Back when a 3.5" screen was good enough (and still is)
These could - and should - be made again.
One of the newer additions to my collection of Garmin GPSes is the Garmin nuvi 2250LT. I was able to pick up a near-mint one for a very good price.
This thing was made in either in 2010 or 2011, so it's over 10 years old at this point. However, I was able to update it and it works just fine. It's still a fine navigator.
The best thing about the 2250LT is the size. Physically, it's 3.7"W x 2.8"H with a depth of 0.6" (9.3 x 7.2 x 1.5cm for you metric types.) The screen size is 2.8"W x 2.1"H (7.2 x 5.4cm) resulting in a 3.5" (8.9cm) diagonally measured screen. And it weighs just 107 grams, which is lighter than most dive style wristwatches.
Yes, it's a touchscreen. Yes, it does report traffic when connected to a GTM36. Yes, it speaks street names and does turn-by-turn directions.
Why did these stop being made?
Two reasons. People thought a 3.5" screen was too small, and the smartphone.
However, things have changed and some people are now giving these old Garmins another look.
Before telling you what's changed, the second and third best things about the 2250LT and other Garmins of the 3.5" size variety are:
The simplicity. It is very easy to use and very easy to follow. Great map contrast. Icons are big. On-screen map arrow is big. Colors are bright. Sure, the resolution is low at just 320x240, but even so, this thing is ridiculously easy to get along with.
Great signal. A Garmin GPS of this type is only a receiver. The receiving antenna built in is the only one in the unit. Rarely will you ever see one of these have a signal drop unless you go somewhere where no signals can get through (such as driving through a mountain.)
What people want out of an electronic navigator is something that doesn't drop signal, is easy to use and just works...
...and that phone doesn't do that. Things have changed there. It will drop signal, and the navigation app for whatever it is will crash periodically. Apps crash on the phone so often that it's considered normal. That didn't used to happen, but does now.
Very rarely have I ever had a Garmin crash on me. I purposely don't connect my phone to any of my Garmins (some have Bluetooth support for that) just to make very certain I don't introduce any instability to my navigation.
Pocket-sized navigators are cool
When the phone starts screwing up as it does from time to time, that's when a little navigator that isn't the phone really shines.
I really like the fact the 2250LT not only works but works well, and I can mount it almost anywhere in the car. Also, due to the smaller size it's also 100% legal to mount on the lower left corner of the windshield in all 50 states.
Is the 2250 a "golden era" Garmin? That depends on how you look at it. As far as the 3.5" models are concerned, the 2250 was the best one Garmin ever made because it's packed with the most features. But I can't say it's the best model overall. Most Garmin car navigator fans would say the nuvi 2589 (a 5" model from 2014) is the best. I think the 2599 (also from the same year) is better, but that's just me.
To me, the 2250 is a golden era Garmin model because it's a rock-solid performer once all software updates are applied, which I did do.
2250LT is an example of "do one thing, do it well" tech. Smartphones are supposed to be able to run circles around this thing since they are far more powerful. When everything is working on the phone, then yes, it's better. But because of GPS signal drops and the crash-happy nature of the navigation apps, that makes the nuvi 2250LT made 11 years ago the better option. Doesn't drop signal, doesn't crash, just works.
What's the smallest now?
Garmin Drive 52 or Garmin Drive 53. Those are 5" models, but fit in all cars. Yes, all.
32GB microSD memory cards might be on the way out
This could potentially spell out disaster for over 15 years of tech.
Memory cards. Nearly everybody uses them. Chances are there is one in your phone right now. But what would happen if they suddenly vanished? What if you needed one and none were available?
This actually might actually happen if you have anything right now that needs a 32GB microSD card.
What's the deal with 32GB specifically?
File systems have a specified maximum amount of data storage they can support. The original microSD standard was simply SD and could store up to 2GB. After that came SDHC, and could store up to, you guessed it, 32GB.
After SDHC comes SDXC (stores up to 2TB) and then SDUC (stores up to 128TB). But we're concentrating on the maximum-32GB SDHC here.
SDHC was introduced in 2006, which at the time I write this was 15 years ago. Electronics manufacturers quickly adopted the standard and it's been around ever since.
The problem...
There are literally millions of electronics devices out there which only support SDHC, and some are still made right now. But after buying some microSD SDHC cards recently, I'm noticing that the selection of what's available is starting to dwindle...
...uh-oh.
This means memory card manufacturers are starting to put more emphasis on the newer SDXC and SDUC. And that means it's going to get more difficult to find SDHC specific cards.
Here's a quick story of how bad this can get:
In my possession I have an old Garmin StreetPilot i3. It was made in 2005 before the SDHC standard was finalized, so it uses SD. A few years back, I had to get another memory card for it. This thing absolutely will not recognize anything but SD. You can't do that thing where you take SDHC and set a maximum "drive" size of 2GB. Doesn't work. Believe me, I tried. I had to get another SD-standard microSD card.
And oh, what a fight it was to get one. I bought a cheap imported one but what the seller did was take an SDHC and sold it as SD, so it didn't work. After that, I found an eBay seller in Canada that was selling a bunch of used 2GB Lexar and Kingston cards, and these were true SD. I got one, the stupid thing was almost 10 bucks, but it worked. I literally had to go with a used card because there was no other option. Fortunately, it was in good shape.
The exact same thing is going to happen with SDHC at some point, so I bought a 5-pack of 16GB Class 10 microSD cards now while they're still being made new.
To note, SDHC comes in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB. I went with 16GB because they're cheaper, and the devices I'm using them in at best would only use 8GB. Why didn't I just get 8GB cards? I couldn't find a 5-pack of them at Class 10 speeds in a reputable brand. The 16GB was actually the best price.
Did I need 5 cards? No. I actually only needed 2, but purposely bought 5 to have spares since these things are getting tougher to find.
Get your 32GB cards now if you need them
Yes, you can find new 32GB SDHC microSD cards from SanDisk, Samsung, PNY and other brands you know...
...for the moment.
But they might not be around as early as next year.
If you have something that only supports a maximum 32GB, be it an older GPS, smartphone, digital camera or whatever it is, get a pack of 5 or 10 cards now while they're still being sold new from reputable brands.
Ibanez does a "Negative Antigua" finish
This is the most interesting finish I've seen this year.
Somebody over at Ibanez is really smart, because they managed to pull off something original that looks absolutely incredible with this color option - on an entry level bass!
The moment I saw the Ibanez SR300E in Night Snow Burst, I knew exactly what this was. Somebody over at Ibanez was experimenting with color choices on a computer, and thought, "What would happen if I took an antigua finish and reversed the colors to negative?"
Answer: You get the Night Snow Burst finish.
Antigua is a Fender color. If you do a search for fender antigua, take any image you find of a guitar in that finish and reverse the colors in an image editor, you get Ibanez Night Snow Burst.
Ibanez Night Snow Burst is literally a negative Fender Antigua.
Very smart.
The question you're probably asking now is if this color option exists on any 6-string guitar models. I looked around in Ibanez's current catalog and couldn't find an example. It appears this is a bass-only finish...
...but I could be wrong, as the Ibanez guitar catalog is quite large.
If you're wondering if Fender has a color like this, they don't. The closest thing they have is Dark Night, which is a burst, but it's a black-to-blue and altogether different from what Ibanez did with Night Snow Burst.
Why do I like Night Snow Burst so much?
It is really difficult for any guitar maker to come up with something unique that stands out while at the same time is classy and subtle, but Ibanez did it.
Night Snow Burst is one of those finishes that dances on the line between blue and purple. This means some will see one color while others see the other, and it happens without any special paint tricks.
And again, for this to exist on an entry level model with the headstock color-matched to the body, wow.
I do hope this finish exists for a 6-string guitar model. If it doesn't, it should.
The guitar some buy in threes because they can: Grote GT-150
Why buy just one guitar when you can buy three for cheap?
Take the Grote GT-150 in purple. It's a cheap single cut semi-hollow guitar. That's not the interesting part.
What's interesting how people buy these things.
In the listing under "frequently bought together", two more of the same guitar. One blue, one black.
This literally means that it's common where some people buy the purple, blue and black guitars all at once.
Why would anybody do this?
It's mainly because of the type of guitar it is. Simple lightweight body with a nice finish, bolt-on neck and easy access to everything.
Out of the three, you can put yourself together at least two very nice guitars. Pick your favorite color of the three (I should mention there's also a green one), take the best parts from each, modify them to your liking and piece together the guitars you want.
After that, you have parts to do with what you will. Want to try scalloping a neck yourself? Go ahead. Want to sand the finish off one of the bodies and try painting it yourself? Do it. Sand the neck and try a custom stain? Sure, why not? There are any number of things you can try for yourself when you buy three all at once.
The best thing about buying three of these is that all the parts on each are guaranteed to fit each other, meaning you're guaranteed spare parts without the need to hunt for them later. And that means a whole lot of freedom. Bang the guitar as hard as you want, because if something breaks, you have spares.
Ordinarily, I'm very anti-hoarding when it comes to guitars, but this is different. Three of the same thing allows for a lot of experimentation, customization and spare parts. And because these guitars are so cheap with no resale value whatsoever, throwing out what you break isn't a bother whatsoever.
Not a bad deal at all.
Got an old nuvi with old maps? You can still use it.
If you have an old Garmin nuvi with outdated maps, you can still use it as a pointer if used in a specific way. Having a Rand McNally Road Atlas is helpful. I'll talk about that in a moment.
At the time I write this in 2021, there are an absolute ton of old Garmin nuvi GPSes on eBay. The ones that aren't "LM" (Lifetime Maps) models are some of the cheapest available since the maps can't be updated in them...
...but that doesn't make them useless.
If you purposely turn off the maps in a nuvi, set the map display to a 2D mode, and then set the route calculation mode to "Off Road", at that point it acts the same as a handheld GPS would. At that point, there is no more turn-by-turn directions, but will point a straight line from where you are to where the destination coordinates are.
You can get coordinates for anywhere from Google Maps, Bing Maps or any other number of mapping web sites. Manual coordinate input as show in the video is easy to do, and you can mark favorites by name that way.
Having paper maps from a road atlas isn't required but recommended just so you have a better idea of the layout of the land.
Sometimes a pointer is all you need
Using a nuvi like this means it will act as a pointer and nothing more. You just start driving and figure out which roads to take on your own until you get to the coordinates.
This is, as far as I'm aware, the most basic type of GPS navigation for a car there is.
If you have an old nuvi that still works and can acquire a GPS signal, yes, you can do this right now.
Tips and tricks
Set coordinate format to h ddd.ddddd° or h ddd.dddddd° (whichever you have)
It is by far the easiest to use coordinates in this way. The nuvi has several ways of accepting coordinates input. Change yours to h ddd.ddddd° or h ddd.dddddd° to make it as easy as possible. This option is configurable from the coordinates input screen on the nuvi.
Saving coordinates as favorites
The way to save coordinates as a favorite varies from model to model, but they all have the capability. Enter in the coordinates, and then you should see an option to "Save". If you don't, there may be a little triple-line menu (sometimes called a "hamburger" menu) where the Save option is. From there you can name the favorite whatever you want.
Manual map zooming
You will have to adjust map zoom manually. Zoom out when first beginning your trip, then manually zoom in the closer you get to the coordinates.
Coordinates input
The first number, latitude, is always north or south. A north number is positive (ex: 33.00000) and a south number is negative (-33.00000). The second number, longitude, is always east or west. An east number is positive (ex: 96.00000) an a west number is negative (-96.00000). On the nuvi, you first press N or S for latitude north or south, and E or W for longitude east or west.
Number of digits
Older nuvis accept coordinates with 5 decimal places and later models 6.
If the coordinates given is some crazy long thing like this:
33.143699998804266, -96.83559731792866
Round this down to 5 or 6 digits after the decimal.
5 example: 33.14370, -96.83560, which on the nuvi would be N 33.14370 W 96.83560.
6 example: 33.143700, -96.835597, which on the nuvi would be N33.143700 W 96.835597.
Having more digits is technically more accurate, but you will see very little positional difference between the two.
Also, if you're given a short set of coordinates like 33.1437, -96.8356, you can fill in the other places with zeros. A 5 example would be 33.14370, -96.83560 and a 6 example would be 33.143700, -96.835600.