GPS recommendations

[L Stegall]

I'm thinking a GPS might be a good gift for my parents this year. I've never owned one and am looking for recommendations for one. I am looking for simple, easy to use units and they would be using it primarily for in-town trips. My dad, who knew his way around everywhere, is now 84 and has quit driving due to a stroke. My parents are moving back to Dallas after 30 years in Tulsa and will be moving to a different part of town than they lived in before (i.e., close to us). Different area of town + all of Dallas's growth and changes + just the difference in traffic between Dallas and Tulsa make me think that my mom will be a bit intimidated learning her way around, so that a GPS would help her out a lot. But, my mom's not really very high-tech, so it has to be easy to use! Garmin and Tom-Tom both seem to have units that would fit the bill, but I'd love to hear from actual users......

[CaptainTom]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 200. It is the bare bones model. I love it. I've shown it to others who now have similar units.
I don't like the ones that pronounce the street names because they just talk too much.

[mcf0807]

I have a garman and don't know how I got anywhere without one. It has saved me many cuss fits!!!! Easy to operate and storing addresses is cool. Mine doesn't pronounce street names, but it does give instructions like turn right or turn left. I always have the sound turn down so I don't hear that either.

[L Stegall]

Thanks Tom - I think that was one of the ones I was looking at. Do you have a 3.5 inch screen or a wider one (4.3" maybe?)? I'm thinking that the bigger screen the better in this case.

[L Stegall]

Thanks Marty. Maybe I'll decide I need one too - since I grew up in Dallas and was always a pretty adventurous explorer of the city, I just haven't felt that I needed one here, but I could see it would be handy in other cities.

[CaptainTom]

Originally Posted by L Stegall

Thanks Tom - I think that was one of the ones I was looking at. Do you have a 3.5 inch screen or a wider one (4.3" maybe?)? I'm thinking that the bigger screen the better in this case.

I have the smaller screen. I like it. I don't study the screen much because I'm listening to the lady ( i like the brit ) give me directions like - in .2 miles enter the roundabout.

I have had a problem in Dallas with the newer freeways. Sometimes the GPS doesn't realize I'm on the freeway because that's where the old access road was.

[tropicdiver]

We have the Garmin Nuvi 200, also. Ours has a 4.3" screen. It can be updated online (newer maps and locations) from time to time for a minimal cost. It is simple to use, bare bones as Tom mentions, but all one needs, IMHO. Cost less than $200.00, too. Very bright display and you can program in all your "favorite" spots to go and it has a great list of places, in case you are somewhere you haven't been to before and have a hankerin' for Chinese.

[CaptainTom]

Cabela's has the nuvi 205 on sale for $149

WalMart online has nuvi 200 pink for $117.

[Cope]

I have the Nuvi 680. I needed/wanted some of the higher end features, but after using Magellan, Lowrance and Garmin, I am sold on Garmin. Five years ago Magellan had pulled out in front, but IMO, Garmin is the way to go.

[ddaquaria]

My wife went back and forth between the 765T and 755T for me for Christmas. I think it comes in today. It had a lot of features that she really liked, and we chose the 765T for the bluetooth linkage to my cell phone. This will be my first paperless (direction) road trip.

[L Stegall]

Thanks for all the comments. The fuller featured ones sound interesting (more for me than them, though). For what my parents will use it for, though, the simpler to operate the better. At this point, I'm just trying to get them from a new home to a new grocery store, church, etc. and back home if they lose their way around town.

[billbunton]

I don't know how much you're looking to spend, but I have a Garmin Nuvi 5000. It's got a bigger 5.2" screen that's easy for my old eyes to use. It's pretty easy to operate, my wife can figure it out :-). (I also have a Zumo 550, SP 2610, SPIII, and a couple older models).

I've tried all the various brands (been using GPS for a _lot_ of years). In my opinion Garmin has the best hardware by far. They used to have the best customer service too, but that's gone (just like every other company).

[L Stegall]

Bill, thanks for the info. I'll check out that model as well. As I said, my mom is 78 and my dad is 84 and has some lingering effects of a stroke, so I do think a bigger screen would be helpful. My biggest priority isn't necessarily price, but ease of use. They aren't going to use lots of fancy features - like bluetooth capability or what's the latest hot restaurant. I just want them to feel confident that they can get out of the house during the day (when we're working) and go places and find their way back home again in a city they haven't lived in for 30 years. In short, I want them to feel like they can be independent.

[CaptainTom]

One of the best features of my GPS is that I set the HOME location one time, and when I'm through wherever I am, I can just push the GO HOME button and it will give me turn by turn directions.
Even when I have a pretty good idea how to get home I use this to navigate unknown streets until I hit the freeway.

do they speak another language? I bet if you set the voice to "german,or polish", they'd pay more attention

[L Stegall]

My dad grew up in Louisiana and speaks Cajun - is that an option? LOL.

Seriously, that go home option sounds great! That is just what they may need.