Saturday, October 25, 2008

Some Additional Features That You Might Find in a Car GPS Navigation Systems Copilot

Without a question, getting lost can be frustrating as well as frightening. On the other hand, when you have a GPS system installed, you can minimize a number of driving problems.

Some Additional Features That You Might Find in a Car GPS Navigation Systems Copilot
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Wynn]Kevin Wynn

As you may be aware, modern handheld devices are capable of performing many different tasks. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Car GPS navigation systems offer much more than a map and directions to unfamiliar destinations. Chances are, you will be surprised at all of the additional features and benefits.

Today, USB support and wireless communication services can make portable devices as connected to the rest of the world as a laptop or notebook. In some cases, the manufacturer of your GPS system may have taken advantage of both technologies to provide you with additional copilot services. Without a question, driving with one of these devices can completely change your driving experiences.

As an example, some models will provide information about hotels and tourist attractions in the area you are planning to visit. In addition, many will also provide you with continuous traffic updates. If you have a long daily commute, you will appreciate having immediate information available about traffic delays and any other problems that might develop.

Even though your vehicle is not an ideal place for working with intellectual data, some GPS units will store pictures, files, and music. As may be expected, almost all of these units are capable of playing music stored in memory. You will also find that some models include everything from address books to cameras. Therefore, if you are looking for a device that will also offer some PDA functionality, one of these may be perfect for you.

Aside from keeping you company during long commutes, you will also find that Nuvi and other GPS navigation copilots will keep you alert to your driving habits. In particular, some units let you know when you are speeding. Others will give you verbal cues about when to turn, as well as when to make lane changes. Finally, if you veer off the plotted path, many units will also recalculate to help you find the most efficient way to reach your destination.

Today, many automotive insurers and manufacturers are interested in finding ways to reduce the number of collisions. Aside from increasing the chance of having someone gabbing on their cell phone run into you, any number of things can happen when you are lost, or not confident about which road to take. At the very least, when you have a GPS system installed in your car, you will have advanced warning about upcoming lane changes so that you can focus more of your attention on the traffic patterns around you.

While you may be an excellent driver, being in an unfamiliar neighborhood can take crucial attention away from other elements of driving. On the other hand, car GPS navigation systems are designed to help you find your destination without making mistakes. Irregardless of whether you are going to China or simply commuting to work, these devices can make your journey much easier and safer. As you study units offered by each supplier, you may even decide to choose one based on other included features.

For more information about the different kinds of Car Gps Navigation Systems, visit http://www.cargpsnavigationsystemsonline.com

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GPS Navigation in the Great Outdoors

What you need to know about GPS navigation so you don't get lost in the wilderness. This article discusses the several basic features of GPS navigation that will keep you from getting lost and show you the way back to your starting point.

GPS Navigation in the Great Outdoors
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Taylor_Gray]Taylor Gray

Heading out into the wilderness or unknown outdoors? Make sure a handheld GPS receiver goes along! For as long as you know your final destination, a GPS would guide you through. In its simplest form, a GPS receiver calculates your exact location based on range signals it receives from various satellites in the space. But when you are out in the wilderness, knowing your current position alone is not adequate, what is just as important is to know how to get where you have to be. Mostly, simple GPS receivers, apart from measuring the position, would also measure additional information like speed and time. Depending on how sophisticated a GPS unit is, you can get various other details such as bearing and distance to your destination, an accurate compass direction, height above sea level as well as almanac information such as sunrise & sunset timings.

Of numerous details that a GPS receiver is capable of providing, what you actually need to know is to be handy with your unit. Once you know how to use it, you can make an effective and intelligent use of your GPS unit. It is of key importance to know how to store the coordinates into your GPS receiver, which has a two-fold benefit:

- First, by storing the coordinates of your current location you can always find your way back to where you started from.
- Second, you can store the coordinates of your destination and the GPS unit would continuously provide you with a bearing and distance of your destination as you move along the direction of the bearing.

Most GPS units label this feature as "Go to". The current location in most receivers can be stored by simple depression of a single key, which is usually labeled as "Mark". A second method of storing the coordinates of a position is by manually entering the latitude and longitude of a location as a waypoint. Once the waypoints are entered, a route can be created by using two or more waypoints. A GPS receiver would then calculate the bearing and distance of the second waypoint from the first in a route.

Following the bearing, by an inbuilt compass in GPS unit or an external magnetic compass, would then lead the user to the destination. As you go along a route, guided by your GPS receiver, it is a wise idea to store your location coordinates at regular intervals especially while you are in the wilderness. This would be useful in case you need to trace back your track exactly. It is much easier to use the "Go to" feature, then following your breadcrumb trail.

So before you head out for your next excursion, just know:

- The coordinates of the destination
- How to enter a waypoint
- How to follow a bearing and/or use the "Go to" feature

Now go learn these basic steps of GPS navigation and then hit that trail and start exploring! Just don't forget to bring along extra batteries!

Taylor Gray is a GPS enthusiast. Please visit http://www.gpsvilliage.com for more information.

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Sunday, October 12, 2008

GPS - Bringing The World Together

GPS, or Global Positioning System, has become for the 21st century what bloodhounds and used to be for police forces and bread crumbs were for Hansel and Gretel: both a way to find a person or target, and a way for a person to keep from becoming lost.

GPS - Bringing The World Together
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=David_Faulkner]David Faulkner

GPS, or Global Positioning System, has become for the 21st century what bloodhounds and used to be for police forces and bread crumbs were for Hansel and Gretel: both a way to find a person or target, and a way for a person to keep from becoming lost. GPS uses its “eyes in the sky”, a group of twenty-one operating and three backup satellites in orbit nearly twelve thousand miles above the Earth, to interpret the signals sent from GPS devices down below.

GPS translates those signals into information about the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the device that sent it, and beams the information back to a GPS receiver in the same device. The whole operation is done in split seconds, accurate to within five meters, and is the result of over three decades and twelve billion (and rising) dollars spent by the US Department of Defense.

Military GPS Applications

While the DoD initially installed GPS systems in their Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles to help them locate their targets with pinpoint accuracy, the GPS technology has now fund applications far beyond its use in weapons systems. The US military used it once again in 1991, during the first Gulf War, when GPS was essential for the mapping of huge uncharted tracts of desert.

Because GPS information can be provided as a readout, interpreted, and printed as a map of the target terrain, it saved the military countless man-hours and risk to the personnel who would otherwise have had to map the desert while airborne. GPS has its defensive purposes as well; it allows a country to monitor the movements of military troops in another country across the globe and to prepare for an attack well lin advance.

Commercial GPS Application

The first non-military use of sGPS was for marine applications; those lost at sea and unable to navigate by traditional means could simply push a button to signal the [http://www.gpssystemsreview.com/Articles/GPS_Systems.php]GPS satellites and have their latitude and longitude appearing on a screen in a matter of seconds. Today GPS is most widely used in the aviation industry, as an aid to routing aircraft.

GPS technology has advanced so much, in fact, that it is now possible for ships’ computers to be linked to a GPS system which automatically navigates to a preprogrammed destination. GPS can function as both s ship’s navigator and captain, although it is highly improbable that it will replace them.

GPS, in both its military and commercial applications, has made the world a much smaller and safe, place!

You can also find more info on [http://www.gpssystemsreview.com/Articles/GPS_Mount.php]GPS Mount and [http://www.gpssystemsreview.com/Articles/GPS_Portable.php]GPS Portable. Gpssystemsreview.com is a comprehensive resource to know about GPS System.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Faulkner http://EzineArticles.com/?GPS----Bringing-The-World-Together&id=653366

Friday, August 29, 2008

Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

What if one device could help you navigate anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, while offering travel tips, storing your favorite tunes and photos, providing translation assistance, and more? That device is here, and it's not much bigger than a deck of cards. The Garmin nüvi 350 is set to revolutionize what we expect from a GPS navigation device, or from any device for that matter.

Which nüvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators



The nüvi 350 is a portable GPS navigator, traveler's reference, and digital entertainment system, all in one. View product demo (requires Flash).




A simple touchscreen interface and voice guidance allow you to keep your eyes on the road. View larger.


Listen to an audio book or an MP3 while you're on the road. View larger.
Design
With a total weight of 5.1 ounces and slim measurements of 3.87 x 2.91 x 0.87 inches (WxHxD), the nüvi 350 is just right for the pocket or purse. A bright, 64,000-color display dominates the front of the device and a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels means that there's plenty of room for displaying map data and other elements of the device's interface. An SD memory card slot is provided for expansion software, such as a points of interest database, media files and electronic guides (see below). The flip-up antenna includes an MCX-type connector for connecting the unit to an external GPS antenna. Meanwhile, a powerful built-in speaker resides on the back of device. A built-in lithium ion battery will give you for to eight hours of battery life, depending on use. In addition to an AC charger, the unit also ships with a 12-volt power adapter for vehicle charging, as well as a windshield suction cup mount.
Fortunately, Garmin has made it easy to interface with the nüvi 350's 700 megabytes of onboard memory, thanks to "plug-and-play" USB mass storage support. Just plug the device into your computer's USB port and you've got instantaneous access to all the audio books, music, photos, supplemental maps and other data on the nüvi 350's internal and SD card memory.

Navigation
The nüvi 350 is first and foremost a personal GPS device. Wherever you go -- in your car or on foot-- the device offers extremely accurate position data, thanks to a high-sensitivity integrated GPS receiver by SiRF and WAAS-enabled, 12-satellite reception. Combined with detailed maps of the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico the nüvi 350 provides automatic routing, turn-by-turn voice directions, and touchscreen control-- making it easy to find your way anywhere. Plus, the unique "text-to-speech" feature calls out turns by street name, and you can choose from either 2D or 3D mapping perspectives when you're viewing your route on the display. Additionally, the nüvi 350 is compatible with Garmin's GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver*, which allows users to avoid traffic tie-ups by simply pushing a button that will calculate a new route.

As mentioned, the nüvi 350 comes packed with mapping data for North America, but you can can also load up your custom points of interest. Set up proximity alerts for school zones, safety cameras, and more using Garmin's free POI (points of interest) loader program (available from garmin.com).


Important note about map updates: Due to our high volume of sales, almost every Garmin portable GPS navigator sold by Amazon.com will come with the most recent map version. If you ever do need a map update, you can purchase one from Amazon.com at our Garmin Store.



The device automatically calculates the fastest route and provides voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions along the way.
Tools for the Journey
Navigation is just part of the journey, and the nüvi 350 is one of the first devices to recognize that. The built-in "Travel Kit" offers an MP3 player, an audio book player from Audible.com, a jpeg-format picture viewer, a world travel clock with time zones, a currency converter, a measurement converter, and a calculator.

In addition to the included travel tools, additional software add-ons are available, such as the Garmin Language Guide, with data provided by Oxford University Press. This software suite contains a multilingual word bank, phrase bank, and five bilingual dictionaries. The multilingual word bank and phrase bank supports nine languages and dialects, including American English, British English, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, European Spanish, and Latin American Spanish. Now you can look up and translate more than 17,000 words or 20,000 phrases per language -- right in the palm of your hand. Through the unit's text-to-speech interface, users can get a spoken pronunciation of each entry in the word bank, along with gender and part of speech information.

Another useful add-on software package, the Garmin Travel Guide, is loaded with information provided by Marco Polo. These guides put in-depth travel information such as reviews and recommendations for restaurants, tourist attractions, and more at your fingertips. The software allows you to navigate to an address or search points of interest-- places like hotels, restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions. The nüvi 350 automatically calculates the fastest route and provides voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions along the way. The unit also audibly announces the name of upcoming streets-- letting you keep your eyes on the road while navigating through busy traffic and tricky roadways. And if you stray off course, the nüvi 350 automatically calculates the quickest way to get back on track.


*Traffic services available only in select cities where RDS-TMC coverage exists. Requires the GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver and subscription fee to enable traffic capability.

What's in the Box
nüvi 350, Preloaded City Navigator NT for North America and Puerto Rico, Vehicle suction cup mount, AC charger, Vehicle power cable, Dashboard disc, USB cable, Carrying case, Quick reference guide

Which nüvi is Best for You?
For a slightly higher pricepoint, Garmin's nüvi 600 and 700 series devices have richer feature sets including: MP3 players, JPEG photo viewers, the ability to receive traffic and weather information, bluetooth for hands-free calling, FM transmitters that deliver audio through your cars own stereo system, and multi-destination routing that will tell you the best way to make a trip that involves several destinations.

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Friday, July 25, 2008

Comparison of Garmin 350 Nuvi GPS and Garmin 360 Nuvi GPS

Are you choosing between Garmin Nuvi 350 and 360? The this is the guide for you. These two are very similar, yet it's important to know the difference before you buy.

Comparison of Garmin 350 Nuvi GPS and Garmin 360 Nuvi GPS
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Stefan_Jonsson]Stefan Jonsson

If you are choosing between the Garmin 350 and the 360 GPS systems, I'm going to help you out. At least you have the right brand since Garmin is the most reliable GPS brand out there today. The Garmin Nuvi 350 and 360 was launched as a travel companion. The special flat design was meant to be for travel, but today the price has dropped and anyone can benefit from the flat design. So what separates these two travel GPS systems?

The Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS is the most basic GPS in the line with a SIRF star III chipset. It has a regular touch screen and preloaded maps and points of interest. You can easily play MP3 songs and audio books on the 350. It's simple to load the Garmin 350 with MP3's through the SD card slot on the side.

The Garmin Nuvi 360 GPS has the same features as the 350 plus one little thing. They have added Bluetooth capability, which allows you to make hands free calls through your mobile phone. It's easy to setup the 360 for calling and receiving calls while traveling on the road.

So which Garmin Nuvi to buy? It's pretty easy to decide I think. If you have a Bluetooth phone (or plan to get one), I would go for the Garmin Nuvi 360 and if you don't have any use for the Bluetooth capability I would save a few bucks and go for the 350 instead. Just make sure to think ahead. If you are going to get a new mobile phone within a year or two you should seriously consider to get the Garmin 360 instead.

Stefan Jonsson is a freelance writer and running a price comparison site at [http://www.gadget-deals.comtitle=Discount Garmin GPS]Discount Garmin GPS. Here you can find and compare the [http://www.gadget-deals.com/discount-garmin-gps/garmin-350]Garmin 350 with the [http://www.gadget-deals.com/discount-garmin-gps/garmin-360]Garmin 360.

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Monday, July 21, 2008

What GPS Do I Buy?

With so many GPS choices out there,how do you decide? Read my article and get some thoughts and insights as to what you may consider.

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Tony_Magazzi]Tony Magazzi

So you want to buy a GPS. Choices, yes - staggering numbers as of late. So what should you do? We recommend buying Factory Remanufactured units.

So what's the logic behind this choice?

There are many reasons, lets examine a few.

1. Price - New verses Factory Remanufactured can be as much as a 50% savings or more.

2. Warranty - New verses Factory Remanufactured? Guess what? Exactly the same at 1 year.

3. The cheaper price allows you to purchase a higher end unit with more features than some new lower end units. Think about that for a minute. You can buy a higher priced model with more features than most new lower end units. No brainer here.

4. This to me is one of the most important reasons I personally buy Factory Reconditioned units, and the reason is just how quickly these units become obsolete and are replaced with newer models with even more bells and whistles.

5. Finally, notice the large price drops on the older units the manufacturers are trying to get rid of to make way for the newer models. When you buy new and pay top dollar, your investment quickly loses its value in obsolescence and you probably have many less features than the newer models.

6. One more thing that is very important. "Theft" Leave your unit in your car even if it is locked and you return to find your unit gone and hundreds of dollars worth of damage to your car also that the thief left behind for you. One of the things I personally appreciate about the newer units is that most of them are not much bigger than a new deck of cards and they are so easy to take with you Just pop it in your top pocket and go. This will also allow you to use it while you are walking around in some unfamiliar city. This is really a great new feature.

Many of the larger wide screen models again can be purchased used and are a favorite with truckers and RV drivers who appreciate the larger easy to read screens.

In closing let me also say that many of the new units are multi functional in that you can use them in your car and just take them with you and you can also use them in your boat with the new software mapping that may be used in the same crossover type units that have just recently come out. Let us not forget the motorcycle units that are really built more ruggedly to withstand the vibration and off road uses of many motorcyclists.

So again I ask you to review these thoughts and to consider a Factory Reconditioned unit for any of the reasons above.

Tony Magazzi (Owner) http://www.actiongpselectronics.com

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Tips For Buying a Garmin GPS Unit

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Rick_Cole]Rick Cole

A few tips on buying a Garmin GPS unit can be quite helpful. Because Garmin is the industry leader in the United States, and they have such a large number of products to choose from, it's sometimes difficult to find the right model for your needs and budget.

Hopefully, I can make this all a little easier for you.

The first thing to know about Garmin is that they sell almost half of the GPS units sold in the United States. They do this by offering quality products at a wide variety of price points.

The nuvi is their newer line of GPS devices. You can get a Garmin nuvi for anywhere from $150 to almost $900. That depth of product is great, but it does make selection a little hard sometimes.

In this article, I'm going to concentrate of their newer nuvi line, instead of their older StreetPilot line. The StreetPilots are great devices, it's just that they're being pushed aside by the sleeker, more feature-packed nuvis.

Okay, let's divide the marketplace into three areas, low, medium, and high.

The nuvi 200 is Garmin's entry level device. And, if you're just interested in getting from point A to point B, the nuvi 200 might easily be the right one for you.

It's got maps of the continental United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. It will show you where you are on an electronic map and tell you where to turn to get to your destination. It can also double as a digital photo viewer.

At slightly less than $150, you can't really go wrong with a nuvi 200.

If you want more features, you can spring for the nuvi 350. It does everything the nuvi 200 does and also adds maps of Canada. It can also actually tell you the street names of the streets you're turning on. In addition to being a digital photo viewer, it can also be used as a mp3 player. At less than $200, I can't think of a better GPS device at that price point.

If you really want to pack on the features, consider the nuvi 660. It can do everything the 350 can do. Also, it has real-time traffic capability, a bigger screen, Bluetooth, and you can hear it through your car's stereo system. You can pick up a nuvi 660 for less than $350.

All that leaves as far as your main features is multiple point routing. That means you can enter more than one destination into the device, and it will show you the best route to get to all the destinations on one trip. For some, that's a really good feature. If you're interested in this feature, the nuvi 760 is the one for you.

Or, if you want what is truly the most advanced, feature-laden Garmin GPS unit on the market, then spring for the nuvi 880. For a cool $900, you can have it all!

To learn more about how to choose the best [http://www.hotgpsdeals.com]Garmin GPS unit check out my website.

Rick Cole is a true GPS enthusiast! Take a look at his website to find out more information about the [http://www.hotgpsdeals.com/]best GPS systems!

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