# Tell Me About GPS Receivers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-gps-receivers/323745 "2005-09-27T21:50:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-gps-receivers/323745/21 "2005-12-23T21:41:38Z")
Make sure the software is compatible with your specific unit. Many of the units intended for hiking and other outdoor use won’t do street routing even with the software. ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-gps-receivers/323745/22 "2005-12-24T04:33:39Z")
I have a Bluetooth GPS receiver that I got for around $100 (the cheaper ones go for as low as $70) and a Palm Tungsten E2 with crappy mapping software. The GPS is great – it always knows where I am, it is pretty good at locking quickly, it works fine with the Palm. I would have sprung for the Tom Tom software but I don’t see that it works with an E2, and I got something (Rand McNally Streetfinder) that was like $22 at Best Buy. It works, but it taxes the Palm, it crashes if you ask it to do much, and it is quite buggy. It could be that I have a low-end Palm, but I suspect other software would be better. If you are looking for something more versatile than just a handheld GPS receiver (like you want to use it in the car) you may consider one like that. OTOH, my friend and I rented in San Diego this weekend and he got the Tom Tom Navigator, and it was freakin’ awesome for a strange city. Totally worth the $10 a day. Mine, I could tell you exactly where we were, but that one, in a few seconds, could direct you to the nearest Barnes and Noble or breakfast restaurant or anything like that… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-gps-receivers/323745.md?page=1)