Hot GPS Devices – Holiday Gift Guide
Are you related to that person who never asks for directions and is always late? Or maybe your best friend gets lost all the time. Or, maybe, someone you know often finds themselves in unfamiliar places with no idea how to get home. There are great options for those people in need. And you – the gift giver – will be a lifesaver. Those options are GPS devices. They range from stocking-stuffers to feature-packed super gadgets.
Garmin nüvi 260W is preloaded with North America maps and POIs. Updating maps is easy – buy them from Garmin’s website or on Amazon. Garmin nüvi 260W has 4.3-inch touchscreen display. Switch between 2D and 3D mapping perspective and enjoy the road just the way you like it. No need to get distracted – voice guidance and text to speech will get you to your destination providing turn-by-turn directions. Take your Garmin 260W on a walk or a hike. Built-in battery will last you for hours. It is a steal on Amazon: buy it for $139.99
If you need to monitor traffic, consider Garmin nüvi 285W/285WT. You will need to subscribe to MSN Direct ($49.95/year + tax) to have real-time local weather, traffic, movie times, stock information, gas prices, news and local events delivered to your GPS gadget. You can even use photo navigtion. Garmin nüvi 285W/285WT has Bluetooth with a built-in microphone and speaker for hands-free calling. Buy all this goodness for $179.99.
Magellan RoadMate 1412 is a functional, easy to use GPS device. This RoadMate model has a 4.3-inch, anti-glare, touchscreen display. It has NAVTEQ maps of the 48 contiguous states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, as well as plenty of POIs. Text-to-speech tells drivers the street name of their next turn. The device features SmartDetour that prompts drivers to route around heavy or stopped freeway traffic. Not much else, but for just $119.99 it is all you can ask for.
Need traffic updates? Magellan Maestro 3250 will provide them. It has voice command and Bluetooth. The unit comes preloaded with AAA travel information too. It comes with 3 months free traffic updates and your arrival time is calculated based on real traffic information. Buy for $199.99
TomTom XL 340-S has 4.3-inch touchscreen and loaded with maps of the US, Canada and Mexico. You can add maps of any country in the world too. Like with others, you get turn-by-turn instructions spoken to you, 3D graphics. TomTom taps into over 800 billion speed measurements on the map to calculate the fastest route every time by using actual speeds of travel on your route. It removes confusion from complex intersections and multi-lane exits by using photorealstic images and Advanced Lane Guidance. TomTom utilizes Map Share technology which allows you to modify street names, street direction, road speeds and turn restrictions on your device. Buy it for $189.95.
Feeling you need a bigger screen on your GPS Device? Check out Magellan RoadMate 1700 and its 7-inch WVGA touchscreen. It is preloaded with complete maps of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, ROIs, built-in AAA TourBook listings, a microSD expansion slot and text-to-speech. If you are traveling to unfamiliar destinations often, you will love search for gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and more near upcoming highway exits. QuickSpell with SmartCity search makes destination entry easy. Buy it for $229.36.
For the outdoorzy people, who like to get out, hike for a day, go camping, Garmin Dakota 20 is a perfect gift. It has a bright 2.6-inch color touchscreen, rugged exterior and a battery that lasts for 20 hours. It is dust, durt, and water resistant. Dakota 20 comes preloaded with worldwide basemap and has 850 MB of free internal memory for wireless data transfer between compatible units. And to assist you even further in getting you to your destination, Dakota 20 sports electronic compass, brometric altimeter and microSD slot. Price: $339.01
Tired of having to pay for GPS services? How does 2 years free sound? Garmin nüvi 1690 comes integrated with Google local search, white pages, gas prices, local events, real-time traffic, weather forecasts, and even flight status updates. Feel at home no matter where you are. View your route on 4.3-inch touch display. Ecology-conscious will be pleased to see ecoRoute planning plus fuel and mileage reports. Garmin nüvi 1690 comes with North American maps, Bluetooth and microSD slot. Price: $433.27. Yeah, you really have to want it.
Archos 5 Internet Tablet is not really a GPS device. It is a fantastic media player and internet browser. And it just happens to have a built-in GPS chip in it. This is a gift that just keeps giving. It has 250 GB capacity for up to 300 movies, 2.5 million photos, or 145,000 songs. You can record your favorite shows directly on Archos 5 and watch it on a 4.8-inch touchscreen display. And it is going to cost you $239.99. Buy on Amazon.
And when you think it cannot get any better, check out Archos 5 with Android. Main difference is apps. It connects to LinkedIn, Twitter, streaming radio stations, Wikipedia, etc. It allows you to share music and video, access email and online classified advertisements on CraigsList. It has full-featured GPS. Unfortunately, you have to buy maps separately. Price: $389.99
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