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Take a Look at the New Types of GPS Units for Truckers
The world of navigation systems has increased significantly since it expanded its empire to include the businesses as a well as everyday individuals into the equation. Now just about anyone you know either has or has to capability to get a navigation system. Of course, the trucking industry could not be left out of this loop considering that the backbone of their business is transporting goods from one end of the country to the other. So it wouldn’t be right to focus on these systems without taking a look at the new types of GPS units for truckers available on the market today.
Why Consider One of These Systems?
There are a large number of benefits associated with navigation systems, so let’s look at a few. First, you can take advantage of preloaded maps of the United States, as well as Canada, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico in some cases. This is a great feature because it allows you to pull up mapping information for any city you’re traveling through without having to go through the trouble of unfolding a new paper map each time you reach a new destination. Also, these units offer turn-by-turn navigation features that help guide you from one location to another with voice prompted instruction. So whether you’re traveling from your home to a new restaurant in your city or to a new amusement park located on the other side of the country, you don’t have to worry about getting lost – ever.
As a trucker, this type of service is an absolute must, as you probably very often find yourself in a location that you’ve never visited before wishing that you had a best friend with you who knew all of the roads so that you could have the guidance you needed. Of course, there aren’t too many individuals who know every street in the United States (and if those people exist, I guarantee they wouldn’t be in your vehicle sitting beside you when they could be making money with their talents). But luckily, they make navigation systems that can not only assist you in your travels, but also can very specifically accommodate your trucking needs. So before you go out and by a standard navigation system, let’s look at the new types of GPS units for truckers available that could make your job that much easier.
Units Created Specifically for the Trucking Industry
Below is a short list of the new types of GPS units for truckers that have made their way into stores, and maybe soon, into your vehicles:
Teletype 330060 3.5-Inch WorldNav Portable – This popular device was created specifically for professional truckers and comes with a standard 3.5-inch touchscreen for easy viewing and navigating through the preloaded maps of US and Canada. As one of only a few of the new types of GPS units for truckers, this system comes with turn-by-turn voice prompted navigation assistance, you can get across the country with your deliveries with ease, never getting lost, and never running the risk of falling behind schedule. This unit also comes with a Secure Digital Card that allows you to store maps on the system in case you need to retrace a route and don’t want to reenter the destination information. And if you’re looking for a way to locate an ATM, restaurant, or gas station while driving, you simply need to scroll through the POI (point of interest) database for access to over 12 million public locations (with access to guided instructions) around the country. But probably the most loved feature for this system is truck restriction routing, which allows you to enter specific details about your truck (dimensions and weight) to help you determine a route that will take into account load limits, bridge heights, allowances, and more. Either that, or the MP3/video player that make for an entertaining ride.
CoPilot Truck Laptop – Another one of the new types of GPS units for truckers is the CoPilot Truck Laptop created for those who don’t want to buy a brand new system but still want to reap the benefits of the service. This system allows you to install it on your laptop or pocket PC then enjoy street-level navigation routing, complex route calculations from point A to point B within seconds, intelligent re-routing in the event that you miss your turn, and tons of POIs.
There are other new types of GPS units for truckers, include the Teletype Worldnav 710060, so don’t be afraid to check them out before making a purchase. Just whatever you do, don’t stop doing the research. You’ll find that among the new types of GPS units for truckers, there is one that will be perfect for your next cross-country trip.
Key Features of GPS Receivers That You need To Know About
Over the years GPS receivers have really changed and mostly for the better. It seems yearly new features are added and others are updated to give you the best possible equipment to use to find your way around this crazy world we live in. Most people who have GPS units will tell you how valuable these things are and we have compiled a list of the key features that you will want to have on your unit. Read further to discover if all these features are on the model you own, if not maybe it is time to upgrade the model you have.
Bluetooth hands-free calling is probably one of the most asked about features and one that you would want to have on the unit that you get. Most people do not realize how valuable it is until they have to answer the cell phone and try to drive at the same time. It is virtually impossible to live without these days. Bluetooth technology with your GPS unit lets you accept calls through the unit without having to do anything and is usually accomplished by voice commands. This means you can keep your mind on the road and have fewer distractions than ever before.
Integrated traffic receiver could very well be the second most requested add-on to GPS units these days. People want the most update travel planning and the best way to do that is through an integrated traffic receiver. This means you can find out where the worse traffic areas are and avoid them. You also will be notified of impending accidents ahead so you can avoid them as well. This will cut down your wait time and keep you on schedule no matter where you are going.
Turn by turn navigation is another thing that has been added recently as standard equipment to most GPS units on the market. This features uses text to speech technology to tell you where you must turn and which way you will need to go. This also keeps your eyes on the road and you do not have to worry about following the map. I have found this is one of those must have features as it will make you a better driver and a more safe driver as well. Make sure your unit has this feature on it.
Screen size for most models is 3.5 inches, but that is changing too as more companies are finally out the consumer likes much bigger screens. The bigger screen lets you see more and gives you greater detail than a much smaller screen. This is something that I have found to be invaluable especially if you are traveling. If you can afford the bigger screen by all means go bigger as you will enjoy the view.
Points of interest are another area that can vary with each company who makes the GPS unit. Some companies will have more listings than others so you will want to check that out. Many of these companies though will let you go to their web site and download more if you want to. For the most part though you should more than enough points of interest that you get from the factory install.
In recent years, SD and CF cards have been the wave of the future. These cards let you hold additional information that you can insert into your GPS unit to give yourself even more information. This is valuable especially if you travel a lot and do not want to download new maps and information all the time all you have to do is change the memory card that you have. It saves time and the other advantage is it will not slow down the machine as often as a full memory card will.
The GPS features that we have talked about above is definitely ones that you will want to take a closer look at and if you do not have them an upgrade is maybe what you need. Most of these upgrades are not very expensive at all and some companies are now making this all-standard equipment on some models as well. To get the most out of your GPS unit you will need all these features on the list above. There are also minor ones we have not mention that you should also be able to get also. No matter which ones you choose remember than a GPS unit and added features will make traveling so much easier.
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