Buying Guide: Mobile/Automotive GPS

There is huge growth in the mobile GPS segment and for good reason – people are getting tired of being lost, and being stuck in traffic. The other big reason that the market is growing fast is that the quality of the products is way up, while the price is coming down. You don’t need an advanced degree to run one of these things, most of the time these things are dead simple to use and work well right out of the box. There are about three levels of units on the market right now, the lower end entry models that offer basic navigation and not a lot of add-on frills, the mid-tier that has rock solid feature sets and a lot of ease of use features and then the high end units that offer a lot of screen real estate and a lot of extras that make life on the road easy.

There are a couple of specialized models out there that are great for motorcycles because they are water resistant and have a few features that make things work well in for motorcycle riders. There is also a super premium line form Garmin that has a HUGE screen that is targeted at over the road truckers, RV users and the like where screen real estate is key and the quality time spent with the GPS is worth the $1,000+ price tag. To be clear, these units are designed for road navigation, and not for taking off road on a hiking trip. Most aren’t water resistant or rugged enough to get dropped, or even display latitude or longitude which is key when geocaching.

Within each of these tiers you need to make a decision about how you will use the unit, and how you want your map data delivered. The most basic models in most tiers make you download map data from a CD-ROM or a DVD onto the unit or a removable data card. You can’t carry the whole US or Canada onto the unit along with all of the Points of Interest (POI) – like locations of stores, airports, hospitals, etc. In each tier there are models that have an onboard hard drive or flash memory that allow for complete storage of the roads and POI’s. This means that you can go from one part of the country to another without stopping by the computer to download more maps and POI’s. In my mind this is a HUGE advantage, and worth paying more money for.

Points of Interest
There are two ways of doing POI’s that I have seen, and I have a bias towards more is better. Some manufacturers can fit about 1-2Million POI’s (for the US) onto the device, which means that you can search for the name of a shopping mall, but can’t search for the Gap or WalMart store. So, if you don’t know the name of the shopping plaza or mall, you’re out of luck. I use my GPS to find stores when I am out in unfamiliar territories, so this is frustrating. GPS Units that come with 5-6 Million POI’s have a more complete listing and you can search by the store name. It’s a matter of taste; you need to decide what you want.

Costs
You should plan on spending at least $400 for a quality product that is well designed and has the amenities that get you into the mid-tier level of GPS units. IF that’s too much, you can spend a around $300 for an entry level that will give you a more basic experience but won’t scrimp too much. If you want to go all out, you can get a very nice model for $800 - $1,000.

Entry Level GPS
I would flat out recommend the Garmin StreetPilot i5 unit. It’s small, comes preloaded with maps for the US, and gets you to where you are going, reliably. The scroll wheel is decent, but if you are going to do a lot of searching for POI’s, or data entering addresses, a touch screen in a mid-tier model is nice.

Mid-tier Mobile GPS
This is where you start to get the really good stuff. Some Requirements:

1) 3.5 inch or better touch screen – this allows for easy entry of data via the touch screen, while it also gives you reasonable spacing with the on screen keyboard. Even at this level, the keyboard is small, and you can fat finger data entry easily. But 3.5” is a minimum.
2) On-board Memory – Sometimes called “Pre-Loaded” maps. This is pretty key in my mind, and a big part of the quality experience.
3) Internal Battery – This helps when you want to take the GPS with you and enter data or search for something when you are out of reach of a 12V outlet or when the car is off. Hey, if you’re like me, I only have one 12V outlet, and if I don’t have a splitter, and I need to charge the mobile phone, the GPS would have to go dark without the internal battery. Most allow you to run the GPS for several hours without plugging it in.
4) Voice Directions – Most units have voice promted directions like “Turn Left 400 yards”. Some of the nicer models have “Text to Speech” capabilities, which as a nice luxury. They say “Turn Left on Pine Street in 400 Yards”. Makes a difference when streets are tight together, if you can afford it.

Some Options
1) Bluetooth Connectivity – This is a nice capability that can allow you to do a few things like use the unit for hands free calling, sync contacts or use your Bluetooth phone to download data on traffic or weather. You need a Bluetooth phone and sometimes a data plan for these capabilities.
2) Traffic Enabled – In many of the top metro areas across the States, the ability to get traffic feeds downloaded to your GPS can help you navigate traffic issues like never before. This capability is still developing, so while an accident may be flagged and your GPS will navigate you around it, it may not pick up on slowdowns. Sometimes this ability is built-in and sometimes it requires an optional antenna. There are a couple of Traffic Enabled flavors out there – 1) XM Satellite – downloaded through your XM subscription, 2) FM antenna – downloaded through extra FM channels in many metro areas, 3) Via Bluetooth phone – downloaded over your phone. Most manufacturers give you a few months free subscription and then charge about $60 per year.
3) MP3 Playback – Some units have the ability to store and play MP3’s. Think this through. Will you play and listen to this through the little speakers on the GPS, or are you doing it to have playback through a headphone jack when you are outside the car (need an onboard battery for this). Some come with FM modulation so that you can play the music (and the spoken directions) through your stereo.
4) Customizable POI datasets – huh? Yes, this allows you to download to the GPS a dataset that you find online or create yourself. For instance you can download a database of speed cameras and set a warning tone to go off when you are getting near one (often referred to as Proximity alerts). These are a must have in Europe, and are just getting started here. Here’s a site that is cataloging Speed Cameras in the US – Satellite GPS POI's at http://www.gps-poi-us.com/.

Good choices that meet most of these criteria and are worth checking out.

Garmin StreetPilot C330 – Voice prompted directions, Pre-loaded maps and POI’s, touch screen, internal battery.
Garmin StreetPilot C340 – Adds text to speech and is traffic enabled (optional).
Garmin StreetPilot C530 – Adds integrated FM traffic antenna and more sensitive GPS receiver (SiRF star III).
Garmin StreetPilot C550 – Adds Bluetooth hands free calling, and MP3 playback.
TomTom GO 300 – Pre-loaded maps and POI’s, touch screen, internal battery, Bluetooth data downloads (weather and traffic), voice prompted directions.
TomTom GO 510 – adds widescreen (touch screen) format, better hands free Bluetooth calling, added compatibility with your PC to manage data (TomTom HOME software)
Magellan RoadMate 360 – Preloaded maps and POI’s, smaller touch screen, voice prompted directions, no internal battery.
Magellan RoadMate 700 – adds larger screen and more navigation options.
Lowrance iWay 350 – Pre-loaded maps and POI’s, touch screen, internal battery, some voice prompted and some text to speech directions, MP3 playback.

Top Tier Mobile GPS
This level comes with some expectations that you are getting the best navigator along with some serious extras to make life nice. I would expect to have onboard/built-in maps, big POI databases (5+ million), and text to speech direction sets.

Good features:

1) Multi-destination navigation – Input several destinations and the unit tells you what the optimum route is. Nice!
2) Traffic Enabled, Bluetooth, and Customizable POI datasets – explained above, these just up the fun, but are still upgrades at this level.

Good choices that meet most of these criteria and are worth checking out.

Garmin StreetPilot 2720 – pre-loaded maps and POI’s, voice prompted directions, multi-point navigation, traffic enabled (optional)
Garmin StreetPilot 2730 – adds integrated XM satellite traffic capability (incl. weather feeds and radio), MP3 player, Text to Speech directions,
Garmin StreetPilot 2830 – adds Bluetooth hands free calling capability.
Garmin StreetPilot 7200 – HUGE 7” screen, optional XM satellite traffic capability (incl. weather feeds and radio), MP3 player, Text to Speech directions,

TomTom GO 700 - Pre-loaded maps and POI’s, touch screen, internal battery, Bluetooth data downloads, and hands free calling, voice prompted directions.
TomTom GO 910 – wide screen (touch screen) format, adds text to speech directions and enhanced Bluetooth hands free calling as well as the added compatibility with your PC to manage data (TomTom HOME software).
Magellan RoadMate 760 - Preloaded maps and POI’s, smaller touch screen, voice prompted directions, no internal battery.
Magellan RoadMate 800 – adds MP3 playback.
Cobra NavOne 4500 – Pre-loaded maps and POI’s, FM traffic ready with included antenna, voice prompted directions, BIG 5 inch screen.

May 31, 2006

Buying Guide: Mobile/Automotive GPS