GPS websites & maps

Face it, juggling paper maps can be frustrating, aggravating, and a pain.  Add in inaccuracies and omissions, and it can turn into a nightmare when you are trying to navigate unfamiliar territory.  Most of us have at least TRIED some type of GPS navigation at this point.  I have been seriously thinking about replacing my less-than-satisfactory Sprint navigation on my cell phone with a real GPS.

For most of us in the USA, there are three big names: Garmin, Tomtom, and Magellan.  I know people who have bought all three, and I also know people who love or hate all three brands.  I suspect that even the worst model compares well to using my cell phone as a GPS device, so I had no preference between brands.  I am highly concerned about cost however, and that includes more than the initial cost, but the cost of upgrading maps too.  Since I haven’t bought one yet, I am also concerned about the hassles of navigation on the website.  If I can’t successfully price maps without aggravation on their website, am I really going to be happy with the software and navigation system on their device?

Tomtom’s website scored a zero.  I couldn’t get a price after choosing two different models unless I had a serial number for my device, so it could inform me whether my device had enough memory.  This was not a good sign, since I chose a model from an advertisement I had received from TigerDirect in my email this morning.  The fine print from TigerDirect also informed me that refurbished models could not get a free update from Tomtom, but new models could get a 30 day map.  Add a mysterious price to that, and Tomtom was not looking like a likely candidate at all.

Next came Garmin, which is probably the industry leader.  Their website qualified as average for navigation and finding what I wanted, and more people I know are using Garmin.  This familiarity is an attractive feature, however, upon pricing maps from Garmin, I was horrified to realize I would quickly invest several hundred dollars in maps, should I opt to use their models.  Most of the maps started at $79.99, and multiple maps would quickly be needed if a long trip was planned.  This wasn’t looking like a cost effective choice for me either.

Magellan is probably the least common of the big three, and I’d been told by the geeky sort that they were the “best buy” in the GPS market because of high quality and high customer satisfaction ratings, along with good feature sets and moderate price.  Their website is fairly decent to navigate, although I was a bit uncertain about which maps were usable on which devices.  Maps aren’t cheap, however, they seem to include more, with the USA topo map including ALL of the USA, rather than regions, and listed at $149.99.  Prices on their devices via their outlet on the website were also very consumer-friendly, with full featured devices that would both fit my budget AND my initial qualifications for a GPS device.  It doesn’t hurt that it offers a AAA discount, or that it uses AAA ratings for a number of amenities along the way either.  It may even be compatible with AAA’s trip routing.   (Yes, I confess, I’m a die hard AAA member who has been towed, had my car unlocked, been jump started, and even had a key made using AAA’s services.)

I’m not done with my research, I would really like a device that I can use in the van, and then when I launch the Swamp Thing (a beast of an aluminum boat for fishing) into one of the numerous rivers, I would like it to prevent me from getting lost in the multiple tributaries, channels and tall marsh grass, unable to find my way back to the boat launch.  Assuming my shoulder recovers, I may be concerned about using my device while hiking too.  I’m not sure that this can be done by your average GPS, and I’m also  not sure I want to deal with multiple devices all needing updated periodically.

So far though, I have to admit…Magellan is looking like a likely choice.