Top 8 GPS purchases for drivers and sports enthusiasts (2009 GPS Obsessed holiday buying guide) by GPS obsessed

GPS navigators make great stocking stuffers. Even if they aren’t expected to have a market 5 years down the road, right now they’re great to have. But with so many different navigators on the market, what separates a great buy for a not-so-great buy? Here I’ll try to separate the wheat from the chaff for you so you can make the best holiday gift buy!

For the driver

Mio Moov S501

I had the chance to review the Moov S501 earlier in the year and was impressed. The 4.3-inch touchscreen GPS unit is attractive and simple to use, with accurate routing and re-routing–even in Canada despite the unit’s United States-specific software. The Moov S501 is currently available from Radioshack in the United States for $129.99.

Garmin nuvi 265WT

The Garmin nuvi 265WT seems to pack all of today’s best features into a compact and low-cost bundle of hardware and software. Featuring a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, Bluetooth hands-free calling, free real-time traffic updates from NAVTEQ, turn-by-turn spoken street names, and text-to-speech. The lowest price I’ve found online is $159 from Amazon. The similar nuvi 285WT costs a slightly less $136.14 but doesn’t include the FM transmitter or lifetime traffic updates.

TomTom XL 340S

TomTom’s XL 340S is another feature-packed unit that still manages to remain in the entry-level price range. It features a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, IQ Routes, Advanced Lane Guidance, spoken street names, downloadable fuel prices, Map Share user-sourced map fixes, and maps of both the United States and Canada. You can buy it for 31.99 from C4DEALZ via Amazon.

Garmin nuvi 1690

Garmin nuvi 1690 GPS with nuLink!

Garmin’s internet-connected 4.3-inch GPS navigator is definitely crammed with good stuff thanks to nuLink!, Garmin’s internet-connected service that is free for 2 years with the support of ads. nuLink! includes handy info like weather forecasts, white pages listings, traffic data, fuel prices, and Google Search for points of interest. Other features include pedestrian CityXplorer maps, Bluetooth, and a microSD card slot. Amazon has the lowest price online at $393.64.

Magellan RoadMate 1470

I’ve never actually had the chance to try out a Magellan GPS unit, nevermind this Magellan GPS unit. But according to most reviews online, the RoadMate 1470 is in line with the performance of other midrange GPS devices while supplying a larger screen and similar price. The RoadMate 1470 includes a OneTouch interface that provides one-click access to most of the unit’s most used features, maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, a database of 6 million points of interest, AAA Roadside Assistance and TourBook listings, multi-destination routing, and the option of adding a Traffic Link receiver for live traffic info. Amazon currently has the Magellan RoadMate 1470 for a dirt cheap $99, well below the regular price of $249.99.

For the sporty one

DeLorme Earthmate PN-40

This DeLorme handheld GPS unit features a 32-channel GPS receiver, Topo USA topographic maps, color aerial imagery, NOAA nautical charts, a 3-axis compass, barometric altimeter, storage space for up to 1000 waypoints, 50 routes and 10 tracks and support for SDHC cards that boost the unit’s storage space to a maximum of 32 GB. A must-have for any serious hiker, the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 can be mounted to a vehicle dashboard or bike handlebars in addition to acting as a handheld. Amazon currently carries the waterproof, bright orange handheld for $199.99–more than $200 off the regular price.

Garmin Oregon 400T

While its feature set may be a step below the company’s flagship Oregon 550T handheld GPS unit, the Garmin Oregon 400T currently sports the best price. At only $349 ($300 off the regular price), the Oregon 400T features a 3-inch color touchscreen, preloaded US topographic maps with 3D views and a worldwide basemap with shaded relief, a barometric altimeter, compass, and picture viewer. There is also a microSD card slot for updating maps, support for GPX geocaching files, and the ability to wirelessly exchange waypoints, routes and other points of interest.

Apisphere Geomate Jr.

Built specifically for young geocachers, the low-cost handheld Geomate Jr. GPS features storage space for storing geocache locations (it’s preloaded with over 250, 000), provides distance and direction to the nearest geocache, a “found” list that enables users to store located geocache coordinates, and a “home” waypoint” enabling users to easily navigate back to a usual starting point. The best part about the Geomate Jr. is its price tag–only $69.95.

I hope this guide helped you with your holiday GPS buying decisions. Keep your eyes peeled for more deals over the rest of this 2009 holiday shopping season! Happy holidays!

GPS obsessed

Search on this Blog