I am about to buy those 99.00 gps navigator. do they work well?

Question

I am getting ready to travel and I need a gps navigator but all I can afford is the $99.00 one. it is so basic, is it better than having nothing?

Answer 1

Before you buy, you should consider few things.  The MAP is more important than the GPS (electronics).  Some company use really unknown (unproven) map. NAVTEC is a well known map company.

Also you should know these facts:  All GPS are free of monthly bills.  BUT some GPS incorporates additional service (like traffic report) that requires monthly payment.  But my wife's iPhone gets that for free, so you may not want to pay for that kind of service.

I've owned 3 GPS (only one is nav system). I've compared few and here what I found:

(1) the map database is MORE important than the GPS machine. If the map is NOT accurate the GPS is useless. Get a GPS with well know database(ex:navtec).

(2) if your car interior is light colored, then make sure the GPS is bright enough to over come the glare

(3) if your eyes are not all that good (old people) then get a large screen - at least 4 inches big

(4) if your hearing is not so good, make sure the volume is loud enough.

Also ANY gps left turned off lose sat tracking. The long it is left off the longer it takes to resync sat. Sometimes as long as 1/2 hours. So before a long trip, leave you GPS on by a window with good sky view.

Test your GPS for few week to months locally when you know your roads BEFORE using it on long trips. Get to know your GPS quirks before you really need it.

Also whenever possible double check your GPS findings with either PAPER map or Google map. They can all be wrong at times. Or at least carry a paper map. Electronics have a nasty habit of dying at the worst time.

GPS maps go out of date so it is best to make sure the database company are around to sell you updates.

GPS maps are ALWAYS out of dates in cities with lots of new developments. I found that in old cities (Boston, NYC, Los Angeles) it is fairly accurate as they haven't created new towns / roads in ages. In cities like NJ I found most GPS will NOT be very useful.

Test the GPS to find your favorite retail stores. You may ONLY like Pizza HUT and HATE Domino but the database may have it what you want.

Also test it to find Radio Shack because when you are traveling, Radio Shack can just about sell you any electronic device you are missing (adapter, wires, extension, plugs, batteries, etc.). I found at least one major GPS brand does not have RS in the database.

Good Luck...