Would a GPS help?

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My sense of direction is poor and I'm wondering whether a GPS would help. Would poor map reading skills be a barrier to using one? I am not sure how a GPS would explain things .

I've just looked on Amazon for handheld ones.(a) They seem expensive and (b) The pictures of the phone screens tend to show a map.

I use the google maps app on my phone.

I guess a lot of people use google maps/GPS on their smartphone, but I don't have one. I have a c2005 mobile which I've hardly used and not for several years. Given my usage not sure I could justify buying one .

I also have a HEMA gps for the car.
It's fine for travelling but is frustrating to use sometimes because it takes a lot of steps to program it.
Personally, for ease of use and clear display I prefer google maps.
It tells you exactly where to go.
It shows where you are in relation to everything else.
It gives written instructions as well.
You can save routes to places you visit.
It tells you routes for car, bus, train, bike or pedestrian.
The only downside is you need reliable reception and credit.

Some of the people in my bushwalking club have handheld gps but they seem very basic and have a display which is virtually just a mud map displayed on the screen.

I take it that you don't drive a car.

So you must mean a GPS device for a pedestrian.

GPS devices in cars have scrolling maps, but the important feature is the polite voice that comes out that tells you to "turn right here" and, "go straight through this light", and so on. Its designed so the driver doesn't have to do a lot of looking at the map so they can keep their eye on the road. But there might be pedestrian gismos that also rely mostly on voice commands. Maybe even one that you can plug into your ear like a cellphone/music player. Hell, there is probably an ap you can put on the smartphone/Ipod thing you probably already have.

For GPS anything, I aways used Garmin. Wether it's Auto, Avation, Marine or even navigating on bike. It's what we have aways used in my family. They are easy to use, get quality reception and overall perform well. Garmin makes a secfic unit for just about everything, including personal and bicycle commuting.

Look up YouTube reviews. You will get a video demonstration.

I have severe navigation problems. GPS on my phone works pretty good. I would imgine blind people make good use of them as well. Basically it just tells me which direction to go in like "turn left here". It doesn't solve everything, but it helps.

Yes- a GPS device for a pedestrian.

I think it makes sense.

I also use google maps to get somewhere. Even though I can read maps and have a good sense of direction, I still wouldn't be able to find a place on the map of an address to get to and I would like a visual of what the place looks like and the surroundings so I know what to expect. Paper maps can't do that. I just write down the directions and I use that. I do not have a car GPS but I am considering getting one. My dad uses one and he used to use paper maps and now he has no use for them because he uses GPS now. Or I can get something to keep my phone up so I can use google maps on it but from personal experience that becomes unreliable because signal gets lost or the GPS freezes on google maps so I am sure car GPS would be more reliable because it will never freeze and act like I am parked in one spot than moving or losing the signal.

A GPS device (i.e. Garmin eTrex) tends to be used to record where you've been.

The GPS in a phone can be linked to a map service that will show your approximate location provided you have internet available (and that can be a problem sometimes - I know my phone can be rubbish and take a long time to pick up a signal), but is not really useful for navigating unless you tell it where you want to get to and use it as a sat-nav.

What I used to do before I had a proper sat nav was to use Google Earth at home before setting off and write a list of directions to take with me.

Google maps and streetview have made several journeys possible that would not have been otherwise.
I used to check the maps and write the directions, then switch to streetview so I could see what the landmarks would look like. Now I have a smart phone on which I use google maps as back-up if I get stuck.

My husband has a Garmin watch, it is expensive though. He has to plot a map on the computer, then upload it to the watch, and the watch displays a line and a pointer which goes off the line if he goes off course. It doesn't work like a speaking Satnav though.

I use a smartphone with offline maps. Very bad sense of direction, but it got a little bit better though geocaching (which is also lots of fun). I still don't have any internal map in my mind, but at least I have a vague idea about where some things are located in the city.

GPS requires a line of sight path to the satellites. Buildings can block reception, as can hills.

It might help. One low cost way to give it a try is to buy a used smartphone and install
an app like this.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... test&hl=en
That shows x y and z and a compass no data or cell phone plan needed only wifi at first
to download the app. Smartphones have a compass in them.