Originally posted by: TimeKeeper
Originally posted by: Thetech
I've read a little about them but I still don't know alot.
I'm looking for a good GPS that can just be mounted and removed in
my car easily (portable gps I guess).
As far as size goes as long as it's large enough to read, I don't
care about extra multimedia features, my main concern is that it says the
street names and is accurate.
In the U.S.
There are two major map provider, Navteq and TeleAtlas
Navteq arguely is much better in the U.S. ( many review sites proven to be more effective)
Navteq equipped GPS are: Garmin, Magellan, Navigon and etc.
TeleAtlas GPS are: TomTom, MIO, Harman Kardon and most of "after market" GPS.
Now, GPS chip. (bare in mind same chip may perform differently due to design and model)
There are
Sirf (it is 3 years old and not exactly better than other chip nowadays)
Bravo ( mainly seen on Nuvi 200/250, has know issue of slow satallite acquisition)
MTK ( use on Nuvi 260 and will implement into 2x5 series, it has one of the fastest and most accurate positioning I have tested)
Hammerhead ( known to be in TomTom, it clearly show its advantage over Sirf in accuracy)
Centrality Atlas/Titan ( known to used w/ Multimedia GPS, it has good accuracy, but tends to drain out battery rather fast, such as Harman Kardon, iPaq , New Magellan 1xxx series)
Size: 3.5" is easier to remove and hide away.
TTS: it is usually quite useful if you are in a major city where many streets joint together. Or on the highway w/ Multi-exit, it will tell you to get off Exit 12"A" or Exit 12"B" instead just tell you get off in .2 miles.
Safty: all gps come w/ windshield mount, but I strongly suggest buy a Vent mount, or something not shouting out.... "hey, I got a gps in my car, come and break my window"
Portability: Battery life. ... most of Slim auto GPS wouldn't last more than 2 hours per charge, currently Garmin Nuvi 2xx series top out w/ more than 4.5 hours real life.
Tomtom will not last more than 100 min.
POI: thankfully, most of GPS unit come at least 6 million poi.
Via point: do you need to plan trip w/ more than 2 stops? Tomtom / MIO / Magellan tends to have better function w/ via point. For pure simplicity, Garmin is the choice.
Routing engine: Again, Navteq equipped GPS in the U.S. tends to perform more accurate routing.
Bluetooth: well... I don't know about talking to the GPS. Most cars nowadays already come w/ BT connection.
TMC: traffic message channel, on "high end" model, and usually can be quite useful for those heavy traveler. (annual subscription usually apply)
With all those GPS I have tested including entire Nuvi 2xx line up, 3xx line, 6xx line, TomTom one/2/3, TT7xx series, Magellan 32xx/42xx, Mio 3/5/7, Harman Kardon 3xx/5xx and more.. I kept a Nuvi 260 MTK-chip.
p.s. I never test Navigon gps, hence, I can't tell you how it perform
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