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
Posts Tagged ‘Time Traffic’
How to Compare GPS Units For Cars
December 27th, 2009What’s the Best Car GPS on the Market?
December 4th, 2009
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
Compare Top GPS Units
October 26th, 2009
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
