Posts Tagged ‘portable automobile gps’

GPS Portable Devices

GPS, or Global Positioning System technology, lets GPS portable receivers pick up transmissions from four of the twenty-four tracking satellites.

To be able to function properly, however, the GPS portable receiver must be positioned where it the satellite transmissions will not be blocked.

portable automobile gps

The GPS portable receivers are often incapable of receiving signals if they are being used near tall buildings or under heavy canopies of vegetation. The GPS portable receivers can be used indoors, but only with the aid of an external antenna.

Commercial GPS portable devices are now available in an amazing variety of applications besides stand alone receivers.

How to Buy Portable GPS

When considering the features that you want in your portable gps navigation system, it’s important to consider if you’ll actually be needing that feature or if it’s just an added bonus.

Here are some things to consider:

1.       Size of the GPS Unit
2.       Price of GPS Unit
3.       Street name announcement
4.       Time to destination
5.       Automatic rerouting

You’ll find a lot of choices when purchasing a portable gps car navigation system.

My First Purchase And Experience Portable GPS

If you go to any major retailer’s website and search for GPS, you’ll find a large amount of options. You must know a few key points to decide on BEFORE purchasing a GPS device.

GPS units can be cheap or very expensive. Some devices can integrate with your cell phone! Some devices include an MP3 player. There are many features besides navigation available on various models.

You may want traffic and weather reports on your unit. Search on the internet for user forums relating to the model or models, or brands, you are interested in. I decided to purchase a “flashy” bells-and-whistles GPS device and took it on a trial run. Intently listening to the GPS, “Turn left ahead”. Gotcha! We turn. “Turn right”. Then the road practically ended. “Turn left”. We continued on paved roads. We turn left and watch as the road narrowed between trees and barbed-wire fences.

We were back on another rough dirt road for, according to the GPS, 2.5-miles. I then exchanged this brand for another, less flashy yet more expensive, GPS unit. My primary need for a GPS unit is navigation – meaning accurate, dependable, routing.

I checked this unit’s routing before I left the store. It routed me to the home without using unpaved/dirt roads. Good! Sold! Enter a familiar address on each GPS brand they sell and have them create a route.