Husband has a hand held real time traffic alert system on his xmas list. I wondered if there was some way to get this info via the navigator system he has in his Prius (which is a few years old). He doesn't want the whole sirius radio as he listens to his cds in the car. And this solution is only 50-80$.
You'll need an external device, and it's going to run you more than that plus it will have a monthly fee. AAA sells a gizmo that will give you traffic for the socal area but it's pretty pathetic. Your cheepest option is to tell me what cell phone he has and then see if you can install Google Maps onto it, that will tell you traffic.
The cheapest (I don't mean it badly) device with Real Time Traffic is Navigon 2100 + optional Real Time Traffic or you may go with Navigon 5100, which comes with Zagat review and Real Time Traffic (pre-installed) I have the latter (5100, for a very good price from Costco a couple weeks ago for $299-$50rebate = $249), and I like it very much. The Real Time Traffic is FREE (no monthly fee or subscription). The information is obtained thru local FM RDS (radio data system). As long as the hand-held GPS has the hardware (a chip/module, basically), it can receive the RDS data and display it on the GPS unit (Navigon, in this case). The NAVIGON also detour around the congestions or accidents when asked it. Check it out. It is the most inexpensive GPS unit that comes with Real Time Traffic for free. for details, navigon.com. P.S. NAVIGON is an German company that employs more than 2000. It just bought NAVTEG (map company) a while back. I am just saying that NAVIGON is not a no-name company even though it is not very well-known in US yet.
I just found out that Amazon has the best price on 5100 (for $199 after $50 rebate). Check it out. Merry Christmas.
Install google maps onto his phone and since it already has a data connection plan it won't cost anything extra.
That'll cost the data rate on the phone plan, which varies. My solution was expensive and has a monthly fee, but OOOH it's nice. carpc -> USB pcmcia adapter -> Cingular OPTION GT card ~ dan ~ The nice thing is, though, I can park the car, pop out the pcmcia card, and stuff it in my laptop to keep going.
They have a Blackberry, so they're already paying a data fee. You can't own a blackberry without a data plan. That's why I said it won't cost anything 'extra'
