posted Mon 11 Apr 2011 01:35 AM  

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Product: nüvi® 1350
Price: $200
From: Best Denki, Courts, Harvey Norman, any major electronics store

Verdict: not recommended for local driving, but very helpful for road tripping to Malaysia
Why: too expensive, but very helpful when you could actually get lost

Main Review:

There was a time when GPS was something you only saw on James Bond movies. Nowadays almost any handphone can do it. Not to mention the fact that Google Maps has revolutionized and made redundant all physical forms of maps.

My parents decided to install one of these in our car. I thought it was stupid. I always thought learning your way around driving is more of a trial and error thing. Well it really made things easier.



All you have to do is enter your destination and the GPS will lead you to your destination step by step.



The screen shows you in detail the roads and junctions where you are, and even announces (and you can even choose a male of female voice) when to turn left, keep left, etc so you never get it wrong.

It even does things like warn you where there are red light cameras and where there are petrol kiosks and F and B outlets.



Seriously, you only need all these services if you are a tourist. I mean do you really need a GPS to tell you where you can find food when you are driving around Ang Mo Kio? Alright maybe it can help you find a place to park.

More importantly, who needs a GPS for $200 when you can learn to drive around Singapore in maybe 2 days. I do not think it possible to actually get lost.

Lastly, and this is really the ultimate reason not to buy a GPS, everything this thing can do, an iPhone can do.

Ok having said all that, I recently took a trip to Melaka, and this GPS was amazingly useful. Yes Garmin GPS products usually come with maps of Malaysia, and you can pay extra to download other countries' maps.