Best Portable Navigation GPS Units
We help you find the right GPS for your needs.
No one wants to go through life without direction, and everybody just hates it when they’re lost. Literally speaking, a map or some directions from a local could draw the thin line that separates getting lost from getting where you need or want to be. Thus, we have Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
But with all the companies out there competing with one another on who gives directions best, how can you accurately compare GPS system to GPS system, and figure out which is best for your needs? Do you go for the ones with fancy names, those who claim to be number one, or those whose products you often see in the street? Well, to compare GPS system to system is just a matter of comparing the companies’ or products’ offers and features, and figuring out what would best suit you and your specific needs or requirements. I for one would not automatically go for the biggest GPS company, though with obvious advantages, without checking out other stuff first.
It all grinds down to what a specific individual prefers or what particular requirements are set in trying to compare GPS system A to GPS system B. For instance, do you need an all around GPS device that you can carry in your pocket, or do you just need it while driving? Are you hearing-impaired or you have difficulty going through complicated gadgets and would prefer a simple graphical user interface? Choosing which company or product gives you directions might be a big deal to some, so perhaps product reviews from people who own and have used the products might help.
If Christopher Columbus had a Global Positioning System (GPS) in his hand back in the days of his exploration, he would have found what he was looking for, and the US wouldn’t have been what it is today. That’s how far it has gone: from thinking and believing the world was flat to handheld portable GPS devices that even tell you where to turn next. Could Columbus have guessed where navigation was heading into when he mistakenly named America the New World? Could Magellan have known his exploits would have a GPS company take on his name?
Even today, GPS technologies are still advancing and developing. Even the companies in the industry are changing and shifting. Try looking for a Garmin 360 GPS through Google or even the Garmin official sites. It’s been discontinued. It had some pretty good features and a catchy name, but change has phased it out. No one can have a brand new Garmin 360 GPS to walk them through directions anymore.
The future holds many more horizons for GPS, just look how it’s evolved since 1983 when former President Ronald Reagan allowed its civilian use. In a world where convenience and ease of use, not to mention peace of mind from getting lost, seems to be prioritized, technological wonders of today would easily be things of the past quicker than we can imagine. Gearing towards aspects such as convenience, such tools and devices like the Garmin 360 GPS inevitably face their demise almost as soon as the next model comes out.
People have never ceased shopping online ever since the internet offered the advent of being able to do so. And with today’s modern technologies and gadgets, it seems most suited to shop for mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and Global Positioning System (GPS) devices over cyberspace. Thing is, when doing this online, you don’t get someone you can ask, like a sales clerk or whatnot, about how to choose. Like for choosing what GPS device to patronize.
So how do you know how to compare GPS navigation systems? There are hundreds of products out there offering different features with their own advantages over the others, but it all boils down to you, really. Perhaps you’d like to keep three things about yourself in mind so you know how to compare GPS navigation systems:
First, your needs. What do you need? Do you require a personal portable GPS device or something that can be installed in your car when you travel? What sort of features would you need most when using a GPS device? Would you need a more visual GPS or something that actually speaks out the directions?
Second, your wants. After prioritizing the must-be’s, you can then go ahead and add to the list of things you want in a GPS device those things that aren’t necessarily crucial, but you’d prefer to have.
And of course, your tendencies or inklings. This won’t be found on any description of a product you’d find. This is somewhat a gauge of how well you know yourself, and thus knowing what to avoid or take advantage of while comparing GPS devices. For example, do you tend to choose the big names though their products have the same features as other brands, causing you to spend more? In this case then you might want to make sure you have a strict budget. Do you tend to lose stuff a lot, such as mobile phones or PDAs? Then you might consider not going for portable GPS devices that you could easily lose, et al.
Those are some things to remember so you’d know how to compare GPS navigation systems, and eventually select one out of your list. Of course these three items encompass wider fields, but most aspects fall on one of those three.
It pains one to imagine what the early seafarers and navigators had to do in order to get to their far-off and as yet unknown destination—it was already a challenge keeping a whole crew of a ship alive by not wandering out of the planned course or going over the edge of the world. Such was their plight back in the days of the flat Earth that when someone pulls out a portable Global Positioning System (GPS) device, you either pity Magellan and Columbus, or fell very indebted to these famous souls, among others.
Ever since former President Ronald Reagan issued the directive that enabled civilians to use the Department of Defenses’ GPS, its use has been further developed with the civilian in mind, and in an age where everyone wants everything literally at their fingertips, portability is one notable advancement. GPS portable systems, as many refer to it, have become widely popular and useful. It’s not just a map with more detail, graphical interface, and directions to and from a place, it’s a practical atlas in a nutshell.
GPS portable systems have made it to cars, mobile phones, and handheld individual devices, to mention a few. These devices prove to be very handy, especially for those people who like to—or need to—travel a lot, living out of suitcases, and/or in transition to a new home, life, or what-have-you.
Who likes the feeling of being lost anyway? GPS portable systems get rid of that (assuming one knows how to operate them), and gives the user a sense of control—perhaps this is an important factor in how well these navigational devices are received.
If you’re driving skills are good, but the same can’t be said about your navigational prowess, you just wish there was a navigator on your passenger seat to show you the way. Maybe all you need is a driving Global Positioning System (GPS) device, such as a Magellan 760 Roadmate.
Magellan Navigations, Inc., who, yes, took their name from the renowned Ferdinand Magellan, the explorer, offers the Magellan 760 Roadmate to drivers who don’t know much beyond the next few blocks from their house. In the 760 Roadmate, GPS has evolved into very convenient, perhaps spoon-feeding technology, because it can actually give you voice and visual directions as you drive. And these aren’t just general directions, it can actually tell you where to turn left or right
One can’t help but think more and more people find themselves lost these days, what with the whole GPS device thing—virtually anything and anyone needing to get somewhere can have a GPS installed or a portable handheld brought with him. Convenience has definitely reached the realm of the wayfarer. If only Columbus had a GPS portable in his pockets at the time, but then again, he would’ve found what he was actually looking for and not have discovered America.
A device like a Magellan 760 Roadmate does ease a wary driver’s concern, and brings much convenience for the geographically innocent. Quite handy, fairly easy to use—perhaps it’s time for paper maps and atlases to move over, and let the GPS devices and technologies take the wheel from here.
