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
Posts Tagged ‘Touch Screen Interface’
GPS Reviews Comparison – How to Choose the Right Model
March 23rd, 2010How to Pick a GPS Unit to Fit Your Budget
December 27th, 2009
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
A Comparison of Garmin and Magellan GPS Receivers
December 11th, 2009
If you’re like me, a comparison of Garmin and Magellan GPS recievers would really help you choose the right device to buy. Both of these companies are industry leaders, although Garmin has by far the most market share. Both make great products. So, how do you choose between the two? Read on to find out.
Before I launch into a discussion of these two companies’ products, let’s talk about what the basic features of any GPS receiver are, and also what are the main upgraded features.
All GPS receivers have a touch screen interface. They also all auto-calculate the best route to get you to where you want to go. In addition, they all have voice prompts that tell you where to turn, as well as a large database of Point of Interest (POIs).
With either Garmin or Magellan, you can get all of this for around $150!
If you want to spend more, then you can get the following features: wider screen, more POIs, actually saying the street names, Bluetooth integration, ability to hear your GPS device through your car’s audio system, and real-time traffic and weather.
You can get all of this with either Garmin or Magellan. Let’s talk about Garmin first.
Garmin is the industry leader. They’re really a powerhouse in GPS technology with about 70% of the current market share. Garmin also has a much broader product range than anyone else. As far as automotive after-market GPS receivers are concerned, their nuvi and StreetPilot lines offer an excellent selection along with a very large price range.
The Garmin 660 can give you all of the upgraded features I mentioned above for less than $350! Of course, you can get more by spending more.
Garmin’s 800 line, can do everything the 660 can but it also includes maps of Europe and can calculate multiple routes. That is, you can enter more than one destination into the device and it will calculate how to go from point A to point B to point C, etc. in the most efficient manner.
Magellan’s Maestro Elite line compares with the nuvi 600’s and above. Magellan’s prices might be slightly less for comparable features. But not enough for that to be the deciding factor.
Both Garmin and Magellan make an excellent product! You won’t go wrong with either company!
Since it’s impossible to write a complete comparison of Garmin and Magellan GPS receivers in 500 words, what you need to do now is get on an informative website where you can browse and check prices.
By: Lee Cole
