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Best GPS System?

In an email, someone asked me if there was a best GPS system. I responded by telling them the following story.

A friend of mine recently purchased a Garmin nuvi 200. She loves it. A family member who bought a Magellan 4250 asked her why she decided on the nuvi 200. According to the family member the Magellan was obviously the better of the two–it did more. So, who had the better unit?

Actually, neither…or both.

My family member with the Magellan 4250 wanted a unit with all the bells and whistles, voice command, Bluetooth™, widescreen, you name it. My friend, on the other hand, wanted a reliable, simple to use, basic unit, and at less than $200, she thought the Garmin nuvi 200 was the ticket.

What Is Right For You

There is no right and wrong, here. Just personal preference. So, how do you pick the right unit for you? Start by taking a look at this site and following its links, which take you pages with more information. Decide how much you’re willing to spend, and what you want. Then go out and find it. If you stick with the major manufacturers, you’ll end up with a quality system.

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Every year Amazon sends out a list of their top sellers and top editor’s choices in many of the categories of stuff they sell. The top GPS systems, this year were no surprise. The Garmin nuvi 350 topped the Best Seller’s list, while its cousin the Garmin nuvi 360 topped the Editor’s Choice list. You can get to the lists, here.

This news comes as no surprise to me. The Garmin nuvi systems are great sellers at this site. Also, virtually everyone I’ve know who’s bought a GPS system recently has purchased a Garmin nuvi.

In general, nuvis are great systems. They are compact, sleek, and pack a lot of features for the money. The nuvi 350 currently sells for slightly under $300 at Amazon, yet it can do an amazing amount of stuff. It has a huge Points of Interest database, comes with maps of all of North America, and actually says street names–plus a few other bells and whistles.

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Asking that question is about like suggesting everyone like chocolate ice cream. By that I mean, we all have our specific, personal needs.

A friend of mine got her first GPS system this Christmas. It was a gift from her husband, a Garmin nuvi 200. Of course, being the GPS enthusiast that I am, I asked her all about how much she liked it, if she was satisfied with it, etc.

She loves it, and does not understand how she ever got along without it.

She and her husband make nice incomes. So, I asked her why she did not get a nuvi 350, or even one of the 600 or 700 series.

She said she had talked it over with her son–who had had a GPS system for a few months–and they decided all she really needed was the basic features the nuvi 200 offers–huge Points of Interest database, automatic route calculation, that sort of thing. She does not need Bluetooth™, nor does she need real-time traffic.

The point of all of this is when you buy a GPS device, it helps to understand what you want it for. If it is just for getting around town, then one of the lower priced devices should suffice. If you are a sales person trying to make as many calls per day in a larger geographic area, or a congested urban area, then you probably need multiple routing, which Magellan and Garmin’s 700 series provide.

Once you understand what you need, then you can more easily select the right unit for you.

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One way would be to decide how much you want to spend, then just hop on Amazon and find out what fits your budget and buy it.

Another way, would be to read a lot of reviews, product descriptions, talk to a world of sales people, use several of the devices your self, and then decide which one you want.

Finally, a third (and much more rational way) would be to find a website (like this one ) and take advantage of the work done by someone else.

This website focuses on the three main manufacturers of car GPS systems, Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan.

If you just want a basic GPS device, then you need to be considering the Garmin nuvi 200, the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition, or the Magellan 3100. All three of these sell for around $200, or less. The Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition has more bells and whistles for the money.

For a mid-range device, say $250 to $350, then you’re looking at either Garmin or Magellan. Here Magellan has features Garmin does not have. They have incorporated AAA Tourbook information in their Points of Interest on many of their Magellan Maestro devices. Also, even at this price point, many of the Maestros can do multiple routing. The Garmin nuvi 300 series has a lot of features, too — actually saying street names, Bluetooth™, millions of Points of Interest. Either one of those would work well.

The top of the price range belongs to Garmin, at least to my mind. You just can’t compete with the features offered in the Garmin nuvi 600 and 700 series.  nuvi 700s sell from $450 to almost $700, but they do everything — saying street names, real-time traffic and weather, Bluetooth™, FM transmission (which means you can hear the GPS device through your car’s stereo system), more.

It’s not an easy decision to make. Just know that with either of these three manufacturers, your not going to go wrong. They all three make a good product. You’ll wonder how in the world you ever got along without your GPS system, after you buy your first device.

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There’s a world of not very good information about GPS systems out there. So, I thought it would be a great idea if I listed a few of the sites that I visit regularly in order to keep up with what’s going on.

There are basically four of them.

• Amazon
• Garmin’s Company Site
• Tom Tom’s Site
• and Magellan’s Site

I can find out everything I need to know from just these four. Amazon contains a world of customer reviews, and all three of these manufacturer’s sites contain a lot of information. (With perhaps the exception of Tom Tom).

So, as you learn about GPS systems, check these links out.

Oh, one more thing! Don’t buy directly from the company! They’re almost always higher priced than Amazon. Why? Amazon’s not going to carry the product line if the company undercuts them. And Amazon can move a whole lot more GPS systems that Garmin can — that’s their specialty.

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Unfortunately, no one can answer that question but you. I can, however, tell you several things you need to look for.

Almost all GPS systems come with preloaded maps of the United States, or at least a portion thereof. (The Garmin nuvi 200 comes with regional maps.) All of them calculate the shortest and fastest routes and do so automatically. All have different views. You can either look at the maps on the screen as if you were looking from the sky (2D) or choose and more realistic view (3D). Even the lower prices units have 750,000 Points of Interest. (Not enough, to my mind.) All have touchscreen, and all tell you where to turn.

Extra features you want to consider are: larger Points of Interest database, real-time traffic capability, Bluetooth for hands-free calling, maps of Europe, wider screen, and actually saying the street names before you turn.

Magellan, Tom Tom, and Garmin all offer a wide variety of models that do all of this and more. The issue is to define what you want, then to see which makes and models include that.  Hopefully, this website can help you do just that!

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