Built in vs. Stand-alone GPS?
We are currently shopping for a new tow vehicle. Trying to decide whether or not we want to shell out $750 for a built in GPS. As much as I like having the built-in system and not having another scr...
Forum Discussion
pnichols wrote:JaxDad wrote:Johno02 wrote:
Like someone else said, Google, or a cell phone is great, IF you have cell or internet service. If not, it is just a useless hunk of junk.
Not true at all..
Several GPS apps (for both iOS and Android devices) allow you to download the map database (in whole or just the part you need, in detail or not) and then your phone or tablet will work regardless of service availability, even in airplane mode.
I use an iPad mini (8” screen) with a Bad Elf GPS dongle and end up with a GPS that I can also check in on RV.net with after I get there.
Try that with your Garmin. LOL.
Hmmm .... what exactly do you mean by "I can also check in on RV.net with"? You need Internet access to do that after you get to where you were going. (Some of our destinations don't end up where there is Internet access.)
Also, I wonder how many smartphones have enough built-in memory so as to hold at all times the entire map database for North America ... like our 3550LM stand-alone Garmin unit can. We can travel anywhere in the lower U.S. or Canada or Alaska (or Mexico) without having to download any regional maps -> the huge map database for all of this is right there in the Garmin, which came with lifetime free map updates - which makes it a no-brainer to keep current. This makes for one less thing to have to remember to take care of/prepare before a major RV trip.
P.S. A Garmin stand-alone unit will only lead you on a Wild Goose Chase if you let it do so. :)
The comment I was replying to was that a phone wouldn’t work if you had no cell service. By tethering my iPad to my iPhone there’s very few places I don’t have Internet since I can access almost every carrier and just choose the strongest signal where I happen to be.
As for storage, the entire map database for all of North America is on ~2.36 GB and you have the option of loading just the portion you need in which case it’s only a few hundred MB. Even the smallest of smartphones are 16 GB and 64 GB is pretty standard these days, some even 128 or 256 GB.
