Going places

My goodness! I had no idea I last posted here last year, in December. Somehow December and January seemed to slip away entirely, without my following up in writing on all the interesting stuff that's been going on. I've been blogging up a storm politically on my other site, but that's not for this blog. I'm thinking, as this blog slowly takes shape, that what I like to talk about here are consumer issues -- or, to put it more bluntly, things I buy and about which I have strong feelings, either negative or positive. (I may also let my kids do some posting, just to see what they say, but that's another story.) So, today's post is about portable GPS devices.

My husband's car has a very fancy, built-in navigation system. When he first got it, I scoffed, but I ended up borrowing his car whenever I had to go someplace new. It truly makes life so much easier to have that gentle computer voice talking you through things.

Since it's become apparent that I'll be hanging on to the family van a bit longer -- so I won't be getting a new car with built-in navi -- we decided to get one of the portable devices. I put in my vote for the Magellan Maestro, since I got familiar with that software system when I went back to Austin, Texas for my 20 year law school reunion. In the 20 years since I'd last been there, they'd moved the airport, renamed the streets, and built all sorts of new things -- and that was just in the areas that were familiar to me. It was even worse when I tried to visit friends. People no longer lived in shabby student digs near the Law School. Instead, they were in lovely suburbs that didn't even exist when I was in Austin. I truly don't know what I would have done without the navigation system I rented along with my Hertz car -- the same navigation system the Maestro uses.

As it happened, though, I didn't get my Maestro right away. My husband found a bargain on the Garmin Nuvi series and couldn't resist. The Garmin does have a lovely interface: an easy to view, surprisingly large screen for such a little device, and very intuitive buttons. My problem is that it didn't tell me what I needed to know. Despite the large screen, I couldn't see it well when I drove, so I had to listen to the voice, and the voice just didn't say enough. "Right turn in .2 miles," it would say. But it wouldn't tell me what street I should be looking for. And I really don't have a sense of how far two miles is. Also, when there were "Ys" in the road, or freeways split up, it fell silent, and I couldn't tell which way to go. It just didn't communicate the way I think.

So, back to the store I went, and got a Maestro. I love the Maestro software. It's like having a really intelligent, map-reading passenger sitting next to you. "In a quarter mile, make a right turn on Smith Road." And right before you get to Smith road, it bings at you. Or, if you're driving on the freeway, and there's an interchange coming up, it will say "In a quarter mile, stay on 101." Now that's information I can use. It's a little weak on the Points of Interest (restaurants, Trader Joe stores, etc.), but I can live with that.

Despite it's wonders, I'm a little bit miffed at my Maestro right now. Whenever I plug it into the car, it thinks I'm plugged into a computer. So, instead of popping up with a map, it tells me that I'm connected to my USB port and should follow the computer's instructions. The tech people at Magellan think the problem is the car accessory, and are sending me a new one, so that might be the end of it. If it's the Maestro itself that's defective, I'm going to have to dig up all the packing material, pry off the velcro strips (since, in California, I can't use the great little window suction cup, but have to jury-rig an attachment to my dash), and return it to Costco, where I bought it.

Still, no matter how inconvenient all this is, I heartily recommend the product. These navigation systems are just wonderful!