subject: In-Car GPS Systems - Which Features to Look For When Purchasing a GPS Unit [print this page] In-Car GPS Systems - Which Features to Look For When Purchasing a GPS Unit
Do you ever end up driving through a place you've never been before and becoming completely and utterly lost? Yeah, me too, until I bought my first a car GPS system. Choosing which one to buy can be confusing though, but that's why I have written this article.
Main Car Sat Nav Unit Features
There are a bunch of feature which are standard in virtually all GPS units these days, and without which, the unit would be nearly useless. These include:
Touchscreen: When driving, ease of use is essential when operating your GPS unit. A touch screen is a must.
Route Maps Built In: If your new Sat nav system doesn't know the area where you live, it would be pretty useless
Audio Instructions: You don't have time to stop and look at where the Sat nav unit says you should go, you need to be told out loud, "turn left", "turn right", etc.
Additional Vehicle Satellite Navigation Unit Features
In addition to the standard Sat nav features talked about above, there are a number of additional features you might want to keep an eye out for, for instance:
POI (Points of Interest): Sometimes you don't just want to be told what directions to take; you also want to know where the important landmarks and features are. For example, let's say you're on vaction somewhere for the first time, and you want to know where the theater is, or a particular park, or maybe where a certain historical monument is.
Hands-free Phonecalls: Using a phone while driving is dangerous. Many GPS unit now come with the ability to be connected to your phone, letting you talk without having to touch your phone.
Lane Guidance: Several Sat nav systems these days have the ability to give you detailed help with navigating the lanes of busy roads. This way, you'll never take the wrong exit.
The Main Car GPS Manufacturers and their Products
The other factor you need to consider when buying a new car Sat nav unit is the company. Here are the main car Sat nav makes, along with a quick note on the range of GPS units they make:
Garmin: $60-$3,000. Main Sat nav make. More than 200 gps units available. Very wide range.
TomTom: $80-$1,000. Main Sat nav make. Over 100 gps systems on the market. Large price range.
Kenwood: $320-$1,200. Quite a good range of gps units. The majority of them are fairly high end Sat nav units.
Pioneer: $350-$850. Again, a similar range of products to Kenwood. Decent range of high quality sat navs.
JVC: $100-$1,000. Few gps systems, but covers a large price range.
Sony: $200-$840. Similar to JVC. Not many gps units, large price range.
Boss Audio: $165-$195. Only a few models available, but they do have very big screens which also function as full-on in-car multimedia devices, e.g. for watching DVDs.
Audiovox: $80-$270. Not many products on the market.
Escort: $670. Only 1 product on the market, in the style of a replacement rear-view mirror.
