A friend of mine just called, and we decided it would be fun to get together at my house.  I was mentally preparing myself for the usual “are you familiar with…” conversation and extensive directions when my friend spoke up and asked “what’s your address? I have one of those thingies in my car!”  I love it! Gotta admit that I really love my own “thingie” in my car! Automotive GPS units are such a convenience.  Of course, my Garmin nuvi has me spoiled.  Sounds like my friend feels the same way about her automotive GPS “thingie” and has learned to rely on it the same as I have mine.  I love to explore new places, but I sure love being able to find my way home again no matter where I wander and now that it is summertime I plan to do plenty of that!  Have a happy 4^th of July, and enjoy your own wandering this summer...

After talking to a friend recently I got to thinking of an unusual and very rare situation that had never occurred to me before. Because we have raised guide pups in the past through Guiding Eyes for the Blind, six to be exact, I have a special place in my heart for those wonderful noble creatures and the people they love and take care of. Now here is the situation. Imagine someone who suddenly finds themselves in a new environment with their guide dog, traveling on vacation, relocated to a new job or whatever, and no other friend is with them to read a map or street signs. How would they find their way around this unfamiliar city with the most independence and in the shortest amount of time?

Well, I had to stop and think of the different versions of automotive GPS units, several of which are small enough to be handy to carry in your pocket, and some of which are voice activated and give directions by speaking also. Magic! Their loyal guidedog will keep them straight on the sidewalk, guiding them around any obstacles and watching for traffic at crossroads like always, and the automotive GPS navigation will give them the directions they need which they will ask their dog to execute for them. I imagine they would do well to just contact their favorite GPS store for some help in choosing an appropriate GPS device. Now that will really give them independence and freedom. Any other thoughts on that?

Oh my, we get lots of calls requesting me to make a choice for folks so that they don't have to decide which GPS unit to buy.  Looks good on paper, but how can I know which features might be really useful or totally useless to each individual person.  I could just decide which GPS unit I might prefer, but how would that information help a total stranger whose needs and budget may be totally different from mine?  I feel like I really disappoint people when I try to point this out, but we are all individuals, which is why there are so many different versions of, for instance, handheld or automotive GPS units out there. 

Most of the manufacturers, especially Garmin, have really great interactive websites already where you can choose to compare several GPS units to each other so that at a glance you can sort them out by which features you really want, which ones would only be nice perks and which ones are definitely yes or no features for you.  Do you want it to be small and thin with a great battery life so you can carry it with you to find your way back to your car? Do you want lifetime traffic?  Bluetooth?  You get the idea.  Anyway, once you have it narrowed down to possibly one or two favorites, it becomes simple to go back to Google or your favorite GPS store and see which one they have to offer, which types of accessories you will need and for what price they are offered.  I just think it totally simplifies your shopping experience.  I like simple.  After all, I would rather be spending time exploring with my GPS unit than sitting in front of a computer trying to figure out all the pros and cons or entrusting my decision to someone who doesn't even know me.  Well, good luck in your search for the best GPS units for your needs and budget, and I hope this helps.

Crazy, crazy stores Black Friday - I’m sure not joining in on that crush! Who wants to get up at O’dark-thirty and push and shove and stand in line with a bunch of other folks who are pushin’ and shovin’ and standin’ in line trying to get the best bargains. Not Me! I plan to do my shopping online, whenever it is convenient for me, with no other shoppers rushing me or confusing me or stressing me out. This is going to be eeeeasy shopping this year. With the house nice and quiet, got my little refreshments, my nice comfy chair, my computer and me. I’m liking this. I am checking out some pre-Black Friday bargains already online, looking at some automotive GPS systems and found some Garmin nuvi automotive GPS units already on sale! Who knows, I might finish my shopping Before Black Friday even rolls around. Yup, I’m talking eeeeasy this year, and I like eeeeasy!

There are lots of options. Perhaps you need a case, a holster or lanyard to protect your handheld GPS units, but help you remain primarily hands free on your adventure. Or you might just want to spruce it up and individualize it. With the right GPS accessories you can fix it up, protect it or update it without a great deal of trouble, and probably save yourself some serious cash while you are at it by breathing some new life into an old friend.

Our daughter-in-law had quite a drive ahead of her this weekend to visit her mom.  It would take at least two hours each way on strange roads.  Mom had moved to a new place, and she did not know how to get there yet.  The roads were strange and it started raining heavily while she was on the way.  Traffic was building, and things were getting pretty confusing.  It was a good thing she had her automotive GPS unit with her that announced the streets by name for her and told her which lane to be in for the upcoming turn.

Also, while she was on the road, our son called to check to see where to find their son’s shoes.  With the Bluetooth technology on her automotive GPS, she was able to tap the screen to answer the phone and keep on driving.  What a mom.  She sure is a pro at multitasking!

While all are lightweight, the 1260T is nearly half the weight of the other two at about 4 ounces - I'm likin' that in my pocket again if I head out on foot or on my bike ‘cause it won't be bulky. Okay, good... All three have rechargeable batteries; with a battery life between 3 and 8 hours on each, the 550 beats the other two out again, but I will be able to just keep them charging while I am in the car. No problems there. All three come with preloaded maps and have the ability to load more - nice. All three use voice prompts and speak streets by name, I like that a lot, but none of these have voice activated navigation; well, I don't really need that one, and it keeps the price reasonable.

All three of these automotive GPS units will do detour calculations to get me back on track, but only the 550 and the 1450 will figure out the most direct route for me; although, all three models will help me avoid highways or toll roads - savin' me money; and the 1260T and 1450 both include ecoroute to save gas. I like that. Oh, the 1260T is the one with Bluetooth, a handy feature to have; and that one comes with Lifetime Traffic included, oooh, nice. They all have world clock and a picture viewer, anti-theft (Great Idea) and are easily personalized with Garmin Garage. Ahhh, the nuvi 550, is waterproof and great for motorcycles, boats and geocaching! Well, I think I know which one I want, how about you?

Time for another product comparison; I am looking at two more Garmin automotive GPS units - the Garmin nuvi 255 versus the Garmin nuvi 775T. Both are excellent automotive GPS systems. The nuvi 255 is built more for the budget conscious traveler; whereas, the nuvi 775T has more options to offer and increased functional capacity. Here are the functions that are the same in both: They both have color displays to make it easy to read the screen. Both have rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the battery lasting approximately 4 hours on the nuvi 255 and 3 hours on the nuvi 775T. Each has a high-sensitivity GPS receiver. Neither of them is waterproof, so I wouldn't recommend using them as a motorcycle GPS unit; however, waterproof is not really an issue in automotive GPS units. Both come with preloaded street maps and the ability to add more maps if you are interested, but the nuvi 775T includes transatlantic maps which can be nice when you travel to Europe. Both of these versions of the Garmin nuvi come with internal solid state built-in memory and are designed to hold 1,000 Waypoints/favorites/locations; the nuvi 755T also built to remember up to 10 routes. Each includes a basemap and accepts data cards which are not included, but it would be handy to have for additional memory. Neither of these Garmin nuvi versions includes voice-activated navigation, so you are not able to operate the device with spoken commands; sorry about that one as that is a nice feature, but is yet another perk to look for in other automotive GPS systems in future reviews.

Both include choice of route setup for either faster time, shorter distance, or off road and route avoidance to help you avoid highways, tolls etc., also handy features to have in automotive GPS units. Both of these versions of Garmin nuvi also are FM traffic compatible (with receiver and lifetime traffic included with the nuvi 755T) and are MSN® Direct compatible and have a speed limit indicator which displays speed limit for most major roads in the U.S. and Europe. Both also have the functionality of the Where Am I? feature to help you find the closest hospitals, police & gas stations, nearest address & intersection and ecoRoute^TM which calculates a more fuel-efficient route and the ability to add custom POIs (points of interest), all great features to have in unfamiliar territory. Personalize either Garmin nuvi version by adding Garmin Garage^TM vehicles and voices, a free service at Garmin where you can download car-shaped icons and custom voices to your device. Photo navigation in order to navigate to geotagged photos, World travel clock, currency & unit converter, calculator and picture viewer are also nice features available in both.

Now for more differences between the two: The Garmin nuvi 755T has a few more features which the nuvi 255 does not. The nuvi 755T has higher display resolution and a 4.3-inch diagonal screen compared to the 3.5-inch screen of the nuvi 255. Nuvi 755T also includes 3-D building view which displays buildings in 3-D, the ability to auto sort multiple destinations which provides the most direct route, and Bluetooth® wireless technology so you can connect to your phone for hands-free calling. Garmin Locate^TM marks your position when the GPS receiver is removed from the windshield mount - this can be really handy to help you remember where you parked your vehicle. The included MP3 player, Audio book player and FM transmitter with headphone jack/audio line-out will entertain you on your travels.

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that both of these Garmin nuvi automotive GPS systems come with Garmin Lock^TM anti-theft feature and touchscreen convenience. Well, I hope that helps to sort out the differences and advantages of each of these Garmin nuvi versions for you. Happy traveling!