Mapkin sounds really funny and fun. The GPS function I hate is when you go 5 miles over the speed limit, it starts dinging. I am a lead foot from way back, which is not a good thing to be, but old habits die hard, and some speed limits are ridiculously low in my opinion. Anyway, I am glad the 5 miles over thing, is an option that can be taken off!
That was actually one of the few things that I liked about my Tom-Tom. Pretty much every speeding ticket I have ever received was because I didn't realize how fast I was driving. I used to use my Tom-Tom even when I knew where I was going for that reason. What I hated was that it took Tom-Tom almost a year to figure out that Maine had raised its speed limits on the Interstate from 55 to 75 so that darned thing wouldn't shut up despite the fact that I wasn't speeding.
The only Nav system I've ever used is the one that came with my 2019 Mazda. It's built in to the electronics. I like the convenience but really dislike the dependence (and lack of learning new areas) they encourage. I have a friend I've taken to her doctors in an unfamiliar town. If I had written down the directions and looked for the signs & landmarks while driving, after once or twice I could find my way back on my own. I've taken her there 4 times, and there's no way I could find my way back. I don't really pay attention with the Nav system, I just do what I'm told. That being said, I certainly wouldn't want to give it up. If nothing else, it's certainly safer than reading, deciphering and driving, all at the same time.
I use my Nav system but it needs to be updated.Initially they were updated for free but now cost $100
The GPS systems that are built into cars are crap,IMHO, and very inconvenient for those of us who regularly plan our routes to a fare-thee-well rather than let some device device do it. For that reason, all my wheels have a Garmin unit installed, including the motorcycle. I plan my routes on Garmin's free desktop/laptop app (called Basecamp), plug the GPS unit into the computer and download the route into the GPS device. In a perfect world, the GPS device should be a car plug-in so it could be removed for downloading purposes or moved to another vehicle. The only company that does that well is BMW, which has a Garmin plug-in as standard equipment, making removal and/or upgrade very easy. I get yearly Garmin map updates free with these units.
Same here with the updates. I haven't updated my car's NAV maps in a few years now; I refuse to pay and how different can maps be??
I've not found fault with the system in my Mazda. I take it you've run into issues? The Cross-Street notification has been flawless in my rural area.
OK, I'm thinking ... I usually get an address and map out how to get there on my home computer. I bring an atlas and a local map with me. But the last time I went to a family reunion in OHIO we got near the place in the boonies, at NIGHT with no streetlights and if we didn't have my daughter and her smart phone along we would have had to sleep in the car.
I have hardly used the NAV system in my car at all, but I agree with you about a Garmin. We bought the "RV-specific" version for our motorhome, since it includes information similar to truckers' GPS... narrow bridges, low clearance underpasses, and even camping info. That said, I buy a new trucker's road atlas every year; I absolutely LOVE looking at roadmaps and planning a route.