GPS Units for Cars

It was one of those late nights and Maria was returning from work. She had had a hectic day and was dying to relax in the comfort of her new apartment. After taking a few winding turns, she realized that she was nowhere near home. But she did not panic. She had recently installed one of the new GPS units and that helped her reach home without much hassle.

The above-mentioned scenario is not uncommon and could happen to anyone. In such situations, a GPS unit can come to your rescue. Whether you are going for a road trip to a distant place, have a bad sense of direction, are on a safari for hunting or just in an unfamiliar city, all you need is a GPS navigation unit as your friend and guide (pun intended!). For those of you who do not know what is a GPS, here is the answer.

The extended form of GPS is global positioning system. It was originally developed for the defense forces but now it is extensively used as a tracking system for cars and other objects. The GPS real time tracking system is satellite network based and gives the information related to the exact location or position of the objects on a real time basis.

Many portable GPS units are available in the market these days and due to competition, you have no dearth of choices. When you compare these GPS units, keep it in mind to check for the following parameters.

The available units come in varied sizes from palm sized ones to massive handbook sized ones. The size comes into picture when you mount the device on your dashboard. These GPS come with suction mounts. Another thing to remember here, is to check for ease of connection and the screen sizes. As opposed to the general belief, the larger screens jiggle more on the drive and this makes them difficult to be read.

Things like the availability of bright icons, touch screen, easy menus, yellow pages, etc. should be checked as these are the basics. Apart from that, some also have anti glare screens or MP3 players as an added feature. For the manual address entry interface, look for ease of typing and button positions.

Generally, all GPS units have a voice prompt system, that guides you. Look for non-robotic voices and clear accents of the co-pilot. Some devices also offer the choice of setting the map orientation, like north side up, etc.

Last but not the least, compare prices of all the available brands. It is not advisable to buy cheap units, at the same time, do not go overboard with it either. Look for online availability of these products too, as that will help you to grab the best deal. Another thing to look out for are the discounts that are offered, normally on the online sales.

As of now, the top players in the GPS market are Garmin, TomTom and Magellan, with a variety of products ranging from high-end 5" widescreen touch display; text-to-speech voice guidance to medium-range 2.2" display; water resistant designs.

Keeping all these points in mind, the best GPS units for cars will be the ones that are easy to set up, user-friendly and are not too heavy on your pocket. After you install the unit, there are a few precautions that have to be taken. Firstly, it should not be too big so as to block your road view.

Secondly, keep in mind to lock your car when you park it or keep it outside the garage overnight. Lastly, while you drive, look on the road and not on the map. The GPS tells you the direction and not about the vehicles in front of you.

Listen to the voice directions and keep your eyes on the road. This will ensure that you take the right way and reach there safely too.