GPS systems

[madh83]

I'm considering buying a GPS system but I'm not sure about the features and differences of the various ones. I'm not looking for something with a lot of extras, just that it'd be good at doing its main job. It does need to have voiced directions and accurate maps though.

 

[LouPoir]

Garmin is the current leader in the market - The Garmin 350 is the current top rated. I have a Magellan 3140 and it is a super unit.

I am not a big TomTom fan.

IMHO


Lou

 

[dnuggett]

Originally posted by: LouPoir
Garmin is the current leader in the market - The Garmin 350 is the current top rated. I have a Magellan 3140 and it is a super unit.

I am not a big TomTom fan.

IMHO


Lou

I just got the 350. Fantastic unit.

 

[krunchykrome]

The top three would be Garmin, TomTom, and Magellan.

I have a Magellan 3100 that I picked up for $200on sale; I think it's usually $300. I don't have any complaints about this product. It does it's job, and it's very easy to use.

Most of the entry-level GPS units do the same thing. What you want to look for is POI (points of interest). These are pre-selected destinations that are put into your GPS unit in case you want to search for the nearest gas station, hotel, etc. My Magellan 3100 has only 750K POI's. This is low compared to other models and brands which usually have over 1 million.

If you want to pay a bit more, you can get a gps unit that speaks the street names instead of just saying "turn left ahead." Other cool units you may want are bluetooth, and traffic alerts.

 

[laketrout]

I've used a few different devices and I think the best basic model is the TomTom ONE. The maps are good and for the money you get the most bang for you buck with it. It doesn't have a mp3 player or that extra stuff you probably don't need but its very easy to use and not expensive.