Which GPS to buy (for about 10K)?

M

maiden_trooper

Disciple
Hello folks!

It is time to bite the bullet and admit that I have a terrible sense of direction when I am on the road. After a gazillion heated arguments with my wife in the car, I have decided to buy myself a GPS.

Trouble is... I don't know which one to buy. I know that devices from 'MapMyIndia' were one of the first to arrive in the Indian market, but we now have almost every company in the business peddling its wares here.

I have a budget of about 10K. For me, the three 'must-have' features on the new device are:
  1. Accuracy.
  2. Ease of use.
  3. Upgradable maps.

I don't want any fancy features like a 'Navitainment' system or integration with mobile phones, etc.
I just need an accurate, reliable device that tells me when and where to turn next in order to reach my destination.

Please recommend a device that fits my budget and offers the features I need.

Thanks and regards,
Trooper.
 
Why not buy an android and install mapmyindia app ? (OT but I wonder why people buy the GPS devices. The phones today offer big screen and upgrade-ability obviating the use of a dedicated GPS device)
 
Vasishta.Sushant said:
Why not buy an android and install mapmyindia app ? (OT but I wonder why people buy the GPS devices. The phones today offer big screen and upgrade-ability obviating the use of a dedicated GPS device)
Click to expand...

Dedicated GPS devices have far better GPS chips than what we have in our mobile phones. This is what i feel. I might be wrong. But it is always better to have a dedicated device which is usually full time connected to your car charger when in operation. This is for people who are using cars. For non car users it might not be that necessary and normal andorid / iPhone navigation might work.
I am in US and i know how important GPS is here. Although i do not have GPS device myself and use my android phone because i have like 4 GPS programs loaded in it and it works fine but i still prefer the Tom Tom navigation on my wife's iPhone which has spoken road names. Not sure if mapmyindia GPS is that good.
 
raksrules said:
Dedicated GPS devices have far better GPS chips than what we have in our mobile phones. This is what i feel. I might be wrong. But it is always better to have a dedicated device which is usually full time connected to your car charger when in operation. This is for people who are using cars. For non car users it might not be that necessary and normal andorid / iPhone navigation might work.
I am in US and i know how important GPS is here. Although i do not have GPS device myself and use my android phone because i have like 4 GPS programs loaded in it and it works fine but i still prefer the Tom Tom navigation on my wife's iPhone which has spoken road names. Not sure if mapmyindia GPS is that good.
Click to expand...

not entirely true, newer phones have the same multichannel chips, and can be as sensitive and accurate.

e.g. i have a mapmyindia, given free with the car, and a mapmyindia, on a htc windows mobile - no difference at all can be noticed. further, i have also used wisepilot from navteq on my bb, and that in some situations has actually been better to use.
 
axeman said:
not entirely true, newer phones have the same multichannel chips, and can be as sensitive and accurate.

e.g. i have a mapmyindia, given free with the car, and a mapmyindia, on a htc windows mobile - no difference at all can be noticed. further, i have also used wisepilot from navteq on my bb, and that in some situations has actually been better to use.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's what. GPS accuracy and sensitivity has definitely improved. In fact i find the GPS sensitivity on the iPhone 4 so good that it takes less than 10 seconds to get locked even inside a car (not near windshield). So yes it is now on par with dedicated GPS units and that is why i myself do not have GPS here and only using my ZTE as dedicated GPS unit. But if i had car in India, i would personally go for a dedicated Unit. That is just me.
 
Guys, I didn't think of using an Android mobile phone as my GPS device. I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro (2011).

I guess it has adequate processor muscle to pull-off the GPS task.

Assuming I buy the MapMyIndia app on Android, will I have to incur extra charges from my carrier (Airtel) when I use it?
I see no value in buying an app and then paying more to your carrier to use it.

Please tell me more about this.
 
maiden_trooper said:
Guys, I didn't think of using an Android mobile phone as my GPS device. I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro (2011).

I guess it has adequate processor muscle to pull-off the GPS task.

Assuming I buy the MapMyIndia app on Android, will I have to incur extra charges from my carrier (Airtel) when I use it?
I see no value in buying an app and then paying more to your carrier to use it.

Please tell me more about this.
Click to expand...

I don't think you will need to pay anything extra as the maps will mostly be onboard. But do you think the screen of your mobile will be sufficient for GPS use ? And do remember that GPS use will drain the battery super fast.
 
Even I think getting a discreet GPS device is better way to go. But if you have a Nokia smart-phone, you don't need to. I have a Nokia 5230. Previously, it used to take a couple of minutes to get a lock. After upgrading the Maps app recently, it locks superfast. Tested in Bangalore thoroughly and route recalculation is done very fast too. You get lifetime of free voice guided navigation. :)

EDIT: - And yeah, it works offline without any net connection :)
 
The only negative i see in dedicated GPS is lack of choices (obviously). You have just one dedicated GPS software to work for you. This might be a turn off sometimes.
For me, i have / had iGo, Navigon, Sygic, N drive (now removed it), Co Pilot installed on my android phone. I tested all of them in my car when travelling to and fro from work and i found iGo to be the best for my needs.
I still crave for an offline Android GPS app which can say street names, Tom Tom on iPhone does.
As of now when i am traveling alone, i use iGo but if it is me and my wife then i prefer to use tom tom because of the street names and highly sensitive (IMO) GPS reception on the iPhone.

I rarely use google navigation as it requires constant internet connection and that EDGE does not work that well in speeding car for me.
 
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