To GPS or not to GPS?

Phones are good for traffic and walking, but terrible for car navigation

For city traffic reporting, you can't beat Waze. For city walking navigation, you can't beat Google Maps. If you have a phone with an unlimited data plan, the combination of Waze for traffic and Google Maps for walking would serve you well.

But for car navigation, it's still true that you can't beat a Garmin, and that's why I went back to using one. It has the best interface for driving, gives me all the info I need on one screen, and doesn't need a data connection to work.

Yes, I have to manually update the maps twice a year. I'm okay with that minor inconvenience.

While true I could connect my Garmin DriveSmart via Bluetooth to my phone for call and text alerts, I don't. My GPS acts just like another gauge on my car, which is how I prefer it. The last thing I need is a screen flashing call and text alerts at me when I'm navigating somewhere.

Will phones ever get better at car navigation?

Here are my thoughts on that...

Published 2020 Jul 7