I did pizza delivery for years without GPS.
We had a really early one in the 90s, like way earlier than anyone else we knew, in a car we bought from some rich guy. We only used it once or twice as a novelty as my Dad always insisted he knew better. Plus it had its maps loaded up using some CD which was really out of date and it wasn’t like you could type in McDonalds and it would take you to the closest one, you had to put the whole address in and even then I think it wouldn’t find it half the time.
The first one I got was a gift in the 00s and it was bloody awful. Once I t turned me off a perfectly straight road to drive through a graveyard and then put me back on the road I had been on. Another time it turned me off and sent me down the only toll-road in the UK, then got me off at the first exit and put me back on the toll-road in the opposite direction to get me off at the place I’d got into it earlier. I had to pay twice to go nowhere and it added five minutes to my journey.
Just to add, when people came round our house in the late 90s my Dad would make me turn on the computer to show them MS Autoroute, which was an offline piece of software that was used to generate routes, basically what Google Maps does now with directions, but it would just give you something to print out. Really useful for the day and you could even get it to estimate how much the fuel would cost, etc.
I remember being really amazed that I could stand in place and turn around and see my arrow on google maps turn with me. It seemed crazy it had that much precision.
On my first smart phone ca. 2014, I had Here Maps (a Nokia product I think?). I didn’t have any data plan, and that mapping service didn’t require it. I don’t think I ever used it, but that may be the first. Otherwise, earlier this year I used my work phone and whatever it has for navigation. I hated it 😅 I clearly liked knowing directions more then one turn out.
My first GPS was an entire laptop sitting in the passenger seat with a card adaptor. Then I upgraded to a PDA (remember those?) with a card adaptor (may have been the same one, I can’t remember). Motorcycled over 3000 miles with that setup before smart phones became a thing.
actually rarely do. Sometimes with google but really I just want the map. Biggest feature to me is downloading a section of map and its annoying they kinda hide it.
I couldn’t tell you the specifics, but back in the 1990’s, we had GPS devices that just had an LCD read-out of your latitude and longitude, so you could find your position on a paper map. They were on the market as survey devices, but were also useful for wilderness travelers.
It’s hard to recall exact dates, because the devices developed incrementally, and navigation mode on Google Maps didn’t spring into existence ask at once.
I can’t remember the exact first trip, where from/to etc, but I do remember when it first dropped and I was sitting in a room with a few friends just looking up places and basically saying “RIP Mapquest lol” for a few minutes, then we probably played xbox or walked to the mall to eat and bum cigarettes off of adults lol.
No, but I remember buying my first smartphone (SymbianOS) without a data plan and being terrified that using the GPS function with pre-downloaded maps would accidentally run up a thousand dollar phone bill.
I got completely lost on a highway abroad and Symbian on roaming saved me. And costed a lot in roaming fees.
Alternate question: do any of you (maybe a bit older than 35) remember the last time you bought an updated paper map for your area, or one for a road trip? They used to be at most checkout lanes in many stores.
I can already hear the “maps on paper? How could you find anything?”
Yes, I get paper maps of my area. For hiking, but I think it still counts.
The last time I used a paper map for driving? Probably early aughts
I would guess that hiking or trail maps are probably much more detailed than a road map, so that makes sense that it would still be a thing, although certainly digital versions have made some dent in them. Electronics are a bit more susceptible to the environment and the need for power though, so maybe not as much for those reasons.
Yep, right on. For a day hike or simple trail, I’ll trust my phone maps and Garmin GPS. Anything beyond that, I’m bringing a map and compass as a backup because they don’t require power and the good ones still work even if wet.
Even for a simple day hike, I’ll usually print out a map because it’s quicker than using my phone.
Internal thought process: “psh, it’s not just over-35’s who remember the dawn of GPS, I’m only… thirty… six…” 😩
I don’t have deeply shocking memories about using GPS for the first time, it was just this gadget my dad got for road trips so we didn’t have to deal with an atlas. However, I still remember being a passenger in a moving car using my first smartphone, watching our progress on Google Maps and feeling like I had gained the ability to see around corners. Technological progress seemed unambiguously positive and my phone just kept getting more useful.
I still remember printing out google maps directions, then missing one turn and then being completely lost.
The number of times I had to stop and recalibrate with the paper map was high!
In 2001, I rented a van in Japan. Digital mapping is essential for Japan, because most streets have no names, and house numbering is almost completely random, often based on the year they were built rather than any linear sequence.
It was incredible to me to be able to punch in a destination and see the map. At the time, I don’t think it could speak the directions to you. And you could search for nearby restaurants and gas stations too!
Visited the US for the first time on a work trip in 2013. The rental we got had a garmin gps included. Then I think it was around 2015-ish when I used Waze for the first time in my own car.
I remember the first time I used one, but not for technically getting anywhere. It was the mid 90s I think, childhood memories are hard to place exactly.
My dad bought a GPS device for work and let me play with it a little. It was an even older model from the late 80s probably. Alphanumeric display only, it couldn’t even draw an arrow let alone a map.
I tried to follow the instructions from the manual to make it do something. I remember wanting to navigate to the other end of the back yard. But the manual was all in English and I couldn’t figure it out in the end.
