I didn’t need the very best possible GPS for my car

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week I bought my third GPS. My decision was a satisfice, a word I’ve discussed previously, and is defined as follows:

 

“Satisfice: a combination of satisfy and suffice; used to describe real decision making where an optimum isn’t possible since it takes both time and money to obtain needed information.”  

 

Back on June 17, 2017 I blogged about How is a car GPS like a razor? In that post I described buying my first GPS – a TomTom (from Big Lots) back in 2011 for about $75. TomTom charged for map updates, just like replacing razor blades. Finally they told me my obsolete model couldn’t even hold a map for the entire country.

 

In 2017 I replaced it with a $100 refurbished Garmin Nuvi 67LM with a larger screen and free lifetime map updates. But lately the touch screen became finnicky, and last week it would not let me press GO to accept my destination.

 

So, I went on Amazon and bought a second refurbished Garmin, a Drive 52 (shown above) for $75, with free lifetime map updates for both the US and Canada. I stuck with Garmin because I already had a perfect mount for my dash, and the ‘beanbag’ mount for my wife’s vehicle or any rental (also shown above).

 

The screen on my new GPS has a 5” diagonal, which is acceptable. You can buy others with larger screens like 6” or 8”, and other features like voice command, live traffic and weather, etc. If I used a GPS every day for commuting, then I might be willing to spend $300. But I am retired, and only use it occasionally on trips to unfamiliar places.

 

A sticker on the front of the screen said “Welcome! This product is ready to use.” That was a lie. When I switched it on, first there was a message that the battery was low. When I plugged it into my iMac to charge, the Garmin Express software wanted me to download the latest version. And then it told me there was an updated map to download - which took three and a half hours. Even after all that time the battery wasn’t charged fully! I added a 32Gb microSD memory card to the slot on the back of the GPS. The lifetime update subscription expires when the new map download will no longer fit in the available memory in the GPS. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similarly, earlier this year I bought my wife a 9th generation iPad for her birthday. There is a bewildering assortment of iPad models: iPad Mini, iPad (9th and 10th generations), iPad Air, and iPad Pro. The most affordable one was capable of doing what she wanted.