Dueling GPS

This morning it was time to make the jaunt to Wal-mart to stock the pantry. I decided to use the trip test out Randy the new Rand McNally RV GPS by running it alongside Mr. Garmin for today's trip.

  
The first thing noticed was the size, but that was pretty obvious right off the bat and I'm sure most everyone would recognize that. The second thing was the amount of information on the screen. Randy allows you to select what POI's you want to show on the screen. An example would be campgrounds. Then if a campground gets within distance on the map an icon appears. Touching on the icon brings up the campground information, including phone number and touching the icon again will route you to the campground. Icon's are available for lots and lots of services including shopping, fuel, food (which can be drilled down to types of foods), medical and so forth and so on. Also on the screen is your speed, the posted speed limit for where you are, distance to and direction of next turn and a sidebar button that shows what services are available at the next exit. Randy lets Samantha do the talking for him and she is also capable of giving advanced warnings, like when there is a sharp curve ahead or the speed limit is about to change. All in all after a short test drive of 80 miles I am very impressed. The only drawback noted is that Randy seemed to wash out quicker than Garmin in bright sunlight. This can probably be remedied by selecting a different location or creating a sunshade.


Now that I have spent the morning playing and emptied the billfold sufficiently to be able to sit comfortably I think this afternoon will be a time of rest and relaxation. What better way to enjoy the good life.