If you’re in the market for an auto GPS unit, then there are three things you absolutely have to know and understand. In order to choose the right unit for your needs and budget, you need to know who the main manufacturers are, what features they offer, and how much various features are going to cost you.

Lets’ take a look at each of these three in order.

First off, there are three main manufacturers of GPS units.

Garmin is without doubt the industry leader in the United States. (Tom Tom leads the field in Europe.)

In the U. S., Garmin has 50% of the market share. And it’s no wonder. They have the broadest product line and price range. Garmin essentially dominates the high end of the marketplace.

The StreetPilots are Garmin’s older models, whereas the nuvis are the newer models. Garmin nuvis are compact, sleek, and pack a tremendous amount of features in a small package. Garmin’s entry level product, the nuvi 200 sells for under $150, whereas the nuvi 880 sells for almost $900!

What’s the difference between the two? The nuvi 200 is an excellent, basic GPS unit. It can do what all modern GPS’s can do–tell you where you are and how to get where you’re going with voice instructions.

If you’re looking for a top of the line auto GPS unit, then look no further than the 880. It does everything the nuvi 200 can do, and it has Bluetooth capability, FM transmission capability, and it can make multiple route calculations. These are just a few of the great features you can get with an 880.

Tom Tom is second in the U. S. market with almost 20% of the market share. Tom Tom is a more recent arrival on the GPS scene, but they’ve taken the U. S. market by storm by offering excellent products at prices that are lower than Garmin’s. The Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition, is a direct competitor of the nuvi 200. If you’re looking for a more expensive, fully-featured model, check out Tom Tom’s GO series. There you’ll find Bluetooth, a larger database of Points of Interest, and all of the features you’ll be looking for in a more expensive device.

Magellan is right behind Tom Tom in market share. But don’t underestimate them. Their Maestro line is one of my favorites. The Maestro 4250 was rated by Consumer Reports as one of the top GPS units on the market. Yet it only sells for around $350!

No 500 word article can tell you everything you might want to know when buying your first (or even next) GPS. What you need now is an informative website where you can browse particular models and also check out their current prices.

By: Rick Cole