As you can well tell by now, we are in the midst of a sea change in commuting, at the heart of this change float the 30 satellites that comprise the Navstar GPS network which (in conjunction with the five ground bases which constantly monitor and update the satellites’ position in space) allow us to find the most direct route to the nearest Wendy’s or find an alternate route around afternoon gridlock. Anyway we slice it, GPS is here to stay and with price points and feature sets becoming more and more attractive, it is clear that critical mass is not far off. However, with the critical mass phase being so close, we should all be aware that manufacturers will try to incorporate as many bells and whistles into their products as possible. While these may appeal to the kid in us, often times these added features are really nothing more than glitter that add no real value and more likely than not just serve to mask the core in competencies of the product itself. Our Interactive buyers guide will help you become a more shrewd and savvy consumer and will arm you with the information you need to navigate through the current minefield of the GPS marketplace.

Step 1: Determining your needs

Here are a few questions that you should consider before charging out into the marketplace:

• What is My Budget?
• How often do I plan to use the unit?
• Daily, on weekends, just on trips, as necessary?

If you are going to use the GPS system regularly, it is better to invest in a higher end system. If your use is not going to be moderate, you may choose to get a unit with some other features such as MP3 capabilities to get more us out of the unit.

Step 2: Important Features that you should not discount.

No matter what your budget or use profile may be, there are a few features that you should not shirk on.

Chipset Type: SiRF

The newest chipset, the SiRF Star III, is a must have if you are in the market for a new GPS unit. The SiRF Star III chipset distinguishes itself in three primary ways:

• Sensitivity: The SiRF Star III is better at holding a signal in low signal areas, like under dense tree cover or where you can’t see a lot of the sky clearly, like when you are traveling in a downtown area where there are a lot of sky scrapers. SiRF cites that the chipset can track signals down to -159 dBm, and has 200,000 correlates, which by comparison some other chipsets had only a few thousand.
• Faster Fix Times: The SiRF star III chipset has a fast time to fix on your location Due to the fact that it has more correlates than other chipsets and so it can figure out where you are faster.
• Longer Battery Life: The SiRF star III chipset is also very efficient, which means low power draw and longer battery life for the unit it is in.

Map Type: NAVTEQ

In order to get the most value for your purchase, you want to make sure to go with the best mapping provider and that provider is NAVTEQ. So do a little digging and find make sure that NAVTEQ is the mapping provider for the GPS unit.

STEP 3: Specification Checklist

Now that we have the fundamentals covered, we can get to the point of where most consumers just begin their search: product specifications otherwise known as, bells and whistles.

Below is a checklist of items that you want to have ready when selecting a GPS unit:

• Unit Dimensions. (the size of the unit)
• Display Size. (size of the screen display)
• Display Resolution. (look for at least 480 x 270)
• Display Type. (vga, tft, etc) look for an active matrix TFT
• Battery:. (li-ion is best)
• Battery Life: look for one that lasts up to 5 hours
• 3D Map View: should have it
• Text to Speech: should include this feature (very helpful)
• Auto Sort: Multiple destinations
• Auto re-route. (fast off-route and detour recalculation)
• Choice of route setup. (faster time, shorter distance, off road)
• Route Avoidance. (avoid highway, tolls, etc)
• Custom POIs. (ability to add your own points of interest)
• Bluetooth. (for hands free calling)
• MP3 Player. (becoming more and more prevalent)
• Memory card slot. (standard on most units)

Summary

With price points continually coming down and feature sets continually going up, it is a great time to purchase a GPS. With all of the above considerations in hand you should now be better equipped to make an more informed choice when choosing a GPS that best suits your needs.