I Need a New GPS

My Garmin Nuvi 1200 has been great for years but it is rapidly dying on me.

I have a few questions about new ones...

I do not have a computer at home. And I cannot download Garmin Express (or similar) on my work computer without IT having a fit. Are new GPS units ready to go right out of the box?

Or do they need to be activated/updated on a computer first?

Any recommendations?

I have done a bunch of research online and it has left my head spinning.

EDIT: My GPS on my phone sucks. It is ok to use locally but often times I head out to areas with no cell service.

 

Interesting.

I'm unaware of a GPS (other than on your phone) that you can update without a PC.

You'd think that with as fewer people have computers in their homes, GPS manufacturers would come up with an option for this.

Can you just use your phone? Waze, Google maps, etc. update automatically.

I use Waze and a Garmin, in several ways, Waze is better.

 

Is this driving or for off road recreation use?

 

A little of both worlds would be great but mostly on road.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...p-camera-and-pop-n-lock.531362/#post-17040694

 

Apple app store shows an app called Sygic, which supposedly works without a cellular connection.

Your phone has a built-in GPS chip. It needs a connection to load the map. This app apparently loads maps onto your phone. There may be others.

There are off-road variations as well.

 

Back Country Navigator for off road, Google maps for highways.

Both can be loaded ahead of time if you know you will be in an area that has ha phone coverage. This turns turns your phone into a true GPS and there is no difference from a dedicated hand bend gps.

I honestly have a hard time figuring out how hand held GPS units are still marketable. The smart phone does everything a GPS unit does plus a lot more.

 

We use our 2 year old Garmin quite often, they're great for areas that have no cell service and you don't have to worry about downloading offline maps before a trip. We don't have any wired internet options at home, so I asked a friend to download the Garmin Express software and the initial map update. Since then we haven't done any updates and haven't had the need to because we only use it to get to specific addresses or a waypoint chosen manually (updates are mainly for commercial establishments, which we can just look up on our phones then enter the address).