GPS system shoot-out
January 11, 2008 by admin · 3 Comments
One of the hottest gifts for technology fans these days is a GPS system… a Global Positioning Satellite navigation gizmo for the car that delivers voice commands and on-screen maps to tell you where to go. I’ve been busy testing out four of them.
They are: The Garmin nuvi 760 ($749.99), the Magellan Maestro 4250 ($499), the OnStar turn-by-turn Navigation service for GM vehicles ($299 for a year’s service) and VZ Navigator, a $9.99 a month or $2.99 a day GPS system that works with the Verizon Wireless Phone service.
These prices, by the way, are suggested retail You can find much better pricing by searching online.
All of these got me where I needed to go, albeit on a couple of occasions by different routes. The Garmin and Magellan units are powered by a battery, charged with a cigarette plug or AC adapter and are meant to be mounted on the dash or windshied.
Verizon’s works on the phone and is as good as the big boys, though the tiny phone screen makes it hard to read while driving.
My favorite?
It is a toss up between the Magellan and OnStar.
OnStar is least intrusive, least distracting and the easiest to us . With OnStar there’s no punching in addresses or going from screen to screen. Just ask a real love OnStar advisor for the address and there it is, downloaded to your car radio complete with an arrow display showing which way to turn.
But for Maps, I liked the Magellan.
Here’s my video:
