To GPS or not to GPS?

This is what I'm talking about concerning the Turns list on the Garmin DriveSmart

This works in portrait or landscape mode on a DriveSmart.

First, start a route.

Second, tap the little wrench icon and then tap Turns (if this isn't visible, it can be added to this menu as it is configurable):

The map then gets a little smaller and a turns list appears that looks like this:

There is no navigation app for the phone shows what you see above. To view the map with directional arrow and the next 2 to 3 turns and the speed limit and current road being traveled on and current speed and time to destination all at once, you need a Garmin DriveSmart.

That Turns list in particular, while seemingly insignificant, is actually very significant. It comes in handy more than just a little - especially in places where turns are really close together.

In unfamiliar territory, the Turns list is a godsend. Whether it's in the city, a residential neighborhood or even a highway ramp, oh yeah, it's nice to have. And on the DriveSmart you can enable Turns at whim any time you want it.

If I had any say in the matter, I would tell all navigation app developers to outright make navigation apps act like a Garmin DriveSmart, because it's still the best interface there is for car navigation. Perfect? No. But nobody to date has done it better.

Published 2020 Jul 7