Where Have All The Gps Units Gone?

[shiroboi]

So I bought a Honda Freed this weekend, and long story short, they told us it had Navigation. We got it and it didn't have navi. So they gave us an extra $5,500 baht off to get an aftermarket one.

First we went to the car parts market in Pathum Thani, hardly anything there. Then went to Future Park Rangsit, a huge mall with dedicated electronics section. I found a few Garmin Units in Power Buy and a few generics in the electronic section. Then we headed over to Zeer, a massive 6 story electronics mall. Only found a few booths selling generic devices. Finally I went into a shop to look at drawing tablets and found that they actually stocked quite a few GPS devices. I ended up settling on a basic Garmin unit.

But it really got me perplexed. Why in a car centric culture, is it so hard to find GPS units? Are they out of style now? All I see is cell phones and tablets everywhere. I usually consider myself pretty ahead of the curve as far as tech goes but are people still using GPS here? Never saw any other name brands other than Garmin. I'd love to hear some theories. I'm baffled.

I'm also thrown as to how you can buy cars with the premium package with DVD and video screens and not have GPS added. It's not even an option on a lot of cars. Dealer said we'd have to pay 30,000 extra for a Honda unit with built in Navigation. I passed.

[Morden]

They were more common a few years ago. I don't know why the likes of Garmin have all but disappeared. Perhaps they are too accurate for navigation in Thailand.

[kkerry]

People are using the GPS on their cell phones...

[AnotherOneAmerican]

All the tablets and android phones have GPS, standalone units have become unnecessary.

Galaxy Tab 7" for 6000bht, add a car kit for 300bht, job done.

http://www.invadeit.co.th/product/tablets/samsung/galaxy-tab-2-7-0-wifi-white-8gb-p010533/

Edited May 19, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[IMHO]

Yep, with so many ways to get GPS now, dedicated units are not as popular as they used to be. MBK still seems to be the place to buy them though.

As for Garmin vs others, that's simple - the ESRi maps Garmin uses are ready available in the black market and updated every 6 months or so

[eaustev]

There are also a few shops in Fortune IT Mall with a reasonable selection, mostly Garmin.

[firestar]

Bought a large screen Garmin from Tesco. Most supermarkets stock them

[ExpatJ]

There are loads of outlets selling garmin in central Bangkok- and massive selection of the most up To date units. Just google garmin Bangkok.

[ExpatJ]

I just bought a sweet 5 inch screen garmin with traffic updates, junction view and 3 d buildings. 12000 baht

[JoeW]

B2S also has them...

[anon210]

Central, Siam Paragon, Emporium, Pantip Plaza just to quote a few places...

[guzzi850m2]

I like my Garmin 205W despite it's falling off the front window all the time and a cable is "hanging" from it to charge it

When it' sitting there (and not falling down) it's very handy.

I saw a system in a Ford Everest that looked very good, would love that in my Ranger but it will most likely cost a fortune.

[shiroboi]

I guess I figured as much. I just hate having to drain my phone in the car or charge it up to use as an extra device. Also, I don't want another 7" screen on my dash, I already have a big screen on my dash. I used it tonight to get home from Bangkok. I am having a hard time (or my wife is rather) locating specific addresses. Seems like there's lots of locations you just can't put in the device. I'm sure that goes for other garmin knockoffs as well.

[Ace of Pop]

I have an Old Garmin , i prefer it to the ones fitted in both our new cars. The Honda fitted thing is worth about the same as the cheapest Garmin, nothing like the 12K Garmin Model. The one in my Sons Chevy Trail is next to useless , you cant see it when the sun shines, and again chepo readout, no split screen. Also i like to program them indoors. Er Indoors has gone Outdoors to buy something like an Apple 4/5, only 25 K for more junk knowing my luck.

[Ace of Pop]

AOA is quite right, needed new phone anyway. Got the Galaxy4, the GPS is exellent.Even i can set it in seconds.

[nikster]

They can't compete with Google maps (and now Apple maps too).

The market for standalone GPS has collapsed since smartphones with the same and very often much better functionality have become wide-spread. I don't remember the exact figures but it was pretty dramatic over the last few years.

[Khun Jean]

The best so far i used is the one from Nokia on a windows 8 phone (lumia 620).

Very detailed map and you don't need a live data connection as the map is downloaded.

[bubba]

If you have an iPhone, you can buy Garmin Thailand for US$29.99. The latest update is very accurate, and since the actual map is installed, you don't have to worry about a data connection. The software includes all the features that you get on a standalone Garmin GPS unit together (even junction views) with free lifetime map updates.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/garmin-thailand/id524258843?mt=8