In today’s technology driven world, its easy to get drawn into buying the latest equipment and gadgets that flood the market from time to time regardless of how useful or not they turn out to be. There however are certain devices that are proving to be well worth the money spent on them provided one is able to buy the most suitable out of the various designs and models that are introduced to the market regularly.
One such is the
GPS System which has been received with much fanfare by drivers who up to now had only maps and route numbers to help them on their way in unknown territory. The advent of the Global Positioning Satellite System or the
GPS Navigation System has been immensely useful in arseisting drivers to navigate their vehicles; be they private cars or a fleet of vehicles with confidence.
One of the advantages of buying a portable GPS Navigator is the ease of transferring it from one vehicle to another allowing a driver to use it in any vehicle he chooses to drive at a particular time. Some of the latest units are capable of providing users with useful options such as plotting the shortest route to a destination, locating gas stations or even the closest ATMs on the route.
Research carried out on navigation systems have shown that brands such as Garmin GPS, Tom Tom GPS and Magellan GPS are the current market leaders although other famous names such as the Rand McNally, Alpine and Cobra among others are fast becoming worthy competitors in the market. Some of the main reasons for the leaders to have an edge over their competitors are because of certain features integrated into these systems that have become popular with consumers.
These include map database coverage, ability to use the battery for at least four hours on a single charge, speech capability that enables driving without having to look at the screen map, and size of screen which should not be too big to block the front view or too small making it difficult to read the text on the screen. A superior GPS navigator allows a driver to choose the route he should take to arrive at his destination in the fastest time through the shortest route by avoiding traffic jams and other road impediments.
A person who goes out of the city and travels in unknown terrain more often than not should go for a GPS system that is pre loaded with maps; in which case their system should have a storage capacity of at least 100MB – 200MB for map storage.
A first time user will find a Garmin GPS system with a 3.5” screen useful with its speed limit display and multi destination routing among others while Tom Tom GPS will be preferred by drivers who wish to be informed live of traffic conditions on his chosen route. The Magellan GPS is the ideal device for drivers of long haul vehicles due to its extra large 7” color screen and special features such as reversing and highway lane arseistance. In the end however, what is most important is to choose a GPS navigator in keeping with the driver’s needs and his budget.
