Auto GPS » Consumer Reports

How to Compare GPS Units For Cars

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:46:54 +0000

There are several manufacturers who make GPS units for cars. Some of the bigger ones make a ton of different models with various types of features. You can buy a GPS for anywhere from $150 to $900.

For the consumer, this level of competition is great, but it does make for a confusing marketplace. Sometimes you feel like you need a masters degree in engineering to understand what you want to buy.

I’m going to try to simplify all of this for you.

Consumer Reports recently did an article listing their top GPS units for cars. They listed units made by just three companies, Garmin, Tom Tom and Magellan.

Personally, if I were in buying a GPS unit right now, I’d stick to those three companies. There’s nothing anyone else offers that’s not offered by one of them, and also they’ve sewn up almost 90% of the market. If you want your purchase to be supported a year from now, you’ll want to stick with the big boys.

As far as Consumer Reports’ recommendations…From Garmin, they recommended the nuvi 760, nuvi 660, and nuvi 350.

All three of these are great GPS units for cars. The nuvi 760 currently sells for slightly over $400 and can do everything, including saying street names, Bluetooth for hands-free calling, real-time traffic bulletins, and even multiple point routing.

The nuvi 660 sells for about $50 less, and can do all of that less the multiple point routing.

Both the nuvi 760 and the nuvi 660 are the wide screen versions (4.3-inches instead of 3.5-inches). If you want an excellent GPS unit but you’re not interested in Bluetooth, multiple point routing, or the wide screen, then you might really want to consider the nuvi 350. It’s currently selling at Amazon for just under $200.

The two models Consumer Reports mentioned from Tom Tom were the GO 920T, which is an all-inclusive GPS that sells for slightly over $400, and the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition–probably the best entry level device currently on the market. The One, 3rd Edition sells for just under $150.

The only GPS from Magellan mentioned was the Maestro 4250. For a mid-priced GPS unit, the Maestro 4250 really can’t be beat! It sells for around $250. One thing I really like about it, besides the wide screen, is the deal that Magellan has with AAA where they offer the Tour Book right on the device. (For AAA members, of course.)

These are only a few of the top GPS units for cars. Just the ones Consumer Reports mentioned. There are others, to my mind. Like the Garmin nuvi 880, which can do everything except cook your waffles for you. (They’re working on one that can do that for next year.)

Kidding aside, before you go out and actually buy one of these, you need to find an informative website where you can look at individual models and check out their current prices. That way you’ll get the right GPS for you and your needs.

By: Rick Cole

Tips on Buying the Best Auto GPS Units, Part II

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:49:02 +0000

In Part I of this series, we discussed how much you can spend on auto GPS units, and how much you want to spend. In this part, we’re going to discuss the manufacturers and what features you need to be on the look out for.

Buy the end of this article, you should know enough about auto GPS units to enter the marketplace with knowledge and confidence.

What manufacturer’s product should I buy?

Since I just mentioned the top manufacturers in the United States, let me just say a few words about each of them.

Garmin has the broadest and deepest product line. I like their nuvi line quite a lot! They’re sleek and really have a lot of features for such a small package.

Tom Tom has been fast catching up in the United States due to very aggressive pricing. If you want a more fully featured model than the One, 3rd Edition, then how about the GO 920T, which was listed by Consumer Reports recently as one of the best GPS’s to buy. Right now, it will cost you a little over $400.

Magellan is sort of the granddaddy of the field. They were one of the first companies to enter the auto GPS market. I like their Maestro line the best for about the same reasons I like Garmin’s nuvi line.

Also, Magellan has a great deal with AAA, where they have the Tour Book pre-programmed right in their device. I’m a AAA lover. So, for me that’s a great selling feature.

Sure, there are other manufacturers of these devices other than Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan, but since these three control almost 90% of the U. S. market, I can’t see any reason to buy anything else.

Now that we’ve talked about who makes auto GPS units, let’s talk about what features you should be considering.

What do I want my new GPS to do–besides tell me how to get places?

In addition to showing you where you are and telling how to get to places, all GPS units also have touch screens, a database of pre-programmed destinations (called Points of Interest, or POI’s), and pre-loaded maps, usually of at least the lower 48 United States.

Other features you might want are:

More maps Actually saying street names (instead of just “Turn Here!”) Real-time weather and traffic alerts right on your device Bluetooth, so you can make hands-free phone calls while driving Multiple point routing, so you can enter more than one destination in for the same trip Bigger screen (4.3-inches instead of 3.5-inches–measured along the diagonal)

You can get the extra maps, saying the street names, and the real-time weather and traffic alerts (with subscription) for only about $200! The Garmin nuvi 350 can do this just fine.

If you want Bluetooth, then you can get this and the wider screen for around $400. The multiple point routing will cost you another $50 to $100.

There are certainly more features, but these are the main ones. There’s a lot of competition under $400 in the auto GPS marketplace. Above $400, it’s mainly all Garmin. So, if you’re willing to spend more, you really need to look at their nuvi 700’s and their 800’s.

Hopefully, this will help you wrap your mind around the market for auto GPS units a little better!

At first buying a GPS seems a little confusing and overwhelming. It’s not really. There are just a few things you haven’t thought about.

Use this article as a guide to help you better understand the marketplace.

What you need now is an informative website where you can browse and check current prices.

By: Rick Cole

Compare Top GPS Units

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:23:32 +0000

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

How to Save Money on Auto GPS Units!

admin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:14:55 +0000

Although prices on auto GPS units have fallen quite a bit lately, there are still ways to save money when you buy one. And since you can spend anywhere from $150 to $900 on a GPS, saving money is a good thing to do.

Perhaps the most important money saving tip is for you to understand the marketplace before you buy.

A lot of people just read reviews or talk with friends and say “I’ll buy that one,” only to find out that the one they bought was not what they would have wanted.

It helps to have a basic idea of what you want your GPS to do.

They all show you where you are and give you directions to get to where your going. They all also have a database of pre-programmed destinations called Points of Interest, or POI’s. You can get an auto GPS unit to do all of this and more for only $150! The Garmin nuvi 200, the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition, and the Magellan Maestro 3100 are all three good choices of basic GPS systems.

Some popular features are more extensive maps, actually saying street names with the directions, real-time traffic bulletins, and Bluetooth capability, to name only a few.

You can get all of this for $200! The Garmin nuvi 350 is a great example. It can do this and more.

Another example of a great mid-priced GPS is the Magellan Maestro 4250. It can do everything I’ve mentioned and it has the wider, 4.3-inch screen. (Normal screen sizes are 3.5-inches. These are all measured on the diagonal, just like a television.)

Yet another auto GPS unit you need to be thinking about is the Tom Tom GO 920T. At around $400, the GO 920T can do everything mentioned thus far, and also it has a few features that only Tom Tom offers–such as their Map Share technology. Map Share lets users actually enter information into Tom Tom’s map database that reflects current road conditions.

Personally, I really like the Garmin nuvi 760! It was voted by Consumer Reports as the best overall GPS unit. At less than $400, it can do everything we’ve talked about and also has multiple point routing. Multiple point routing lets you enter more than one destination into your device. The device will plot the best route to include all of your stops! For some people this is extremely handy.

While we’re mentioning extra features, let me make sure you know about Magellan’s deal with AAA. If you’re a AAA subscriber, you can get access to their well-known Tour Book right on your GPS device. I love AAA. So, for me this would certainly be a good selling feature.

As you can see, there are auto GPS units to fit all budgets and needs.

Your best money saving tip would be to get on an informative website where you can check out prices and browse particular models. That way you’ll really know what you’re buying when you decide to spend your money!

By: Rick Cole

What Are the Top Rated GPS Units?

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:30:15 +0000

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