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.

Daiy gear deals – $31 picnic set, widescreen GPS unit and more

Here are the hottest gadget deals for today, Thursday June 4th 2009. Remember, these deals are often only valid for one day, so act fast before they are gone!

The first deal for today is pretty damn cool if you ask me – This picnic set comes with 32 pieces, and contains everything you need for a fun outdoor picnic. Mind you – this isn’t some cheap plastic junk either, the kit comes with a cutting board, salt and pepper shakers and of course a picnic blanket. On sale at Buy.com for $30.99 with free shipping.

The best deals are often refurbished items, and this Nikon Coolpix S600 10 Megapixel digital camera is no exception. With a 4x optical wide angle zoom lens and optical vibration reduction, this thing is top of the line, with a bottom of the line price. Normal retail price is about $249, but Adorama is selling it (refurbished) for just $100! You’ll find the Nikon Coolpix S600 digital camera here.

If you are looking for a GPS unit with more than just the basics, then check out this highly rated Garmin nüvi 780 widescreen GPS unit with Bluetooth. Sure, it costs a bit more than the super-basic models, but that does get you Bluetooth handsfree, MSN Direct traffic and information services, a widescreen display and more. Normal retail price s $399, now on sale for just $199 with free shipping.

And finally – the Altec Lansing UHP336 Snugfit noise reducing headphones do much more than just deliver a really long product name. They are designed to feel extremely comfortable, yet provide excellent sound quality and impressive noise isolation. Perfect for your upcoming summer vacation flight! Normal retail price is $130, now on sale for just $34.95 with free shipping.

Daily gear deals – $17 MP3 player, $5 Kindle charging kit and more

Here are the hottest gadget deals for today, Friday May 29th 2009. Remember, these deals are often one-day deals, so act fast before they are gone!

Today’s lineup of deals starts with the highly rated Garmin Nuvi 855. This widescreen GPS unit is miles ahead of the usual cheap stuff we post here. The Nuvi 855 offers speech recognition, spoken commands, lane assist and even the ability to navigate by picture, with the photos from the Garmin photo sharing community. The unit normally costs $499, but is currently on sale through Amazon for just $299 (with free shipping).

Are you in the market for a really cheap MP3 player? This Creative Zen Stone with speaker has 1GB of storage and a built in speaker. Normal price is $45, but it is currently on sale (refurbished) in the Creative outlet for just $16.99.

Do you travel with the Amazon Kindle? Then this deal is perfect for you – an iGo 4 piece Amazon Kindle charging kit (wall + car) for just $4.24. The kit comes with an AC charger, DC (car) charger, retractable cable and Amazon Kindle iGo power tip. On sale at Amazon, but since it is under $25, you’ll need to pay for shipping.
for under $5!

The final deal for today is for this Olympus Stylus 820 weatherproof digital camera. On sale for just $89.99. The camera features a 5x optical zoom, 8 megapixel sensor and weatherproof seals to protect the camera from rain, sand, snow and more.

Looking for more hot deals, coupons and discount codes? Check out the lineup of bargains in our shopping portal!

Daily gear deal – Garmin nüvi 200 for $87

Today’s daily deal is for the GARMIN nüvi 200 GPS unit. The nüvi 200 is one of the most popular GPS devices on the market, and thanks to its great routing, and Navteq maps, you’ll have a reliable device that shouldn’t have too much of a problem getting you where you need to be.

With such a low price you’ll get a fairly basic product, so don’t expect too many bells and whistles. It has all the basic navigation features, including a large point of interest database as well as a calculator and world clock.

The nüvi 200 normally retails for about $150, but Newegg.com has it on sale for just $87.

This low price does mean you’ll get a refurbished unit, which means the product was once returned to the manufacturer, and was returned to its “as new” condition.

Included with the product is a windshield mount and car charger. The nüvi 200 ships for free with 3-day UPS express.

Newest Garmin Oregon GPS unit adds a camera and about $100

Earlier this year, I took a look at the Garmin Oregon 400t rugged outdoor GPS unit. In that review I mentioned how impressed I was with the build quality and features of the device.

Now, take that rugged unit, add a camera and about $100, and you get the upcoming Oregon 500.

By adding a camera to the GPS unit, you’ll now be able to snap photos, tag them with your location, and view them once you get back home. I imagine the device also allows you to do some geocacheing with photos.

Sadly, that is about all we know about this unit, as Garmin have not yet officially announced it. Its existence was leaked last month, and the first photo of the unit appeared on a UK web site last week (the photo above is of the 400t).

Hopefully Garmin won’t make us wait too much longer to learn more about this new device as I really like the idea of a camera enabled GPS device!