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!

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.

First off, let’s look at the budget end of the market with the Navman S100. Prices online range from just £89 to £170 including delivery. Although it’s in the budget range, the Navman still comes with plenty of features including a 4.3 inch widescreen format touchscreen, 1 Gigabyte of hard disk space and ‘text to speech’ which will read out road names to you as you drive. The Navman also has pedestrian mode, for when you’ve pitched up and want to investigate the local area on foot. It also comes with the Traffic Message Channel to keep you up to speed with the travel news in your area and warn of any potential hold ups on the way to your destination. It can also give you up to the minute weather forecasts!

The maps for the S100 are provided by Navteq, and cover just single countries, which is perfect if you don’t plan to take your caravan or motorhome out of the country. If you want to go abroad in Europe, you might be best looking at the Garmin NÜvi 255W, which our next sat nav to investigate.

The Garmin NÜvi 255W is still within the budget price range with online prices ranging from £104 to £165. It too comes with a 4.3 inch 16:9 touchscreen. The Garmin, however, lacks the extra features that the Navman comes with such as pedestrian mode, Traffic Messaging Channel and ‘text to speech’.

Maps for the 255W are again provided by Navteq, but the Garmin has the added benefit of covering a single continent.

Next we look at a mid-range model – the Navigon 7310. Prices range from £215 to £240 online, but you’ll find you get a lot more in the way of added features. The Navigon comes with a USB connection, Bluetooth and 4 Gigabytes of hard disk space. It also has the functionality to be used as a hands-free device for your mobile phone – handy if you want to phone ahead to your camp site destination. As well as having ‘text to speech’ and Traffic Messaging Channel, the Navigon also has a 3D landmark and 3D elevation mode, should you wish to get a different view of where you’re heading.

The maps for the 7310 are also provided by Navteq and cover a single continent, so you’re getting the same coverage as the Garmin, but with a lot of extra features.

At the top end of the market, and probably your budget, is the Tom Tom GO 940 Live. Tom Tom are probably one of the most famous names in satellite navigation systems, so you’ll be expecting the best in terms of specification – you won’t be disappointed!

Prices for the GO 940 Live range from £250 to £557 online so it pays to shop around for this one. The features on this Tom Tom are vast, so here goes: it comes with iPOD control and internet connectivity so you can get online whilst away from home via a wi-fi connection. It is capable of connecting to other devices via USB or Bluetooth and can be used as an in car phone! The GO 940 also has an FM transmitter and MP3 playback capabilities, not to mention voice control, Traffic Messaging Channel, and map sharing facilities.

Like the other three models reviewed, it comes with a 4.3 inch 16:9 touch screen, which seems to be the norm for new sat navs. One thing that’s different about the Tom Tom is that the maps are provided by Teleatlas and cover more than 1 continent.

If your towing outfit or motorhome are super-sized, you could look for a device such as the Snooper Ventura, which calculates practical routes based on the vehicle’s width, length, height and weight and includes a unique search facility of 8600 campsites across 29 European countries! It’s not a budget option, though, with prices ranging from £350 to £450.

Verdict

If you want a budget sat nav with ample features, the Navman S100 is the one to go for. However, if you want a budget, no-nonsense sat nav that will take you around Europe, go for the Garmin NÜvi 255W. If you’re into your gadgets and want something that’s more than just a sat nav – the Navigon provides heaps of added extras at a reasonable price. The Tom Tom is for those who want to get the most out of their sat nav or want to travel further a field than Europe in their caravan or motorhome. Finally the Snooper Ventura is for owners of larger outfits that need special guidance as to which roads they can travel on.

For those of us who can not afford one of the new luxury cars, with the impressive GPS navigation inside, there is hope. You can use your current car with a GPS device that will help you go where it needs upgrading, and look cool doing it.

In the search for the best automotive GPS unit, get you some grief by research. Do not letintimidated by the various automotive GPS devices with the multitude of functions. This article will help the right car GPS unit at the best price.

All of the automotive-GPS devices are made to get the car from one place to another without you lost. Then the main function, but they often are as different as night and day.

GPS devices have a feature called Points of Interest (POI). These are goals thatpopular, a large proportion of the population. GPS simply displays the function icons and keypads that allow users to enter their data. You do not have to use a rocket scientist in the position to an in-car GPS device.

What can be hard currently examining the various automotive GPS devices to determine which is the most cost-effective. The car GPS device that has the bells and whistles is not necessarily the ones the lawfor you.

The three most successful automotive manufacturers are Garmin GPS, Tom Tom, and Magellan. These companies produce high-quality automotive GPS devices, take a long time guaranteed.

Garmin is at the forefront of automotive GPS device heap. This is because almost 50% of the Garmin GPS has the market. You can least expensive Garmin GPS device, the nüvi 200, for less than $ 150. If you want the Big Daddy, Garmin has a GPS devicesold for just under $ 1000.

No. 2 on the automotive GPS device manager is Tom Tom. Tom Tom One Third Edition is for Garmin Nuvi 200 prizes, but it comes with more features.

Magellan was the father of the automobile industry, the GPS device. Magellan Maestro-series grew in popularity as cost units between $ 150 – $ 350 Magellan is also a good partnership with the auto club AAA. Magellan offers AAA Tour Book in many of its automotive GPS devices.AAA members can access a variety of travel functions by this tour book function.

Read more http://www.pannipa.com/2009/10/28/buying-automotive-gps-devices-once-difficult-now-easy/

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.

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 interface

* Auto-calculation of the fastest or shortest route

* A 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 Canada

* Bigger screen

* Bluetooth

* Traffic and weather delivered to you in real time

* Much larger POI database

* Ability 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.

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.

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So, the key to a good GPS review is understanding the features that various GPS devices offer at each price point.

What do all GPS devices have in common?

All car GPS devices that are on the market today have a touch screen where you can enter information into the unit, such as your destination address. All auto-calculate the route to that address, and all give you spoken directions of some sort as you drive to your destination. In addition to this, virtually all GPS devices come pre-loaded with maps, usually at least of the continental United States, have an internal battery for emergency use, and can toggle between 2D and 3D map views. (3D gives you a slightly more realistic view of what you should be seeing in front of you.)

There are exceptions to all of these rules, but almost all are in the older models.

Who are the industry leaders?

There are three main manufacturers of car GPS systems, Garmin, Magellan, and Tom Tom.

Garmin sells about one out of two of all the car GPS systems sold in the world. They are known for making a quality product. Magellan was an early leader in GPS systems that can route you to more than one destination. They do not have nearly the market share that Garmin has. Tom Tom is a late arrival who is quickly catching up. According to Tom Tom, their GPS system, the Tom Tom One, is the best selling system in the world.

What are the main features to look for in a GPS system?

In this GPS review, let’s start at the cheap end and work our way up.

You can buy a GPS system for less than $200. The Garmin nuvi 200 and the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition currently sell for less than $200 at Amazon.

As you increase price, the main features you can add are

Voice prompts that actually say the street name

Cheaper GPS devices only tell you where to turn. They say something like, “Turn right, here.” A good feature to be aware of is having the GPS device actually say the street name of the road you need to turn on. So, instead of “Turn right, here,” a better GPS system would say, “Turn right on Highland Avenue,” or “Take a left onto the entrance to I-95.” Devices with spoken street names usually start around $300.

Another feature to look out for is real-time traffic and weather capability

Wouldn’t it be nice if your GPS device could not only tell you how to drive from Atlanta, Georgia to Charlotte, North Carolina, but could alert you to bad traffic conditions in time to take a detour? Well, many of the more expensive units can. How does your GPS device know what the traffic is like up ahead? GPS devices that have this capability are tuned to either an FM or satellite radio frequency that broadcasts this information. If your device has this function, then it will usually come with a free trial subscription to this service. After that, it’s going to cost you, but the cost is fairly low, especially considering how useful real-time traffic is. Along with real-time traffic usually comes real-time weather — an added bonus.

Any of the Garmin nuvis from the nuvi 350 up have FM traffic capability. The nuvi 350 runs slightly less than $300 at Amazon. If you want a Magellan that route you around hold ups, you’ll be paying $300 to $350. All of the Tom Tom’s have this capability, even the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition, which is one of the cheapest units on the market, currently running around $200.

Do you regularly use your cell phone while driving?

I know I do. It’s problematic to hold the cell phone in one hand and negotiate your way through heavy traffic on a busy interchange. If your phone supports Bluetooth technology you can get a GPS receiver with that same capability and actually use it to make and receive calls. You answer an incoming call by just tapping on the touch screen. You make an outgoing call by either entering the number in your GPS’s touch screen key pad or by accessing numbers stored in the device — downloaded from your phone when you first set up your receiver. So, now instead of wearing that silly Bluetooth headset and looking like a member of the Borg Collective, you can just have your GPS device do double duty. If you make a lot of calls while driving, this is definitely a feature you need to think about.

As to what Bluetooth is going to run you, the Garmin nuvi 360 is their lowest priced Bluetooth model. It currently sells for slightly more than $300. Virtually all of their upper end products have Bluetooth. Two of the Magellan Maestro series, the 3250 and the widescreen version, the 4250 have Bluetooth. They run around $280 and $350 respectively. The Tom Tom GO series has Bluetooth. They run anywhere from $350 to $900.

Multi-destination routing

It’s not something that I use much, but it’s definitely worth knowing about. Multi-destination routing means you can enter multiple routes into your GPS at one time and it will calculate the best route that includes all of your destinations.

Garmin’s nuvi 700 series does this, as well as a couple of their StreetPilot series. Most of the Magellan Maestro series does this – they can be programmed to hold up to 20 separate destinations. As for Tom Tom, the GO 510 can hold up to 15 routes. As to price, the nuvi 700s run anywhere from mid-$400s to almost $700. The Magellans are slightly less expensive, running from mid-$200s to the mid-$300s. The GO 510 costs slightly less than $500 at Amazon right now. The voice prompts, Bluetooth, and multi-destination routing are three of the more important features to consider.

Also, you want to keep in mind what maps your device comes with. And, almost as important, how many preprogrammed Points of Interest are included in its database.

Points of Interest

(POIs) are names, addresses, and phone numbers of possible destinations, anything from the nearest Starbucks to Yellowstone National Park. The lower priced units come with less than 1 million POIs. That’s not enough, if you’re going to be using this feature. For use outside of your normal travel routes, you really want a few million POIs. Virtually all GPS devices now come with this, except the lowest prices models, like the Garmin nuvi 200, which only has regional maps and less than 1 million POIs. (There’s nothing wrong with fewer POIs, if you’re not planning on needing them, but they sure can come in handy.)

Yet another feature to keep in mind is screen size. The standard size is 3.5 inches. This is measured on a diagonal. So the screen for the nuvi 270, for instance, measures 2.8″ by 2.1″. The so called widescreens measure 4.3 inches on the diagonal. You’re actually getting 70% more screen this way.

Why is screen size important?

It has to do with ease and safety of use while driving. Personally, I like a wide screen, but then again, my car is fairly big and has a big windshield. The difference in price between a regular screen and a widescreen is about $80. That might be money well spent. On the other hand, if you drive a smaller vehicle with less windshield area, the wider screen might be more of a hazard than a safety feature.

Currently at Amazon, Garmin nuvis (their newer product line) run from $179 for the nuvi 200 to $699 for the nuvi 770. The Magellan Maestros are running from $168 for the 3100 to $356 for the widescreen 4250. Tom Tom’s GPS systems are currently priced from slightly less than $200 for the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition, to $899 for the GO 700 (which is overpriced).

Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate. Even with a good GPS review, with all of these confusing choices it’s tempting to just wait for whatever the next model is going to be. What you’re missing by doing that is lots less stress while driving! Imagine, if you’re a guy being able to always (really) know where you’re going despite what your wife or girlfriend says. And, even better, if you’re a woman you won’t have to pester your husband or boyfriend to stop at the local gas station and admit that they’re lost – not an easy admission for a guy. (I should know!)