When I was bitten by the bug has GPS, I decided to compare GPS systems to see what’s best for me. I had a vague idea of what these remarkable devices. I knew they were essentially electronic cards, but I had no idea how they worked, or what was important, when you buy a glance. So I decided to do some research.
My first stop was to check the Amazon, their bestsellers. (Just click on my link below for see the same information.) />
I quickly saw that Garmin, Magellan and Tom Tom has dominated the market. Garmin, I had heard of Magellan and Tom Tom, I had not heard. My joy of seeing that are bestsellers for GPS devices soon crushed by an overwhelming sense of confusion when I clicked on each item, read the description, and tried to head or tail of the differences between the units. to
There were sharp differences, I thought, because prices have ranged from a minimum of $ 150 to nearly $ 1,000 for the type of mobile device, you can stick to the windshield and pull you up when you are out of the car.
Well, suffice it to say, I have a lot of research and is an expert on the species.
To save time and frustration, let me tell you the basics of what I discovered.
Although there are several manufacturers of portable GPS systems, automobile, the three most important are Garmin, Magellan and Tom Tom. Garmin sells about half of the automotive GPS systems in the world, but Tom Tom rapidly catching up. The three companies make a good product, it’s just that understanding the differences between the three manufacturers and their specific products is a bit difficult.
Garmin has two main automotive GPS systems, the nüvi and StreetPilot. The features of each line overlaps nor has its price.
In general, the nüvi thin, more compact units. Your interface (you use the system) is not as easy as the driver interface Street. Garmin nüvi come in a wide range of prices below $ 200 for the Nuvi 200 to almost $ 1,000 for the Nuvi from 770th prices, nüvi usually have a few more features that pilots Street.
The main difference between the nuvi and StreetPilot, but they have the receiver Garmin nüvi d’un very sensitive while StreetPilot not. Nüvi weigh about half as Street Pilot. (None of these units is very difficult, StreetPilot weigh nearly 10 ounces, which nüvi slighlty more than 5 ounces.
The biggest difference between the two entities is the user interface. The StreetPilot series “C” has been specifically designed to be intuitive and easy to use. This is not to say, the nüvi is not, they just are not super easy as the Street Pilot.
Tom Tom devices that are in direct competition with Garmin. The Tom Tom One, for example, is comparable to the Garmin nüvi 200, Garmin product entry. The two are fundamental: the GPS system that comes with maps pre-installed have a touch screen and voice prompts. The Tom Tom One has a battery with only 2 hours average life, if the nüvi, take an average of 5 hours.
I think the Tom Tom is not as smooth for the nüvi, although their quality seems to be comparable.
Magellan has not the market share of Garmin or Tom Tom, but they are still building a good product. The Magellan Maestro 3100 is a bestseller on Amazon. In price and features, it is comparable to that of Tom Tom and Garmin cheaper, both in size and weight. Magellan said its battery lasts till three, fifty percent better than the Tom Tom.
One of the biggest differences between GPS cheapest and most expensive is the number of points of interest “in the unity of the database.
Interests hotels, restaurants, places, hospitals are biased, in fact, wherever you want to go, which are included in your database device. The Magellan Maestro, for example, has 750,000 points of interest. The Garmin Nuvi 200 comes with approximately 6 million!
If you plan to use your GPS to travel, could involve as many points of interest available to be essential, and considering the distances, 750,000 items is simply not as many.
Another feature I think is important is the Bluetooth technology. Their more expensive units can operate as a mobile phone (both incoming and outgoing work). It is quite difficult (and even banned in some countries) to drive and talk on your cell phone. Give us your GPS to this combination, and. . . Well, you might want to pull the side of the road. In my opinion, keep the less material the better.
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