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GPS devices

Like the internet, a GPS is another technological advancement made by the military, which has been approved for civilian use. In just under two decades, GPS devices have expanded into cell phones, boats, automobiles and hand-held devices. At first, GPS systems were too expensive for the mass market, but now you can buy a good device for less than $200. There are many different brands, features and map types for site navigation these days, so many consumers spend a good deal of time reading reviews and doing some comparison shopping before they buy.

“Garmin is founded on the principles of innovation, convenience, performance, value, and service,” proclaims the company website. In fact, Garmin, which has been around since 1989, is the most well-known North American brand name in Global Positioning Systems today. Based out of Kansas, no part of the manufacturing process gets outsourced, as the company designs, manufactures, markets and sells all of their products themselves. They offer GPS navigation systems for all different lifestyles, such as fitness-based systems, automotive GPS systems, systems for hikers or campers, aviation technology, marine technology and site navigation for geocachers.

The Garmin 200 series (starting as low as $119 at Circuit City) offers a no-frills GPS for automobiles that includes 6 million points of interest, voice-prompted directions, as well as a picture viewer, a calculator, a currency converter and a world clock. The Garmin nuvi 250W also adds Alaska and Canada to the map set. Of course you’ll miss out on functions like an MP3 player, adding live traffic info and the ability to call out upcoming street names. (The nuvi 260 or the nuvi 350 will have the street name call-out function.) By contrast, a really high-end Garmin, like the Garmin nuvi 760, adds multi-destination routing with automatic sorting to ensure the most efficient route, speed limit display for highways, automatic marking of your last position to help you find your car in parking lots, the “Where am I” safety feature for emergencies and MSN Direct browsing. These GPS devices start at $325 at www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com.

When buying an auto GPS device, look at how many “points of interest” are offered. Anything less than 2 million will be frustrating, whereas the ideal number is around 6 million. Next, check for screen size. They range from 2.1 inches all the way up to 7 inch. If you plan to use your GPS while walking, you’ll want something smaller, whereas the 7 inch is best for an RV. For cars, the Garmin nuvi 680 is an ideal 4.3 inch. You’ll want something with good functionality that allows you to switch maps or search points of interest with a button tap or two. Some of the newer, more advanced GPS systems include things like text-to-speech, multi-destination routing, satellite radio/audiobook player/MP3 player capacity and Bluetooth speakerphone capabilities.

navigator maps

It can be confusing to navigate the world of Garmin Global Positioning System maps these days. There are so many models, but how are they different? After all, why pay for features you won’t use? Truly, there is a Garmin GPSMAP for everyone, so in this articles, we’ll look at some of the different navigator maps currently on the market.

Garmin knew that active individuals needed a reliable crossover device to help them navigate their way. In this world of James Bond caliber adventure, we find ourselves traveling by various modes in our pursuits. At the very beginning of the Garmin line of GPS maps, there are aviation navigator maps for pilots to travel by land, air and sea, such as the GPSMAP 96 or 196, for example. From those basic grey-scale models, Garmin has advanced to full-color portable devices like the GPSMAP 495 and 496, adding airport maps, pre-loaded maps, 3,000 favorite locations, traffic information services, voice prompts, satellite radio and weather.

The 60 Series is very popular for people who want a mapping handheld Garmin GPSMAP for hiking, biking and exploring. As the site says, the Garmin GPSMAP 60cx “puts the great outdoors in the palm of your hand.” The high-sensitivity of these GPS devices provides you with good satellite reception even in dense foliage or deep canyons. The screen is versatile and can be viewed during night or day conditions and can even survive a dunk in the water if it’s encased in the IPX7. The built-in America auto-route base map will show you highways, exits and tide information, in addition to offering turn-by-turn directions. To use, you can connect to your computer using a USB cable to load map data or transfer routes and custom locations; or you may be able to purchase 64 MB microSD cards that come pre-loaded with MapSource maps, so you don’t have to hook up to your computer at all. The Garmin GPSMAP 60 takes you from the backwoods and boundary waters to the highways with 28 hours of reliable battery life, in addition to geocaching features, games, alarm clock functionality, as well as optimal hunting/fishing times and sunrise/sunset/moon phase tables.

A Garmin GPSMAP may come in various formats. When you’re on the road, you’ll probably be using “City Navigator” maps, which include over 6 million points of interest, traffic data and detailed street information. When you’re sailing, you’ll use the “Blue Chart” GPS navigation maps with 3-D perspective, coastal points of interest, depth contours, shipwreck locations and auto-guide technology. Hikers will use the “Topo US” maps that include terrain contours, elevation information, trails, bodies of water, routable roads and points of interest.

GPS navigation systems

What makes the games GPS has to offer better than the games Playstation or computers offer is that you are given the opportunity to get outside, get some exercise and combine online clues and navigator maps with real places, objects and prizes! “Geocaching” is one of the most exciting GPS games that allow owners of GPS navigation systems access to “Amazing Race” type competitions. Of course, there are the individual puzzle type games too, but most GPS owners are more adventurous than that!

At www.gpsgames.org, you can find some of the funniest games GPS has to put forward. For instance, “Shutter Spot” is a game where players take pictures and other players are challenged to find that exact location where the photographer was standing to take the shot. “GeoPoker” takes the usual assembling of a card hand and adds a twist: players must first find and move a container holding a GeoPoker log to earn their virtual playing cards! “GeoGolf” has you moving from waypoint to waypoint to get your score. Then there is “Minute War,” which is like Capture the Flag, and other exciting, interactive navigator maps games like “Geodashing” and “Geocaching.”

If you have ever watched “The Amazing Race,” then you’ve got the concept of the increasingly popular Geocaching games GPS has to play. Teams or individuals will receive sets of coordinates and will race from waypoint to waypoint, performing different tasks at each location and competing for prizes. In their ventures, seekers often find hidden containers with inexpensive toys, keepsakes or items and log books; they then replace the item with something new and record their name in the log. To find hosting in your area, check out www.geocaching.com to see if one of the 673,265 geocaches can be found near you.

Whether you like the games GPS has created to date or not, this is just one more neat function of GPS devices. The latest technological trends are in all-in-one multimedia devices that allow users to share information, create and upgrade. GPS is no exception! With your Garmin, Magellan or TomTom, you can look up information at the touch of a button, play your satellite radio, talk on your cell phone with Bluetooth technology, gather directions where you’re going, plan your rest stops, get the weather, play a game and so much more!

I have the Garmin Streetpilot c330. I got it for Christmas 2007. I love it because it has never let me down and I have used it surprisingly many times. I am not good at city driving but I don’t worry about it anymore because as long as I have my garmin (Helen as I have named her) I can get through all the traffic without a care in the world. I have traveled to Memphis with it last year and just this month I went to a trip to Orlando which I would have had no idea how to get there without it because I can’t read paper maps very well.

I would like to change the fact that I have to buy upgraded maps for it though.

-Linda

I have a Garmin Nuvi 255 I love it, it was the best thing i have bought. I love the way it tells you where to go and were to turn and if turn before it change it direction.

I have not travel yet with it but i used it to go around town with it so i can get usd to it. I wish they had different voices and cars that we could put on them. I do have to tell you that I get lost just coming home and this is the best thing i have ever bought and i wish i would of bought one a long time ago. it is one of the best thing i have. i want to buy one for my husband to.

-Rafael

Empowering! How could I ever have lived without my Garmin Nuvi 660. I now go places that I would never have gone before because of the fear of getting lost. With my Nuvi by my side or in my pocket, I find that I wonder off the beaten path and explore more when I travel.

The best thing about the Nuvi 660 is its accuracy. I have yet to be someplace that she, Jill, my Nuvi’s selected voice, can’t find. I take my Nuvi with me whenever I’m in my car and since it fits in my pocket, I take it with me when I go hiking. Its great for getting around any place that I roam.

The only improvements that I would make would be that I would like to calculate more trip routes. When I have errands to run, I would love to put in all my destinations and let Nuvi get me there as quick and fuel efficiently as possible. Also, a protective case that doesn’t have to be removed from the device in order for it to work would be great.

-Fred

I own a GARMIN StreetPilot c330 and what I like about it the most is that the directions it gives are clear and concise. No wondering of what was said by the unit. It was very easy to set up and I did not even need the directions out of the box to get started. I had it ready to go in less than 5 minutes. The screen is also very easy to see.

I do travel with this wherever I go just in case I should get lost. It could use an improvement in updating the maps. The world is ever changing and new streets are popping up everywhere so without this update you could be going to a street not on the unit.

-Michael

I returned yesterday from a seven day trip to Arizona, a place I have never been. Fortunately, I received a brand new Delphi 300 for Christmas and decided to bring it with me. Let me tell you, it was an absolute lifesaver!

There are so many features that helped me but the two that really stand out are the speed limits shown on the display with notification when you go over and the elevation counter. If you’ve never been to Arizona, the mountains can go from an elevation of 2000 to 8000 and back again so quickly, it’s fun to see what it is at any point in time.

It’s a very compact device and I was able to slip it in my purse at the end of the trip and had no problems going through airport security with it.

-Lori

I purchased a TomTom One 130 in October and have found it to be invaluable! It helped me in negotiating the weird streets of a huge city and gave me specific directions to wherever I needed to go.

I do a lot of travel in North-Western Ontario, and its directions in cities and larger towns are very specific and direct. I would like to see more attention paid to some rural areas, as the information outside of my city is very vague and non-specific, sometimes not even showing roads.

-Matt

I have an original TomTom One (not any of the 125 or 130 or other models currently available) and it has been a lifesaver for me…. for the most part that is.

For whatever reason, I find that there are inaccuracies in the way that it labels certain roads - I want to take 480W but it instructs me to take 480E for whatever reason when traveling south on 271. The freeway lanes dont always match the picture on the map it wants you to take, I guess you could say. I’d like to see some kind of open source “correction” on this - where if enough people complain about one issue, it gets resolved via a public patch.

But other than that, I like that I can turn it to French (I have now memorized “Turn right” and “turn left” and the phrase “400 yards” in a foreign language).

It’s easy to navigate, and has a lot of POIs. I’ve traveled to about 12 states with it, mostly in Ohio.

-Dallas.