Best GPS traffic service: XM or FM/TMC?

Reader Martin L. emailed me the other day, asking about GPS traffic services, among other things. I couldn’t really tell him which service,  XM NavTraffic or TMC – the Traffic Message Channel (FM) was better, so I suggested he check out the GpsPasSion traffic forum. Martin came across this thread, comparing XM vs. FM traffic [...]

Does the nuvi have a weak feature set and interface?

Thanks to reader datrays who sent me a heads up about an interesting thread on GpsPasSion. Folks there are complaining that the nuvi has a weak feature set and poor user interface. They are saying that the Garmin Mobile XT and even the Quest have more capabilities. Let’s hear it nuvi owners — what do [...]

Picking a low-cost mapping handheld GPS

Aaron, of yourbodypower.org, writes:

"Hello; before I go bugging some sales people, perhaps you can give me some direction (pun intended) on gps units. I’ve been getting lost frequently on some of my bike trips outside of the city. (car drivers can’t give directions for cyclists). I’m not looking to know my location down to a [...]

Nuvis, pocket queries and a US geocache database

I received an email the other day from a reader (Mike) looking for an automotive GPS he could transfer geocaching info to. He asked about doing this via POIs, with a possible goal of getting all U.S. geocaches loaded. I pointed Mike towards some resources and we corresponded a bit more. He ended up buying [...]

What kind of maps can I put on my GPS (and what do you mean by raster and vector)?

I received a PM from the Adirondack Forum today that said:
"…I just bought the Garmin 60CS. I have a question about the maps. Do I need the Garmin Mapsource United States Topo or… the one from National Geographics Topo that I think is better for hiking? If I don’t buy the Garmin Mapsource Topo, can [...]

From the Mailbag

I occassionally get questions directed to my email, so today we inaugurate a new category…from the mailbag. The questions today come to us from Bill Macfarlane, a new geocacher who recently purchased a Magellan eXplorist 500.
"So far I have good luck with it, finding a few caches, but I really think I could be [...]