Rand McNally GPS Navigator sports pre-planned vacations

Sure, your navigation unit might sport a 7-inch LCD, support Bluetooth calling, or track your roaming pet around the neighborhood, but can it make vacation planning decisions for you? Rand McNally's latest GPS handheld boasts "door-to-door" routing in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, but the 26 preloaded "best of the road" trip itineraries steal the show. These top-notch American road trips were selected by the company's own award-winning editorial staff, and include tourist-friendly attractions, eateries, and fuel stations to stop at along the way. Aside from prepackaged journeys, the nav sports a 3.5-inch QVGA color touchscreen, 20-channel SiRF Star III receiver, MP3 player, obligatory robotic voice prompts, multistop route planning / mileage calculator, and a (self-explanatory) "Go Home" button. If you've got a full tank of gas and nowhere to be -- or you'd rather not spend half your vacation figuring out where to go -- the $499.99 GPS Navigator can queue up your next fun-filled excursion with the simple press of a button.

[Via GPSLodge]

[CB @ Sep 19th 2006 11:00AM]

I've been waiting for this, won't be long before you download the trip from your favourite holiday program
and then business will be paying to have themselves attached to the itinery, then local residents will start complaining and we'll need more legislation against companies offering 'routetrip.docs'with all their outlets attached.

Those quite little 'undiscovered' locations will all be listed under 'undiscovered locations' on your Satnav and you'll find a 600 space car park next time you go..and you know what? There isn't an inch of the Earth that can escape this one.

[Apoco_Lips @ Sep 19th 2006 11:40AM]

in Rand McNally, they wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people

[Armie @ Sep 19th 2006 11:55AM]

LOL @ Apoco...

Anyway, this is what I've been waiting for, navigation assitance in the US Virgin Islands (where I'm from but not where I live, although I visit every year). The only problem is, we V. Islanders don't really have that many street signs excepts for the downtown areas, so this GPS system will have to give directions the way many locals do, "Okay you turn down by the big tamarind tree and you'll see an old blue pickup truck with a dog tied to it, then you go up past the Moravian Church..."

[Brian from Texas @ Sep 19th 2006 3:10PM]

Sounds great, except the lack of bluetooth. :(

[Jacob Kennedy @ Sep 19th 2006 5:26PM]

I WAS going to say how great this sounded until I read CB's comment. I never thought about those quiet little places. I guess when you pull up to the place with the 600 parking spaces full you'll have to go around the corner to find that "little place."

[hongkongtechkid @ Sep 19th 2006 6:22PM]

Rand McNally, what a name for a company!