realize your error or you get lost. The GPS catches your errors almost immediately and quickly redirects back on route.



Lazy has nothing to do with it. GPS is a very usefull and practical tool for most people. I have lived in Waco, TX area for nearly 27 years and I still don't know were every street is ore even where they might be located. The GPS tells me exactly where the street is and the best way to get there from wherever I am at that moment. Most passengers even passengers with a map can not find the street unless the map has a street locator



...Rich

 

[Andy Chase]

To each his own, but we got one for my wife who is horrible with directions (she once asked me does she go east or west to get to WI from MN):smack: I've used it a few times when I'm going someplace I've never been in the Twin Cities area before since I don't have internet at home, the TomTom helps us. But if I'm out in the country where there are not 10 turn offs every mile, I'll still use my maps, although I have a lot of the roads memorized around my favorite camping/fishing spots on the North Shore. I would like to have it for when I go hunting though...My dad's usually driving and my eyes are fixated on the ditches looking for pheasants so I rarely know what road we're on.

 

[Kevin Lang]

The problem with the radio is that I don't listen to it, and if I did the traffic reporting doesn't work for me. My MP3 player and my MP3 cds are so much better than the radio.



I get DC and Baltimore stations. DC stations report on road traffic near DC. B'More stations report on road traffic near B'More. Despite there only being 30 road miles between the two cities, their stations don't report each other's traffic.



...and the radio stations tend to have their traffic reports concurrently, so it's not like I could hit up one and then flip to the other.



Also, unless there is a huge accident, a great deal of roads can have traffic problems and are never reported, as while they lie between or around these two cities, they aren't thoroughfares for them, and as such they don't get any mention





Personally, I find maps fun and read them almost as a hobby. Not knowing where I am is frustrating.



That said, GPS doesn't work for me either, as many areas I could use a GPS @, more rural areas, are not in standard maps, nor are many roads even in my part of The Sprawl, so mostly I just get a screen telling me that I'm "Not on the Digitized Road". Also, the limited route calculation algorithms won't employ the roads I want unless I sit there and painstakingly proscribe roads and finagle with the piece of junk.



If there is a compulsion to use the GPS, and you're going to sit there and poke the durn thing while the car is in motion, at least have a passenger do it. While I don't like GPS and believe it is to navigation as a calculator is to mental math, I'd sign off on ya'll's "to each his own", except that I see cars too often swerving about and practicing idiocy on the road because they HAVE to play with their gps @ 70 mph on a curve.

Almost the whole world navigates and locates themselves by GPS and I would not consider everyone to be lazy.

No, if everyone jumped off a bridge, I would not do it :grin:



That said, for a very significant part of the past 62 years man on Land had to navigate by landmarks and by putting his trust in his memory and street signs, and by sea and air the sextant was still the most reliable instrument around. Man has lived thousands of years without GPS, circumnavigated the globe without GPS, gone to space without GPS...I'd hope he could drive his 30 mile commute to work without GPS.

 

[swshawaii]

KL- Uhh, same goes for electricity, computers, cell phones, etc. (re: sextant)

Where you going with this? Just asking.



BTW, I've driven comfortably without GPS, until now.

The $100 price without a monthly service charge, tells me the time is now.



I'm done. :btddhorse:

 

[Kevin Lang]

My point is that man navigated his car and other forms of conveyance successfully prior to the advent of GPS, and that he will keep on navigating without it. Cell Phones and Electricity don't have any direct bearing on navigation of cars, so I don't know why you're throwing that out there.



You're trying to expand my argument, to your own means, and then defeat it with that banality I believe that is called the straw-man fallacy.



(Also, man didn't go to space without electricity )



Anyhow, considering how you post on here about how you are marching songs from every band of the Classic Rock era 2 by 2 onto a portable hard drive to make the musical equivalent of Noah's Ark, to allow "good" music to survive the flood of modern suck, I'm surprised that you'd call anyone to listen to the radio.



If my local "classic rock" and "oldies" stations are indicative of those in the 50th state, I don't see how you could listen to 'em, as they're very liberal with their classification. EG Duran Duran and Nirvana are not classic rock...except to the classic rock stations here.

 

[David Ponder]

Kevin, I have 3 kids. All still live at home. If they get lost somewhere and need to find the fastest way home, they just click home on the GPS. It is Peace of Mind for their father and mother if nothing else.



My Daughter (19 years old) recently took a 400 mile (1 way) trip to visit her grandmother, (my Mom). This was her first trip more than 50 miles away (Driving) and I supplied her with maps, turn by turn directions, etc.. but she still had the GPS along. (And had to use it once when she missed a turn)



I dont need another one right now, but the price is a good deal. Steve, Thanks for posting.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Don't let KL get to you folks.



KL, if you don't like GPS systems then don't get one. But you shouldn't knock people for using them anymore than you would knock someone for using any other high-tech convenience.



TJR

 

[Kevin Lang]

TJR,we could say the same about you, or the "folks" getting to me, as that is clearly what occurred here :grin:



Other "high tech conveniences" don't directly endanger me on the road--an incontrovertible danger--nor do they stunt the mental faculties of people I am forced to deal with, which is a pet peeve.



I don't know which is more provoking--needing GPS to get to a painfully obvious locale, or needing a calculator to find 15% of a bill.



Calculators and GPS would be fine and good if they didn't stunt the faculties and lead to crappy driving habits.

 

[Richard L]

KL,

I have lived in the Washington, DC area two times as part of my military career, and I agree that traffic in that area is a bigger problem than the actual navigation if you already know you way around. I have heard much criticism about the layout of the streets in Washington, DC, but I always found it was fairly easy to navigate around the ciity once I learned just how logical the streets were laid out.



GPS's only offer a few route choices based on the shortest route or the fastest route. None take into account the general volume of traffic, the number of red lights and stop signs you may envounter. Even traffic reports and the GPS traffic warnings/rerouting will help if the traffic slowdown occurs just ahead of you when there is not time to make route adjustments.



Also, you seem to want to force the GPS to go your way not the way the GPS sees as the shortest or fastest route. I do the same things on occassions because I know there is construction ahead, or the road is bumpy, or there are a number of schools zones on that route and school is letting out about now, etc. But, for someone who is not familiar with the town, or the one-way streets, or all the other oddities that local residents know about, the GPS will do exactly what it is designed to do and that is to get you to your destination.



As for streets not being digitized or not on your GPS, all I can say is, If they are not on your GPS and you have the latest maps installed on your unit, they are probably not going to be on any Maps either. So even when man used sextons to navigate, they also made maps and they need to be constantly updated as new discoveries were made and more accurate mapping methods were developed. The good part is that GPS knows exactly where you are on the earth even if there is no road, or you are on a road that it does not know exists. Akso remmember that aircarft and ships have been using GPS for many years before the public were given access to the secret mmilitary GPS satellites.



I agree that trying to program a GPS unit while driving is dumb and is similar to the distraction of Texting while driving. I don't do much texting myself, and I certainly don't even attempt to do it while driving. Cellphones, and GPS units can be just as dangerous as a gun if missused or used in a manner that endangers other people...I think most technology has some risk of harm to someone if missued.



I just don't think people who properly use technology are lazy. I do think that technology has made more people interest in the science behind the tecnology and therefore knowledgeable about technology. When I broke into the computer field back in 1966, hardly anybody knew much about these electronic brains and there were few schools teaching Computer Science.

In 50 years we have overcome a very steep learning curve to where millions of homes throughout the world have a computer and access to the Internet. The computer has become a common household appliance like the toaster, refirgerator, and TV. The GPS is quickly becoming the same kind of appliance for cars and even for walking and sightseeing.



...Rich

 

[Thomas Rogers]

RichardL, probably should save our breath. When KL knee-jerks some assnine assertion he doesn't recant and rarely entertains the merits of differing viewpoints.



KL said:

Other "high tech conveniences" don't directly endanger me on the road--an incontrovertible danger--nor do they stunt the mental faculties of people I am forced to deal with, which is a pet peeve.

You simply do not make sense to me.



The in-dash DVD player and the cellular phone are high-tech conveniences that surely, directly endanger you far more than a GPS.



Stupid, incapable people will always be a danger on the road. Devices like a GPS don't make them any moreso dangerous, IMHO. It probably makes them safer than the alternative; alternatives like: reading a traditional map while driving; reading google printed maps while driving (which are crap to follow at times and distractiing), being lost and missing turns and doing stupid things because of it, etc. People NOT KNOWING where they are going, or trying to figure it out are a danger in and of themselves.



You have a tendancy to wield a very wide brush stroke of contempt, KL. It doesn't suit you well or do you justice. Frankly, it makes you come off pretty poorly. It seems quite troll-like.



Surely you have more important things to get upset over than people using GPS; things that actually affect you and that you can do something about maybe?



TJR

 

[Kevin Lang]

It seems quite troll-like.

TJR, please step down a bit from your high horse. Superciliousness in an IT guy is a stereotype we need to avoid.



I take umbrage at your comment. Trolls are punks who come out and post just as some way to get attention and to take pleasure in tormenting others, the schadenfreude which you have mentioned yourself in posts past.



A troll does not post questions pertinent to the forum, he does not drive a vehicle which gave rise to the forum, he does not post answers that were intended to be helpful to issues concerning the vehicle, and most of all he does not support the site by buying its products and its sponsors, especially when he could still acquire said products at a lower rate from other sources that would not kick back to the site.



I do all of these things, good sir. Do you?



In-dash dvd players are less of a distraction as they are less prevalent. Cellphones are also less dangerous as they only distract from the road, for talking, for a modicum of time, unlike a GPS which requires more interaction.



As you are an admitted distracted driver, I believe you are projecting your own contempt at me calling you on such acts thorough this thread, insulting my character directly, and without any probable cause.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

KL said:

A troll does not post questions pertinent to the forum, he does not drive a vehicle which gave rise to the forum, he does not post answers that were intended to be helpful to issues concerning the vehicle, and most of all he does not support the site by buying its products and its sponsors, especially when he could still acquire said products at a lower rate from other sources that would not kick back to the site.

Your logic still escapes me. It seems to me a person could do all those things you suggest and STILL troll, still post things to simply get a rise out of others.



You may not actually be trolling, KL, but look back at the responses you are getting, and the virtual (and actual) retorts of "WTF?" by others and you will see what I mean.



As for me being a so-called "admitted distracted driver", I submit we all are. The question is to what degree. I said that I text sometimes when driving, and I clarified that to mean that when stopped at a red-light, etc. As I said in that post, let he who doesn't look at a sunrise, or a pretty girl aside the road, or a cool car going by, or fiddle with the radio station, or read a billboard, etc, etc, etc. cast the first stone. You do these things and others, as we all do. It's easy for us to point out the egregious distractions, and I absolutely try to limit those in my behavior...but let's not get all holier than thou, please.



I never insulted your character. Just pointed out to you how you are being perceived by me, and clearly by others.



You continue to make these rather absurd assertions, then don't seem to understand when people take umbrage.



As for your comment:

Cellphones are also less dangerous as they only distract from the road, for talking, for a modicum of time, unlike a GPS which requires more interaction.

GPS doesn't require interaction while driving. It can be set before embarking on a trip and then not be physically interacted with during said trip. A person can, and many do, have very intense, attention-stealing conversations on cellphones while driving, even in a handsfree fashion. I'd rather drive behind someone using a GPS than one of these engrossed conversationalists. I see these people all the time...waving their hands, driving too slowly, not using turning signals, cutting people off. These drivers are much more prevalent than the person "fiddling" with a GPS....by my observation anyways.



But isn't this meta-debate of which technology if ill-used is more distracting rather pointless? Seriously, what is the point? A GPS can be distracting. A cellphone can be distracting. A sudoko puzzle can be distracting. That doesn't make these things bad...or the people that use the properly bad. Stupid, careless people will do stupid, careless things regardless the tool.



Implying that all people that use such tools are somehow stupid, or lazy, or careless because of the actions of a few is, for lack of a better word, reckless. Ironic isn't it....reckless.



TJR

 

[Joe Rampino]

What about using an under-dash turntable for those old 45's that may be laying around? I think JC Whitney still carries them.

:bwahaha:

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Fine by me Rampo. I don't really have any issue what people do behind the wheel as long as they are responsible and not so distracted as to be a menace or danger.



TJR

 

[swshawaii]

Joe- (Rampo) You're kidding, right? :cheeky:



I remember the Quadraphonic Underdash 8-Track all too well.

Sounded great, when it worked. (Sixties version of Surround Sound)

Can't recall ever seeing an under dash phonograph though.

Imagine trying to keep the stylus in the groove while driving! LOL

 

[Joe Rampino]

I hate to date myself but I remember the under-dash mounted turntables being available in the sixties. Never had one. Didn't want to cramp my leg room at the drive-in. LOL