GPS or smart phone

rbpru wrote:
I was wondering what was the difference between a GPS app on a smartphone and the GPS units such as Garmin?

We expect to use it to RV travel.

Learned one thing the other day. Both have an equal shot at providing the wrong directions. :B

In addition to these comments, I believe that a smartphone application cannot detect as many satellites when compared to a Garmin, or Tom Tom, type of GPS.

A few months ago, I had this discussion in Atlanta with a couple of people in their 20's. So, we did a test. We needed to find a place that does alterations. We chose a store that was just a few miles from the center of Atlanta.

Following the IPhone app, we ended up 5 blocks away from the actual location. With the Android app, we had a 3 block error. The Garmin was right on.

Don't know if this is typical or not, but it sure convinced me that a GPS unit is more accurate than a smartphone app.

Dedicated GPS with smartphone as backup.

Love my Garmin GPS. We have paper maps, we look at get a good idea where we are going and then the GPS. I like knowing the next turn is in 23 miles to the right. Also I worked on the GPS ground station in Diego Garcia for a year so I enjoy knowing I had a little bit to do with the GPS system.

Been a Garmin user since the eMap.

Now I mostly use the iPad or iPhone in a holder. Waze is live and interactive and works great. Other apps (~$10) that you can download maps for free.... maps of any zoom level, area, map type (google earth shots), topo, street maps, etc I use with MotionX-GPS and GPS-Drive by MotionX. There are no Garmin maps available for Puerto Penasco, so I use MotionX and download the map for the area in both map and satelite view which Garmin cant.
These have a bigger screen and higher resolution than my Garmin GPSmap 60C so it is way easier to see and navigate with. They also work perfect with no cell service but you wont get live data.
Even with a GPS like Garmin, you still have to have the data loaded and or paid for.

I once left my GPS home and was using my smartphone until I lost the data signal. I now have navigation built into my truck and always have a satellite signal. I do use the cell phone to find gas stations, POI, restaurants etc. For basic road navigation I would stick with a GPS.

Crawfordville wrote:
We prefer to use our smartphone. We have a hand held GPS but pretty much hate it.

I did too until I bought a Garmin. After I bought the Garmin and got use to it.. I deleted all the GPS apps on my phone but the native Maps program on the iphone. My former GPS was a Navigon.

However, being able to use Siri and ask it to take you somewhere is very handy!

Thanks!

Jeremiah

RetSgt

We used road atlases and trip planners from Good Sam just this last winter. Still even am old curmudgeon like me can see the advantages of a GPS system.

We are planning and extended trip to the Big Sky Country this summer.

I have both a Garmin and a phone app, but I'm exclusively on the phone now. I use Waze and a phone mount call GripGo. My phone has a 5" screen, so the screen is larger than my Garmin. The whole setup performed well on our recent 2500 mile journey from Texas to Canada. On that trip, we had some areas where coverage dropped, but the app continued along the route. We couldn't get any traffic updates or anything since that relies on data. Once we got into Canada, we had to rely on the Garmin totally since we didn't have an international data plan.

Waze is nice because it gives you real-time traffic. The Garmin mostly relies on third parties to provide traffic info. I find that sometimes there can be quite a delay. I found that the Garmin traffic coverage can be pretty terrible a lot of time. You have to be near radio stations broadcasting the updates and those were few and far between. I had better luck with my phone's data coverage. With Waze, users can report traffic or hazards immediately which gets pushed out to everyone. They also monitor the roadways through the devices and push out alerts when traffic is detected. Another nice feature is being able to view gas prices then route to the stations. The maps are updated nightly vs every 3 months with Garmin.

Even with all this technology we still carry paper maps, triptiks, and a compass as a backup.

mbutts wrote:
In addition, you won't miss any turns when your daughter calls to chat for a half hour.

I don't like to talk on the phone while driving, hands free or not, but when have to I can continue to use the app while on a phone call. You can still see the map and everything. The app continues to speak directions over the callers voice.

djgarcia wrote:
1. I don't have to physically hold in my hand the Garmin while I am driving.

You don't have to hold your phone, either. There are plenty of mounts out there. The commercial you see for the sticky one (where the guy is waving it outside the window and it doesn't come loose) works exactly as advertised.