All posts in: Auto GPS

How to map your Black Friday attack

Automotive
By Tara Tuckwiller on November 15, 2012 in

Shopper loading car

This Black Friday, use GPS to transform yourself into the ultimate doorbusting machine.

Say you've scoured the ads, and you've found 10 stores you need to hit. They're scattered all over town. You could just guess at the fastest route to catch them all. Or you could punch them into an auto GPS unit -- or a free website called Driving Route Planner, although that's not nearly as slick -- and know for sure.

To find out how well it works, I tested Driving Route Planner. I typed in the addresses of seven stores (it will sort up to 25 stops), flung across all corners of my city. Read more

Should you rise early for a Black Friday GPS deal?

Automotive
By Alex Nunez on November 24, 2010 in

GPS

There are lots of auto GPS units listed across retailers' Black Friday circulars.Two stores, Target and Walmart, are each offering a pair of GPS doorbuster specials, however. Are those deals worth the bleary-eyed trek to the early-AM store openings? Let's have a look. Read more

Black Friday GPS deals at Bass Pro: Some hot, some not

Automotive
By Christine Frietchen on November 5, 2010 in

Bass Pro Shops

Early scans of the Bass Pro Shop Black Friday circular are now available online at BFAds.net and other sites. Like all of these leaked fliers, it's hard to know whether these are final circulars or early drafts, but at least you get a chance to poke around and see if the proposed 'hot deals" are smokin' or not. For example, there are three deals on GPS units, and while one of them is preposterously good, the others are lukewarm. Our advice if you want a GPS unit this year? Sit on your hands and compare deals, because this is shaping up to be a big year for deep-discount GPS units. Read more

1.3 million Garmin GPS units recalled for overheating/fire risk

Automotive
By Alex Nunez on August 30, 2010 in

Garmin nuvi 765T

Garmin GPS units are hot items -- both figuratively and literally, it seems. Reviews bear that out, as the nuvi series of automotive GPS devices sweeps ConsumerSearch's Best Reviewed categories in our most recent full report. Unfortunately, Garmin has identified a potentially dangerous overheating problem when certain third-party batteries produced within a specific date range are used in conjunction with specific printed circuit boards (PCBs). The overheating risk could lead to increased risk of fire. Read more

Securing your portable GPS means more than just keeping it hidden

Automotive
By Alex Nunez on February 10, 2010 in

Auto GPS

If you own a portable GPS for your car, you know that one of the cardinal rules is to keep it hidden when not in use. Exposed GPS units are like catnip to thieves, who will break into your car and take your gadget if you slip up. And remember -- stow the windshield mount, too. Hiding the GPS but leaving its mount in place still tells anyone who bothers to look that you've probably got one stashed in your glovebox or center console. But I digress. This post isn't just about GPS theft prevention -- it's also a reminder of what criminals can do once they have your GPS in hand.

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Destination reached: The best Black Friday GPS deals are...

Automotive
By Alex Nunez on November 23, 2009 in

Black Friday lines

We've covered a few Black Friday GPS deals already, but in the time since those initial offerings leaked onto the web, the big guns -- Target and Wal-Mart-- have one-upped pretty much everyone else when it comes to aggressive pricing on portable automotive GPS units. If you've been thinking of picking up a GPS for yourself, or plan to give one as a gift, there are now a couple of clear cut winners to choose from.

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Will smartphones kill the GPS?

Electronics
By Tara Tuckwiller on November 19, 2009 in

Which way? Smartphone or GPS?

More and more people are skipping car GPS receivers, The New York Times reports, and getting turn-by-turn directions from smartphones instead.

"More than 40 percent of all smartphone owners use their mobile devices to get turn-by-turn directions, according to data from Compete, a Web analytics firm," reports the Times' Jenna Wortham. "For iPhone users, the figure is even higher, eclipsing 80 percent."

And while smartphone sales keep rising, GPS device sales have plummeted, the Times says. Smartphones now look and perform a lot like traditional car GPS units, thanks to apps from major GPS makers. The Navigon Mobile Navigator (*Est. $90) and TomTom for iPhone (*Est. $100) both get good reviews, as do some cheaper apps like the MotionX GPS Drive by Fullpower (*Est. $3 per month or $25 per year).

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Need directions? Garmin still leads the way

Automotive
By Alex Nunez on November 17, 2009 in

Garmin nuvi 765T

Once again, the experts agree: If you're going to stick a portable GPS device to your car's windshield, your best bet is to go with a Garmin. The manufacturer's auto GPS units earn consistently high reviews from professionals and owners alike, thanks to their ease of use and attractive features such as free traffic information for the life of the device. The latter even applies to the budget-priced Garmin nuvi 265T (*Est. $185), a Best Reviewed pick in our latest report on portable automotive GPS devices.

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This way or that? Sears' GPS deals a mixed bag

Automotive
By Alex Nunez on October 30, 2009 in

Garmin nuvi 205

A couple of weeks ago, ConsumerSearch editor-in-chief Christine Frietchen predicted that Black Friday would bring deals on some entry-level GPS units such as the Garmin nuvi 205 and TomTom 130. She was right. Sears' Black Friday ad has been leaked online, and both portable GPS devices are listed, though the pricing on these older, bare-bones models isn't quite as low as she envisioned they might be. In fact, despite attractive pricing, the models offered are hard to get terribly excited over.

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