Find undiscovered America using your GPS

By now, I’m guessing every single one of you has access to a GPS unit. Some may even own two of them. In the past decade, automotive and portable GPS units have dropped from about $800, to well under $100. Some even appear for under $50 every now and then. With prices that low, you really can’t afford to not own one.

Most of you probably use the device for the occasional journey in an area you are not used to, others use it for fun, and plot their daily commute on it. In this article, I’ll describe how you can use that GPS device, and turn it into a fantastic way to discover parts of the country you’d never know about without the use of a guidebook.
Every GPS unit comes with a “points of interest database” – this database contains things like banks, gas stations and restaurants. The categories on your device are usually fairly limited, but one advantage of most modern GPS devices is the ability to add your own custom POI files.

The process of adding custom points of interest is actually quite simple, and the majority of these files can be downloaded for free.

Adding a custom “POI file” starts with finding a source of good quality files. My personal favorite is poi-factory.com.

This site has 1000’s of community built POI files, with content varying from Waffle House locations, to a database containing over 2800 offbeat tourist attractions.

Before you can download a file from this site, you’ll need to register for a (free) account. Once registered, simply download the file to your computer and take note of where you saved it.

The next step involves loading the POI database onto your GPS device. Users of Garmin GPS units are in luck, because Garmin developed a free Point of interest database loader called “POI Loader“.

With POI Loader, you simply connect your GPS unit to your PC or Mac, start the program and tell it where you saved the file. Ten seconds later, the new custom POI file is on your device.

If you have a TomTom unit, you’ll need to go through a couple of extra steps, but the general process is about the same. Poi-factory has a great guide on their site for TomTom GPS owners, as well as Magellan owners.

Once loaded on your device, you can browse the database, but the real fun begins when you are on the road, and want to find something of interest around you. Simply browse to the list of locations, and let your GPS unit lead you to the weirdest and wackiest tourist attractions the nation has to offer.

Daily gear deals – 5 piece camera kit for a buck, HAVA TV Streamer and $60 GPS unit

Here are the hottest travel gadgets for today, Thursday May 28th 2009. Remember, these deals are often one-day deals, so act fast before they are gone!

Dailysteals.com
is offering a 5 piece camera kit. The kit contains a lens cleaning set, and 2 pocket tripods. Not bad at all for a buck. Shipping makes the deal less impressive ($6), but at just $7 with shipping, it is still worth it. Click here for the deal, and remember to order before the deal expires!

Sellout.Woot is offering the Monsoon HAVA HD Platinum for just $49.95 (+$5 shipping). This device lets you watch your home TV anywhere you can get online (including Windows and Symbian powered phones). Normal price for this device is over $100. As always with Woot, don’t wait too long to order! Product ordering page is here, just be sure to scroll down a little.

And finally, Amazon.com is offering the highly rated TomTom ONE 130 GPS unit for $79.99 – the device is refurbished, but if you can live with that, then you’ll be happy to hear that there is a $20 rebate being offered, bringing the price down to just $59.99. Click here to order, and to download the required rebate form.

Daily gear deal – TomTom ONE XL-S GPS unit + bonus for $125

Today’s daily deal is for a TomTom navigation unit. The TomTom ONE XL-S features a widescreen display, text-to-speech directions and built in Bluetooth connectivity.

When connected to your (compatible) mobile phone, you can access the TomTom plus online services, though you do need to be sure your phone has an active data plan.

The TomTom ONE XL-S comes with a car charger, USB cable, windshield mount and a user manual and is on sale at Newegg.com for $124.99 (with free shipping). The added bonus is a 30 piece car emergency kit.

Daily deal – Refurbished TomTom One Third edition GPS unit for $79.99

I’ve posted this TomTom unit in the past, but this is the first time it has dropped under $80.

The TomTom ONE “Third edition” offers all the basic functions you’d expect from a car navigation unit, including spoken turn by turn directions, and the ability to download TomTom map corrections using your computer.

The device comes with a windshield mount, power cord, USB cable and adhesive mounting disc. As the title says – this is a refurbished unit, which means it was once returned to TomTom for any number of reasons, and was returned to its “as new” condition. These units often come with the newest map version, but in the event your maps are out of date, the manufacturer will often provide updates at no additional cost.

This TomTom usually retails for over $100, but since it has been refurbished, you can pick one up today from Amazon for just $79.99 with free shipping.

Warranty on the unit is 6 months, so you are fairly well protected against any issues. If you’d rather spend a little bit more for a brand new unit, check out this list of all sub-$100 GPS units at Amazon.

Daily deal – TomTom ONE Third edition for $85 (refurbished)

It’s been at least a week since we posted our last GPS deal, so if you are one of the very few people left without a GPS unit in your car, this is your chance to score a pretty decent device, for a very decent price.

The TomTom ONE “Third edition” offers all the basic functions you’d expect from a car navigation unit, including spoken turn by turn directions, and the ability to download TomTom map corrections using your computer.

The device comes with a windshield mount, power cord, USB cable and adhesive mounting disc.

This TomTom usually retails for over $100, but since it has been refurbished, you can pick one up today from Amazon for just $85. Warranty on the unit is 6 months, so you are fairly well protected against any issues.

If you’d rather spend a little bit more for a brand new unit, check out this list of all sub-$100 GPS units at Amazon.