A car GPS navigation system offers a great way for many consumers to feel comfortable traveling in their vehicles without the fear of getting lost. But how might one make you feel? The best way to wrap your mind around how one might assist you in your daily, weekly, or even yearly road travels is to look closely at their purpose. You never know; you might find yourself running right out to buy one by the end of this article.
Never Get Lost Again
People are running to retailers in droves to pick up their own carGPS navigation system. And I bet you’re wondering what the big deal is with picking up one of these devices. The main reason people love them so much is because they never have to worry about getting lost again.
Think about it. How many times have you thought about taking a road trip to a place you’ve never been before? I’m sure it has crossed your mind at least once or twice in your life. But for many, the thought is quickly washed away when they realize that they could get lost or stranded in an unknown area and no one would be able to find them. It is for this reason that people are picking up these units. Most on the market are so accurate and reliable that you never have to worry about getting lost again as long as one is by your side.
In-Dash or Portable?
So have you decided that you’re interested in getting your hands on a car GPS navigation system? I hope the answer is yes, because there are so many great units for you to choose from! But before you decide to go out and buy your own consider whether you would like to purchase one that is portable or in-dash.
There are some very obvious differences between the in-dash unit and the portable unit; the first being that an in-dash unit is actually built into your dashboard, whereas the portable unit can be moved from one car to another. Now for some, the portable unit would be a no-brainer because who wouldn’t want a unit they could move from car to car? However, if you only have one car and don’t plan to purchase another one then the decision isn’t as easy. Especially when you take into consideration that the in-dash system usually comes with a display screen that is twice as large as the portable, and many come with DVD players and other features you can’t get with the portable unit.
Not so easy a decision anymore, right? Well, let’s look at a few more features. With the portable car GPS navigation system, you have the option to use it as a handheld device so that if you walk on foot you can still navigate through your city as you would if you were in your car. Also, the portable unit is usually half as expensive as the in-dash system.
Made your decision yet?
If not, then we’ll take the final step by looking at a couple systems from each category to help you determine which might be best for you.
In-Dash Systems
The two in-dash systems that people seem to love are the Pioneer AVIC-Z2 and Panasonic Strada CN-NVD905U. The Pioneer car GPS navigation system comes equipped with a large 7-inch display screen, 30GB hard drive, huge Tele Atlas, DVD player, iPod controls, 3D landmark icons, Bluetooth capabilities, turn-by-turn voice navigation, and text-to-speech technology. The Panasonic Strada is similar with a large 7-inch screen, DVD, and great video and navigation functions. But are priced about $800, but have great features for the price.
Portable Systems
Now if you think portable is the way to go then you might like the Garmin Nuvi 660 priced at around $700 or the TomTom GO 720 costing around $450. The Garmin device is very popular on the market because it offers so many features, including Bluetooth, voice automation, MP3 player, traffic alerts, language translation, turn-by-turn navigation, millions of POIs, an FM transmitter and more. The TomTom device has fewer options but is still a good purchase with features like map updates, reroutes, POIs, and an impressive safety feature.
There are many more options to choose from when searching for a car GPS navigation system. This list just tips the iceberg. So definitely get out there to look for more information on which products on the market will fulfill your needs. That way, you can feel proud that you found the car GPS navigation system that helped you to never get lost again.