in car GPS gadgets

[surfn]

what is the skinny on them? do they require a monthly, yearly, or any kind of subscriptions?

thinking about getting one for my dad this xmas, since he is getting ready to retire in Feb and ready to live the good life.

 

[aquarius77]

Far as i know, from the gps units i have seen, no subscription is needed. They are pretty sweet! but i think id end up wrecking trying to look at it.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

No subscription! Buy it and its ready. Great gift trust me.

 

[GotSalt]

For the basic directions no subscription is needed just put in your car and go. However some of them have a traffic service that you have to get a subscription for IF you want to have the service you dont have to have it. I just got one awhile back and it came with 3 months free service then after that you have to buy it. Only thing it does if you have a route set then a accident is on your route it will detour you around it.

 

[Hypertek99]

Just buy it and go. You don't even have to look at it they speak to you. I have a Garmin 250w and it's awesome!!!

 

[GotSalt]

You don't even have to look at it they speak to you. I have a Garmin 250w and it's awesome!!!

Not trying to sound like a know-it-all but if you want it to talk out the directions make sure it has text-to-speech not all of them do. I did alot of reading before I bought mine LOL

 

[cparka23]

A nice, undersold feature is that some of them will let you speak the destination address instead of trying to type it out on the screen's keypad. I know that mine are kind of slow to accept the info, which can be very annoying when you're trying to set it at the traffic light. The worst case scenario is to pull over into a parking lot in order to set it up, as it just feels like a waste of time.

I have a Garmin and a small Asian brand that uses the SiRF III chipset. Personally, I think the Garmin is better and faster.