I shall be going on a longish drive in another country fairly soon and have been thinking about getting a GPS navigation device. I was against them for a long time because I think people should use maps and the only people who really need GPS are those devoid of any geographic skills. Which is a pretty good description of me, as it turns out. Also, I need glasses to read a map, but cannot drive with reading glasses, and as this upcoming drive will be sans navigator, a GPS thing is sounding better and better. Have any of you experience with them (esp. in Europe)? Mainly for driving, but flexibility re: applications would be a plus.
I brought mine on my somewhat ill-fated trip to Ireland in ’07, and it was very helpful getting us through the assorted little villages and finding parking in larger towns. I have an older Garmin model. In the States, Garmin and TomTom dominate this market, don’t know if there are different players in Europe. I think Garmin is a European company anyway.
Can you clarify what you mean by “flexibility re: applications”?
In my immediate family of 4, we did/do possess 6 GPS devices*. Two were Navman and the mapping was very old and somewhat dangerous if you followed the directions without considering things like there was no actual bridge where it was trying to make you go.
4 were various models of Garmin Nuvi. Highly recommended. The maps are the best, you can download updated ones, fits in your shirt pocket. My friend borrowed one for her recent trip to Paris and downloaded the French maps before she went. She was very glad she did because she used it not only for driving but also for walking around Paris.
* 1 lost to car break-in; 1 left behind in rental car; 1 just plain lost; 3 nervous survivors.
I tried to get a GPS when I rented the car in Vienna. They did not have one available, and Jamie and I nearly came to blows over navigating. In Salzburg, Jack was piggybacking off stray wi-fi routers to get directions to the hotel on Google maps. I would say “get one”.
What fun is it to drive in a foreign country if you don’t get lost? The best discoveries are off the beaten path. Plus, you find out you have survival skills you didn’t even know you had- not to mention foreign language skills.
But it kind of all depends on which foreign country you’re driving around in, too. If it’s, say, Spain, no amount of planning, technology, or sign following will keep you from getting lost, so just expect it and enjoy the experience. If it’s France or the Czech Republic for instance, getting lost could save you from ever having to deal with certain family members and bill collectors for the rest of you life.
I say Google the route and then make it up as you go :)
I’m quite happy with our TomTom One, though I almost only use it on holidays. It took us to France, Switzerland, Italy without problems.
Thanks. Tomtom seems to get consistently good reviews, from what I’ve found online.
Brian – re: flexibility, I have no idea what they can be used for besides driving, except geocaching. I came home last night and my kid was processing photos with her Wii. I understand that gadgets are no longer just what they are anymore, they are all something else as well, so who knows what shenanigans and hijinks are possible with gps things nowadays?
Chris: Funnily enough, I would be using the thing primarily in the Czech Republic and France, I think. I am a fan of getting lost, when one has the time. My wife and I used to do it for fun and had some nice adventures I wouldn’t want to miss. Thing is, it’s a question of present value. Sitting here, making the decision whether or not to get a gps device, the idea of getting lost involuntarily causes me to panic and freak out in excess of the degree to which the idea of the possible adventures I could have getting lost delights me, even though I know objectively that – when all is said and done – such adventures could very likely be rewarding in excess of whatever costs they inflict.
I mean, I can always turn the thing off.
I feel as if I have officially entered the 21st century. I went out at lunch and bought a navigation thing. Then I couldn’t find my car in the parking garage. Then I found my car after wandering around a while, but couldn’t find the exit.
Then I eventually found the exit.
What’s that with these American men who are helpless without a Navi? I’ve got one like that at home, too. He made me drive with a Navi a few times and it drove me nuts.
I agree with Chris.
What I meant, in case it didn’t sound right, is that I love France and the Czech Republic.. I’ve found driving there to be most enjoyable. If I were to get lost in one of their out-of-the-way places I might be too content to bother looking for the way back.
Safe travels, mig :)
I took the GPS out for a test drive last night. It takes some getting used to. Very hypnotic, on the one hand – now I can understand these people who do U-turns in one way tunnels because their GPS device told them to, or end up wedged in between sheds in farmers’ fields or on pedestrian bridges. Very useful, however, once one adapts.
Interesting choice of voices on this one: USA male robot, UK female robot, or Irish female real voice. I left the US in 1980 when Reagan was elected, so it comes down to a choice between the latter two in the end. Am using the female Irish voice right now, i.e. instead of, “please.proceed.around.the.traffic.circle.again.take.second.exit.” it’s “jaysus ye feckin mongo sap i said after a hundred metres take the second exit from the roundabout ye know what a metre is ye eejit gobshite?” etc.
I can confirm from personal experience that my Tom Tom is good in Ireland, UK, France, Spain and USA. No one mentions that, despite apocryphal stories of driving off cliffs or various wedgies, they do distinctly improve safety (and relationships if a navigator is involved).
But how did Trish and I drive from Dublin to Berlin and back in Christmas 1985? And are still together today?
Mark my words: in 20 years we’ll have a generation of people who can’t read maps!
But what I really wanted to say is that there is a very interesting article in the New York Times Magazine entitled, “Does Your Language Shape How You Think?”, according to which, there are several languages, from different parts of the world, which don’t use “egocentric” words like left, right, behind, in front of, to describe the position of objects, but instead rely totally on cardinal directions, N, S, E, or W.
There is “…a remote Australian aboriginal tongue, Guugu Yimithirr,” which, “doesn’t make any use of egocentric coordinates at all. …If they want you to move over on the car seat to make room, they’ll say ‘move a bit to the east.’ To tell you where exactly they left something in your house, they’ll say, ‘I left it on the southern edge of the western table.’ Or they would warn you to ‘look out for that big ant just north of your foot.’ Even when shown a film on television, they gave descriptions of it based on the orientation of the screen. If the television was facing north, and a man on the screen was approaching, they said that he was ‘coming northward.’ ”
This requires the speakers are oriented to direction every second of every day no matter where they are; a skill that is usually mastered by the age of seven or eight. They might think our need for GPS devices very odd!
The link to the article is here: http://nyti.ms/chDUjO
Mark my words: in 20 years we’ll have a generation of people who can’t read maps!
But what I really wanted to say is that there is a very interesting article in the New York Times Magazine entitled, “Does Your Language Shape How You Think?”, according to which, there are several languages, from different parts of the world, which don’t use “egocentric” words like left, right, behind, in front of, to describe the position of objects, but instead rely totally on cardinal directions, N, S, E, or W.
There is “…a remote Australian aboriginal tongue, Guugu Yimithirr,” which, “doesn’t make any use of egocentric coordinates at all. …If they want you to move over on the car seat to make room, they’ll say ‘move a bit to the east.’ To tell you where exactly they left something in your house, they’ll say, ‘I left it on the southern edge of the western table.’ Or they would warn you to ‘look out for that big ant just north of your foot.’ Even when shown a film on television, they gave descriptions of it based on the orientation of the screen. If the television was facing north, and a man on the screen was approaching, they said that he was ‘coming northward.’ ”
This requires the speakers are oriented to direction every second of every day no matter where they are; a skill that is usually mastered by the age of seven or eight. They might think our need for GPS devices very odd!
The article can be found in the NYT Magazine August, 26, 2010.
I am a Canadian living in Austria and have purchased a Medion GPS(German maker of electronic equipment). It is designed for bike or car and works well. The maps are usually updated twice a year and are very good. Comes complete with a full set of European maps, and just recently they updated roads in Romania, so the majority of countries are covered well. Enjoy! I do. And when you program in “NO Autobahn” it takes you for a delightful drive!