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GPS Reviews Comparison – How to Choose the Right Model

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:25:02 +0000

If you’re like me, choosing the right GPS receiver is a little daunting. What helps is a good GPS reviews comparison, where you can learn what various models do and how much they cost. In other words, you need a guide!

Choosing the right GPS device is critical. Prices have dropped over the past two years, and you can probably get a model with more bells and whistles than you think you can. To help you form your game plan, let’s first talk about who the main manufacturers are, then what various models do and how much they cost.

There are a number of companies that make GPS receivers, but the big three are Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan. Garmin is the industry leader with by far the most market share, and also a much broader range of products than anyone else.

Magellan actually was one of the first companies to make these nifty little devices. They were essentially the pioneer. And Tom Tom is the new arrival. Although new, Tom Tom has made great inroads on the market shares of the more established companies by offering great products at great prices.

Any good GPS reviews comparison should tell you what you can expect to buy. So, let’s run over the basic features that you’ll get with any GPS receiver.

All GPS receivers have a touch screen interface, maps of the lower 48 states, and a database of Points of Interest (POIs). All receivers also calculate the best route from where you are to where you want to go, and they give you directions via spoken voice prompts.

The base models of either Garmin, Tom Tom, or Magellan will do all of this and more.

For around $150 you can get the Garmin nuvi 200, the Tom Tom One, or the Magellan Maestro 3100. These three models all cover the basic features I mentioned.

What if you want more? How much is that going to cost?

Well, let’s run over what more you can get.

Upgrades are: more maps (Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Europe, Mexico), bigger screen, Bluetooth, real-time traffic and weather, many more POIs (how about 6 million!), and multiple routing.

You can get most of this stuff for $350! For instance, the Garmin 660 can do all of the above except the multi-route calculations. It sells for slightly under $350.

Magellan’s Maestro 4250 is a direct competitor and can do essentially what the Garmin 660 can. The 4250 is currently selling for slightly more than $250.

Tom Tom’s comparable receiver would be the Tom Tom Go 720, which is currently selling for less than $350.

Of course, you might be willing to spend more!

As you go higher in price, each of these companies offers great proprietary features. Magellan has a deal with AAA, for instance, to include their Tour Book right in the device. (For AAA members only.)

A good GPS reviews comparison can only do so much, however.

Now you need to actually get on an informative website and start browsing.

By: Lee Cole

How to Pick a GPS Unit to Fit Your Budget

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:00:37 +0000

Knowing how to pick a GPS unit to fit your budget sounds easy, but there’s actually quite a bit to understand about these neat little devices. When you’re buying a GPS unit for the first time, of even if you’re upgrading, you can sometimes feel like you need a master’s degree in electrical engineering just to comprehend what you’re buying.

It doesn’t have to be that confusing! Hopefully, this article will make the choice of the right GPS a little easier for you.

First off, let’s look at what basic features any GPS will have.

All GPS units do the following:

They…

Show you where you are and tell you how to get to your destination Come pre-programmed with a database of Points of Interest (POI’s) Come pre-loaded with maps of at least the lower 48 United States Have a touch screen interface Most can be used as a digital picture viewer, audio book reader, and mp3 player

There are three main manufacturers of GPS units, which in the United States account for almost 90% of the market. They are Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan. GPS units that do these basic functions are currently running less than $150. Some examples are the Garmin nuvi 200, the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition, and the Magellan Maestro 3100.

As far as how to pick a GPS unit from among these three: Garmin is known in the United States for quality; the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition offers a few more features than the other two; and the Maestro 3100 is priced slightly less than the Garmin or the Tom Tom.

You just have to decide what’s important to you, quality, features, or price.

All three of these companies make a great product, by the way. You won’t go wrong with any of the three.

Of course, if you want to spend more money, you can get more features.

Upgraded features include:

Bluetooth for hands-free calling Telling you not only where to turn, but actually saying the name of the street (very helpful!) Choice of larger screen, 4.3-inches More maps Much larger POI database Multiple route calculation capability

All three of these companies, Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan are very competitive in the middle price range ($300 more or less). Tom Tom and Garmin are essentially neck and neck, here. What differentiates between the two are again Garmin’s reputation for quality and Tom Tom’s extra features. Tom Tom has this great thing where you can download map changes that have been generated by real Tom Tom users. Magellan is certainly very competitive, also. Especially with their deal with AAA, where they offer AAA’s Tour Book right in the device’s database. (Great for AAA lovers like me!)

As far as the upper end of the price spectrum, Garmin is absolutely the top dog! The Garmin nuvi 700’s and 800’s dominate the high end market. The Garmin nuvi 880, for instance, sells for right under $1,000. It can do everything except maybe cook your waffles for you. (They’re adding that next year!)

With this information, how to pick a GPS unit should not be all that difficult! You first need to decide on your price range, then check out the specific products offered. To do this you need an informative website where you can browse models and take a look at their current prices.

By: Rick Cole

GPS Review Comparison – How to Buy the Right Model!

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:59:00 +0000

The best way to get the right GPS device is with a good GPS review comparison! There are too many manufacturers and too many models to choose from. It all gets very confusing. You need a guide!

If you want to know what these wonderful devices do and how you can save yourself some money, then read on!

But first let’s talk about who makes GPS receivers.

There are a number of manufacturers, but the top three are Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan. Garmin is the top dog; Tom Tom is the new kid on the block; and Magellan was the company that originated the whole concept. All three make a great product! That’s the good news. Because if you buy a device from any of these three you won’t go wrong.

The bad new is this. All three make a great product! Which, of course, makes it really difficult to understand which model to buy.

Hopefully, I can give you some assistance with that dilemma.

GPS devices have really caught on over the last two years! And with gas prices so high, I’m sure the demand is just going to grow and grow.

To really start to understand what you’re buying, you need to know how much these things sell for, what the basic features are, and how much upgraded features are going to cost. Let me sketch out an answer to those questions.

GPS receivers sell anywhere from $150 to $1,000. $150 will get you Garmin and Tom Tom’s basic unit. $1,000 will buy you Garmin’s top of the line model, which had a huge screen and all the bells and whistles.

All GPS devices have the following:

Touch screen interfaceAuto-calculation of the fastest or shortest routeA database of Points of Interest (POIs)Voice prompts (but that don’t say the street names!)Maps of the lower 48 United States

If all you want are these basic features, then get something like the Garmin nuvi 200 or the Tom Tom One. They can both do all of this and more.

For more money you can get:

Maps of Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, and CanadaBigger screenBluetoothTraffic and weather delivered to you in real timeMuch larger POI databaseAbility to route you to multiple routes on the same trip

You can get a lot of these upgrades for under $350. The Garmin 660 currently sells for slightly under $350 and can do all of the above except for the multiple route calculations. That’s a lot of GPS for the money!

Obviously, there’s a certain amount of education you have to go through before you buy your first, or next GPS device.

Although I’m sure this short GPS review comparison helps, to learn more, you need an informative website where you can browse different makes and models and also get a feel for prices.

By: Lee Cole

Price Comparison GPS, Garmin, Magellan, and Tom Tom

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:28:49 +0000

In this article “Price Comparison GPS, Garmin, Magellan, and Tom Tom,” I’m going to talk about what you can get from these three manufacturers and approximately how much it’s going to cost you.

I’m also focusing exclusively on after-market, automotive GPS receivers-not the kind you take hiking, but the kind you see mounted on people’s dashboards. To get started, let’s talk about GPS systems in general first, so you understand what they do, what their basic features are, and what additional features you can upgrade to.

What GPS Systems Do

GPS systems (or receivers) are electronic devices that show you where you are on an electronic map and tell you how to get where you want to go via some sort of voice instructions.

All GPS receivers also have a database of Points of Interest (POIs). These are pre-programmed locations of gas stations, restaurants, state parks, hospitals, well-known buildings, etc. Basically these are public destinations.

GPS receivers also all come with the following:

A touch screen interface A choice of “views”-either 2d, which looks just like a map, or 3d, which looks a little more realistic All of these devices auto-calculate your route to your destination. Usually you can choose between shortest or fastest route Come pre-loaded with maps. Even most of the base price units have maps of the lower 48 states

Upgrades

Popular upgrades are:

A wider screen, 4.3 inches diagonally as opposed to 3.5 inches Saying the names of the streets, instead of just saying “turn here.” More maps Bluetooth integration for hands-free calling Real-time traffic and weather Millions of POIs, instead of a few hundred thousand Multiple route calculation

Price Comparison GPS

GPS systems range in price from around $150 for base units to $1,000 for Garmin’s top of the line Street Pilot 7000. You can get a lot of bells and whistles for $200 to $300.

Magellan’s Maestro line currently runs anywhere from about $150 for the Maestro 3100, which has a 3.5 inch screen, maps of the lower 48 states, and about 750,000 POIs. The top of the line Maestro, the 4250, currently runs slightly more than $250. With the 4250, you get a 4.3-inch screen, maps of the U. S. and Canada, 6 million POIs, real-time traffic capability and Bluetooth.

Garmin’s GPS receivers are comparatively priced. Their introductory model, the Nuvi 200 does about the same thing as the Maestro 3100, and runs about the same amount of money. Their top of the line Nuvi 770 currently costs slightly less than $600, but it has every feature imaginable-4.3-inch screen, more maps, huge POI database, says street names, real-time traffic and weather, Bluetooth, and much, much more.

The other main manufacturer, Tom Tom, has fewer models to choose from, but they make a great product and their prices are in line with Magellan’s and Garmin’s. Their base model, the Tom Tom One, runs slightly more than $150. Their top of the line model, the GO 920 has a 4.3-inch screen and all of the other features.

To learn more, your next step needs to be finding an informative website where you can actually browse, look at pictures, and compare models.

By: Lee Cole

Auto GPS Comparison Guide

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:39:35 +0000

When buying a GPS receiver, you need an auto gps comparison guide. There’s just too much to know about these devices. Also, the features they have and the prices they’re offered at change rapidly. If you want to save yourself some time learning about all of this, then read this article.

This article is specifically about after-market GPS receivers. You know, the kind you see on people’s dashboards. I’m not talking about the in-dash variety, nor am I talking about the hand-held variety–the kind you take hiking.

GPS receivers have really caught on lately. And with the spike in gas prices, I think they’ll be a hot item for quite a while. They sell anywhere from $200 to almost $1,000. But with gas at over $4.00 a gallon, that could easily pay for itself!

The best way to understand how to pick out the right GPS receiver is to do a quick auto gps comparison. Let’s talk about who the best manufacturers for these things are, and then about the features you get when you buy one.

There are three main manufacturers of GPS receivers, Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan. All three make a great product, and all three are very competitive with each other both on features and price. Garmin is the industry leader. Magellan was actually one of the first companies to figure out this technology, and Tom Tom is the new kid on the block.

When you buy a GPS receiver, you get the same basic features.

All GPS devices can do the following:

Show you were you are on an electronic map Tell you where to turn to get to where you want to go Interface with you via a touch screen Tell you where certain things are like gas stations, restaurants, and other Points of Interest (POIs) Include maps of the lower 48 US states Calculate the shortest or fastest route
So, even the cheapest GPS receiver can do all of this. If that’s all you need, then you can get a device that can do this for right around $150!

But before you buy, you might want to think about some of these cool upgraded features. For not too much more money, your GPS receiver can do a whole lot more.

For more money you can get:
More extensive maps, including Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, and Europe Bigger screen Bluetooth technology integrated in the system, for hands-free calling Real-time traffic and weather FM transmission, so you can hear your device through your car’s own stereo sound system Much larger and more extensive POI database Multiple route calculation, so you can enter more than one destination in at one time
These upgrades are worth looking into. You can get a lot of this stuff for under $350! That might be money well spent, because you’re going to be happier with your choice and want to keep it for a longer time–before you trade it in for a more powerful model.

Now that you’re read this auto gps comparison, your next step is to find an informative website where you can read about individual devices and learn more about prices.

By: Lee Cole