I'm thinking about a GPS for my Mom and Dad. My Dad has diabetes and can't see well enough to drive or read a map any more. This frustrates my Mom who now has only herself to blame when they get lost. They don't travel out of town a lot, but frequently meet with friends for dinner, a movie, or a play.(Apparently never in the same place twice.) They'll need the most simple model out there. It doesn't need a bunch of features, because they'll never use them. The more on-line reviews I read about them, the more confused I become. Anyone have an opinion on them? Thanks!!

I would, obviously, look for a big touch screen with a long lasting battery and a brand name. It would be up to you to figure out what you think your parents are capable of using when it comes to the user interface. Try finding a place that has working units to play with, not the 'non-working display models'.

I bought my dad one, then a year or two later I bought one for myself. The differences in technology are very noticeable. His has a 20 hour battery, but you have to plug it into the cigarette lighter to get any verbal directions (the speaker is in the cigarette lighter plug). Also you have to use push buttons to navigate a keyboard to type in an address. On mine the battery only lasts 4 hours, but the speaker is internal. It has a touch screen with only 1 push button, for power. Both are Garmins.

I would buy a newer model since it should have the newest maps, lower chance of getting 'old stock'. Most you can update for a fee after a year or so.

The main problem is learning how to use it for some people, hopefully it doesn't turn into a source of frustration for them. I would sit down with them and go over exactly how it works, take them for a ride to point out the quirks, tell them it is great, but only if you know how to use it. I used my dads for a road trip before I gave it to him, just to figure out the best way of teaching him how to use it!

Hope this helps.

Thanks. I'll have to recruit one of my sons to explain how it works. I'm not the most patient person in the world when it comes to new, (or new to me), technology.

I don't know about the stand alone units, but I want to buy one too. I know that the NAV in our Honda Odyssey is much better than the one we had in a Dodge. The Dodge NAV would not let you change much once the car was moving. The Honda will let you access all the funtions all the time.

This was an important funtion I was going to look for. I hope that helps.

They come with so many bells and whistles now it's hard to just get a GPS.

For instance, my Garmin 260 was Blue Tooth ready. So I enabled it and when I got my first call on it, the audio just sucked! So I tried to just use my phone like always and BT wouldn't let go of it.

Garmin and Magellan are about the best to be had.

i have used a bunch of GPS's, and drive a ton for my job.

get your parents a cheap Garmin nuvi. it has the most intuitive UI out of all of them that i've found.

i use a Garmin every day and love it.

I have a Garmin 60CSX, but I would say that the NUVI's that I have seen would be easier to use.

My .02 =

Garmin > Magellan

~DaVe

Garmin again. Hey, they're the leader in light aircraft navigation and I also use a Nuvi in my car. Works well for me.

I got a Garmin 265WT day after Thanksgiving. The only thing I don't like about it is I can't download routes from Mapquest, or even make up routes. I can just state a destination. The Garmins with a "5" on the end are the newest interface from this year which have some usability advantages. The "W" means it's a 4.3" screen, instead of the older 3.5". It does bluetooth with my cell phone, and for what I've used so far, the audio is good. The "T" means it also has free lifetime TMC traffic, although there are some small ads that pop up on the screen which are quite easy to ignore.

There are a lot of forums out there which you can use to read up on the features of all the GPSs out there. I use http://www.gpslodge.com because I like how thorough their reviews are.

I started to order one on line. I went by my parents and asked my Mom if she thought my dad still wanted one. A friend of theirs had sent them one. Sooo, it was back to the drawing board. I am going to get one for my wife though, and it looks like Garmin gets the best reviews. Thanks folks, and a Merry Christmas to you all!

Bill

Let us know what you bought!

Happy Holidays!