Electronic toy for your truck

[icman95]

I'm not a huge fan of GPS. I like doing the paper map thing. I realize that there are a ton of people out there who love their GPS unit and would probably claim they can't live without it. No matter, to each his own.



That being said, I might reconsider my position and get one now that this unit is out:



Mio KITT GPS available (finally!), but only at RadioShack | Crave, the gadget blog - CNET



I'm sure there are enough of us here on the TDR who spent time watching the black Trans-Am jump over and through walls and speaking to Michael, that the temptation to get this is too great to resist. Just imagine our noisy, smokey, smelly (all these are good things) trucks politely asking us where we want to go in KITT's voice. Hallelujah-My prayers have been answered!:-laf

 

[donnier]

Thanks for the info.

Thought about getting it for the MH.

DW saw this and said 'Thats all you need. Something else to distract you on the road"

 

[AMcCormick]

There is no substitute for a proper map/chart but I do like the Garmin unit we have just wish there was a way to view on a larger monitor. Its something I would buy again.

 

[icman95]

There is no substitute for a proper map/chart

Exactly how I feel. I'm a truck driver and use paper maps rather than GPS. My company has 2 units to give to the drivers who fill in for sick calls and vacations. I can completely understand this. Otherwise, though, I won't travel for work or vacation without the real paper version.



That being said, I'm not sure I can resist KITT talking to me from my dashboard. Knight Rider was a family tradition 25 years ago and if I had to get a GPS at some point, what a trip it would be to relive the show. Childish? You bet. The only difference between being an kid and an adult is that they let you play with bigger and more expensive toys when you grow up.



I'm still trying to convince my wife that it is something I can't live without. Hard sell.

 

[Troubleshooter]

The voice-over sounds nifty, but the real test will be its accuracy. I'm also a big believer in paper maps. My kid brother bought me a Garmin for Christmas last year and when I finally started using it this summer, I was dismayed at the number of times it would take me down the wrong road, around the block, etc. In a strange town it might be useful for getting into the general area of your destination, but if I'm hauling the trailerit can put you down some pretty hairy streets. So I reckon I'll wait until there are some more reviews on this one before taking the plunge.

 

[Moe]

I drive tour bus full time and have a GARMIN 7500. It has a 7 inch screen. All I need is a valid address or a nearby and it will take me anywhere in the US with great accuracy. Dont leave home without it. The more you use it, the better you get. Make sure you do the updates when they come out. Moe

 

[jgillott]

I received a low end Garmin Nuvi 200W last fathers' day. I never intended to buy one for myself, but being a gift, I was more than willing to give it a try. Even being the low end model, it is quite impressive. I especially like the ability to change routes due to traffic, to find food etc. I'll always carry my paper maps with me, but I'm liking the GPS thing more and more.

 

[ScottLewis]

I had a voice activated GPS on my laptop for a while. It gave verbal turn instructions, etc. in a fairly decent voice. Since we often travel with my Sis-In-Law I realized I had just added one more female voice telling me where to go , so I turned it off.



Dan

 

[jdooner]

gps

There's just one female voice telling me where to go all the time. . and no on/off switch.

 

[icman95]

:-lafLOL. You guys crack me up. Situation is all too relateable. That's why we need this Knight Rider unit. It's supposed to be polite, address you by name, and it DOES have an off switch!

 

[JVantreese]

I received a TomTom as a gift and find it is a fantastic help when driving in any metro area. As I got older I found that is was no longer fun to be heading down the super slab without knowing for sure what exit I needed or what lane to be in to catch that inportant turn off. I now feel much more confident when heading across country or in any large city. I now have purchased a TomTom for my wifes vehical and my daughter. We all feel that these gps mapping devises have made driving less stressful and makes our trips safer as we are in proper lane to make our next turn. Recently while driving through Montreal, I found it nice to hear the route directions in English when all the signs were in French.

 

[icman95]

You know, that's something I never thought of. The GPS will help in situations where the street signs are in a different language. I suppose that even if you brought it with you overseas, you could possibly download a map of the country you were going to and it would help out there too.

 

[JVolpe]

I am a map guy too, but I finally broke down and bought a Garmin nuvi 350. I love the thing. I used it to correctly set tire size so the mileage and mph are correct. It has also come in handy for finding stores, parts dealers when traveling. The maps are pretty impressive even in the boon-docks.



And I love to irritate the Australian gal when I take a different route and she keeps saying recalculating. Almost sounds like she is getting irritated about the third or fourth time.

 

[icman95]

You're not the first person to tell me that the chick in the box sounds irritated when she has to recalculate. A biker buddy of mine uses his when he rides. I convinced him to let me do the navigating on one of our rides instead of the lady in the box. He said every time I took a turn the computer didn't agree with it almost sounded like she was sighing and mutterring "recalculating" under her breath.



By the way, I beat the computer by 3 minutes.

 

[Batphreak]

Sweet, it's the original (traslate REAL) voice of KITT!