Standalone GPS for top down driving

Does anyone have a unit that they are happy with for top down daytime driving? Any tips on mounting locations etc. that might help visibility are certainly welcome.

I just use my cell phone on a windshield mount. No issues with visibility and it comes with me whenever I get out of the car, so no theft concerns either. Might help if we know your requirements. What do you need a standalone GPS for that a phone isn't up to the task for?

+1 on using cellphone - Googlemaps works very well, and with Waze you can be aware of cops, red light cameras, accidents, traffic tie ups, construction, etc. Rather than a windshield mount I just prop it up in front of the gear shift.

I used the cheap vent mount - works like a champ

I have used several Garmin GPSs on a "bean bag" mount. They stay in place for 95% of your normal driving.

You can use the T-Design Phone Mount for most phones. It can also hold the smaller Garmin Nuvi’s that use a USB connector. It works pretty well, though the door lock button is a little harder to get to. Here’s YouTub on the mount: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cun8VCCVtis

Problem with cell phone is that when you lose cell signal, you lose navigation. A lot of places I travel (off the beaten path) I lose signal often. I'm using a Note 4 through Verizon which has the best reception in my area. Current GPS is a Garmin 755T,maybe it's just because it is getting old that the screen is so dim?

If you're using google's turn-by-turn directions, it caches them so it won't cut out if you lose signal. I don't use it much because it sucks the battery down, though. I have a couple offline maps programs that I use overseas in places my cellphone won't work it all outside of wifi hotspots. Standalone do work better in places where you're entirely off the grid, but I like to travel light and only bother with a Garmin if it's a place where traditional map & roadsign directions are impossible, like Italy. As to placement, I have my phone mount dead-center in the windshield, about halfway down from the mirror. I also use my phone for telemetry for autocross & track, so it's positioned so that if I turn it sideways, my camera is centerline of the car. But it's pretty good for driving on the street, too.

Me too. A 6" and a 7" for long trips we use in my wife's car, but not in a Boxster. If sunlight on the screen is a problem, clip-on sun visors are available for the Garmins on eBay.

A friend recommended Navmii. All. Maps are downloaded to the phone, so cell signal is not required for navigation. I did a test run in airplane mode and it worked fine. Thanks for all the responses. Problem solved.

Google maps changes very often, and sometimes has really bad ideas. Most of the time it is very smart. But in all seriousness I recommend that you only update Google Maps when you will have an opportunity to validate that the new version is any good before you will depend on it. Having said that, the awesome thing about an Android phone is that in addition to Google maps you can have any number of other navigation software on it, most of them openstreetmaps based and full offline capable. So if Google maps ****s up all you need is to pull over and switch software. The full offline capability also means you can have an old Android phone do it, without a SIM card or a contract. Just update maps on your home wifi every now and then. Or use tethering on your primary phone to feed the backup Android. I use the windshield holder that Target sells. Very solid unit, better than some mailordered things I have.

The next update of Google maps is supposed to have an offline mode. If this works like other map apps with an offline mode, you will download the area you need ahead of time, while you have a network connection. Then, when there is no connection, you will have the map data on your phone. I have several map apps with offline modes, they work just fine in the backcountry with no cell signal at all. As long as I have a decent view of the sky (e.g. not down in the bottom of a narrow canyon), it locks very quickly, much quicker than my old hand held Garmin. You must have an Android, because iPhones won't get a GPS lock while in airplane mode (but they can use other methods to get an approximate location, like your WiFi address). When I'm in the backcountry, I will put my phone into airplane mode. One of the biggest battery drains is when the phone amps up the transmitter power to find a cell tower that's not there. When I need GPS, I will take it out of airplane mode, get my lock, then put it back into airplane mode.

The current problem is that Google maps does all location name lookup and all route planning server side. You can already preload map areas and simply locate yourself on the map using GPS without data connectivity. But no search and no routes. That is pretty annoying if you drive out of cellphone coverage and then want to go back. It tossed all the information.

You don't need to wait for updates; Orux Maps will cache google maps for offline standalone use. It doesn't have turn-by-turn directions, but you can use it as an electronic map. It will also cache satellite photos, bing maps, and various open source maps, too; it's pretty flexible. I also use Mapdroyd overseas, which uses open source road maps and is quite a bit simpler, but nice for at least downloading the entire road network of a country you'll be in (vice Orux which if you stray outside the area you've cached, you're SOL.) It supports address searches, too, though you'll still have to navigate to that pip the old fashioned way: by using the map