To read more great GPS Reviews, check out my website.
Lee Cole is a true GPS enthusiast! Take a look at his website to find out more information!
Category: Garmin Nuvi 350
Best GPS – Find The Right One For You!
Posted by admin in Garmin Nuvi 350 Saturday, 23 January 2010 15:26 No Comments
Finding the best GPS system can be as easy as going to the local office supply store and just buying whatever you can afford. But, how do you know if you are getting the best system for your needs? Do you need certain features such as hands free calling with Bluetooth? How about real-time traffic reports? Is that something you need?
Most people find buying their first GPS system a daunting task. Once you start looking into the various systems, there are so many features to choose from. Also, the range of prices for GPS systems is huge, ranging from less than $200 on the low end, to almost $1000 on the high end.
You don’t want a system that’s too cheap, because as you use it you’ll start to wish you had the other features.
What you need is an understanding of what’s for sale and about how much the main features are going to cost you. That way you can make an informed decision.
How to Buy the Best GPS
The first thing to do is to establish a budget. Then you can group the available GPS devices and compare apples to apples.
At the low end, you can get a Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition for less than $200. The 3rd Edition is a fabulous device! It works great and has a ton of features for the price. Garmin also sells a quality product for less than $200. The Garmin nuvi 200 currently sells for around $180. It does not have all of the features that the 3rd Edition has, but Garmin is famous for making a quality product.
In the mid-range, I would probably take a look at Magellan and Garmin. Amazon just published a list of their best selling GPS units for the year. Which GPS system was at the top of the list? The Garmin nuvi 350, which currently sells for a little less than $300.
At the high end, you have several great Tom Toms, specifically the GO series. And, of course, Garmin. Both of these systems offer a ton of high-tech features and easy to user interfaces.
In Conclusion
Just as in buying anything, you need to understand what’s available and how much it is going to cost you. Then you can make an informed decision. Just as with all electronics, prices of GPS devices continue to drop. Sometimes people use that as an excuse not to buy anything! If you’re putting off the buying decision, don’t! When I bought my first GPS, after only a few days, I wondered how in the world I had gotten along without one. I immediately bought my wife one. She felt better about getting around town, and I felt better, too. That kind of security and convenience is worth the few hundred dollars you’re going to spend!
A Bluetooth GPS Comparison Guide
Posted by admin in Garmin Nuvi 350 Friday, 22 January 2010 04:22 No Comments
If you’re like me, you understand the dangers of using your cell phone while driving. With this Bluetooth GPS comparison guide, you can learn all about the best GPS receivers that support Bluetooth technology. Now you can not only know where you’re going, but get there more safely as well.
There are three main manufacturers of GPS receivers, Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan. There are others, but these are the industry leaders. All three have great GPS devices that support Bluetooth technology for hands-free calling.
In this article, I’m going to talk briefly about some of the products each company offers that supports Bluetooth. The idea is after reading this article, you’ll be better prepared to buy a Bluetooth compatible GPS receiver.
Just so you know, I’m including my opinions in this article. It’s not meant to be unbiased. I run a GPS authority website where I get to see which GPS receivers people actually buy. So, I think I have sort of a front row seat to what people like.
Magellan
Magellan is a great company! They make an excellent product! I especially like their Maestro line.
In the Maestro line they have two receivers that support Bluetooth, the 3250 and the 4250. These are exactly the same except the 4250 is the wide screen version. It has a 4.3-inch screen as opposed to the standard 3.5-inch. (That’s measured diagonally, by the way.)
Both of these devices are excellent. They include maps of the United States and Canada, over 6 million Points of Interest, and AAA Tour Book integration for those who are AAA members.
Right now, the 3250 is selling for about $200 and the 4250 is selling for about $250. Personally, I would pay $50 extra for the wide screen. But that’s just my opinion.
Garmin
Garmin is the top manufacturer of GPS receivers in the world! They offer a huge range of product. I especially like their nuvi line.
The nuvi’s are newer on the market, replacing the older StreetPilot (which is still a great GPS, by the way).
The nuvi’s that support Bluetooth are the 360 and 370, the 660,670,680, the 760, 770, 780, the 880 and the 5000.
The 300 line has the smaller 3.5-inch screen. To get the larger 4.3-inch screen, you’ll have to spring for the 600 line or above. The newer nuvi 5000 has a whopping big 5.2-inch screen!
What the 600 line and above offers over the 300’s is FM transmitter capability, where you can get the transmission from the GPS receiver to go through your car’s audio system. The 700 line and above offers multi-point routing. You can put in more than one destination and the device will calculate the most efficient route to all the points.
Personally, I love the Garmin nuvi line. I think they make a totally awesome, very sleek looking product.
Currently the 300 line runs a little more than $200, the 600 line a little more than $300. Add $50 to that and you’ve got the price range for the 700 line. The nuvi 5000 runs around $650, and the 880 runs close to $1,000. (But let me tell you something. If you really want top-of-the-line high end GPS technology, that’s $1,000 well spent!)
Tom Tom
Tom Tom is more the new kid on the block. But that hasn’t stopped them from taking a huge market share from the older, more established companies. One way Tom Tom has done that is with offering more product for less money. Also, they have been very instrumental in introducing new ideas and technologies.
Tom Tom’s GPS receivers that support Bluetooth are the Go 510, 720, 730, and 920. The Go 510 runs slightly less than $200. It’s a direct competitor with the Garmin 360. The Go 920 is between $300 and $350.
Check the prices yourself. They tend to go down with time.
Tom Tom’s products offer essentially the same features as Garmin’s and Magellan’s.
No short article can tell you everything you need to know. But at least this gets you started. To learn more, you need an informative website.
To read more great GPS Reviews, check out my website.
Lee Cole is a true GPS enthusiast! Take a look at his website to find out more information!
A Comparison of Top GPS Receivers
Posted by admin in Garmin Nuvi 350 Sunday, 17 January 2010 15:38 No Comments
If you’re like me, a comparison of top GPS recievers would really help you choose the right device to buy. Consider Garmin and Magellan. 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.
To read more great GPS Reviews, check out my website.
Lee Cole is a true GPS enthusiast! Take a look at his website to find out more information!