One of the more useful features of the auto GPS units is the ability to have the unit divert your car around any traffic jam. Most units now have the option of changing routes, and you decide how many miles out of the way you want to travel to avoid the traffic obstruction. You may be travelling down narrow country roads through towns you have never heard of, but rest assured you will be rejoined to the original route safely past the obstruction. No need to get out the map, just let the auto GPS show you the way.
The touch screens are getting larger, easier to see in daylight, and more intuitive for the user. The largest screens turn any auto GPS into an RV unit. Motorcycle GPS units need to be waterproof, so be sure to check the waterproof rating on the specifications. Water resistant is not good enough to use outdoors.
How many points of interest will meet your needs? When choosing an auto GPS take that into consideration. Thousands may sound like a lot, but realize that some auto GPS units offer millions of POI for the consumer.
And how about those map updates? Or non-updates as some may think. Keep in mind that there are only two or three producers of gps maps, so the less expensive models of auto GPS sport the same maps as the more expensive models. And it seems these companies cannot keep up with the demand for up to date maps. Some lag as many as three years for points of interest that have moved or changed names. Another example is new roads and new interchanges do not appear immediately on the auto GPS units. I hope in the future that the mapping industry will be working in real-time, with automatic updates of our auto GPS units while we sleep.
Some people still carry paper maps and atlases on road trips, and I don't blame them. Not all auto GPS units have enough features to handle all unexpected situations. But most do, and in time we will all leave the paper maps at home and be able to rely on any auto GPS unit to navigate us with ease.
Does your auto GPS unit speak to you? Can you understand him or her? Auto GPS units vary in their capabilities in this area. Some less expensive units will use pronunciations that don't match, such as saying saint instead of street for st. If you are good at todays technology, these units can be corrected by hand for examples like that. But some say it is more trouble than it is worth. Is the voice loud enough? Do you have a choice as to whether the voice is male or female? Can your unit record your own voice or a family member's voice to give basic instructions, such as turn right and go back? These are the capabilities that are going to be more and more commonplace as auto GPS units come down in price and go up in quality and capabilities.
If at all possible, borrow a friends auto GPS and take it for a spin before you buy your own auto GPS. This experience will tell you what features are important to you and what features you can live without.
At Electronic Tool Chest we feature auto GPS, GPS wrist watches, and hand held GPS, among other cheap GPS systems.