As technology improves, it becomes easy to expect the most convenient and speedy service possible from virtually any product you purchase. Let’s take the computer for instance. Not that many years ago, if you found a CPU with a Pentium processor, you felt you were the king of the neighborhood. If you could log onto the Internet and check your email, or build a simple webpage, you were the king of the Universe. Of course now, having a Pentium processor basically sets you back ages in computer years. The same advances have taken place in the short life span of navigation units, meaning that it is important for companies to keep up with consumer demands. Luckily for you, if you’re looking for an up-to-date device, you can find it with the Uniden Trax350 GPS unit.

Why This Device?

You may be wondering why the Uniden Trax350 GPS unit would be suggested over others on the market. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great ones out there. But this system is one of the only ones available that offers a 450MHz processor. What does this mean exactly? Well, imagine that you’re traveling to what you thought was a familiar location until you realize that you may very well be lost. It’s pitch black outside and the one thing you’re thinking about is how quickly you can make your way back to familiar ground. The last thing you want while in the middle of this spooky situation is to have your navigation system load up maps back to civilization at turtle speeds. By offering such a fast processor, you don’t have to wait long to find the map you need. Instead, you simply enter the destination you want to reach, have the lightening fast processor load it for you, and be on your way back on track to reaching your location.

What Else Does it Offer?

In addition to the fast processor, you can look forward to a plethora of features with the Uniden Trax350 GPS unit. A few include:

3.5-Inch Touchscreen – This unit features a standard 3.5-inch unit with touchscreen capabilities that allow you to navigate just as easily through the system as you can navigate through the streets.

Preloaded Maps – Whether you’re traveling throughout the continental United States, or venturing out to Puerto Rico, you can take advantage of clear street-level maps that have been preloaded onto the systems 2GB internal memory.

Extra Memory – If you want to add more maps to the unit, you can easily upload new ones to an SD card then download them to your system using the SD card slot. Also, you can use the memory card to expand the amount of memory available for your system.

Turn-by-Turn Voice Prompted Navigation – Some people are able to easily look down and around while magically focusing on the road, but many of us are not able to multitask in this way. If you are a person who prefers to keep their eyes on the road rather than look at the system’s screen for navigation instruction then you’ll love the Uniden Trax350 GPS unit. Because it offers voice-prompted navigation instruction, all you have to do is plug in your starting and ending locations in the then allow the system to call out all of your turns and exits until you reach your destination.

Millions of Points of Interest – Another key feature of the Uniden Trax350 GPS unit is the POI (points of interest) database that offers you access to millions of hotels, ATMs, gas stations, museums, restaurants, theaters, amusement parks, convenience stores, and much more by simply scrolling through the list for the city you’re in. After you’ve found the location, you select it to be your next destination then allow the system to guide you, turn-by-turn, to that point of interest. It doesn’t get any easier.

Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery – To ensure that you have plenty of hours to enjoy your system, this device comes with a rechargeable li-ion battery that offers up to five hours of life before needing recharging. This amount of hours can give you time to travel to distant locations then take some time to recharge your own body before starting another several hours of traveling.

So does it seem that the Uniden Trax350 GPS unit is for you? If not, then first explore its other features, which include text-to-speech read-outs, 32MB of RAM and a windshield mount for easy viewing. If after reading all that you can take advantage of with the Uniden Trax350 GPS unit you still aren’t sold – you just might want to look at the Uniden Trax438 then get back to me. Good luck and happy shopping!

Believe it or not, many companies do not dwell so much on creating quality products anymore. For instance, if you’re old enough to remember Reagan being in office then you probably remember that there was a time that automobile bumpers where not made of plastic. To get hit by a bumper a couple of decades ago meant serious injuries, whereas now someone can kick your bumper and it will crack. Because we don’t usually get the same quality for our dollars, consumers typically rave over a product that offers the quality their missing. So it’s no surprise that the amazingly accurate Uniden GPS 402 Maptrax system is loved by both consumers and electronics reviewers. Want to learn more about this navigation unit? Read on!

About the Device

The Uniden GPS 402 Maptrax system is one of a number of navigation units that come from this company, which is known for offering high-quality electronics. Specifically, this unit works well for the individual who spends a great deal of time in their car and needs to pull up maps and directions very quickly. Whether you’re utilizing this device’s EZ Touch Screen, which makes for easily unit navigation while on the road, or taking advantage of its 400 MHz map processing, you are guaranteed to have a safe and efficient journey to your location.

It Has What You Need

So of course, before you purchase the Uniden GPS 402 Maptrax system you need to feel certain that it has the features you need most. So let’s take a quick look at some of the features you can take advantage of:

EZ Touch Screen – When you’re trying to figure out how to use a navigation unit, you don’t want to have to bother with a touch screen that has difficult-to-press icons. But with this unit’s EZ touch screen, you can barely take the option that you want and the device will read it and take you to the function you’re trying to access.

Preloaded Maps – When you purchase a navigation device, the last thing you should have to worry about is downloading your own maps to help it function at its best. That’s why the Uniden GPS 402 Maptrax system comes ready with preloaded maps of the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska and Canada. With all of those maps already installed on this unit, you will have to travel pretty far before you find yourself in an area that you can no longer navigate through.

Guided Navigation with Voice Prompts – When on the road, you always want to feel secure that you know where you’re going. And while paper maps and even pre-printed directions from an online mapping service can be very useful, if the information blows out the window, or you simply change your mind about where you want to go, you may find yourself pulling over to ask for directions from strangers. To avoid this hassle, the Uniden GPS 402 Maptrax system offers voice prompted turn-by-turn navigation instruction that not only tells you which streets you should turn on to guide you every step of the way to your destination, but if you change your mind about where you want to go, you can simply enter a new destination to have the system recalculate the route and guide you there.

Points of Interest – If you’re a frequent road-tripper, or just someone who gets on the highway every blue moon, it is nice to know of a few places along the way that you can stop at to grab a bite to eat, get a few dollars, buy some gas, or even have a little tourist fun. This is where the POI (point of interest) database comes in handy. It lists millions of public locations through the country that you might want to visit, including ATMs, restaurants, gas stations, rest stops, and even tourist attractions. To get to one of these locations, you simply select the one you want to visit then have the system guide you there turn by turn. With so many POIs to choose from, you may find that the majority of your vacation is spent visiting places between your home and your final destination.

The Uniden GPS 402 Maptrax system also offers additional features, including a large 4-inch, daylight viewable screen display, 240 x 320 display resolution, 400 MHz processor speed, WAAS mapping accuracy, a SiRF III receiver, and multiscreen viewing. If that’s not enough, there’s even more to take advantage of. So consider the Uniden GPS 402 Maptrax system as your new navigation unit. You will be surprised by how accurate and reliable it truly is.

It is a known fact that gas prices are soaring higher and higher all the time. As a result, we’ve seen various factions of the automotive industry – as well as the airline industry – shut down, resulting in thousands of people losing their jobs. As a person involved in the trucking industry, gas prices have been no less harmful as you rely largely on it to help you transport goods from one location to another. Unfortunately however, gas prices may not be decreasing anytime soon. So how can you lowering the cost when the prices are not lowering at the pump? Many companies and individuals are finding that truckers save fuel with GPS units. Sounds impossible? Well, before you reject the idea, read on to learn more. 

Features That Can Help You Save

So when was the last time that you had an all-knowing companion sitting right by your side who could guide you turn by turn to any location in the country, whether you were in the largest city, or the smallest farm town? Who do you know that could predetermine which routes to take to avoid truck restrictions? And who could help you find any public point of interest in the United States, no matter what city you were in? If you knew this person, you would be definitely reducing the cost of gas for yourself, but since this person doesn’t exist (that we know of, at least), you can at least benefit from a navigation system to be able to confirm from your own experiences that truckers save fuel with GPS units. Let’s look more closely at these gas-reducing features.

Turn-by-Turn Voice Navigation – While this is a feature that is offered with many navigation units, it is still a great price saving in regards to gas. Imagine traveling to multiple locations for deliveries with either a paper map or printed directions to each one. Of course, this is the way many people handle their travel, but sometimes street signs can be hidden behind a tree or exits or not very obvious, still leaving you with tons of work to do in determining exactly how to get to your destination. However, with a navigation system with turn-by-turn instruction, the system itself determines when you’re close to the street then tells you exactly when to turn, eliminating a large portion of the work. Of course, with perfect guidance to your location, you never get lost. And with not getting lost, you never have to burn extra gas. In short, you can see that turn-by-turn voice navigation is a major reason that truckers save fuel with GPS units. 

Truck Restriction Routing – Another cost saver for the trucking industry is a navigation system with truck restriction routing. This feature was specifically created for large vehicles as it takes into consideration routes that cannot be taken due to height or weight limitations. In order take advantage of this feature, you would simply type the truck’s dimensions into the system to have it calculate the perfect route that will help you avoid clearances, bridge heights, one-way road designations, allowances, load limits, tolls and much more.

POI Databases – A third reason that truckers save fuel with GPS units is that many systems offer point of interest (POI) databases with listings of millions of ATMs, restaurants, fuel stops and much more right at your fingertips. So instead of having to pull over to call a location for directions, burning gas while you wait – or even worse, getting lost looking for a place on your own – you can use the database to find the type of POI you want in the city you’re in then have the navigation system guide you to that location. This feature for many is very time and cost friendly.

Units You May Like

A couple of units that can help truckers save fuel with GPS units are the Teletype Worldnav 710060 Truck Navigation and CoPilot Truck Laptop systems. Teletype Worldnav 710060 Truck Navigation is a very popular award-winning unit with a large 7-inch screen, truck restriction routing, turn-by-turn voice navigation instruction, over 12 million POIs, as well as an MP3/video player for entertainment. Or if you don’t want to buy a whole new unit, you can purchase the CoPilot Truck Laptop system which offers full-featured navigation features, digital street maps, a multiple stop itinerary and a trip optimizer.

After reading this article, I’m sure you can see how truckers save fuel with GPS units. So maybe you would like to learn for yourself how cost saving one of this devices can be. If you purchase one, you’ll be able to tell others why truckers save fuel with GPS units.

What Are The Differences?

The first thing you will want to do is determine whether you are looking for a system that is primarily used for mapping, navigation or tracking. While there will be many units available that combine the features, you will need know what you are mainly trying to accomplish before choosing personal GPS systems.

Mapping – If your primary goal is to have directions handed to you when traveling between destinations – and you’re good at following maps – then you will want to consider a mapping device. They are usually a little less expensive than the other types and still offer other great options like photo sharing, MP3 players, and maybe even Bluetooth capabilities. The maps may be 2D or 3D and look similar to those of online mapping services. And many even offer directories in the device so that you don’t need to know an address to a business before mapping the directions.

Navigation – Navigation devices are the slightly more advanced version of the mapping system. Whereas the mapping system will give you instructions and a map to view, navigation units actually give you turn-by-turn directions to a location, and even alert you as to whether you’re about to miss a turn or exit. Some mapping systems come with complimentary navigation services, but many do not, meaning you will have to pay more for the navigation feature. So when choosing personal GPS systems, definitely keep in mind whether you are fine with just viewing a virtual map, or whether you want to have turn-by-turn instructions. This will make a huge difference in the unit you purchase.

Tracking – Tracking devices are great for those who want to keep tabs on their cars, pets, or even family members more easily. Usually there are two parts to these units, one that goes for the ride and tracks where it is going, and the other that displays where the first device is traveling. These systems are ideal for those who have teens who drive the car and want to keep track of where they are traveling.

Determining which one of these systems meets your needs is the first step in choosing personal GPS systems. Now we will look at other uses of the units in helping you choose.

In-Dash, Portable or Handheld

Choosing personal GPS systems usually also relies on how you plan to use the device. For example, if you are primarily planning to use the device to get around town in your car, then you might want to consider getting an in-dash system that cannot be removed unless done professionally. However, if you have more than one car and you would like to utilize the services in both cars without having to buy two separate units you can take advantage of a portable device that can easily go from one car to the next.

Then there is the world of the handheld device. Handheld devices can be used in cars, or they can usually be used outside of the vehicle also. For example, if you want to go on a hiking expedition with your friends and family, you can utilize the handheld unit to get you to the area in which you plan to hike. Then, when you get out of the car, it can lead you through trails with the promise that you won’t get lost.

Usually the mapping and navigation devices are those that are either portable or in-dash, while the tracking units are typically handheld. However, there are exceptions to every rule, so don’t expect these devices to suddenly have no exceptions. 

Choosing personal GPS systems is not a difficult task if you have a basic idea of who you are and what you like in general. After you make those determinations, you can figure out the rest. There may be technical terms to get in the way that have the ability to intimidate you, or even let you allow a salesperson to sell you on a system that has way more than you actually need. But if you do your research and assert yourself during the process then chosing personal GPS systems will be a piece of cake for you.