Posts Tagged ‘gps handheld receiver’

Do You Confused To Choose a GPS Receiver?

Choosing the right one of GPS Receiver can seem like an enormous task. However, it does not have to be difficult if you know what you are looking for before you buy. When choosing a GPS Receiver, your needs may differ from the needs of another, so, you should determine which unit you want to use on your own, based on exactly what your GPS specs are.

garmin gps receiver

Now, GPS Receivers still cater to a wide variety of people, though rather than having to deal with every single feature you may not use in one GPS Unit, the GPS Units have been divided into brands (Magellan, Garmin, tomtom, etc.), types (portable GPS Units, handheld GPS Units, GPS PDAs, etc.) and uses (driving, hiking, etc.)

in GPS terminology a handheld GPS receiver and a portable GPS are 2 different things.

handheld GPS Unit

A handheld GPS receiver is a small handheld device like a radio, or a wristwatch with GPS technology. If you want to take your GPS everywhere you go, then a handheld GPS Unit is a great option. There are various types of handheld GPS Units on the market, so once you determine what type of GPS receiver you want you may want to examine and compare the features of each unit. Garmin makes excellent handheld GPS Units such as the Garmin Etrex Legend CX. Magellan has its own variety of handhelds as well, including the Magellan Explorist XL.

Portable GPS Unit

A portable GPS is a unit that you can move from vehicle to vehicle if you do a lot of traveling. Portable meaning it is not permanently mounted in a certain vehicle. They are convenient because the can attach to the side of the dashboard or another nearby location. Some Portable GPS Units even have places that are built in to the cars, where they can fit during the ride.

Both Magellan and Garmin make Portable GPS Units. The differences are seen in the technology and sometimes the features. Depending on what you are looking for, you may want to go with a Garmin Portable GPS Unit such as the Garmin Portable StreetPilot C320 or a Magellan Portable GPS Unit such as the Magellan Roadmate 3050T.

Recently at the market there are four major types of GPS receivers – the Standalone GPS receivers,
Bluetooth GPS receivers, CompactFlash GPS expansion cards and Combo devices.

Standalone GPS receiver. Most standalone GPS units are also built to be very tough and water resistant which makes them ideal for hiking and water activities like sailing.

Bluetooth GPS receiver. Increasingly becoming a popular item for tech-savvy GPS users, the Bluetooth GPS receiver does not have any kind of display whatsoever – instead, the device is used in tandem with a PDA, laptop or even a smartphone.With the appropriate software installed, the PDA /notebook/ smartphone gives you functions normally found in ultra-expensive standalone GPS receivers – a colour screen, colour maps and turn-by-turn voice directions.Because the Bluetooth GPS unit can interface with all kinds of Bluetooth-enabled computers – the versatility is only limited by the software and maps available for the particular host device.

CompactFlash GPS expansion cards. The predecessor to the Bluetooth GPS unit, the CompactFlash GPS receiver plugs directly into the CompactFlash card slot on some handhelds and notebook computers.

Combo devices. Some manufacturers, such as Mitac, Holux and even Garmin have come up with devices that marry a Pocket PC or PalmOS device with a GPS chipset, offering a unit similar to a standalone GPS but with the versatility of a full-fledged operating system.

Check out the other guide on gps navigation