Looking for a GPS for Fathers Day

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

Anyone have any opinion on auto GPS devices? Looking for one for my dad. His only concern was making sure the GPS has lifetime maps.

Here are the top two on Amazon; does anyone have an opinion on either? Or a better suggestion?

https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Naviga...zg_bs_559938_1
https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-2597LM...2&keywords=gps

[Master Guns]

Does your father not have any cellphone made in the last 15 years? Because they have free GPS apps on both android and iOS lol

[the game]

google maps on android

[Dismack]

Better yet, get him WAZE on his smart phone.

[Master Guns]

^^ What they said. GPS's are seriously outdated tech. There's literally no point to it; the exact same thing for free (with free automatic updates) is available at his fingertips.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

Don't worry guys, I told him all this... I made fun of him exactly the same ways LMAO

He wants one for whatever reason. He said his cell phone is acting goofy, to which I offered to buy him a new one. He said he will be traveling through mountains and his cell phone has a bad battery and bad reception... I'm as perplexed as you guys are. He isn't a tech guy if you know what I mean...

[Vash The Stampede]

People still buy GPS specific devices? I'd get a car Stereo with Android in it, like I did. You can tether it to your phone for gps data, but it comes with offline gps.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111372241248...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Javelin3o4]

Do all phones GPS work though if their is no data? I thought some carriers tied GPS for maps to data plan, so if you had no signal than gps mapping didnt work?

[Vash The Stampede]

Do all phones GPS work though if their is no data? I thought some carriers tied GPS for maps to data plan, so if you had no signal than gps mapping didnt work?

Depends on the GPS software. Google maps requires data, but you can cache the data onto a SD card. For example, I tell Google to cache the data for my local area so it doesn't always require a data connection. Google maps will almost always work so long as there's a internet connection, which can be through Wifi, bluetooth, and cellular. GPS software like from AT&T, will need their service. But why would you ever use their GPS software? There are offline GPS applications like CoPilot and TomTom for Android.

[chazus]

Personally, I'd still buy him a new phone and some good GPS software, and a mount for his car that he can just slap the phone onto.

This is what I know:

1) Garmin and Tomtom are considered the 'best' units, in general.
2) I have purchased two of each for my uncle and father over the years
3) They all sucked horribly, and were damn near impossible to configure and maintain for ME, let alone them. Shoddy software updates, difficult configuration. Just.. awful.

Now they just use their phones, or their cars have it built in.

If he's travelling through the mountains... a GPS probably won't help him for like camping and whatnot. Unless he PLANS on getting lost, or something.

Heck, go whole hog and get him the phone, a power adapter for the car, an extra battery, and a signal booster for the mountains.