The GPS market is stacked full of GPS model ranging from small 3 inch hand held models that you can use in your car or take with you when you want to pop out of your car and take a walk along a country track to massive 7 inch GPS models that come with every possible feature that you can think of such as voice command, Bluetooth hands-free calling and even traffic alerts to help you skip any traffic problem areas.
There is also a massive price range from $29 if you want to get yourself a cheap GPS model from China to a massive $800 if you want to get yourself a top of the range model from Garmin or TomTom GPS Unit. All this lead the question, how do you choose a decent device for your car?
Navigation Device
Actually the answer to this question is very simple, you need a GPS that will get you from Point A to Point B in the quickest easiest route therefore leaving you with time to do the things that you want to. Really you don’t need all the extra features that Car GPS Devices can come with and therefore unless you have money to spend or you’re a professional driver and you being stuck in a traffic jam costs you money then actually they are features that you will not ever use.
If you want a simple Car GPS that is going to get your from A to B then get yourself a brand named GPS such as TomTom or Garmin, these are the two major manufactures of Car GPS system and really you cannot go wrong if you choose any of their models. They also make a range of models to cater for even the smallest of budgets and if you want something even cheaper then its a great idea to buy a slightly older model.
What To Look For in A GPS Unit?
When buying a car GPS its a great idea to stick to the two major brands as you will get yourself a great GPS system. Yes you can get yourself a cheaper model, possibly a model with more features as cheaper price, but often they simply do not work as well or are not updated regularly. If you’re driving along a road that has been changed or moved and your GPS device has not been updated in a while and therefore does not know that the road has been changed then you could easily drive yourself into a whole host of problems. Buying a brand named GPS such as a TomTom or Garmin means that your device will always comes with lifetime map updates meaning that at the very least you will always be on the right route to get your destination.
The other major feature to look out for when buying a Car GPS device is the screen size. Screen size is important as if its too small then you will not be able to see your directions whilst if its too big then most likely it will not fit in your car. Some of the new GPS devices have massive 7-inch screens which is fantastic if your driving a large car such as a lorry or truck as you will have plenty of space for your GPS and therefore be able to take advantage of Dual-orientation screens meaning that you can have two sets of driving information on your screen at anyone time. You could have one side of the screen showing your directions and the other side of the screen showing your current speed, the road speed limit and any dangers that are coming up, but having a massive screen is not going to help you much if your driving a small sports car and therefore cannot fit it into the car.
Other things you need to look out for include:
• Signal Times – If your GPS acquires GPS signals quickly then you will never run into the problem of having no reception meaning not routing.
• Simple Interface – A simple interface means that you easily navigate yourself around your GPS system and find what you’re looking for within your Car GPS system.
• Voice Command – A great idea, but often they do not work well, especially if you have the windows down or the radio on.
• Traffic Updates – Great in principle, however check that they work well and also check that its not an extra subscription that you will need to use the traffic alerts as these can really mount up your monthly expenses.
• Bluetooth – In principle a great idea, but you need to make sure that the internal speak works well otherwise you will not be having a conversation.
