| The best car GPS for you might not be the same | | | | Garmin nuvi 200, or the Tom Tom One, 3rd |
| as the one for your next door neighbor. Although | | | | Edition. |
| GPS systems all do essentially the same thing, | | | | Of these three entry-level devices, I would go |
| they come with a ton of different features and | | | | with the Tom Tom. It offers more features for |
| prices. Choosing the best one for you is a matter | | | | the price. |
| of understanding the market. It's also a matter of | | | | Common features you have to pay more to get |
| understanding what your needs and wants are. | | | | are: Bluetooth for hands-free calling, multiple point |
| This article is going to help you sort all of that out. | | | | routing so you can enter more than one |
| That way, you'll be able to buy the best car GPS | | | | destination in at a time, and real-time traffic and |
| for you and your needs. | | | | weather updates. |
| Let's start by talking about who makes these | | | | You can get all of this for less than $350! |
| things. | | | | Probably the best car GPS on the market (at |
| If the market is any indication, the best | | | | least Consumer Reports thinks so--and so do I!) is |
| companies are Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan. | | | | the Garmin nuvi 760. It can do all of the above |
| They control almost 90% of the car GPS market. | | | | and more. |
| Garmin is the top dog with 50% of the market | | | | If $350 is too much, then think about the Magellan |
| share. Tom Tom and Magellan each has about | | | | Maestro 4250. It offers most of these features |
| 20% of the market share. | | | | (and more) for only $250. In the under $300 price |
| I know there are a number of other | | | | range, I think the Maestro 4250 is probably your |
| manufacturers of car GPS devices. Personally, I | | | | best all-around deal! |
| would stick with the bigger companies. | | | | But even the nuvi 760 is not the top of the |
| Now, we'll talk about the features and about how | | | | market. |
| much various GPS's are going to run you. | | | | If you're looking for state of the art, cutting edge |
| All car GPS systems can show you where you | | | | technology, then you'll be looking at Garmin only. |
| are and tell you how to get to where you're going | | | | Tom Tom and Magellan are just not competitive |
| with voice instructions. For the cheapest systems | | | | in this part of the market. |
| those voice instructions aren't going to include | | | | But if that's what you want, then you need to be |
| saying the street names, just something like, | | | | thinking about the Garmin nuvi 880! At a mere |
| "Turn Right." | | | | $900 it can do everything except wash your |
| Also, your basic GPS will have pre-programmed | | | | socks. |
| maps and a pre-loaded database of common | | | | What you need to do now is to get on an |
| destinations, called Points of Interest, or POI's. | | | | informative website where you can browse |
| You can get a car GPS that can do all of this and | | | | individual GPS's and check out their prices. That |
| a little more for less than $150. | | | | way you can find the best car GPS for your |
| Some good possibilities would be the Magellan | | | | budget and your needs. |
| RoadMate 1200, which sells for only $120, or the | | | | |