Monthly Archives: October 2012

As I have gotten older, I have found an automotive GPS to be indispensible to driving.  I prefer to purchase an after market device that is portable and one that I can take with me as I travel and use a rental vehicle.  Portable devices cost far less than paying for one to come installed in your car and map updates are far cheaper and easier to install on the portable.  Also, a portable that I can take with me saves money by not having to pay the typical $9.95 per day that car rental agencies charge for a GPS.

Recently on a trip I had brought my Garmin Nuvi 780 that I had purchased in 2008 to guide me in my travels.  Halfway through the trip it began to act up and freeze.  Despite all of my trouble shooting efforts and Garmin support, the device refused to work.  Thus, I made a quick trip to a local BestBuy and purchased a new Garmin Nuvi 2595 LMT.  This device cost approximately $229 and that includes a lifetime subscription to map and traffic.  Best of all it comes with a 5” touchscreen display which helps to see it clearly on the dash.

Three immediate features that really stood out for me were the lane assist, the split screen real view of turn junctions, and the speed limit/your speed indicator screen.  The lane assist feature shows in the upper left part of the screen and shows you in how many miles you will be making a turn.  It will give you either a left or right turn arrow.  If you are on a multi lane highway it will show you multiple arrows and indicate the correct lanes for you to get in.  This feature is great in that it gives you ample time to get into the correct lane.  As you approach the turn, you will then see the real view split screen of the junction pop up on the right side of the screen.  This gives you a real photo view of the turn and again shows the lanes you need to be in to make the turn.  My understanding is that this feature is not universal but is available for select large metropolitan areas.  The last feature showing the speed limit along with your actual speed is helpful in giving you input to let up on your heavy foot and keep your speed more in line with the legal limit.

Turn and lane indicator in upper left corner with actual speed and speed limit showing in lower right corner.

The Garmin Nuvi 2595 LMT comes with a plethora of other features.  These include: Bluetooth for using the device as a hands free phone device; voice activated navigation; traffic updates; a safety “Where Am I” location feature; and navigation aids that provide you with shopping, restaurant, gas station, hospital and points of interest locations.  As I use more of these features I will provide updates as to my experiences.

As with any device there are some glitches to watch for.  I strongly encourage you to not solely rely on the Nuvi 2595 for the best or even most accurate information.  The first issue regards speed limits.  On a recent trip between Las Vegas, NV and Tucson, AZ I found that on US 93 going out of Boulder City the speed limit on the Nuvi showed 55 mph while the actual posted speed limit was really 45 mph.  Thus, be aware of the actual posted speed rather than just relying on the Nuvi or you may end up with an unwanted speeding ticket.  There were also instances where the Nuvi showed a slower speed limit than that which was actually posted.

The second issue was giving us a most circuitous route to get into the Wyndham Westward Look Resort and Spa in Tucson, AZ.  The address is 245 East Ina Road, which is a fairly busy 4-lane thoroughfare.  What the Nuvi did not know is that there is a stoplight with a protected left turn lane directly at the intersection that turns into the Wyndham.  Thus, rather than directly turning into the Wyndham off of Ina Road, the Nuvi directed us to turn left on Magee and then take a back road around to Ina Road that would then have us making a right turn into the Wyndham.  We took this route the first time into the Wyndham, as we had not look at our maps on the iPad to check on the routing. The Nuvi routing had us turning off Magee onto a series of streets that were posted for 25 mph and had numerous speed bumps.  I decided there would be no quick exit and entry from the resort this way as it took about 15 minutes to go what was really no more than 2 miles.  Of course in this process we found the traffic light and protected left turn on Ina Road.  Thus, I do advise checking your routing by using a secondary mapping application on a device such as an iPad.

Instead of making a left turn onto N. Westward Look Dr. this routing shows going past the intersection and making a loop to return for a right hand turn.

Overall I am favorably impressed with this mid range priced GPS unit from Garmin.  The new features in this model make it a big improvement over my older unit that finally gave up the ghost.

Steve is a new team member of technotraveler.com.  As a retiree he will be reflecting a senior point of view.  Further from his career experience as a social worker and higher education educator, he will further comment on technology as it relates to online education and uses of technology for the social services.