when to let go of Garmin?

Since I never remove the Garmin from the car and I prefer that over a phone for navigation and directions.

I have used the phone when walking around in a unfamiliar city. The Garmin Nuvi just does not have the battery life to be portable.

They can have mu nuvi when they take it from my Cold Dead Hands.

Don't have a smart phone so the nuvi is all I have.

Ok, maybe I'll give it up before then ... but I gotta tell you, having the ability to put unlimited POI's of MY CHOSING on the GPS is something I really love to do.

Also, love the ability to edit some of the GPS's voice prompts to my own expressions ...

Can't do that on the vehicle or phone navigation systems.

In addition, the vehicle manufacturers charge an arm and a leg for map updates ... ok, not a big deal, because maps don't change that often, but still.

so, even if you're not using it, I say keep it in the car for a backup just in case...

It’s quite clear from this post that there are a great many personal preferences as to what we want in a personal navigation device. Luckily, a wide variety of options exist to suit almost everyone.
Here are my thoughts, most of which have been mentioned by other posters:

In dash nav systems cost too much, are expensive and awkward to update, don’t support added POI’s and aren’t movable from vehicle to vehicle.

Smartphone screens are too small and dangerous to use while driving alone. Since laws vary from state to state and even town to town, they can easily get you a traffic ticket if not used properly.

For me, the biggest advantage to using Garmin is the flexibility of their GPS units and supporting software. For example, I often travel with a group involving multiple vehicles. By default, I’ve become the group trip planner. Since all of us have Garmins, it is a simple matter for me to email waypoint, route and map files for our trips to others who simply download them to their GPSr’s. I can also download the files onto SD cards for those of us who are “cyber challenged”. This way, we are all on the same page should we get separated.

IMO, Garmin won’t be going away anytime soon.

Well said!

I agree!

I still use my Garmin units because I enjoy the technology.

Whenever my sister updates her garmin with lifetime maps, things somehow get messed up for her and she ends up returning the GPS to Costco for a refund or exchange.

Personally, I get new maps (unlocked) from bad sources on the internet, put them on the SD card, and rarely ever have a problem.

The built in navigation options in cars are incredibly expensive from $1500 to $2500, and are usually part of a technology package that upgrades the stereo and lighting, and perhaps a rear camera. I don't consider that insignificant and have resisted paying for those features that have nearly zero return on resale. That is why you also don't see them in rental cars. For what you get, integrated navigation is an awful deal, but it's shiny, new and many can't resist. The same capability can be purchased and installed as an aftermarket replacement to the stock radio for 10% to 20% of the cost the dealer gets.

I still like my Garmin and in the car will turn to the iPhone,and pat myself on the back everytime I think of what that glitzy distracting display would have cost.

It's interesting that we're in almost 100% agreement about our choice for PND's. But...

...consider the audience. We're all members of the POI-Factory and by default that makes us birds of a feather in that we like the flexibility of Garmin or Garmin-like PND's.

I wonder what their choice would be if we took a poll of the 20-somethings that maybe have never seen a car PND. Would they want a big, clunky, plug-into-the-cigarette-lighter PND or would they want their smart phone?

Phil

I have a 20 something, he would never have a PND, his smartphone will do anything he needs. He also has a 20 something wife to help him navigate complex interchanges! As for built in's, we had out of town visitors and took them out to dinner, they remarked that their car had a built in GPS but asked how to turn on the message "Turn at the traffic lights" because theirs did not do that! I had the option of a built in and my info center screen is about twice as large as my Nuvi but I can place the Nuvi up against the windscreen and not really take my eyes of the road to see the directions as opposed to almost looking down on the floor to see the info screen.

Good point but doesn't negate the fact that those 'in the know' seem, like me, to prefer a PND. Having said that, two of my 3 kids in their 20's use a PND, the other doesn't!

With the advent of the smartphone I'd say the stand-alone GPS days are numbered.

I've been using PNDs for about 9 years now and they've been predicting "the end is in sight" for these units for almost that long.

the Garmin GPS doesn't have the traffic information as accurate as the google map; it doesn't update as fast as google map and doesn't consider the waiting time for red light.

Latest Garmins that have digital traffic are as good as Google, at least in the UK. YMMV

And, no paid data required.

That's funny, my Nuvi 2689 will occasionally say a landmark type name like "Turn left at Harry's Drug Store"

One slight edge I'll give to the built in NAV is no reflection on the windscreen at night.

My Nuvi 2689 offers a traffic package for a one time fee that updates every 30 seconds. I think it's called HD traffic. That's as good or better than the Google version.

I can remember driving on I-95 in Philadelphia and notice an orange icon on the screen a few miles ahead, when I got to that point there was a temporary work zone and a lane was closed. The return trip the work zone and icon were gone.

Seeing that last year we moved from Chicagoland to Mountains of NC, We leave the 2689 in Our SUV, and 660 in Wife's car. (We long since gave up on the Nav system in the Ford....)
We use the GPS quite often...
Wife does have a Smartphone-iPhone6, and occasionally uses it to augment the GPS (Searching for one thing as we use GPS for another)

But we keep Both GPS's updated with latest maps, and POI's are updated usually once or twice in between map upgrades....

We are not ready to cut GPS cord at all, but use Smartphone to augment the searching capability of the GPS. $.02!

[quote=grzesja

As you see, there is no clear choice for dropping Garmin and
using something else.

She is just as likely to navigate you into a dead end street (or lake) as any GPS!

I'll probably let go of Garmin when the software and map updates and POI Factory's red light and speed cams stop. We don't have a car with navi system so that's not an option. We don't use our cells a lot so no point in draining the data. Garmin still fits perfectly for our use.

One big advantage of the Nuvi over mobile phone apps is privacy - your location is not constantly being sent into to the ether for who knows who to use.

Another advantage is since the Nuvi does not rely on connectivity, it will have maps and work no matter where you are, or what emergency occurs. Consider recent hurricanes where mobile phone services went out - not a good time for your app-based GPS navigation to shut down.

How will we navigate when smartphones could be replaced by AI (artificial intelligence) in the near future?

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/09/people-think-the-smartphone-w...

Could Garmin see a resurgence in popularity?

I use my phone mostly, but do enjoy grabbing the Garmin if I need as well.

I reply on my nuvi. It's permanently placed on the dash just below the aftermarket HU. Situated to auto on/off so no extra effort is required.

In the few times I used my iPhone, once the volume would not turn on, it would confuse the city "El Monte, CA" as "L Monte" and could not find it, once it locked up and required a hard reboot.

I rather use a dedicated PND, not multi-functional devices so less prone to errors.

I've been debating about leaving my Garmin Nuvi in the car this spring/summer. It would be more convenient because its always in reach whenever I'd need it when out and about. But is it safe? I'm not worried about theft but other issues like heat etc. I would probably store it in the glove compartment or trunk. Anyone here also leave their Garmin in the car?

I use my Garmin for work and for longer trips. I play audio books through the car stereo via the 760. I also have handy POI files like the rest areas, a few rural "rest stop" POIs that are called "PEE" and things of that sort. My work area covers most of the northern third of California. I also need the 760 to remind me to turn when I'm zoned out on the highway and my audio book so I don't end up suddenly realizing I should have turned off half an hour earlier.

Rarely use my phone to navigate as the Nüvi is easier to use, has a more accurate GPS receiver and the better userinterface.
So I take the Nüvi whenever I drive out of town or need traffic information.

Its not "we" its "I". At what point do "I" stop using a dedicated GPS like the Garmin.

While others may have stopped using dedicated GPS's or rely on the cell phone. I do not so long as my Nuvi is in the car. Because of where I drive (mostly the North East) I sometimes loose cellular reception. Sure I could download maps to the cellphone but that requires prior planning to do so. Also the use of the cellphone typically requires a data connection which some (like me) do not have a large data plan so using the smartphone for GPS would eat into that data plan. Each method of GPS usage has their place.

Right tool for the right job kind of thing. Maybe in time I'll move to using a cellphone only but for now you'll have to pry my Nuvi's from my cold dead hands.

One of the shortcoming, as mentioned earlier, is the lack of ability to import custom poi categories into Google Maps or Waze. People that organize the POI files are more nitpicky about making sure the info is right than Google is. Plus, they know more about things in Chicago than Google does in California. If I'm looking for an under the radar burger joint I'd trust a custom POI since the info has been vetted by the person that put it in.

I let go of my last garmin a 3790LMT in 2015 when I realized that I had not taken it off the closet shelf in over 6 months.

The built in GPS nav in my car works great and is far more conventient. For suplememtal nav duty I use my Samssung Note 4 with a 5.7" screen or when I am on foot and need nav help. The only thing that I miss about the Garmins is the custom POI's but that factor alone is not enough to outweigh the negatives of the stand alone GPS units.

There's the best reason. When you find that you are not using it any more and have not done so for a long time, it's over.

I recently had a rental 2016 Nissan Altima for 2 weeks while my car was being repaired, and I got to play with the in-dash GPS in the Nissan. It was pretty nice, and would suffice for most folks. I noticed that the map in my neighborhood was out of date. That discrepancy had been corrected three years ago on my Nuvi. I was surprised that the Nissan supported importing a CSV for custom POI's. According to the Nissan manual, it would only accept one single CSV import file. I liked how it automatically lowered the radio's volume when it was time to issue spoken directions. Something missing was something I use frequently; the ability to field-enter a favorite using coordinates when there is not an actual address to use.

Still not enough to satisfy my personal needs, so a Garmin will be in my future for some time. We like road trips, so until a phone app or in-dash unit supports custom routes, multiple POI categories and more current/updatable maps, I'll still use the Garmin for trips. My phone comes in handy to find a restaurant or gas on the spur of the moment. I might only use my Nuvi a couple times a month, but when I do, it does things none of the other devices can do. Yet.

...and you will not find me sitting in my driveway at -25˚ trying to figure out how to get 4 or 5 POIs all programmed. Give me the comfort of my 27" iMac to give me the big picture. Then, if the trip was really interesting, take the Nuvi out of the car, mount it on the cycle and do it again with the warm wind blowing.

I do not see a day I will retire my Garmins. I lost a 765t during a map update but I still have a 760 and a 885t. I just bought a 2497 to add a backup camera to the convertible. It has a tiny back window so huge blind spots. I was surprised by the vastly improved display and responsiveness.

I occasionally use my iPhone but the screen is illegible while driving and I don't always want the noise going. The nuvis are easy to glance at and get the information I need. I can store my stopping places and not have to punch them in while traveling. Many advantages but mainly it's the interface. Much simpler to use.

I'm way too cheap to go for factory navigation. Very expensive and doesn't work well. I'd much rather spend much less for much more capability.

I put an accessory outlet in the dash, by the way, so I don't have cords decorating my dash. I built a mount into the car. So the nuvis are always there ready to help.

That's it in a nutshell a dedicated Garmin is the way to go, use the phone for phone stuff.

would be smartphone to Garmin.

Say you are en route to a destination, you pull in to purchase fuel. Now you leave the filling station, fubar comes to mind with the Garmin. This happened just yesterday in Syracuse, NY, rental car showed 9 miles to empty--I think it was bogus, but it's hard to ignore (as a test, added 2 gal. and suddenly the range was 86--I don't think so).

It was a lousy neighborhood and it would have been nice if Garmin could have not gotten all confused as to how to get back on the highway (not where we got off, entrance further south).

You don't say which Garmin, whether you had a route set or had done a simple 'where to' or how far 'off route' you were but I generally don't have issues getting back on route if I've diverted for any reason.

I like my garmin for long trips I can glance at the screen with out taking my eyes off the road I keep the maps and cameras up to date , but in town I use the phone for traffic and gps it has red light cameras and turn by turn direction that I don't have to look at and when I get out of the car to walk around I can set it to get me back to the car. the garmin is just right the right size for the long trip but the phone works better on foot I also have an app on the phone for fishing on a lake to get me back to a favorite fishing spot on a lake or bay listen to music or get online to the poi factory, and yes my battery will last for the day !

and we exited to get fuel.

I believe the issue is that there is no onramp where we exited, meaning it wasn't a simple u-turn back.

It was the scenario where Garmin

a) does not perform a recalculation

b) simply shows the car moving along the route you are driving along

Very annoying, as until it recalculates, it's basically useless and one is relying upon sense of direction.

Begs the question why it didn't recalculate, which device do you have?

One of my vehicles has built in GPS, but it is terrible. I only use it when I forget or do not think I will need navigation aid. I like my Garmin very much, and plan using it for at least a few more years. I added my own custom POIs, with alerts, so it suits my needs. Plus, I do not like cellphones except for small emergencies, and info. I am not one to chitchat. I can put in waypoints and go the route I want, rather than be dictated to how to go.

I have a Nexus 6p with a beautiful amoled screen. But i'm afraid it will cause burn ins if I use it as a GPS for my long trips. Also it will get very hot in front of the windshield with the swedish, sun until 9-10pm summers. I'll stick with my garmin for a while.

I've thought about that. The car has navigation, but not camera light alert.

While all of your reasons are the same as mine for keeping my NUVI 2555 going, its really the custom POIs which I rely on the most.

The value of the custom POIs were never more important than when I did work for the Navy and went to many military bases around the country. If you know about them, you know that their buildings are numbered only and don't have actual street addresses in many cases. Punching in the LAT/LON after I found the buildings the first time saved me lots of grief later.

Since then, using google maps and the custom POIs has also helped me to find locations for which no current addresses exist, whether Garmin or phone based.

Finally, for me, using the custom POIs allows me to "explore" my surroundings and not only to go from point-to-point as a typical phone nav would offer me.

Agree. Have had this happen many times with my 765T and 295 Garmins, while my Smartphone & CoPilot app simply recalculate on the fly with nowhere near the delay. There's a thread here on getting your poi files into CoPilot also. My smartphone screen is as big/bigger than my Garmins, too. What's not to like?

Hardly fair comparing a modern smart phone to a discontinued Garmin. My 2508 recalculates just as fast as my smartphone.

Agreed. Red Light cams and the availability of POIs is a big reason I keep mine updated. Use my phone for quick trips and geocashing.

I live in a (sub)urban area. The Garmin remains my "go to" device.