ARTICLES-HOME-GPS Systems
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Feridun_Qasemi]Feridun Qasemi
We do agree with you that buying and finding a GPS or Navigational device can be difficult and time consuming. We’ve spent a lot of time in researching everything you need to know about GPS receivers and what Global Positioning System is. Let us give thanks to the U.S. Department of Defense for developing, maintaining and hosting the GPS Satellites. They originally designed GPS Satellites for military purposes. Now, people around the world are really starting to use GPS more and more. Soon enough, people will realize how they got around all this time without one. Back in the seventies, when the U.S. Department of Defense developed the GPS satellites, they really made twenty four satellites that surrounds and tracks the earth every 12 hours. Basically, your GPS receiver gets the signals from the satellites. The GPS satellites know your exact location and can also track your location in which you’ve been already. Therefore, it can display mapping and direction data on the device. When considering a GPS device, you also have to take in consideration some of the trusted names in the business like Garmin, Tomtom, Magellan, Cobra, Lowrance and Navman. It does not mean devices from these names in the business would be more expensive either.
Basically, there are Automotive GPS units which are meant to be in the car which has maps or softwares built in that gives out data for directions in voice prompts. There are softwares that you can download for mapping directions. These softwares that include voice prompts are really convenient because you can be focusing on the road while driving and not getting distracted at all. Some of the most popular in car navigational units are the Magellan Roadmates, the Tomtom in car navigational gps units and of course the Garmin Nuvi units. There are handheld GPS units which are extremely convenient and which you can take it anywhere with you, in car, hiking, biking and more. Some of these devices include the Garmin Forerunner series, the Garmin iQue series, and the Magellan explorist. There is also another line of GPS devices which are considered as Marine GPS devices. These devices are used for boats and sailing that gives out maps for directions for onshore and offshore. They are more capable than just giving directions. They also have functions such as locate fish and predict tides. Some examples of these devices are the Garmin GPSMAP 430SX, the Magellan Meridian Marine Handheld GPS, the Garmin GPS 72 GPS receiver, the Garmin GPSMAP 440, the Garmin GPSMAP 192c, and more.
So, what makes one GPS unit different than the other? Well, it depends on a lot of different factors like how detailed they are in terms of providing maps and how fast and how accurate they are when they display maps for waypoints, streets, conditions of the environment. The following factors are important to know before buying a GPS unit:
· If you are looking to just get around in finding a place, then a basic GPS unit would work just fine. This is generally what users want out of a GPS unit anyway. What we mean by “Basic Unit” is that some GPS units are capable of displaying great detail of maps on a particular area or landmark and as well as surrounding areas, streets, conditions of the environment and more. GPS units depend on maps that come with the device. A lot of times you can download additional GPS maps onto your device.
· Earlier we mentioned how a GPS device can differ on how fast and accurate they can display information or data. How fast they output data depends on the number of channels a unit has. The more channels a GPS unit has, the better in reception. Reason being is that the channels of the unit communicates with the GPS satellites which in turn picks up more satellites. In car GPS units such as the Garmin Nuvi series or the Magellan Roadmate series are a primary examples of the units that will pick up more and more satellites.
· Another thing to consider is to see how much empty space it has or can have to save locations, waypoints, or landmarks, similar to a memory slot of a computer. Some Navigational devices can also be scalable which means they can be upgraded to be more compatible and more capable.
· First of all, are you going to get an in car GPS unit or a handheld GPS? Well, here are some of the things to consider when choosing between a handheld GPS unit or an in car GPS unit. Are you on the road a lot of time such as sales reps, real estate agents, delivery drivers or are you outdoors a lot and would like to use your device for hiking, biking, sailing as well on top of being able to use it while driving? If you think you will use it everywhere, then a handheld GPS unit works best in your situation. If you think you would only use it while driving, then an in car GPS unit is for you. Here are some things you can consider about handheld GPS units:They are portable and mobile, that way you can take it anywhere with you like driving to the important meeting of yours or sailing, biking, hiking and etc. They are made small enough that you can carry it in your backpack or pocket and also some of them come in watch type shape where you can wear it on your wrist. Since these handheld GPS units are meant for different uses like sailing and fishing, they are waterproof. They are very long lasting and dependable. They are easily usable. Handheld GPS units tend to be less in price in comparison to in car GPS units. Here are some of the things you can consider about in car Navigational units: They are much larger in size and screen size than the handheld ones so it’s a lot easier to read. This is helpful while driving. The car built in navigations systems are very strong in mapping capabilities. Voice commands that help you stay focused on the road. The reception is great because they tend to pick up more satellites. Some of these units are still portable! They have sophisticated mapping capabilities.
Feridun Qasemi is a prduct support specialist for gps takes you. For more information, go to http://www.gpstakesyou.com/page/1175130
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Feridun_Qasemihttp://EzineArticles.com/?GPS-Buying-Guide&id=932438
Which Are The Best Built-In Car GPS Devices?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jeffrey_Meier]Jeffrey Meier
Are you wondering whether you should spend your money on a car GPS system that is built right into the dashboard of your car instead of a portable device that sticks to you dashboard? Well you're in the right place to determine not only what the benefits are of purchasing a built-in unit, but also which ones are most popular on the market today.
Built-In vs. Portable
The question many people have when they consider purchasing a car GPS system is whether they should go with built-in or portable. The answer differs depending on the consumer's needs, so let's go over some pros and cons that you might want to consider when thinking about purchasing either one.
Portable is ... Portable - Many consumers love the idea that they can take their portable units out of their cars and move them to another car if necessary. This is one major selling point for the portable unit. You simply attach it to your dashboard when you're using it, and remove it when you're done. The second bonus of a device being portable is that if you want to upload mapping or navigation software, you can do it easily via its USB port.
Portable Units Don't Offer Large HD Space - One bonus you will find with built-in units that you won't see in most portable devices is the large hard drive. Some built-in units come with as much hard drive space as a PC, which means you can store a lot of information on your system. If this is important to you then you will want to look past the portable units.
Built-In Units Offer More Extras - One reason that customers enjoy built-in car GPS systems is their features - the main one being a bigger screen. While most portable units have smaller 3.5-inch screens, some built-in units can have screens as large as 7.5 inches allowing you to get a better view of the maps and text directions. In addition, many systems come with a DVD player or other entertainment features that you cannot get with the smaller portable unit.
Built-Ins Make Cars More Vulnerable - In an age where breaking into cars is as easy as breaking into your own bedroom, many consumers are leery about placing permanent systems into their vehicles because burglars can look right in and see what they want. The one plus of the system being built in is that it will be hard for them to take it out without effort, but this means you won't be able to remove it to secure your device and vehicle if necessary - a luxury you get with the portable device.
The Best Devices
There are a handful of car GPS devices that top the list as those you would want to have placed in your vehicle. Let's look at them more closely:
Pioneer AVIC-Z2 - This is a system that reviewers love because it is considered to be the ultimate in HDD navigation. It has a huge hard drive - 30 GB - which can easily rival many PCs on the market. But many more features follow this one great asset. For example, its processing speed is astounding, being able to deliver mapping and navigation information to you rapidly. Also, it offers a huge Tele Atlas that has over 12 million points of interest (POI) so that you can find a business or other public location without having to know the address. Some other features of this car GPS system include a huge music library, a large 7-inch screen, DVD playback, 3D landmark icons, point addressing, traffic flow lanes, iPod controls, Bluetooth compatibility, text-to-speech technology, and turn-by-turn voice instruction.
Panasonic Strada CN-NVD905U - Similar to the Pioneer device mentioned above, this one also offers a 7-inch screen and DVD player. In addition, it has an easy-to-understand LCD display as well as touchscreen control with audio. You can enjoy a picture as sharp as your television set so that you can not only see great map images, but also enjoy your movies, making this device one that makes being in your car as comfortable as being in your home.
When you're ready to get out and buy your built-in car GPS it is important to consider a few more things. One is that many systems are available with the purchase of a new car, so before you spend money buying a new system for your car, consider whether you could save by having one come with a new car you are thinking of purchasing. These car GPS systems are a little bit pricier than most portable units, so you have to make sure that you will get the most out of your purchase.
GPS Review Sites - Can You Find What You're Looking For?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lee_Cole]Lee Cole
When I was first bitten by the GPS bug, I went immediately to the Internet to see what review sites I could find.
There were a few, but I didn't find them all that helpful.
Most were way too technical for me! Now, please understand, I'm very comfortable with technical devices. I currently teach mathematics and computer programming.
It's just that it's hard to decide if a certain model GPS device is the right one just by looking at technical specifications.
The problem is this: for a given price point nearly all GPS devices do almost exactly the same thing.
All of them find where you are and show you this information on a map. Nearly all the screens are either 3.5-inches or 4.3-inches across. Almost all have turn-by-turn voice prompts. And almost all have a slew of meaningless features like world travel alarm clocks.
The differences between devices in a certain price range are more subtle.
So, I'm going to list some features that are important to me.
When I was deciding what GPS to buy, I was very interested in how much space on my windshield the device was going to take up. To complicate things, I have two cars, one fairly small (Honda Civic) and the other medium sized (a Mercury Grand Marquis).
I didn't want to buy a GPS unit and just return it the next day because I couldn't see to drive. So, I did a little experiment. I drove around in each car for a day with a piece of cardboard stuck to my windshield about the size of the GPS I was mainly interested in.
That was great because I learned that the area the device would cover in the windshield didn't affect my line of sight for driving in either car. (More in the Civic than the Mercury, but not enough to count).
The other thing that was important to me was clarity of voice instructions. For that I combed the reviews at Amazon to see what people were saying about various units sound quality while driving.
Just to save you time, I've collected the information I've gathered in my GPS review site. You can get to it by clicking on the link below.
But I was happy to see that the unit I was most interested in (the Tom Tom One, 3rd edition) had good reviews when it came to noise interference.
Finally, my main area of interest was ease of use. For that I not only read the reviews, but went to a nearby office supply store where they had various models out and played with them. Again, the Tom Tom did what I needed it to do. (I was very impressed with Garmin's user interface, too.)
Just so you know, although I was tempted to, I didn't buy the GPS from the office supply store. For that I had always planned to go to Amazon-they have great prices and also are very good to deal with.
So, what did I use all of those GPS comparisons and reviews sites that are out there on the Internet for? Mainly to help me understand what I would get at certain price points. For instance, how much I would have to pay to upgrade to a GPS system with Bluetooth or MP3 capability. (Just so you know, I decided I didn't need the Bluetooth -- I don't talk on the phone that much while driving. But I did like the MP3/audio book capability.) Take a look at my site below for more details on price and features.
Lee Cole is a GPS enthusiast who has spent countless hours learning about and using GPS devices. He runs an informative website called http://www.hotgpsdeals.com There you can get more information to help you compare GPS systems.
