Cosumer Reports recently had an article where they listed the top GPS units. Not surprisingly all of the GPS units listed were made by the top three U. S. manufacturers, Gamin, Tom Tom, and Magellan.
But how do you know which one to buy?
Well, in this article we’re going to compare these top GPS units so you can get an idea of which one would fit your budget and your needs. Along the way, I’ll explain some of the cool features these things offer.
Consumer Report’s rated the Garmin nuvi 760 as their best overall system.
Right now, at Amazon, the nuvi 760 sells for just under $400. In addition to Garmin’s reputation for quality the nuvi 760 offers a ton of features for the money.
For instance, the nuvi 760 has maps of the whole U.S. plus Canada. It actually tells you the names of the street you’re turning on, instead of just saying “Turn Right,” or something to that effect. You can get a subscription to real-time traffic reports.
It’s got Bluetooth for hands-free calling, and what’s called “FM transmission” so you can hear the device on your car’s own stereo system. Also, it has multiple point routing, which means you can enter several destinations in at once, and it will plot your route to include all of them. In addition to all of this, the nuvi 760 has the wider, 4.3-inch screen.
Honestly, for under $400, it would be hard to beat all of that!
While we’re talking about Garmin’s top GPS units, Consumer Reports also mentioned the nuvi 660, the nuvi 350, and the nuvi 260 as excellent GPS systems, too.
The nuvi 660 is essentially just like the nuvi 760 minus the multiple point routing. It sells for about $50 less, too.
The nuvi 350 is a really great buy at $200! It doesn’t have the wide screen that the 760 and 660 have. And it doesn’t support Bluetooth. But it can do all the other stuff I mentioned.
As far as the nuvi 260, I’m not sure if Consumer Reports meant the nuvi 260 or the nuvi 260w. Personally, I can’t see a lot of difference between the nuvi 260 and the nuvi 350. The nuvi 350 is an ever so slightly older nuvi model. It has that flip up antenna thing on the back, which bothers some people. It was never much of a factor with me, however.
I could make the case for the nuvi 260w, because it’s got the wider screen. I like wide screens, probably because I drive a big car and my dash is father away than in a little car.
Don’t think that Consumer Reports left out the other two top U. S. manufacturers, though. Tom Tom and Magellan both had excellent devices mentioned in their article.
The Tom Tom GO 920T and the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition were both mentioned. I wholeheartedly agree! Both of these are great devices.
The Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition is a great entry level device. Actually, as far as features, it’s not entry level at all–it just has an entry level price! It sells for just under $150.
The GO 920T is a direct competitor of Garmin’s nuvi 660 and 760. At just over $400, the GO 920T has a lot of features including Tom Tom’s own Map Share technology, which let’s users make changes in Tom Tom’s map database information.
As far as Magellan is concerned, Consumer Reports chose the Maestro 4250 as one of their top GPS units. I think the Maestro 4250 is without doubt one of the best deals on the market. It’s got the wide screen and a number of other great features. All this for only around $250!
Consumer Reports didn’t mention a number of other great top GPS units that are just as worthy as these are. For information on them, you’ll have to refer yourself to an informative website.
By: Rick Cole
Posts Tagged ‘Consumer Report’
Compare Top GPS Units
October 26th, 2009What Are the Top Rated GPS Units?
October 8th, 2009
Although it’s tempting, you can’t just read someone’s opinion of what the top rated GPS units are then go out and buy that specific unit and be happy with your purchase. Well, I guess you can buy whatever unit Consumer Reports or CNET or whoever recommends, but your happiness with your purchase is more of a personal issue. And it’s just that personal side of things that I want to talk about.
Okay, just for the record, a little earlier this year Consumer Reports gave the Garmin nuvi 760 their best overall system rating. They also mentioned the Garmin nuvi 660, Tom Tom GO 920T, the Garmin nuvi 350, and the Magellan Maestro 4250 as receiving very high scores.
I agree entirely! All of these systems are great! And it’s interesting that the units Consumer Reports picked all come from the three big manufacturers of GPS units.
Just so you know, Garmin has about 50% of the market share, Tom Tom about 20% and Magellan slightly less than 20%. That’s 90%! The rest of the 10% is fought over by the little guys. Personally, I like the big three. I see no reason to buy anything else. But again, that’s just a personal opinion.
As far as Garmin’s three GPS units in Consumer Report’s report, the nuvi 350 sells for about $200, the 660 for about $330, and the 760 for about $370. The difference between the three?
Well the 350 is an ever so slightly older model. It has that flip up antenna thing that bothers some people, but frankly doesn’t bother me at all. The 350 has maps of the U.S. plus Canada. It can tell you where to turn by actually saying the street name (a big feature in my mind). The only drawback is its 3.5-inch screen.
If you want the larger screen, you’ll have to opt for the 660. Which also adds hands-free calling with Bluetooth and the ability to route its transmissions through your car’s stereo system. The only thing the 760 adds is multi-point routing. In other words, you can select several destinations and the device can tell you how to get to all of them on one trip.
As far as the Tom Tom GO 920T, there you’re looking at a little over $400. It can do everything the nuvi 660 can, but it also has Tom Tom’s proprietary map share technology, which is sort of user-generated thing where you can actually send Tom Tom information about road closings, construction, etc. and they’ll reflect that on their maps.
Don’t forget the Magellan 4250! As a close competitor to Gamin’s 660 and the GO 920T, the 4250 sells for only about $280! Don’t think this is a cheaply made unit, either. Magellan was one of the forerunners in this field, and they make a quality product.
So, you see even if you’re just focusing on the top rated GPS units, there’s a lot to choose from and quite a lot to know about your choices.
What will make things easier is an informative website where you can browse models and check out current prices. There you can look at all the top rated GPS units and find the best one for you and your budget.
By: Rick Cole
