# Best GPS To Buy



## alassaf123 (Jun 5, 2015)

Hi All,

Was wondering if anyone had suggestions for a good GPS/Navi system to buy for a car for use in Dubai? On the flipside, any horror stories/brands to avoid?

Thx


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## Simey (Dec 4, 2012)

alassaf123 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Was wondering if anyone had suggestions for a good GPS/Navi system to buy for a car for use in Dubai? On the flipside, any horror stories/brands to avoid?
> 
> Thx


Maps in GPS units tend to be quite out of date. Your best bet is using your smart phone, assuming you can live with the fact the Google Maps lady pronounces "Sheikh" as "SHEEK" and "Al Wasl Road" as "AL W.A.S.L. ROAD". 

The main horror story is that the absence of addresses and the fact that everything is called Jumeirah makes finding places with a GPS - interesting.


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## Windsweptdragon (Aug 12, 2012)

As Simey says... use your phone. I personally prefer Waze to Googlemaps. Waze is still owned by Google so maps are updated fairly frequently, but there is the added bonus of it having speed camera locations.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

I had a faithful chinese made GPS bought from Dragonmart which worked faithfully for 3 years (before the power supply slot broke and I couldn't charge the thing). I could even update the map for free online. 
Otherwise the usual suspects (garmin, Nuvi etc) are always available. I doubt you will have "horror stories" related to a GPS. 

These days I just use my phone with an offline map (without needing a data connection) or Google Maps.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

You don't need a GPS in Dubai. You just drive in vaguely the correct direction, then call up whoever you're going to see and berate them over the phone until they give you the name of a landmark that you recognise, and it'll be backside of wherever that is. That's what 99% of the population of Dubai do anyway seemingly.


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## GloballyRelaxed (Nov 5, 2014)

The RTA have a free GPS app called SmartDrive. Also this does not require any data to run and works off internal GPS of the cell phone so no nasty data bills.


It works ok but even though its an RTA app it does not recognize some roads and misses others.


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## Mustii (Jul 19, 2014)

I would suggest Waze or Google maps too.

When I first arrived I bought a GPS I think it was a garmin, its crap, its a nightmare to find places on it and you spend 10mins looking through crap.

Google maps or Waze really the best, and also I used to use them for around an hour a day, and that didnt use up my 2GB Internet, GPS don't use that much data.

SmartDrive is fine too and advantage it doesn't need internet, however sometimes it does lead you to one ways, or dead end roads.

Don't waste your money, these 3 apps are all are way better than any entry level navigator..!


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## alassaf123 (Jun 5, 2015)

Well this was pretty convincing, I'm going to save my 100 dollars for something else now


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## Bluedog7 (Oct 19, 2013)

Does anyone know where you can buy Garmin SD cards in Dubai. 

Thanks


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

Bluedog7 said:


> Does anyone know where you can buy Garmin SD cards in Dubai.
> 
> Thanks


Check out AMIT, they're the authorised dealer. Their shop is in deira down on the creek.


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## Edino (Sep 22, 2013)

The absence of a uniform addressing system in the place makes using a nav system a very frustrating time waste. I think makani.ae is the closest that comes to something that is workable, but here the concern is that it has not been adapted by delivery companies and most individuals.

I only use my build-in GPS map in the car to find a way out of areas that I do not know....


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Edino said:


> it has not been adapted by delivery companies and most individuals


Gavtek has already described the "GPS" for UAE. I am sure people will realise that there is something called a GPS and/or maps by the year 2050


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## Edino (Sep 22, 2013)

rsinner said:


> Gavtek has already described the "GPS" for UAE. I am sure people will realise that there is something called a GPS and/or maps by the year 2050


That is mostly due to multiplicity here that seem not to be able to get a logic address system in place. I apparently live in Jumeirah Community XXX, Street 24c, Villa XX... Nobody has ever been able to find my location with this information. On top of that we have 2x a 24c street 400 meters from each other, adding to the confusion. When I moved in my property 15 years ago, I had 1 house number outside my Villa. The municipality added an other, different, number several years ago. A few years later, a 3rd different number was added. 

Never a dull moment


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## heyvinny89 (May 25, 2015)

Check out Sygic. They're having a great summer promo so you can get lifetime maps for less than the cost of your tank of gas. 

The best part is that it doesn't use any data- just pre downloads the maps onto your phone as well as the POI's and uses your phone's GPS. It even has all the speed camera locations, the maps are completely up to date, it shows the speed limits, and honestly--- it's freakin amazing.


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## Malbec (Jan 2, 2014)

heyvinny89 said:


> Check out Sygic. They're having a great summer promo so you can get lifetime maps for less than the cost of your tank of gas.
> 
> The best part is that it doesn't use any data- just pre downloads the maps onto your phone as well as the POI's and uses your phone's GPS. It even has all the speed camera locations, the maps are completely up to date, it shows the speed limits, and honestly--- it's freakin amazing.


The promo is finished I think and it was not as great as last year when it was $9.99.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Try using the official Makani App - its the closest thing Dubai Municipality have come up with for a uniform predictable system and the sooner people start using it for deliveries the better.


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> Try using the official Makani App - its the closest thing Dubai Municipality have come up with for a uniform predictable system and the sooner people start using it for deliveries the better.


The problem is that it's a complicated solution to a simple problem. 

Yes it's easy to plug in a number and find the building, but there's nothing intuitive about it.

Hopefully it will pick up, but I'm not holding my breath.


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## bluepeter (Aug 1, 2015)

I use Smartdrive often, and find it fairly accurate. At least accurate enough to allow me to reel off some landmarks around me until my customer recognises one and tells me how to find me from there.

I often ask customers to send me a location map via whatsapp and then transfer that to Smartdrive. That works well as long as the customer is in his office when he sends the location map and not out having a brew a few miles away, which is what happened to me in Sharjah yesterday............


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Fat Bhoy Tim said:


> The problem is that it's a complicated solution to a simple problem


Its a simple solution to a simple problem - a unique reference number for every building and a map showing where it is. That's all you need. Given the way Dubai strings up all over the place, a grid based system will never work.

It doesn't have to be 'grid based' like the US as the UK postcode system works very well but isn't really predictable. It might have been when it started out but it certainly isn't any more as new properties get built in in-fills and whole postcodes whinge for strange reasons - my last but one UK home was GU52 but it sat in the middle of GU19 and GU22, when the GU5* area was near Woking I think.

But you're right - it needs a lot more adopters


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

How are delivery drivers going to be able to use this Makani system when all they are armed with is Baby's First Nokia and knowledge of half a dozen at best landmarks in the whole city?


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> Its a simple solution to a simple problem - a unique reference number for every building and a map showing where it is. That's all you need. Given the way Dubai strings up all over the place, a grid based system will never work.
> 
> It doesn't have to be 'grid based' like the US as the UK postcode system works very well but isn't really predictable. It might have been when it started out but it certainly isn't any more as new properties get built in in-fills and whole postcodes whinge for strange reasons - my last but one UK home was GU52 but it sat in the middle of GU19 and GU22, when the GU5* area was near Woking I think.
> 
> But you're right - it needs a lot more adopters


That's precisely my point, it's not easy to intuit what a building number might be by having an idea about the area around you. 

Unless you can access the app to search, you can't make an educated guess about where a place might be. Perhaps there the ability to, but remembering strings of digits is not as simple as a standard address.


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## Edino (Sep 22, 2013)

Back in the Netherlands we have simple country-wide postal codes that narrows it down to one street. 4 digits, and 2 letters. Easy to remember. Every GPS, google maps, and even when you enter it in the google search engine displays the exact address; its uniform and is used by everyone. 

Apart from that, in our home town we also have a street naming system wich is handy in case you have no GPS. Streets are grouped together and given a name that related to the group name. For instance, one group is named Metal Suburb. Within such group, every street has a different metal name; like aluminium street as example. Another group is the Rivers Suburb; every street in that suburb is a river name. Its a structural addressing system that we have since the 40's....

Last thing, a street name remains always the same... not like here in Dubai


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Fat Bhoy Tim said:


> That's precisely my point, it's not easy to intuit what a building number might be by having an idea about the area around you. QUOTE]
> 
> Exactly my point - people looking for somewhere don't go to a random area somewhere near where they think it might be, and try and work out where the building is by 'intuition' - at least nobody normal does.
> 
> ...


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> Fat Bhoy Tim said:
> 
> 
> > That's precisely my point, it's not easy to intuit what a building number might be by having an idea about the area around you. QUOTE]
> ...


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