Posted by Nikoletta Ventseslavova

Guest post by Sean Grey

Are you in the market for a new GPS unit? Having some trouble deciding on which one to get or if you even need the added expense if you’re a smart phone owner? With the seemingly endless choices to be had, we’ll be breaking it down into three major categories, Android, iPhone, and dedicated GPS units.

Smart phones have had GPS software installed by providers (AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint) for quite some time now, but with more and more companies and developers creating applications. Your choices are quickly growing. There are caveats to using your smart phone as your GPS unit. However, including a limited battery life and no mounting hardware for your phone. However, both of those problems can be remedied rather inexpensively at sites such as Amazon.

Android

Perhaps the luckiest of the smart phone owners look forward to investing in a GPS unit. As Android is developed by Google, it has the Google Maps Navigation application baked right into the OS. Navigation includes the standard set of entry level GPS unit features, such as voice guided turn by turn navigation, miles to go, and estimated arrival times. Google Maps Navigation is the hands-down winner on the Android platform for navigation. Other popular choices include CoPilot Live $9.99 and Waze Free.

Apple iPhone

The iPhone also comes with a baked in navigation application called Maps & Compass. While it doesn’t offer voice guided turn by turn navigation it offers a solid user experience in all the other entry-level features. One unique feature that maps has is the ability to see traffic information around you in real time. If you’re looking for a more traditional navigation application, three of the more popular choices include MotionX $1, Navigon $49.99, and Mapquest 4 Free.

Dedicated GPS Units

The PND (Portable Navigation Device) sadly never really hit its stride due to the growing popularity of smart phones right around the same time costs began to drop, making them viable purchases for the general public. That said, there are still a few stand out manufacturers of PNDs around. Some of the advantages these devices hold over smart phones include mounting hardware for the device, better battery life off the charger, and most of them include some sort of traffic advisor as well.

Garmin is probably the most popular and well known manufacturer of GPS devices. They offer a range of devices for automotive, motorcycle, and the trucking industry. Inside of those offerings are a range of devices to fit any of your needs, ranging between $109 – $399.

TomTom and Magellan are also strong contenders in the field. Both offer similar product lines to Garmin with analogous pricing. When choosing a GPS device between any of these companies, along with the others not mentioned in this article, it will come down to personal preference. Buying decisions made on product durability, features, frequency of map updates, and the cost of those updates.

With all the offerings available to us, being hopelessly lost while driving will soon become a thing of the past!

Author’s bio: he works at Cash 4 cars San Diego, a company that helps people to sell cars.

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