What’s the best car GPS on the market. I’m sure that there are a number of opinions, and I suspect you might not agree with me, but let’s take a shot and see if we can sort this thing out.
For one thing, I’m already going to hedge my bet and give you about three “best” car GPS’s not just one.
Okay, that might not be fair, but after all this is my article and I can do what I want to. (Although, my goal is to help you understand the marketplace, so I was really just sort of kidding about that.)
To get a grip on the best GPS, we really have to divide the marketplace into at least three segments. Entry-level, mid-range, and high-end. Let’s take a look at the entry-level segment first.
Best Entry-level Car GPS
By “Entry-Level” I mean under $200. Really with the recent drop in prices that should maybe be under $150! But we’ll stick with under $200.
There are two entry-level best car GPS systems. The Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition and the Garmin nuvi 350.
The One, 3rd Edition sells for about $150 and has a ton of great features like pre-loaded maps of the U. S. and Canada and voice instructions that tell you where to turn.
The Garmin nuvi 350 has a few more features like real-time traffic and weather, but it sells for about $50 more–just under $200! Actually, most people don’t think of the nuvi 350 as an entry-level device, but who can question selling for less than $200 and offering all of these features?
Best Mid-Range Car GPS
Although Garmin has several good mid-range car GPS systems, like the nuvi 760 and the nuvi 660 (both of which sell for under $400), I really think the best device on the market as far as price and features is the Magellan Maestro 4250.
The Maestro 4250 only sells for $250, and includes a wider screen and Magellan’s deal with AAA where they actually have AAA’s famous Tour Book right on the device. For AAA lovers like me, that’s a big incentive.
Best High-End GPS
Garmin absolutely dominates the top of the GPS market. If you want cutting edge technology then the Garmin nuvi 880 has to be your best choice. It sells for almost $900, but it can do everything except tie your trout fishing flies for you. (They’ll have a newer model next year that can do just that. Just kidding!)
But seriously. When Garmin set out to make the top of the line absolutely best car GPS, they succeeded completely with the nuvi 880.
Of course, choosing a GPS is a very personal matter. You might not want any of the one’s I’ve mentioned. And there are certainly many very good GPS systems out there.
What will make your choice a lot easier is a good, informative website where you can browse products and check out their current selling price.
By: Rick Cole
Posts Tagged ‘Garmin Nuvi 350’
What’s the Best Car GPS on the Market?
December 4th, 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
