I know they have GPS for vehicles and they usually work GREAT; do they have a GPS for walking around looking at touristy sights ? We will be going out everyday to sightsee (London, Paris, Venice, Tuscany, Rome and Greece)and don't want to get lost finding our way back to the hotel. We will get maps once we arrive at each location but how nice would it be if they had walking GPS .
Any input ?
A pain in the neck and something else to keep track of mostly. You'll probably be looking at it and step into traffic. You can tell I don't think it's a too red-hot idea. Using an smartphone deal will bankrupt you. But yes, they have them an they work.
I use my handheld geocaching GPS (with maps loaded) for walking around in cities, too. Garmin has maps available for all over the world, including a line called City Navigator for various cities. (Maps for the whole US, Canada, and Puerto Rico run about $100, for example.) All you have to do to find your way back to your hotel is to have it marked in your GPS before you leave. Then you just navigate back to the original point. It takes you turn by turn, just like the car version. And I've never once walked into traffic while looking at it! It runs on regular AA batteries, which last several days of constant use, more if you use it sparingly, so I never have to worry about recharging it or having it run out of power in the middle of my day.
GPSs for such purposes (as well as for hiking and outdoor activities) come in all price ranges. The lower end ones can't use maps, however. Please PM me for more information - I'd be happy to tell you more.
james,
My Garmin Nüvi GPS is primarily intended for vehicle use, but also has a "pedestrian mode". I've found it very useful on a couple of occasions when I've been "lost".
One benefit of a GPS unit is that it will indicate actual location at any time. While I often use Maps in various cities, the GPS is quicker and doesn't need any landmarks or street details to determine it's location.
The battery life is not what it could be, but for short periods of time (up to about 4 hours), it works great.
Cheers!
My TomTom also has pedestrian and bike mode. As long as you have a street address, it will take you there. It also has most major sites by name but I feel better when I know the street address. I preprogram as many sites as possible before my trip to save time on the road.
The big thing is to make sure you're in the right mode so it doesn't tell you to walk on freeways or drive the wrong way down a one-way street.
I'm worried about battery life for walking directions. It's supposed to have four hour battery life but that seems optimistic.
In the US I've used the basic maps feature to negotiate on foot and in the car. Just pick the right mode. Of course with data costs being high in Europe for the iPhone as is, I'd need to explore options for use outside US.
Pam
There is also a device made for the hiking crowd. It is relatively inexpensive -- about $50 -- but it doesn't use maps. You take a reading when you start out and it stores your location. At any point you just ask it to get you home and it will lead you back to your starting point. Of course, a 20E note and a taxi will do the same thing.
Frank, what you're talking about is the lower end version of the GPSs I was talking about. Unfortunately, since they don't use maps, they can only direct you "as the crow flies" - not by streets. Following the arrow doesn't work very well when you have to deal with things like buildings in your way. You can get one that is able to use maps for roughly the same price as a Nuvi.
