The range of options and variety of brands and models can make choosing a GPS system a little confusing. Price is an obvious consideration but so are the built in features and available options, how and where you intend to use your GPS and what kind of directional assistance would be most helpful for your particular needs. When deciding which GPS product is right for you, considering the answers to some of the following questions will help you navigate through the maze of available products and find the right one for your needs.
- Are you looking for basic GPS navigation for you car to help get you around town or something with a few more features that would be helpful on trips?
- Are you looking for a GPS system with more versatility? Perhaps a unit that could be used in a car and/or outdoors hiking, biking or sightseeing?
- Are you looking for a feature packed system that provides spoken navigation and a variety of additional information, traffic and weather, compatibility with Bluetooth devices XM radio and more?
- Are you looking for activity specific GPS capabilities for use during hunting, fishing/marine use, or fitness training?
The following information is offered as a guide to assist you in determining which product is right for you. It is not a review of any specific brand or model. The brands mentioned are only used as examples of the kind of GPS being discussed. Keep in mind as you consider your needs that many GPS systems designed for use in a car can easily be carried in a pocket, purse or pack and used to navigate on foot. And likewise, many handheld products can be mounted in a car, boat, ATV or on a bicycle and when installed with street map software, can be used to navigate on streets and highways.
GPS products with basic capabilities will be able, literally, to get you from point A to point B by utilizing one or more saved "Way points". These type devices do not offer mapping capability. You can think of way points as pebbles left behind you as you make your way. To return, you move back along your route, collecting the pebbles you left to mark the way. Basic models function in much this way, dropping the "pebbles" for you and pointing the way back to them to lead you home. Examples for use of this type GPS might be saving the location of your parked car at a crowded shopping mall or sports facility when you arrive so you could easily find your way back when you are ready to leave. Or instead of a parked car you might save the location of your campsite and points of interest along a hike and then easily navigate back at the end of the day. Examples of these types of handheld GPS units would include:
- Bushnell's Backtracker Personal Location Finder
- Garmin eTrex H
- Garmin Foretrex 101 and 201
- Geko 201
- Garmin GPS 60, 72, and 76
Basic automobile GPS navigation requires a bit more sophistication than seen in the previously mentioned handhelds. These products offer pre-loaded maps, color screens, and greater memory capacity and are the types of products you would want to consider for use in a vehicle or for back country hiking, hunting or fishing. Beginning level examples of these products would be:
- Garmin Nuvi 200, 205, 205W
- Magellan Roadmate 1200, 1400,
- Magellan Maestro 3200 series
Moving up a notch consider products like the following handheld units for outdoor activities :
- Garmin eTrex Legend, Venture HC, Vista,
- Garmin GPSMAP 60
- Magellan Triton 200
Moving up to the mid-level you may want to consider products like these for your car:
- Garmin Nuvi 250, 255, 260, 265, 270 series
- Magellan 1412
- Navigon 2000S
And for outdoor handhelds:
- Garmin eTrex Summit HC, Vista HCx, GPSMAP 76S
- Bushnell ONIX200
- Magellan Triton 300
- DeLorme PN-20
Moving up to more advanced products does not mean struggling with products that are difficult to use. Features such as touch screens and spoken turn by turn directions make these automobile GPS products very easy to use. Advanced products provide a greater number of features and a higher level of functionality and versatility. Options such as XM radio, Traffic updates, or other services are included or can be added with some of the more advanced models. Some of these options require the purchase of monthly subscriptions. Examples of these products for your vehicle would be:
- Garmin Nuvi 265WT, 275T, 500, 550, 750, 755T, 760, 765T, 775T, 780, 785T, 855
885T, 5000
- Garmin Zumo 550
- Garmin Streetpilot 7200
- Magellan Maestro series
- Navigon 2200T, 2100MAX, 7200T, 8100T
Advanced handheld GPS models generally offer more internal memory or the ability to add mapping and other content using data storage cards. Mapping data can be downloaded to the card and the card plugged into the device. In this way one device can be used to navigate city streets, inland lakes or coastal areas, or trails in a national park depending on the mapping software installed. These types of handhelds include:
- Garmin Oregon and Colorado series
- Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx, 60CSx, 76Cx, 76 CSx
- Magellan Triton 1500, 2000
- Bushnell ONIX350, ONIX400
- DeLorme PN-40
There is a group of advanced products which should be mentioned separately because they not only offer excellent automobile navigation features but can be used for marine GPS navigation on the water or on a trail as well. These GPS models are referred to as crossover or hybrid GPS units and include the following examples:
- Garmin Nuvi 500, 550
- Garmin GPSMAP 276C, 478C, 620, 640
- Lowrance XOG
Another group of handheld GPS is designed with a specific use or feature in mind. Some specialized handheld models provide basic GPS navigation but are also coupled with enhanced specialized functionality. Others do not offer GPS navigation but use GPS technology to gather data used in activities such as fitness or sports training. Examples include:
- Garmin Astro - Handheld GPS that can also be used to track hunting dogs.
- Garmin Rino - Handheld GPS with 2-way radio capability.
- Timex Ironman - GPS worn on the wrist. Tracks such things as time and distance for running, biking, and swimming fitness training.
- Garmin Edge, Forerunner, and Foretrex - Edge is a Personal Training/Biking calculator using GPS for fitness training. Forerunner and Foretrex are other examples of wrist mounted GPS, Forerunner for fitness training and Foretrex offering basic way point GPS navigation.
This has not been an all encompassing discussion of GPS products but I hope this information will help you understand the differences between some of the more popular models when choosing which is the right GPS for you.
