Tips When Selecting A GPS - By: MIKE SELVON

GPS devices are sure to be one of the top gifts for the holiday season, whether it's for dad to use on his boat, the wife for her car or your brother for his hiking expeditions. A GPS is so much more than "just a map." While the features vary greatly, on some GPS systems you can look up restaurants or gas stations, play "Amazing Race" type games, reroute your commute around traffic jams and listen to satellite radio.

"Garmin is founded on the principles of innovation, convenience, performance, value, and service," proclaims the company website. In fact, Garmin, which has been around since 1989, is the most well-known North American brand name in Global Positioning Systems today.

Based out of Kansas, no part of the manufacturing process gets outsourced, as the company designs, manufactures, markets and sells all of their products themselves. They offer GPS navigation systems for all different lifestyles, such as fitness-based systems, automotive GPS systems, systems for hikers or campers, aviation technology, marine technology and site navigation for geocachers.

In addition to Garmin, Magellan is another leader in GPS systems, with their Magellan Maestro 4250 being the most popular GPS model, which ranges from $90-$279 online. Dutch Manufacturer TomTom was founded in 1991 and employs over 3,500 people worldwide. Their most popular navigator is the TomTom ONE XL 330-S (starting at $249), which has a wide 4.3" screen, customization options, search by zip code functionality, text-to-speech, multi-destination routing, emergency locator service and the ability to search for points of interest near your current location.

Lastly, the Navignon 2100 Max Portable Navigator (starting at $248.35) can help you find hospitals, pharmacies and roadside assistance, while also offering text-to-speech, lane assist and reality view maps.

When buying an auto GPS device, look at how many "points of interest" are offered. Anything less than 2 million will be frustrating, whereas the ideal number is around 6 million. Next, check for screen size. They range from 2.1 inches all the way up to 7 inch.

If you plan to use your GPS while walking, you'll want something smaller, whereas the 7 inch is best for an RV. For cars, the Garmin nuvi 680 is an ideal 4.3 inch. You'll want something with good functionality that allows you to switch maps or search points of interest with a button tap or two.

Some of the newer, more advanced GPS systems include things like text-to-speech, multi-destination routing, satellite radio/audiobook player/MP3 player capacity and Bluetooth speakerphone capabilities.

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