[TR] GPS NAvigator

[Mark Steph]

For a little more than $200 you can get a handheld/suction mount unit
that has the entire USA loaded into it, voice prompts, turn-by-turn
directions, auto zoom in/out as you move from city to highway, etc.  All
the travel services/phone numbers/etc are there and can generally be
updated.

 If you need an area larger than that, you can load the maps... but I
suspect if that is the case, then you probably aren't driving a 30+ year
old car.

I don't think the laptop/gps/power inverter combo is a viable option any
longer.  (And with Microsoft no less!  Pull over and reboot the GPS!)

Jim Muller wrote:
> To my mind there have always been two schools of thought on this 
> subject (not counting using a unit built into the car, which doesn't 
> work in an unmodified LBC dashboard).  One school says use a hand-
> held or portable GPS unit, using loadable maps, possibly with routes 
> worked out from an online site like Mapquest.  The alternative, and 
> my own preference, is to use a laptop PC-based map program that 
> reacts with an attached GPS unit.
> 
> A PC-based map program gives you convenient access to maps for areas 
> you may not have loaded into a smaller unit.  It can calculate 
> fastest or shortest routes.  It lets you plan routes, look at 
> alternatives, check driving times, etc.  It can provide travel 
> services, phone numbers, etc.  The map display can be large and 
> detailed.  The PC resources let it do voice synthesis to announce 
> upcoming turns, and voice recognition to respond to commands.