Car GPS SYSTEMS

I have a big problem. No, not my weight. I need to get some place. I need to get from here to there. Now one option for doing that is this free paper map, which is not gonna exactly work in a car while I am driving, because that’s just not safe. Not only that, but a paper map can’t tell you where you are in relation to where you are going. Now the modern equivalent is a portable navigation device, like this garmin. In fact, we have four, a garmin, a becker, a harmon-kardon and a new dash express. We are going to find which one is best suited to your needs.

Each of these navigation devices does at least one thing well. But each is very different in its approach. They all get you where you wanna go, but some are just easier to use. The last time we review portable navigation devices, garmin was our favorite. we have to say that garmin is one of the better navigation devices, but one of the things they change is the main screen. There are now fewer icons so it’s easier to find your way around. Garmin’s nuvi 78 also has a nice big screen with clear bright graphics. Another improvement is the traffic screen. It now has more detailed and all highways are labeled.

The becker traffic assist is almost the exact opposite. And that’s not a good thing. The mount is unattractive, the menus are difficult to understand. And the maps take too long to load. We found ourselves waiting and wating, and waiting for something anything to happen. But it’s not all bad news for becker. One of the good things about the becker is that it is light and it does get you from point A to point B. However, it’s kind of confusing.

Thankfully, the harmon-kardon gps 810 isn’t the least bit confusing, even though the system is packed full of features. Plus, it’s the one system that feels like it was factory-installed. Harmon-kardon’s guiding play, who was one of our favorite systems last time we had this test because it played a lot of different media files, it still does that. But they upgraded the system with a remote control that mounts on the center council of your car. That remote makes using the harmon system very straightforward. The menus are intuitive and easier to understand. Also the harmon union has a clean looking and a simple miling mechanism.

Finally, there is an all-new navigation system from a northern California company named Dash. The dash express is basically is a portable nav system like the others. But it offers features no other system has. One of the things that is great about dash express is that traffic information is updated more quickly than other systems. In fact, they gathered information from the other dash users. So it’s more accurate and it’s more timely. The dash express has an internet connection. And that connects through a silicon singal, so rather than have a points of interest database, the dash conncects through yahoo local and you can find restaurants, bakeries, or stores. That list is almost limitless. But as revolutionary as the dash is, there are a few drawbacks. The miling mechanism is rather clunky, and the dash does not have a Bluetooth connection for your cell phone.

After our four-day of driving around, we definitely have some opinions on each one of the navigation systems. Now it turns out that each one is good, but for a dramatic different reason. For example, the Garmin is best at straightforward navigating. Plus it also has stuff like currency converter, mp3 player, picture viewer, and other features, but it’s also the most expensive. Next is the becker. And the best we can say about that is that it does get you there. Unfortunately, some of the menus are not clear, and it does have a live time traffic subscription, that’s not bad. Next the harmon-kardon is good for people to play media files, videos, or mp3s and it also plays other music files too. Plus, the remote control gives a real original equivalent feel when it is installed in your car. Finally the dash express is customer built for commuters. It gives you great traffic information and it’s up to date every one to two minutes. Plus, it has an internet search feature.

Before making a final decision however, you should figure out what your needs are, because each one of these nav systems has its strength and weaknesses. And in the end, the most expensive system isn’t necessarily the best.

Tags: Becker, Dash, Garmin, Harmon-kardon