The Portable car GPS unit has taken navigation to a whole new level for both business and personal travel. These little devices have taken stopping and asking for directions almost completely out of the equation. They work off of the cigarette lighter and all you have to do is to enter the postal address of your final destination and with the air of satellite technology, your vehicle is directed turn by turn.
Your auto can the then let the GPS help with tracking your auto to the general vicinity of the front door of your location.
Some of the portable car navigation systems available are the Garmin Street Pilot GPS, Garmin Portable GPS and the Magellan Roadmaster GPS. All are within the $300 dollar range so you just about have to justify both the need and the money for that many bucks.
Should you decide to spring for a GPS unit, you may want to think about whether or not you will actually benefit from owning a GPS. One easy way to check out the practical benefits is to try a car rental GPS. You can plug in the coordinates into the rental car GPS unit and get an actual feel for how it works outside of a retail store demo.
Some of the advantages of having a GPS system are:
Not as much time on sites such as mapquest.
No more printing directions that get left on the computer or somehow never seem to make it to the car. All you have to do is enter the address of the location you to go to and take off.
A lot less missed turn and turning around time. Plus you will have enough time to switch lanes to get ready for a turn.
Libraries, restaurants, and shopping malls can all be located right from your GPS unit.
It’s easy to install and operate straight out of the box. Just turn it on and you are ready to go.
It’s easy to use and if you do get off track, it will automatically provide the best short route to your location.
With the purchase of accessories-around another $200, you can get routes around traffic-another $60 per year. The GPS and its peripherals do not come cheap.
Some disadvantages are:
The input area for the address is small and there is a tendency to hit the wrong button.
Not every address is available. Databases are updated all the time and you will have to pay extra for upgrades.
There are times where the GPS will show you completely off track and even off the road. Usually, this has to do with new road construction or lack of updates. There are also times when the system with get you within 100 yards but not to the exact point. In certain locations, this matters.
Make sure to keep the unit out of extreme weather especially cold weather as this can damage the LCD screen.
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