Features To Look For In A GPS Unit

It’s true that finding a GPS navigator that suits your needs can be crucial. But what if you aren’t that informed about the things that GPS navigators offer nowadays? It’s easy to make a mistake when buying them, as there are new trends each month in the GPS market and there are, of course, specific features you may want to have in your navigator. This article will try to inform you through the standard features (and more specific ones) that you may want to look for in a GPS device.

The most important feature that all GPS portables, except the really old ones, have is advanced Text-To-Speech (TTS). TTS allows you to keep your eyes on the road, as the computer-generated voice tells you specific names of locations e.g. “Turn into Abbey St. after 500m” instead of “Turn left after 500m”. This feature is crucial, as it dramatically increases driving safety and also makes your life a little bit easier because you don’t have to look at the display for street names anymore.

There are built-in maps in each GPS device, but it’s best to see what maps are inside of the GPS unit, as they’re usually sold with maps for only your part of the world (North and South Americas, Europe, Australia, etc.), that’s why it’s so important to buy one from either a local vendor or with the seller stating that the maps for your area are pre-loaded. Also, you should check whether or not the manufacturer provides updates for the maps and the way they provide them – via internet or via CD’s you’d need to purchase.

Other features are somewhat specific, e.g. if you’re traveling a lot, you may want to get a GPS that has built-in Points of Interest – restaurants and stores are shown on the map. Many GPS units come with a lot of multimedia possibilities, like the ability to watch movies, listen to music, view photos directly on the screen and even play built-in flash games; however, you should keep an eye out for the usability, as many different features don’t necessarily mean that it’s an easy to use GPS device.

All in all, the key features you should look for in a GPS device are Text-To-Speech, built-in maps with POI’s on them; other things like the size of the screen, quality and design are also very important, as the price varies a lot on them, but you should only get a GPS that has the aforementioned key features. The additional features are nice, just make sure that they don’t interfere with the usability and don’t make the device too costly. It’s easy to get lost in the endless offers of the new GPS devices, so if you find an older model that still has everything you need, get that one instead of the newer one that’s stuffed with features.