What car GPS are you using?

Hey everyone, hope you are all having (or all had) a great Thanksgiving.
Just wondering who's using a portable car gps unit in their car (mainly for photography purposes of course)? What make and model, and are you happy with your purchase? I live in Alaska but do A LOT of driving around this state. I'm looking for a unit that I can easily switch between vehicles and remove when needed for safety. Voice command and assist would be nice, and I need the ability to add my own points of interest while on the road (photo ops). I'm looking at the Garmin line because most (if not all) of their new lineup is usable with an Apple computer.
Any tips, ideas, personal use with a particular model? Amazon is running some crazy sales for the holidays - $300-$400 + off!
Thanks ahead of time, and take care.

I've got a Garmin ETrex Vista HCx. It's a handheld but I use it in the car with a cradle that Garmin sells. I like the colour screen and the mapping capability. The cradle comes with two sticky pads, a removable and a permanent. The removable would work for your situation. No voice commands but it does have audible alerts for turns and you can add your own waypoints and other POI.

I am a professional outdoors man as well as a photographer. I use a Lorance Iway 600. Costs more but the larger screen and other features are worth it. On my boat it has all the lake features as well

I have not used a GPS and was wondering how valuable the Voice command and assist is?

Thanks
Jim Clark

I was thinking the same thing Jim. My reasoning behind wanting a voice assist is so that I can spend less time with my eyes on the gps, and more on the road. If I don't have to look at the gps to find that I'm still a few miles from my turn, maybe I'll be more alert and not miss additional opportunities not already planned.

I use a Garmin Nuvi 650. I had a Magellan unit for awhile (don't recall the model) but the human interface was horrible. The Garmin isn't flawless either - the Magellan was actually more accurate - but the difference was a matter of 30 ft. or so. Some of the phone/business info in the Garmin was stale before I bought it. A couple of times it's routed me to businesses that have been closed for over two years - and the unit is only a year old.
My current opinion on auto GPS units is that they're not quite ready for prime time - at an affordable price.

Garmin Nuvi and love it. Good sales going on now.

I use a 30 year old Silva 'Ranger' compass. No batteries required. All it needs to work is earth's magnetic field, a good map, and a few working brain cells.

-P

See Preston, that's the kind of forward thinking/economic idea we need for this new economic crisis. Having served in the U.S. Army, I have been fully trained on the proper use of a map and compass. However, your last point kind of rules this option out for me

Maps are difficult to read when you're behind the wheel.

To the comments about the voice commands notifying you of turns, as I mentioned earlier, my unit has an audible beep that lets me know a turn is upcoming. I get two, actually. One at about 1 km and the other at about 200m. All it takes is a quick glance at the screen, no more than a glance at the speedometer, to tell me which way I'm turning.

As it happens, I was traveling with a friend yesterday who had a voice command Garmin car GPS unit. I drove the first leg of the trip and he drove back. I wanted to throw the thing out the window. I hated the voice command. It was incredibly annoying.

When doing photography, I use laptop based software to a dash mounted touchscreen. I like topo USA for topographic information. Some people complain that they find this product difficult to use. I like maps but I find GPS much more useful. I can wander for awhile and then quickly figure out where I am.

My iphone has pretty good GPS, and will probably have voice direction soon. I find in areas where the sky is blocked, or indoors, the iphone is more accurate than a regular GPS. It goes online and uses wifi and cell tower information in addition to the GPS signal (I think).
The iphone is probably the best designed electronic product I've ever used.

Just wanted to chime in here and thank everyone for their responses - you've all been very helpful.

Robert - I too have been in cars with the audible cues on the GPS, it definitely can be annoying. I know that with some of newer models though, you can "filter" some of the data it normally spits out, so that it seems just like simple reminders. I do like the beep idea though.

Don - My parents also use your method with the laptop based maps system, with a plug in GPS module. Although I like the power behind this method, I am looking for something in a smaller package (+ something that I can hide in the car easier when needed). I am proud to say that I am a rabid Apple Fan-Boy, and I own the 1st generation iPhone (no gps) now. I am waiting to get a 3G enabled iPhone (which has gps) until Macworld 2009 (January is also when AT&T is introducing their 3G network to Alaska). I have a feeling that they will be introducing a 32gig model, with a faster processor to match or jump ahead of the iPod Touch 2 which is faster than the current iPhone 3G. I completely agree with the "best designed electronic product" comment though, these things are brilliant. I wonder if it would be possible for someone (HEY GARMIN, WAKE UP OVER THERE!) to build a video module unit (no GPS built in), just a screen to attach to your dash or window, that interfaces with the gps and branded software map package (other than Google) on the iPhone. It could have a touchscreen interface that would allow you to play music over your car speakers (just like several of the touchscreen gps and media units), but would cost less because you are already using a gps unit that you own (in your iPhone)... I think I'll email Mr. Jobs and propose this:) As much as I love the iPhone, the map software (Google Maps) is not as flexible as a laptop or car gps map system, and the iPhone's screen is too small for me to be used safely while maintaining driver awareness.

The thing about driving with a GPS in Alaska is not like typical GPS navigation, we just don't have that many roads. My main reason for wanting the car gps unit is for making notes on locations, reminders on where to turn off road at trails, and for our vans for the photo tour/workshop company. Most of the time I'd like to have a gps just for telling me how much further I have to drive to get to the next gas station when I'm out in the middle of nowhere. And why oh why, can't a car gps unit company include software to show where the sun/moon will rise and set like the handheld unit that I have had for several years. Maybe they do, I just never see it advertised.

Sorry 'bout the novel! Keep those ideas coming!

GPS is great! Garmin Nuvi 205 for driving. Cnet recommends voice command (audible indicators of upcoming turns), and I agree. Volume can always be muted or volume adjusted. No longer imagine running around western Carolina without it (nor my hometown of Atl for that matter, in some cases.) Very easy to mount and detach. My 4runner has a smooth surface by the radio, so I do not mount it to the windshield. US Topo map is an extra $100 to be used with a mini flash card to transfer from PC/Mac to the GPS unit.

Edit - I hear TomTom has some good features, including routine map updates. Some time ago I had read their map accuracy was not as good. Apparently that has been improved.