GPS Lodge Holiday Shopping Guide

Looking for the Holiday Shopping Guide for 2006?

Sometimes it's hard to navigate the world of GPS receivers and find what the best GPS is, so we thought we'd put together a list of GPS units we like, for you to consider. We took a look at a lot of different types of GPS receivers and broke things down to categories so you'd be able to better target the right GPS for that special someone this holiday season. See our review section for our opinion on a lot of these models.

Entry Level Automotive GPS
Garmin StreetPilot i3 - This is a great little unit that helps get you from here to there. Impressive performance for such a low price. It has a small screen that allows you to clearly see where you are going and where you want to go. It's easy to use, and is tightly designed. It's an impressive unit with a color screen and comes with maps of the US that you download to a flash card. If you can spend a little more, you can buy the Garmin StreetPilot i5which is essentially the StreetPilot i3, that has the entire US and millions of Points of interest pre-loaded.

Mid Tier Automotive GPS
Sorry I can't decide so I thought I would offer two:
TomTom GO 300 - is a great mid-tier car GPS that comes to us from Europe. The design is great, and offers the added feature of connecting through your Bluetooth mobile phone to download traffic and weather updates. This is a unique feature at this price level. It comes with a big SD flash card that you download maps onto - allowing you to carry around the entire US, with a limited set of Points of Interest (POI's). Cost $591 after $50 rebate and FREE SHIPPING form Amazon.

Garmin Streetpilot C330 - is another great mid-tier car GPS that is easy to use with the highly accurate NAVTEQ base maps, the most up-to-date maps of the continental US. It includes a touch screen and millions of points of interest pre-loaded. If you want to upgrade to be traffic ready consider the Garmin StreetPilot C340 , which has the ability to accept the GTM-10 an add-on antenna that receives FM traffic feeds to help you route around traffic before you get there. Cost is $540 with FREE SHIPPING from Amazon. We are currently reviewing the StreetPilot C340, see our preview. I personally LOVE this GPS, and is a great product. If you don't need high end features and huge screens, this is a great buy.

High End Automotive GPS
Magellan RoadMate 760 - A tried and true road warrior that has lots of positive reviews online. It has a lot of features and is very easy to use. This is the model that helps drivers at Hertz - the Neverlost model. Cost is $850 with FREE SHIPPING from Amazon.

Garmin StreetPilot 2720 - a good solid high end automotive GPS that offers loads of features including the ability to add the GTM - 10 antenna to receive FM based traffic feeds. Easy navigation and the ability to route you around traffic. Cost is $760 + $199 (for the FM antenna ) = $959 with FREE SHIPPING from Amazon.

Entry Level Handheld GPS
Garmin eTrex Legend - This is a good entry level monochrome handheld GPS that offers a base map and can accept the optional detailed maps. In our opinion, you should really get a GPS with mapping capability because for an extra $30, you can navigate across a map instead of some white space. Cost is $132 with FREE SHIPPING form Amazon.

Mid-Tier Handheld GPS
Garmin eTrex Vista C - The Vista C adds several key features like an altimeter and an electronic compass. The color screen is bright and because it is a newer generation, the battery life is much longer on the two "AA" batteries. It comes with a base map and can accept detailed maps through its fast USB connection. Cost is $240 with FREE SHIPPING form Amazon.

High End Handheld GPS
Garmin GPSMAP 60CS - The GPSMap 60CS is a bigger handheld that offers a big screen and s full compliment of features that you would expect to see in a high end handheld. It offers a reasonable memory that accepts detailed street or Topo maps. Cost is $360 with FREE SHIPPING at Amazon.

Fitness GPS
Garmin Forerunner 201 - For the runner in your household there is the Forerunner 201, a wrist mounted GPS trainer that allows you to track your pace, and then download the data onto your PC to see both the route and chart your results; showing you your pace versus altitude, etc. We have been using one for a couple of months and really like it. The Forerunner 201 is $113 with FREE SHIPPING from Amazon.

Funky New Traveling GPS
Need a great new gift for the traveler? The Garmin Nuvi is a great device and is potentially the hottest GPS for the this season that can help you navigate in the car, as well as offer translation of words into different languages and a currency converter. Bored? It can also play MP3's and audio books. Cost is $899 with FREE SHIPPING at Amazon.

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Posted by Scott Martin at November 25, 2005 1:37 PM