GPS with US Maps

[LisaAJ]

Hi everyone
We will be hiring a car for 3 weeks in Orlando when we head over at the end of the year and I am trying to work out the best way to have a GPS. We have two GPS devices already but when I look at downloading the maps, there is not enough space for the US maps on either. I may look into how I can delete the existing maps on one of them, but before I do that I thought I would ask a couple of questions.

* What is mobile phone coverage like in the US? A friend has lent us a US smartphone. I plan on getting a prepaid account to use this with over there, is it a good option to use Google Maps over there? Should I download a TomTom map app instead? We will also have a spare iphone 5 we could use too but I'm told that the 3G phones aren't overly compatible with the US 4G system.

* Another option is to buy a cheap one from Walmart and I am thinking I will see if we can get it shipped to our hotel in New York so we can work it out before we get there. I can't seem to find a Walmart in NY unfortunately.

Thoughts? What did you do?
TIA

 

[englanddg]

Hi everyone
We will be hiring a car for 3 weeks in Orlando when we head over at the end of the year and I am trying to work out the best way to have a GPS. We have two GPS devices already but when I look at downloading the maps, there is not enough space for the US maps on either. I may look into how I can delete the existing maps on one of them, but before I do that I thought I would ask a couple of questions.

Most car rental agencies offer, for a slight fee, a GPS unit with your rental.

* What is mobile phone coverage like in the US? A friend has lent us a US smartphone. I plan on getting a prepaid account to use this with over there, is it a good option to use Google Maps over there? Should I download a TomTom map app instead? We will also have a spare iphone 5 we could use too but I'm told that the 3G phones aren't overly compatible with the US 4G system.

You should be fine with this, though you'll need to choose a provider. The prepaid account would work fine, as would Google Maps. Unlike over there, Apple Maps actually work fairly well here as well and won't lead you out into the Outback to be stranded. (strange reference, but it made headlines over here)

The TomTom app would work fine as well, but you would need to obtain cellular coverage WITH a data plan here.

Mobile phone coverage, for the areas you'll be visiting, is quite solid in the US.

3g / 4g are marketing terms. If 4g is available, that means 3g is also available. The issue is more CDMA vs GSM. And, that, is a function of provider network and handset hardware. Most of the world is GSM, which means your iPhone5 should be compatible in the US with AT&T and T-Mobile, but not Sprint or Verizon.

For your usage, I would recommend looking at the discount carriers. Specifically MetroPCS and Boost. For the larger carriers, Verizon has the best coverage. T-Mobile the best prices.

More info here:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407896,00.asp

* Another option is to buy a cheap one from Walmart and I am thinking I will see if we can get it shipped to our hotel in New York so we can work it out before we get there. I can't seem to find a Walmart in NY unfortunately.

Thoughts? What did you do?
TIA

I assume you are referring to NYC and not NY State. In NYC there are only a few Walmarts. Look for Targets, as they have a much larger presence there. In addition you could look for Best Buys. If it's NYC, you won't have much trouble finding an electronics store, but you will have trouble finding big box stores as the city just doesn't have that many of them (though that is slowly changing). But, if you are having it shipped, why do you need to find a bricks and mortar location?

 

[zanzibar138]

If you're sticking with WDW and urban areas I'm assuming mobile coverage would be fine. But I'll let someone more in the know clarify

We uploaded US maps to our GPS for our 2011 trip, and plan to use it again for this trip. Not sure whether it's going to be worth updating or whether we'll just use them as is and hope there haven't been any major changes. Can't be any worse than using a 5 year old street directory

 

[LisaAJ]

Thanks for your replies

Most car rental agencies offer, for a slight fee, a GPS unit with your rental.

The fee to hire the GPS unit is nearly $300 for the time we are there so we won't be doing that.

I assume you are referring to NYC and not NY State. In NYC there are only a few Walmarts. Look for Targets, as they have a much larger presence there. In addition you could look for Best Buys. If it's NYC, you won't have much trouble finding an electronics store, but you will have trouble finding big box stores as the city just doesn't have that many of them (though that is slowly changing). But, if you are having it shipped, why do you need to find a bricks and mortar location?

Yes, I meant NYC. I wouldn't need to have it shipped if there was a physical store there. That way I could wait until I see if the mobile will be sufficient to save ourselves some money. I couldn't see any Walmarts when I searched on the website. Maybe I'll try again! I'm not familiar with the discount stores over there so having some other names helps Thanks.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I'm having the same dilemma.

I don't want to hire one from the car rental places as I think their fees are daylight robbery - and I only need one for 9 days.

In your case, I think I would wipe one of your GPS devices and purchase a new map.

The problem with buying a new one when you get there is that they often need to be hooked straight up to a computer to do updates. This will be fine if you're carrying a laptop, but in my case I now only travel with tablets, which creates a challenge of sorts.

 

[LisaAJ]

I'm having the same dilemma.

I don't want to hire one from the car rental places as I think their fees are daylight robbery - and I only need one for 9 days.

In your case, I think I would wipe one of your GPS devices and purchase a new map.

The problem with buying a new one when you get there is that they often need to be hooked straight up to a computer to do updates. This will be fine if you're carrying a laptop, but in my case I now only travel with tablets, which creates a challenge of sorts.

We have a little laptop that we take travelling with us so we can Skype when we are overseas so that shouldn't be a problem. I still may wipe a GPS but the maps are $70 and I can get a cheap GPS for $60. I'm wondering whether it is worth the hassle!

I've had a look at Best Buys and there is a few stores around Manhattan so I may just see how the phone works when we get there and then buy a GPS if it doesn't work. I was hoping I would find some second hand ones with US maps on Ebay or Gumtree but nope!

 

[englanddg]

Thanks for your replies



The fee to hire the GPS unit is nearly $300 for the time we are there so we won't be doing that.



Yes, I meant NYC. I wouldn't need to have it shipped if there was a physical store there. That way I could wait until I see if the mobile will be sufficient to save ourselves some money. I couldn't see any Walmarts when I searched on the website. Maybe I'll try again! I'm not familiar with the discount stores over there so having some other names helps Thanks.

Rates for a GPS rental are around 10 - 15 per day.

To purchase a new smartphone plus prepaid plan would cost around $100 to $150.

There is a good chance your iPhone5 can be activated on one of the GSM networks, but I've not done it.

A Garmin costs around 160 bucks with free maps. This is probably your best bet (cost wise). Though, purchasing or activating a phone here carries other benefits, such as being able to make local US calls without concern of roaming or international charges. If you go the phone route, I'd look into MetroPCS or Boost Mobile.

Another option is to get a mobile hotspot and then pair your iPhone 5 to that for GPS functions (Google Maps, Waze...I'd use Waze, actually...traffic reporting plus speedtrap reporting, and it's free).

The Karma is a good choice.

http://lifehacker.com/five-best-mobile-hotspots-1523254435

 

[englanddg]

I couldn't see any Walmarts when I searched on the website. Maybe I'll try again! I'm not familiar with the discount stores over there so having some other names helps Thanks.

Walmart moving into NYC made news here. It was a big deal.

There is a lot of hate for Walmart in places like NYC due to the fact it cuts out smaller, more focused operations. The NorthEastern US urban areas do not like big box stores.

Though, as I said, that is changing.

 

[LisaAJ]

Rates for a GPS rental are around 10 - 15 per day.

To purchase a new smartphone plus prepaid plan would cost around $100 to $150.

There is a good chance your iPhone5 can be activated on one of the GSM networks, but I've not done it.

A Garmin costs around 160 bucks with free maps. This is probably your best bet (cost wise). Though, purchasing or activating a phone here carries other benefits, such as being able to make local US calls without concern of roaming or international charges. If you go the phone route, I'd look into MetroPCS or Boost Mobile.

Another option is to get a mobile hotspot and then pair your iPhone 5 to that for GPS functions (Google Maps, Waze...I'd use Waze, actually...traffic reporting plus speedtrap reporting, and it's free).

The Karma is a good choice.

http://lifehacker.com/five-best-mobile-hotspots-1523254435

We will have the rental car for 21 days so $14.99 a day works out to be way more than what I could buy one for.
A friend is lending me a US smartphone so I won't need to buy one. The bought it over a year ago though so I'm not sure how it will work considering how quickly technology changes! I'll bring the spare iPhone just in case.
I was only going to buy a cheap GPS. I only need it to last a few weeks! I don't want to spend a lot of money.

 

[englanddg]

We will have the rental car for 21 days so $14.99 a day works out to be way more than what I could buy one for.
A friend is lending me a US smartphone so I won't need to buy one. The bought it over a year ago though so I'm not sure how it will work considering how quickly technology changes! I'll bring the spare iPhone just in case.
I was only going to buy a cheap GPS. I only need it to last a few weeks! I don't want to spend a lot of money.

A year old smartphone will still work fine. However, as I said, it will be limited regarding networks. But, that is due to the network types I listed before, not 3G and 4G marketing terms.

 

[LisaAJ]

Thanks for the info on the networks, I will definitely keep this in mind

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hi everyone
We will be hiring a car for 3 weeks in Orlando when we head over at the end of the year and I am trying to work out the best way to have a GPS. We have two GPS devices already but when I look at downloading the maps, there is not enough space for the US maps on either. I may look into how I can delete the existing maps on one of them, but before I do that I thought I would ask a couple of questions.

* What is mobile phone coverage like in the US? A friend has lent us a US smartphone. I plan on getting a prepaid account to use this with over there, is it a good option to use Google Maps over there? Should I download a TomTom map app instead? We will also have a spare iphone 5 we could use too but I'm told that the 3G phones aren't overly compatible with the US 4G system.

* Another option is to buy a cheap one from Walmart and I am thinking I will see if we can get it shipped to our hotel in New York so we can work it out before we get there. I can't seem to find a Walmart in NY unfortunately.

Thoughts? What did you do?
TIA

You need a phone that has multi-bands.
Remember the days of Quad-band handsets? That was a great marketing play in the mid-2000 because that meant that you could use the phone for GSM (at least 3 various bands on 2G/3G) and CDMA. That allowed you to take your phone anywhere in the world.

They stopped marketing phones based on their network capability because every phone now comes with multi-band in-built. I would check the technical specs of the iPhone 5 you have and it is very likely to be capable of running on the US network.

The US runs mostly off CDMA 850 MHz. The old CDMA network in Australia was converted to 900 MHz here and since Telstra introduced Next G in the country (2006 or so), all the phones sold in Australia are enabled for this bandwidth. When Next G launched, there were some initial teething issues with Apple devices (configured for US 850 MHz) running in Australia; but that was quickly sorted out by Apple.

For what it's worth....I have a iPhone 4S. That's what I took to the US in 2012 and 2013. On the 2013 trip, I walked into the AT&T store with it and purchased their $60 monthly prepaid plan. This included unlimited talk and text; and 2GB of data for the month. It took less than 15 minutes for them to set up an account for me, take my money, swap over my Australian SIM for the new US SIM (no charge for the SIM card if you walk in through a shop) and for me to walk out working. My DH took his iPhone 4. We've also taken earlier versions of Android devices to the US in the past and just gotten a SIM card through whichever shop we've walked into. We've never had an issue with any phones we've taken to the US since 2007.

I used Apple Maps on my phone to navigate me through Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Aside from one instruction that told me to get out of the car, walk across the paddock, get back in the car and resume my travel, I had no issue with it.

I would stick with either Verizon or AT&T. The coverage for both those carriers in the major capital cities is decent enough.

Just remember to bring an adapter along so that you can charge your device.

 

[englanddg]

You need a phone that has multi-bands.
Remember the days of Quad-band handsets? That was a great marketing play in the mid-2000 because that meant that you could use the phone for GSM (at least 3 various bands on 2G/3G) and CDMA. That allowed you to take your phone anywhere in the world.

They stopped marketing phones based on their network capability because every phone now comes with multi-band in-built. I would check the technical specs of the iPhone 5 you have and it is very likely to be capable of running on the US network.

The US runs mostly off CDMA 850 MHz. The old CDMA network in Australia was converted to 900 MHz here and since Telstra introduced Next G in the country (2006 or so), all the phones sold in Australia are enabled for this bandwidth. When Next G launched, there were some initial teething issues with Apple devices (configured for US 850 MHz) running in Australia; but that was quickly sorted out by Apple.

For what it's worth....I have a iPhone 4S. That's what I took to the US in 2012 and 2013. On the 2013 trip, I walked into the AT&T store with it and purchased their $60 monthly prepaid plan. This included unlimited talk and text; and 2GB of data for the month. It took less than 15 minutes for them to set up an account for me, take my money, swap over my Australian SIM for the new US SIM (no charge for the SIM card if you walk in through a shop) and for me to walk out working. My DH took his iPhone 4. We've also taken earlier versions of Android devices to the US in the past and just gotten a SIM card through whichever shop we've walked into. We've never had an issue with any phones we've taken to the US since 2007.

I used Apple Maps on my phone to navigate me through Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Aside from one instruction that told me to get out of the car, walk across the paddock, get back in the car and resume my travel, I had no issue with it.

I would stick with either Verizon or AT&T. The coverage for both those carriers in the major capital cities is decent enough.

Just remember to bring an adapter along so that you can charge your device.

SIM Cards will not be required for a 5. Verizon and AT&T no longer use them for that model. Just the IMEI / MEID (which you can find through the settings menu). It also must be unlocked.

Only T-Mobile still uses SIM cards for this.

 

[LisaAJ]

Aside from one instruction that told me to get out of the car, walk across the paddock, get back in the car and resume my travel, I had no issue with it.

Haha, that made me spit out my drink!

Thanks for that info. I'm pretty sure my phone is unlocked as we bought it for my husband through Telstra and now I use it (Vodafone). Ill be getting a new one before we go (hate this phone!) so it will be out of contract too. I'll double check though.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Haha, that made me spit out my drink!

Thanks for that info. I'm pretty sure my phone is unlocked as we bought it for my husband through Telstra and now I use it (Vodafone). Ill be getting a new one before we go (hate this phone!) so it will be out of contract too. I'll double check though.

If you've moved from Telstra to Voda, it should be unlocked.

 

[aussie shaz]

We bought a cheap GPS from eBay from Hong Kong or China a few years ago. They have free USA maps that you can download/update at any time. We used it in 2011 and 2013. We also use it as our normal GPS here. It's been great.
She does get on my nerves sometimes though.

 

[LisaAJ]

We bought a cheap GPS from eBay from Hong Kong or China a few years ago. They have free USA maps that you can download/update at any time. We used it in 2011 and 2013. We also use it as our normal GPS here. It's been great. She does get on my nerves sometimes though.

Haha, can you change the voice? I did that with our Tom Tom when I got tired of the voice.
I may look on ebay as hubby is not keen to rely on the phone