GPS Comparison
GPS Comparison
By Anne Ahira
Global position system or GPS devices are becoming as popular as the cellular phone.
What once was a tool only the rich or super technical individuals had in their vehicles have become standard equipment on new cars.
If you have not quite come into the GPS circle but have been considering one for your vehicle there are some things you need to keep in mind.
GPS comparison can seem like Greek if you are not familiar with a few features and terms.
Cost
The first thing you must consider when doing a GPS comparison is price. As with any technological device, you can spend as much or as little as you would like on a GPS device.
Examine your budget and find a good price range you are comfortable with, before you begin your GPS comparison.
Features
The real confusion will come when you begin GPS comparison of features. Some GPS units are only good for road travel and others will take you by land, air or sea!
If you are planning to only use a GPS for vacation or casual travel, you will probably not need the added sea and air functions. Of course, if you have a small plane and boat, then this will be important to you!
Will you be traveling extensively and need this device to plot your routes while finding important locations along the way? If you will need real time traffic updates, restaurant and motel locations, voice command and other features your GPS comparisons will be at the higher price range.
Where you are traveling is also important information when conducting a GPS comparison. For instance if you live in the extreme northern area of the United States there is a good possibility that you may travel into Canada.
Not all GPS units will include maps for Canada, and if that is important to you be sure you check.
Each GPS unit will offer differing numbers of waypoints, for example, the Magellan Road Mate 1470 offers 6 million points of interest. This is again only an important feature if you plan to travel extensively.
Another important feature to consider in your GPS comparison is the routing capabilities. Will the GPS device allow multi destination routing? This feature allows you to plan an entire trip and receive valuable information about time, mileage, points of interest and more.
Bottom Line
The thing you need to keep foremost in your mind is your intended usage. You do not want to pay a lot of money for a device that has features you will never use, however you do not want to be on a trip and realize there is something severely lacking in your GPS device!
Your best source of information for GPS comparison will be other customer reviews. A unit may have every feature known to man, but fail on a consistent basis.
Check out what other people have experienced with a particular unit before shelling out your hard-earned cash!
Here's GPS Comparison Selections:
