This article is about to present you with an introduction to Garmin’s main automotive GPS products, what their features are and how much they are priced at. Garmin is a industry leader in GPS systems, and I am also intending to compare them with their main competitors, Magellan and Tom Tom. This is going to present you with the information you need in order to choose the ideal Garmin GPS suitable for you along with your budget.

Before we start, Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan aren’t the only three GPS manufacturers around. There are a number of others. These three, however, have become the big three, representing probably 90% in the GPS sales. Garmin itself sells about 70% from the GPS systems sold.

Must you just consider these three manufacturers with the purchase of a GPS system? Of course not! Explore the other companies. Several of them offer good products with huge discounts. Just as an individual note, I just have a tendency to stick to the major manufacturers whenever I order something. In that way I am sure my purchase will be supported next year as well as the next.

Back to Garmin

Before I mention Garmin products in particular, let’s talk a bit about GPS receivers in general–especially what their main features are.

The principle highlights of any GPS after-market automotive system are the following:

* Touchscreen technology interface with 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional views
* Automatic calculation on the fastest route and the shortest path to your destination
* Database of millions of pre-programmed destinations, or Points of Interest (POI’s)
* Pre-loaded with maps for the lower 48 United States

If this is all you want, then you can have this from Garmin for around $150! The Garmin nuvi 200 can be the perfect unit just for you. It could do all of the above and even more.

Tom Tom and Magellan also show competitive products with this price structure. The Tom Tom One or the Magellan Maestro 3100 are good introductory GPS receivers. They’ll do all of the above and even more, and both cost around $150.

However, if you prefer more, it isn’t really that expensive to get it!

For yet another $100 to $200, you can get a GPS receiver, which does this all:

* Wider 4.3-inch screen
* Saying street names with the spoken directions
* More Maps–Canada, Mexico, Europe
* Many more POI’s (how about six million?)
* Bluetooth, for hands-free calling
* Real-time traffic and weather (with subscriptions)

The Garmin nuvi 350 is capable of doing almost all of this, although it has only the 3.5-inch screen. Currently the nuvi 350 runs about $200. Magellan’s 3250 is to be their direct competitor towards the nuvi 350.

As price increases, you may get a lot more features, wider screens, and much much more. Doc No. psdlhsldh-tlshdkl

Kristie Brown writes on a variety of topics from health to technology. Check out her websites on Garmin GPS systems and best GPS systems for cars