All GPS systems show you where you are on a set of electronic map, and they tell you how to get to where you want to go via some sort of voice instructions. All of the newer systems have a pre-programmed database of popular destinations—called Points of Interest, or POI’s. The cheaper systems have a million or so POI’s. The more expensive ones have over six million.

You can get just this for much less than $200. The Garmin nuvi 200 can do all of this and more for about $150. The Tom Tom One XL, which not only does this but also have Bluetooth for hands-free calling, will only set you back about $180. Magellan also has a few offerings in the under $200 range. You can get a Magellan Maestro 3100 for just over $100!

All three of these companies make great products, and all of the models I just mentioned are excellent. But for the prices these things are selling for, you surely might be able to afford more! No article focusing on GPS reviews would be complete without telling you about the whole market.

So, let’s look at what you can buy in the middle price ranges. Say, under $350.

For less than $350, you can get a Garmin 660 with Bluetooth and the wide, 4.3-inch screen. Or you can get the Tom Tom GO 720. Or the Magellan Maestro 4220. All three of these are roughly compatible.

GPS reviews can only do so much. What you need now is to get on an informative online retailer’s site and check out these products for yourself. My link to Amazon, here, will take you to their GPS page. From there you can explore all you want.

Consumer Reports gave their top honors to the Garmin nuvi 760. They also mentioned the following GPS units: the nuvi 660, the nuvi 350, the Tom Tom GO 920T, and the Magellan Maestro 4250. Let’s discuss these choices.

I agree that the Garmin nuvi 760 is a really great GPS unit. The nuvi 760 basically does everything except it doesn’t have maps of Europe. It’s got the larger sized screen, Bluetooth, real-time traffic and weather. It actually says the street names for you, and it can even do multi-point routing. (That’s where you can put more than one destination in at a time.)

I think sometimes GPS reviews, like Consumer Reports, fails to consider the fact that not everyone wants a high-end GPS unit. The nuvi 760 currently sells for just under $400. Not everyone wants to spend that much on a GPS. Which is why I’m glad they mentioned the nuvi 350.

I own a number of websites that sell GPS devices and that also are resources for people who want to buy GPS’s. (I also write a lot of GPS reviews.) In other words, I get a good look at what people really buy. Although, a number of nuvi 760s are certainly sold though my websites, the nuvi 350 is by far the most popular device. It basically outsells the nuvi 760 by about 4 to 1.

Now, I’m not saying the nuvi 760 is a bad device. It’s not! It’s great! It’s just that it’s on the high end of the price range. Whereas the nuvi 350 is on the lower end. Right now you can pick up a nuvi 350 for less than $200. It’s got great maps, a huge data base of pre-programmed destinations (called Points of Interest), a 3.5-inch screen, and a bunch of other bells and whistles. Sure, if money doesn’t matter, then go ahead, get the nuvi 760. But if you don’t want to spend quite that much, then you won’t go wrong with the nuvi 350.

As for Tom Tom, their GO 920T offers a lot of GPS for the money. Like the nuvi 760, the GO 920T can do almost everything. It costs a little more than the nuvi 760, but then it does come with some features Garmin doesn’t offer, like Tom Tom’s MapShare technology. With MapShare, you can easily make changes to your unit’s maps. You can also upload these to make them available to everyone else.

I was really happy when I saw that the Consumer Reports review listed the Magellan Maestro 4250 as one of their favorites. At right around $250, the Maestro 4250 has Bluetooth, the larger 4.3-inch screen. Probably my favorite thing about Magellan is their deal with AAA, where they offer the AAA Tour Book pre-programmed in their devices. I’m a AAA lover, so I think that’s really cool.

When you’re getting into the market to buy a GPS, things can get confusing fast. Reading good GPS reviews can help untangle the mess, but what you really need to do next is to actually read more about specific products. You can do that here, at Amazon. (Which is my favorite online retailer! )

Most GPS reviews are too technical—at least, that’s what the emails I get tell me. Most of us (me included) really only want to know does the thing work and what does it do. We don’t want the details.

With that in mind, I want to talk some about Bluetooth. On the face of it, Bluetooth sounds like a great concept. But do you really need it? And, how much does it cost. Let’s talk about this all in some detail.

Bluetooth is a technology that allows various communications devices to be hooked up wirelessly. As far as GPS’s are concerned, it lets you use your cell phone through the device to make and receive phone calls.

You know those ear-pieces people wear so they can use their cell phones hands-free? Well, if you didn’t already know, that’s Bluetooth. With GPS devices, you do the same thing, only you don’t have to wear the ear-piece. You can just talk in your car, just as if you had on one of those ear-pieces. To talk, you just talk.

On the face of it, this sounds like a great idea! Personally, I don’t use Bluetooth, even though my GPS has the capability. For one thing, I don’t make a lot of phone calls. For another, talking on the phone while driving distracts me. For some, however, I could easily see it being of great value—for sales people, for instance.

At least that’s my take on the whole Bluetooth thing.

As far as who sells GPS systems with Bluetooth and how much do they cost? Well, as with all my GPS reviews, I’ll give you a run down on the best units with this capability. We’ll start with Garmin.

I know I keep mentioning this, but Garmin’s prices have come down considerably. This is due, in part, from stiff competition from Magellan, and especially from Tom Tom. Garmin’s lowest priced unit with Bluetooth is the nuvi 360, which is a great device! It’s got a 3.5-inch screen, has real-time traffic capability, and actually tells you the street names, instead of just telling you where to turn. Right now, you can pick one up for less than $250.

As far as Tom Tom is concerned, their Tom Tom One XL has Bluetooth. (By the way, it also has a 4.36-inch screen!) The XL is a souped up version of the Tom Tom One. At less than $200, it’s hard to beat.

Magellan, of course, has their Bluetooth device. Their lowest priced model in the Maestro line is the 4040, which has a 4.3-inch screen, also. For a little more money, you really should look at the Maestro 4250, if you’re considering Magellan. Magellan has this great deal with AAA where you can get their Tour Book right on the device. For a AAA lover, like myself, that’s almost too hard to resist.

Of course, as I always say, GPS reviews have their limitations. They can only serve to point you in the right direction and give you some sense of what you’re looking at. What you really need to do is to take a look at some actual devices. You can do that here, at Amazon’s website.

I do a lot of city driving on the expressway. As with all expressway systems for major cities, ours is always under construction. In other words, traffic jams (major ones!) are a big headache. What I love about real-time traffic is that it can alert me to these big pile ups.

What real-time traffic does is it routes you around the pile up, instead of just telling you there’s traffic up ahead. I love that because I’m often in parts of town that I know nothing about—they’re just what I go through on the expressway.

Of course, with real-time traffic you get weather, which I like, too! It’s nice at certain times of the year when we get lots of small, but powerful thunderstorms moving through town to know where they are. Ditto for tornadoes. But frankly, since I can look out the window and see where storms are (but I can’t see the traffic jam up ahead until it’s too late), for my purposes the real-time traffic is the part of this package that I’m most interested in.

Now, you can’t write GPS reviews without telling readers which devices have real-time traffic. So, let’s take a look at a few of the more popular GPS receivers that offer this.

Anything Garmin makes above the nuvi 350 is going to have traffic on it. This means from Garmin you can get this capability for just under $200. Of course, you can spend more and get more features. But that’s your base-line.

Tom Tom has made all of their receivers traffic compatible. As far as Magellan, several of their models have traffic capability, specifically the Maestros 3250, 4050, 4250, and 5310.

What you need to do now is to get on a good online retailer’s website and get more information. GPS reviews can only do so much. Here’s the link for Amazon, my favorite online retailer!

I’m not sure in terms of percentages, but I would be willing to bet that maybe even half of the GPS devices sold are bought by buyers who are upgrading. I know when I go to online retail sites and read their customer comments that many of them are from second or even third generation buyers. A lot of the comments I get on my own articles, GPS reviews, and other websites are from people who already have a GPS and want a new one.

It wasn’t too long ago that all a GPS receiver could do was…well, receive! The whole thing of having a device with electronic maps that could tell you how to get places was so new and radical that just that was enough to make hungry shoppers fall all over each other as they pulled their credit cards out.

No longer!

Now, you can get the basic capabilities for under $200. Heck, you can get it for almost $100! But the GPS marketplace is populated with buyers who are more than willing to spend $250, $350, even $450. At those price points, there’s so much more technology available—so many more bells and whistles.

Look at it like this. Now, for less than $200, you can get Bluetooth capability for hands-free calling. The Tom Tom One XL has Bluetooth and a wider, 4.3-inch screen! It is currently selling for well under $200!

GPS reviews are now reflective of the fact that this market has matured and wants more than just the basic capabilities that any GPS worth its salt can do. Most reviews now focus on which units offer Bluetooth, which have real-time traffic, which have multiple point routing, that sort of thing.

It’s great that the marketplace has matured and that buyers like the whole idea of GPS so much that they are trading in their old models for much snazzier new models. The only downside to this is for entry-level buyers, the GPS marketplace is more complex than ever. Of course, one of the reasons I built this site was to solve that problem! 

Garmin gets so much press and Tom Tom is so aggressive in their advertising, that I guess Magellan just gets left out in the cold. That’s too bad, because they have a great product line! One of their products, the Maestro 4250 is maybe the best deal under $300 that’s currently on the market. Let’s explore why.

First off, the Magellan Maestro 4250 is currently selling for right at $250. As far as features, it has the bigger 4.3-inch touch screen, Bluetooth for hands-free calling, and a very user friendly interface.

Magellan also has a great deal with AAA, where they have the AAA Tour Book right on the device. In addition, the Maestro is very sleek. It’s less than one inch deep!

Of course, since this is one of my GPS reviews, I really need to compare the Maestro 4250 with it’s competitors, which are Garmin and Tom Tom.

If you’re in the market for a GPS device with Bluetooth for less than $300, you don’t have that many choices. Some of them are the Garmin nuvi 360, 370, and the 660. The nuvi 360 is competitive with the Maestro 4250, but the 360 has the smaller 3.5-inch screen. The same is true for the nuvi 370. What it has over Magellan’s Maestro 4250 is European maps.

At the time of this writing, the Garmin nuvi 660 is just barely under $300. It does have the 4.3-inch screen—but then again, it costs about $50 more!

As far as Tom Tom is concerned, I really like the Tom Tom One XL. It’s got Bluetooth, a 4.3-inch screen, maps of the U. S. and Canada, plus lots of other stuff. Currently selling at less than $200, it’s a great deal!

Of course, GPS reviews can only do so much. There’s no real substitute for actually getting online with a good retailer and checking out their products. You can do that here, at Amazon (my favorite online retailer ).

What you need is a good online retailer. One you can trust to give you the information you need, and who has a great return policy…if you decide you don’t like your purchase.

I have covered the GPS marketplace for some time. I have written literally hundreds of GPS reviews and articles about GPS systems. I also own a number of websites that are devoted to educating people about these wonderful devices. In addition, I have websites that are designed to actually sell these devices, through online retailers.

My absolute favorite online retailer is Amazon. There’s not even a close second. Amazon carries all the models that my customers want. They have an excellent return policy. They have honest, thoughtful customer reviews and comments about their merchandise. They absolutely back up their merchandise. And their website is very easy to navigate and get information from.

I personally buy hundreds of dollars worth of stuff from Amazon every month! I love them. (Yes, I know. I’ve got a problem! )

But all kidding aside.

You can use Amazon’s website to help you find out virtually everything you need to know about any GPS system on the market. If you want to know about Garmin’s products, for instance, then click here. (Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the screen to see the chart.)

Amazon also has great Tom Tom information. Click here to see it, and make sure you scroll down the page to see their chart and read their information.

The great thing about shopping on Amazon is you can really take close looks at specific models you’re interested in. You can also see what other people think about a specific model.

Remember, GPS reviews are great, but they can only do so much for you. (Even mine! J ) When you’re ready, get on Amazon’s site and shop!

Now, there are several very nice GPS devices for sale in this price range. Garmin, which is the industry leader, has several of their newer nuvi line for sale under $200. Tom Tom has even more features on their entry-level devices than Garmin has. Also, you don’t want to forget Magellan.

Although Magellan doesn’t have the market share in the United States that Garmin and Tom Tom have, they make a great product for a great price.

Of course, all the GPS reviews can tell you this. But to go a step further, let’s talk about some of these great companies’ specific products.

Garmin

Garmin’s nuvi 350 is the single most popular GPS receiver on the market. I own a number of websites that sell GPS’s, and the nuvi 350 outsells everything else by a ratio of about 5 to 1. Why is this?

Well, there’s Garmin’s commitment to quality. But also, there’s the fact that the nuvi 350 has a lot of features for an entry-level device. It comes with maps of the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska. It also has maps of Canada and Puerto Rico. Another thing I like about the nuvi 350 is its real-time traffic capability. With a fairly cheap subscription, you can get real-time traffic alerts. Definitely handy in rush hour traffic!

Tom Tom

Perhaps my favorite of Tom Tom’s many models is the Tom Tom One, 3^rd Edition. Right now it sells for less than $150! It has turn-by-turn spoken directions, a 3.5 inch screen, 2D and 3D views, along with Tom Tom’s proprietary MapShare technology.

MapShare is really cool! It let’s you easily update your maps as you come across bridges that are out, road construction, etc. The device will remember the change and route you around it next time. Even better, you can upload these changes to Tom Tom for the benefit of other users.

Magellan

Magellan has lost a lot of ground over the past few years. They actually pioneered these devices, but Garmin and Tom Tom have overtaken much of their market. Don’t get me wrong! Magellan is still a vibrant company with really great products.

If I were to buy an entry-level device today, it might well be the Magellan Maestro 3100. The Maestro 3100 has great visuals. Best of all, it’s slightly cheaper than the Tom Tom One, 3^rd Edition.

The good news is these are three really excellent devices, all of which cost under $200. The bad news…GPS reviews can only go so far! What you need to do now is to decide on your budget and get more specific information. Here’s a good site for you to browse to find out more about GPS systems.

Now, the first time buyer has so many more options. You can spend less than $150 and get excellent, basic GPS capability—extensive maps, a large database of pre-loaded POI’s, even a few other bells and whistles like audio book capability and being able to use your GPS as a digital picture viewer.

But most first time buyers are more than willing to spend quite a bit above $150. According to the comments I get to my many articles, websites, and other GPS reviews, first timers are spending upwards of $400. And…Wow!…how much you can get for $400 is astounding!

For just over $200, you can get a Garmin nuvi 360, which has Bluetooth, among a lot of other great features. It used to be that Bluetooth was a premium upgrade. No longer. Tom Tom has a Bluetooth capable unit, the Tom Tom One XL, that sells for less than $200. It also has the wider 4.3-inch screen.

Multiple point routing (the ability to put more than one destination in at a time) used to be unheard of except in really expensive devices. Now, you can get the Garmin nuvi 750, which is widescreen and has multi-point routing, for less than $350! What a deal! That was unknown two years ago.

The technological advances GPS’s have made recently are completely amazing. And, as with all new electronic technologies prices have fallen to a level that everyone can afford a GPS device. The only issue now is not can you afford a GPS, it’s which GPS do you want to buy? Of course, that’s where good GPS reviews like this one come in.

In the month leading up to Christmas, the electronics industry as a whole will make almost 50% of their total yearly sales. That is they sell half of everything they sell all year in one single month. The other eleven months take care of the other half.

In other words, there are a lot of GPS’s given as gifts.

The husband of the friend of mine gave her a GPS last Christmas. She liked it so much, she went to the store and bought him one! For someone you want to buy a nice present for, GPS’s make some of the best presents you can select. They’re small, everyone can use one, men and women like them equally, and they’re all the rage.

As in all good GPS reviews, let me tell you about a few specific models you want to really consider.

At the lower end of the price spectrum, i.e. less than $200, there’s the Garmin nuvi 200, the Tom Tom One, 3^rd Edition, and the Magellan Maestro 3100. It’s hard to tell which of these is the better deal. If you’re interested in Garmin’s reputation for quality, then the nuvi 200 is the GPS for you. The Tom Tom One, 3^rd Edition, however, has more features for the money. (If you want to spend a little more, try the Tom Tom One XL. It’s even got Bluetooth capability for hands-free calling.) The Magellan Maestro 3100 is not a bad unit. But I’m not sure it stacks up to the other two.

If you really want to impress the person you’re giving the gift to, then you might want to opt for something a little fancier. The Garmin nuvi 660 currently sells for just under $300, and does everything except multi-point routing. (That’s where you can put in more than one destination.) Tom Tom’s GO series is great, too. As usual, Tom Tom packs a lot of features in their products for the money. That’s how they’ve taken so much market share so rapidly.

I don’t want to leave Magellan out. Their Maestro 4250, which sells for mid-$200’s, is probably the best deal on the market for that price. I especially love their deal with AAA, where you can get the AAA Tour Book directly on the device!

At the high end of the market, there’s really only Garmin. The nuvi 880 is masterful! Take a look, here, to read more about it.