Standalone GPS Units in 2025

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  GordonD on 22/10/2025 - 20:13

  I was intrigued by this article today. It was more than I expected a watch to be able to do. But the price doesn't surprise me, given what it can do.

  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/21/garmin-fe…

• 

  sumyungguy on 22/10/2025 - 20:25

  +1

  Navman appears to have exited the GPS market so it's now Garmin and a bunch of cheap unremarkable brands. But they'd be better off with a cheap smartphone thanks to all the value adds: functional voice commands, maps always up-to-date, camera alerts, live traffic and re-routing options.

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  pegaxs on 23/10/2025 - 08:59

  +1

  A cheap phone and run Waze OR a remote mounted Android Auto/Apple CarPlay unit and just use Waze.

  If they can’t use either of these for basic navigation, buying a dedicated unit isn’t going to be much easier.

  Just set up a used, half decent phone or small tablet and only put 1 app on the screen and make that the navigation app. You can get standalone navigation apps that only require wifi to update the maps from time to time. I used to use Sygic for offline navigation on a 7” tablet. It was a lot cheaper to use an old tablet I had laying around and pay for Sygic than it was to buy a dedicated GPS.

  • 

    bargaino on 23/10/2025 - 10:42

    Just set up a used, half decent phone or small tablet

    I tried this once, but over-heating was a big problem.
    One of those cheap 10" wide-screen dash mount units ($100) plus phone (4GB minimum) is better.
    Phone can be connected so it charges when car is on, and automatically launches Android Auto.

    You can get standalone navigation apps that only require wifi to update the maps from time to time.

    Google Maps can do that.
    You can get a car dash-mount unit with full Android, so can run apps internally. Needs to be more powerful though. I'd go with external phone.

  • 

    Devastator0 on 23/10/2025 - 12:45

    Yeah, so, again, they do not have/use smartphones. They only use a "dumb" phone and are just aren't confident with the technology. They did previously have a standalone GPS unit but it died so it's why I'm hunting for a replacement as they are more comfortable with that and they won't have to stress about adapting to something completely different.

    • 

      pegaxs on 23/10/2025 - 12:58

      Then you set up a phone with the app to autostart on boot. So when they plug it in and turn it on, it will auto boot into the navigation app. If they can use a stand alone GPS like the old Navman then they can use a smartphone with the app installed. It doesn't even need to be connected to the internet if you use the right app.

      A used phone is going to have way more computing power and run smoother and have a nicer touch interface than a horrible and likely very expensive and hard to update Navman it Garmin GPS.

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  nuker on 23/10/2025 - 11:16

  +1

  Standalone unit is easier than smartphone. Turns on and off with ignition, screen is always on, and no need to start the app. Mount included too.
  Garmin Drive 53 $280 or bigger DriveSmart 66 for more.
  Just make sure touch screen tech is capacitive, not resistive.

  • 

    Devastator0 on 23/10/2025 - 12:46

    Cheers for those recommendations and tip about the touch screen tech, I'll look into both. Much appreciated mate!