Phone, In Dash, Or Portable? What GPS Do You Rely Upon When Traveling?

If you're planning a road trip, there are plenty of things you want to take with you, and a good GPS should be one of them. Last week we asked you for the best, and then we looked at the five best car GPS units. We put them to a vote, and now we're back to highlight the winner.

It shouldn't be much of a surprise, but the majority of you, close to 62%, prefer using your smartphone for turn-by-turn driving directions and GPS. The idea is that the best GPS device is the one you'll have with you at all times, and the ability to download maps for offline use or GPS apps that download map packs for times when you may be without mobile data make up for the limitations of using your phone for GPS.

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Agent009 - 7/31/2013 9:23:55 AM

+1 Boost

Just got back from a trip to Northern New Mexico.

In Angel Fire when trying to find an address in the country club district that has existed for about 5 years I saw the following.

1. Google Maps - Had most of the street names wrong and the street address was not listed. So basically worthless

2. Garmin - Didn't even have a map of that local area. Again worthless

3. Apple Maps - Even with the bad press, had everything correct.. Go figure.

On the drive up there (12 hrs) Google Maps got me to Angel Fire fine, however it disagreed with the Garmin on the best route. Actually reached and intersection and Google said left and Garmin said right. Chose the Garmin which ran me a few miles and then instructed a u turn and then agreed with Google the rest of the way.

Patronus - 7/31/2013 12:00:01 PM

+1 Boost

Although Apple maps did have some startup errors, I have always found it to be very accurate and clever in routing around traffic. I has never let me down (like Google maps has over the years).

Agent009 - 7/31/2013 12:45:02 PM

+1 Boost

Agreed. It has quietly gotten much better.

atc98092 - 7/31/2013 1:16:12 PM

+2 Boost

Agreed that today's phones offer excellent features. However, in my own car I still rely on my factory nav. When I travel I have a Tom Tom. Why? Screen size. Looking at a phone screen while driving takes too much focus from looking out the window at traffic. Even my Nokia 920 screen is too small to look at for details.

If all you are using is the voice callouts, the phone is fine. But I prefer to look at the screen to assist when upcoming exits or lane splits are not clearly defined, especially when I am in an unfamiliar area.

vdiv - 7/31/2013 4:44:29 PM

+1 Boost

I'm a big proponent of integration and redundancy. Even if inferior in many aspects (mostly obsolete maps) I still prefer the in-dash local storage navigation. One important factor is the inertial guidance when GPS reception is interrupted which happens in cities, mountains, or just because big brother is screwing with us.