is it true that you have to pay a monthly fee for use with navigation systems? and if so, how much does it cost? im looking to get gps next year so im just curious about the cost.

 

GPS is free, lol

 

There are some navigation services that charge a fee... OnStar for example.

Get a Garmin unit off of e-bay. They're like $250 now... and have no monthly fee. I recently bought one... it works great.

 

i have VZNavigator with Verizon on my phone, it works awesome, but i have to pay $10/month ... Its alot smaller then a GPS unit(its my phone) & i dont have to worry about loading maps & updating & blah blah blah... I love it & its worth the $10.

 

garmin huh? any particular model?

yeah i also have vzw but im not gonna pay 10 bucks a month for something i wont use that often you know?

 

but you will pay $250 for something you wont use that often? It would take 25months of service to equal buying a garmin...

 

VZ Navigator is really unreliable if you ask me.

It cuts out very often, even when there is full signal strength.

One of my biggest complaints is that when it cuts out, it wont let you know for 5 minutes.

On my phone, it constantly freezes, and I find myself having to restart the program while driving to get it to work again

----------------

Normal GPS is free though, its pretty simple really, all it is, is 30 satellites circling the earth. The satellites are just VERY accurate clocks, transmitting their times back to earth.

A GPS device picks up the time transmitted from each satellite it can pick up, and cross references differences in the times.

By cross referencing the times, it can triangulate your position.


In laymans terms, think of 30 radio stations in the sky doing nothing but counting.

The GPS device does all the work, therefore its typically free

 

i have a tom tom and its good.

 

hmnmm thats wierd i never have any issues with my VZN, what phone?

 

Samsung SCH-930

Some days it works, some days it works for 3 minutes at a time, wether it be in a metropolitan area, or out in the ****** boondocks.

It seems to be software-based problems

 

Garmin has a traffic service that has an annual fee...other than that it's free...

My nuvi 350 kicks ass

 

You took the words right out of my mouth! I have 2 Garmin GPS units. Both M3 models that are PDA based. The wife loved it so much she wanted one. You can get it on eBay now for like under 200. Now my brother recently wanted one, but I wanted him to get something better than ours since ours are discontinued models. After some research, I had him buy the GARMIN Nuvi 350 and man is that thing sweet! Recalculates in a flash, mine takes forever. SmAll as hell and it comes with everything preloaded. No computer required to install the maps. Its definately a great deal. No service fees but if you ever want to get updated maps, it will cost you like 80 or something like that. It has over 6 million punts of interest on it. To check one out, go to best buy and mess with the display.

 

I've got a Street Pilot C330. It's a good unit... it will get a little confused every now and then if I'm driving downtown or something (a lot of strange one-way streets). But it will get me where I need to go. I've gone to Burlington and Raliegh twice with it... got me right into the parking lot I needed to be in without any problems.

My gf also uses it a lot to navigate around town... she is a bit "directionally impaired" and when traffic ties up on her way to school or home she has to find a different route... otherwise getting 10 miles can take an hour. Take whatever exit you need to... and the GPS will recalculate enough and find you a route around. Plus I don't have to worry about her calling me if she gets turned around on the "wrong side" of town late at night.

The other nice thing about it is the gas and food nav points. If I'm running low... all I have to hit is one button and it will take me to the nearest station... if I want something to eat... another button and I get a list of local restaurants... from McD's to fancy-shmancy places. It'll also tell you when you are due to arrive at your destination... so making appointments on time is a breeze. Amazingly enough it's accurate too. If you are going to be early or late... you know it.

The prices on these things have dropped off recently and the ones that were $400 a few months ago can now be had for $250 or less. Check e-bay... there are lots on there. It was worth the money for me to have a bit of piece of mind... plus any time I need to go out of town to meet someone or on vacation... business... whatever... I don't need to have a map.

 

I got a MIO C220.


mine was $180 after mail in rebate... All PEP BOYS have them in stock.. great unit.


why pay more? they all basically do the same thing, unless you want to buy a Canada map-chip

 

I love my garmin just like in the commerical no fee unless you get the one with the traffic thingy, yeah it gets confused sometimes and take you the long way around but it will get you there if you have no idea where it is. I use it as a speedo too easier to read then our speedo in my opinion.

 

I have a Garmin Nuvi 680. It came with a 1 year free sub to MSN direct which shows current gas prices where you are, movie show times and weather for any city. If there is atraffic delay on a highway you are on, it will warn you and give you the option to detour which will route you around the delay and back onto the highway. Not sure if I will renew in February when my one year is up, then it costs money but the GPS will still work 100%.

I'm taking it to California this weekend for my vacation.