Traveling from place to place often involves going to areas that we are unfamiliar with, whether that is across town or across the country. Using a GPS is an easy and effective way to make sure that we can find our way there. The advent of smartphones that have a built in GPS has made this easier than ever, but there are definite advantages and disadvantages to using a smartphone over a dedicated in-car GPS.
In general, the smartphone is more convenient to take with you. It can fit in your pocket and you can take it wherever you go, even when you get out of the car. This allows you to take it around the city with you and can come in quite handy if you are touring a city you have not been to before. Many dedicated GPS devices for the car lack this feature, though some in-car GPS devices do allow you to take them out of the car and use them as you walk around.
Using your smartphone means that you do not have to make an additional expenditure and purchase a GPS for your car. The smartphone, however, does not have the GPS support that a device made specifically for your car will have. Many manufacturers offer additional map packs for their devices and also provide updated construction information. This type of support is somewhat lacking for smartphones.
The convenience of the smartphone can be a drawback, though. Generally, the screen size of the phone is smaller, making those navigation instructions harder to see. Battery levels are also smaller on a smartphone and you run into the problem of having to answer calls on the same device that you are using to navigate to your destination.
Ultimately, because both devices can get the job done, the decision to use a smartphone or a dedicated GPS for your car will hinge on price and on how much you plan on using it.
