Believe it or not, in today’s fast paced world and advent of modern technologies, there are several people who still get lost. Yes it’s true, even professional truck drivers who treck the long winding road for several hours or days. These truck drivers mostly rely on their memory and senses to accomplish their long hours of mission and deliver the goods to their right destination.
More than often, these dignified truck owners and drivers get caught in traffic and road violation. Why? Because there are many “complex” road regulations and truck bans present today. This means that these particular routes do not entertain 16 wheeler-10-ton trucks at any time of the day. However, there are just too many of them, and it probably takes a genius to memorize all of those restrictions. The poor truck driver doesn’t have the mental power to remember them all.
Thus, clever GPS manufacturers thought of designing GPS for trucks. These are specially made for Mr. Truck driver in order to guide them where is the fastest route to their destination and avoid those pesky truck restrictions.
GPS for trucks function similarly with car and handheld GPS units but it contain more robust data under its hood. Why? To accommodate hundreds of thousands of miles of truck restricted road data! You see, these truck GPS units function exactly like your ordinary car GPS unit, however GPS for trucks process data at a slower speed. Truck GPS devices need to take note road restrictions before it can plot the fastest and shortest route for its user. Car GPS units do have special treatment when it comes to road restrictions. Thus, they don’t need much data to process to calculate its route each and every time.
There are certain limitations a GPS for trucks will work and that is accuracy. Of course, the user should at least be “familiar” with the route and destination he’s heading to (unless the driver is total newb then that’s a different scenario). With large quantity of routing data being process by the gadget, sometimes it’s accuracy could be off the target. This certainly happens when the set of road map data embedded in the GPS isn’t updated. It is the GPS manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure updated maps each and every time or else, Mr. Truck driver’s license and reputation is on the chopping block.
Like any other GPS devices, GPS for trucks are just a tool. It gives correct destination and the easiest route to its users. However, it’s still a machine and machine has limitations and may fail to do its mission. Thus, it’s the truck driver’s responsibility to cover their “shortcomings”- that is to be familiar with the road signs and drive safely to their destination.
In terms of GPS navigation devices present in today’s market automobile owners usually think of powerhouse brand names like Tomtom and Garmin. I can’t blame them personally because I’m quite guilty of being bias when it comes to GPS device brands. On my defense, I want to get the best. Garmin and Tomtom produce several of the best GPS gadgets available in the market today. However, our goal is to seek for alternatives and have an open mind when it comes to gadgets and electronics.
You see, in the tech industry a year seems like ages due to fast pace development of new devices. The latest gadgets you see today might be obsolete after a few weeks time. And handheld GPS systems are not an exception to this! We’re in constant search for newer, better and cheaper GPS product. Now, we’ll get to know if the RoadMate 1470 is indeed one of the best Magellan GPS systems.
The Magellan GPS systems product line was founded during 1985 in California U.S.A. It mainly produces GPS consumer products for public use. However, Magellan GPS products only appeal to average consumers mainly due to less advance features and sometimes exorbitant prices that reach up to $300. Of course, deep pocket tech consumers can avail them, but why settle for a GPS device with “lesser” features if you can buy another (for the same price) with “more” good stuff under its hood?
Perhaps, that’s one of the reasons why the Magellan Roadmate 1470 was born. This Magellan GPS device answers what the crowd is looking for: cheaper and more navigation features!
Product Features and Review
First to notice on this Magellan GPS system is its Display screen. It has a large 4.7 in. touchscreen display with sleek black finish (similar to your PDA). Also, with a touchscreen feature, navigating on the entire interface of this gadget is a breeze. Even big guys won’t have a problem navigating this GPS device.
Second is the interface. Magellan 1470 comes with a user friendly interface that doesn’t confuse its users on navigating functions on its screen. It has easy to access bookmark function that allows its users to retrieve saved destinations and other hot spots.
Third is Navigation functionality. Unlike other GPS gadget that comes only with the map of the United States, the RoadMate 1470 has a built-in Canadian and Puerto Rico maps in addition with the U.S. map. Of course, several POI (Points of Interests) such as ATM machines, restaurants, motels, hotels, parks and others are preloaded on this Magellan GPS system.
The RoadMate 1470 has a wise feature called the Quick Spell, this comes in handy when you’re in a hurry and want to navigate a particular destination quickly. By only typing a few letters of the street name, this built-in feature will do the rest of the job and find the correct street location instantly. This is similar with using Google when searching for information in the internet.
You don’t need to type the whole words (or correct spelling), Google will help you find that info by combining algorithm and keywords. Thanks to Quick Spell, car and truck owners don’t need to be a spelling bee champion in order to find their way. Additionally, this Magellan GPS system also allows route comparisons. What it does is that it compare the shortest and the fastest route to take to get to your destination of interest. Some parameters can be added as well (like if the user doesn’t want to take the freeway).
This handheld GPS device only weighs 10 ounces, has a microSD card expansion slot, voice capabilities for navigation instruction and a pretty good battery life. You can get the Magellan RoadMate 1470 for $157. It’s a good price for a sleek and very functional piece of equipment.
Today, it’s a must that every individual car owner must have a GPS navigation device installed on his or her own vehicle. Why? First and foremost, GPS navigation devices help its owners find correct direction each and every time. I’ve experienced this when I was in an unfamiliar location and was searching for a friend’s house. My GPS was a godsent. It helped pinpoint the street where my friend lives and saved me a lot of time and agony. Not only that, GPS devices can help its owners save money on gasoline, tire repairs and auto maintenance all related to lengthy “search” time.
Now let’s dig in a little deeper into the vaults of the best portable handheld gps devices. Today, we’ll take a closer look at Nuvi 780 – considered as the best Garmin car GPS in the market. Of course we shouldn’t take any answer immediately just like that. We need proof, evidences and other technical specifications to support that claim.
And that’s exactly what we’re going to do right now.
Garmin Nuvi 780 Features and Review
Garmin Nuvi 780 has tons of features to offer to its users, more so, several people testified that this Garmin car GPS exceeded their expectations by providing them 1) Innovative designs 2) User friendly interfaces 3) Extremely helpful Navigation functionalities and 4) Entertainment add-ons.
Without going into too much technical details, this Garmin car gps device sports a 4.3 in. display screen that has a good sunlight legibility. This means that it is ideal for day time travels and adventures since navigation info is readable. The Nuvi 780 is also loaded with millions of POI (points of interest) that ranges from gas stations to ATM machines, hotels, hospitals, Zoo, Theme parks, police stations, local attractions and many more.
The good thing about this handheld GPS device is that it allows its users to customize its own POI like the house of your son, daughter, grandparents, relatives and loved ones. It comes with a USB cable (to easily organize it with your PC), an instruction manual and has a pretty good battery life of up to 5 hours.
The Nuvi 780 can be programmed to scan the best destination route, thanks to its multi-destination routing feature. Using this Garmin car GPS device, its users won’t have a tough time dealing with traffic jams due to vehicular accidents and other obstacles on the road. The Nuvi allows its users to plug-in up to 10 unique spots and it will do the rest. This gadget will trace the quickest route to your destination in a snap. It’s quite cool isn’t it?
Other than navigation, the Nuvi 780 car navigation device can give weather information, stock market updates, movie listings, news, entertainment and current commodity prices. It can also function as a picture viewer, MP3 player, calculator and a clock. (seems like this is an all-in-one gadget) The built-in memory can be expanded with a separate SD card. This gadget comes with a North America city navigator software and Free 3 month subscription to MSN Direct Connect. If you’re wondering about the price, ahh, that’s the best part, for $175 you’ll get all the good stuff without spending a fortune. This really sounds like a good deal to me.
GPS devices are getting more and more popular among people and general travelers. Handheld GPS and general GPS navigation system can be considered a great gadget for drivers, mountaineers or seafarers. It is a common mishap for people to get lost in a city or unfamiliar places even with a map! You can’t blame them, I myself have some difficulties (not to say boredom) reading map directions.
GPS gadgets are becoming handy nowadays not only for techie individuals but to common people as well. It’s a great gadget you can depend on. Thus, it is good to take time and learn how to get cheap GPS systems without sacrificing quality and good navigation service. There are many dedicated GPS devices with various functions that suits an individual consumer. The key here is to feel comfortable using the device, see if gives correct navigation/direction and, it must be within your budget.
So, how can you find cheap GPS systems with reliable functionalities?
It’s quite simple really. The internet offers tons of information about almost everything. If you’re reading this article right now, then I have to say you’re in the right track on finding cheap GPS systems for your car, truck, yacht and others. Finding the right GPS device for you and your loved ones is as easy as clicking your mouse.
Of course, you must list down the things you need before buying a GPS (same with any gadget). Even if it cost a couple of hundred bucks making a right decision now would save you money and headache in the future. These are some of the things you should check on its specifications. (you may add your preference)
Screen/display size – Can you read the details?
Battery life – Does it consume too much power
Colored/black and white – Are you color blind?
Water resistant – Do you want to use it on your yacht?
Casing – Is it durable?
Software – Is it reliable? Map updates hassle free?
Budget
As I have said, these are preliminary questions and list you can use to find practical GPS gadget for you and your family. Perhaps you’ve seen many popular brands and shops claiming to sell cheap GPS systems from their inventory. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen them and I would say that most are very reliable product. You probably have heard about TomTom, Garmin, Magellan, Mio and Navman and several others. Each brand has pros and cons so you have to balance on things to make a decision.
There are several GPS models manufactured by these popular brands and each has its own website to cater to your questions and other inquiries. All you need is an internet connection and you’re ready to go. If you want to get a good deal, of course you have to exert some of your precious time to research. It’s very easy to do and rewarding as well – think at the amount of savings (both time and money) you’ll get by making the right decision.
