At the risk of turning this into a gadget blog, I can’t resist writing a bit about the Garmin Nuvi, and really great gadget I’m playing with during my stay in Kansas City this week.
The Nuvi is a small (not much bigger than my iPhone) GPS device. You enter the address you’d like to visit, the Nuvi figures out where you are and gives you turn-by-turn directions as you drive.
Simply, it’s great!
When I’m in a city I’m not familiar with, I use Mapquest and the mapping function on my iPhone, and they’re both adequate. With the Nuvi, however, getting around is almost effortless. Some things I really like:
- Since the GPS is real time, you’re not constantly slowing down at intersections looking at street signs. The Nuvi tells you, and also gives you a color map so you can see, for example, if the street you’re crossing is 1st or 2nd.
- It talks, so you really don’t have to take your eyes off the road much to get around.
- I really like how it tells you what you’re going to do next in plenty of time, as in “turn right on 1st in one-half mile.” It’s already helped me avoid last minute lane changes. The other drivers in Overland Park appreciate that!
- Best of all, it’s allowed me to “explore” a bit. Last night, I wanted sushi (yes, there is good sushi in KC, and I’ll have more than my fair share of BBQ over the weekend!) so I used Google on the iPhone to find a restaurant close to my hotel, entered the address into the Nuvi and took off. And, since my hotel was already entered in the Nuvi, I just recalled that address and headed home after dinner.
One recommendation: provide the option of a QWERTY keyboard. I hate entering words on the alpha listing of letters.
If you travel, or go to areas of your own city you’re not familiar with — or are just directionally challenged! — you’ll appreciate the Nuvi.
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