Having worked in the mapping industry I have almost an emotional attachment when it comes to Navigators and mapping devices.

When I travel to an unknown place, navigator is the first thing I pack and always have solace that it will help me when I get lost in the new place.

But I must admit that though navigator gives you a solace when in unknown place, 70% of the time you use it in such situations, you actually end up taking more stress, as the navigator lands you in small bylane not fit for car,  asks you to turn on a one-way road and very often you hit a dead-end.

Well over the years, I have learnt to use my TomTom with caution and almost instinctively deciding which instruction to follow and which not to follow, but still end up in embarrassing situation at times… ex.. i was with my family in the car at 3 AM in night on a cut to rampur (jim corbett)  when navigator misguided me to a road completely empty and barren.. it was my gut which said something is wrong and i decided to do a u-turn…

I would not entirely blame the mapping company for that, as it is impossible for roads change so frequently in India – one ways, blockages etc.   No wonder that navigation devices have not taken off in India.  In India it is more apt to look the place in Google maps and use your judgement to navigate to that place…  Exact turn-by-turn navigation is not possible!!

This is not say that navigators are completely useless. They are very helpful when you are navigating on main roads.. but the moment you try to go on the bylanes, navigators loose it.. so you need to depend on your gut for last mile..

For all Google map lovers, let me tell you that google maps have their own disadvantage in terms of no data availability many times and not very comfortable to use while driving.. apart from gps killing the battery completely..

I would like to end saying that navigator has definitely helped quite a few time when i was searching for a resort/hotel in hill stations like Kanatal, Mukteshwar and even Sangla… it was wonderful to see resorts being mapped and navigator also took me 600m close to the resorts…  it also helped me in discovering new routes –  I never knew the route from Gurgaon to Delhi via Chatarpur farms ( not via mehrauli road)..