Do you still think of GPS as fancy devices? It is time to change the thought and find out the new features which come bundled with the wonder gadgets which help you with easy navigation on roadways and waterways. Read to find out more…

Four different GPS map screens

You may know that GPS units for the road or the trail just showed you in the right direction and provided a simple map several years ago. A few devices included useful terrain features. Today’s GPS receivers have become true Personal Navigation Devices and they offer a lot of features that make life easier.

Nearly all of the new units provide extensive maps, many with 3-D views of your immediate surroundings. The Magellan Roadmate 1470, the Garmin nüvi 855, the TomTom XL 340, and many others are good examples for this. Not enough, they also offer features that make your whole away-from-home experience better, including voice commands and text-to-speech functions, dynamic re-routing or road change when you make a wrong turn or upcoming exit advance notice.

The specialized SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf GPS provides pre-loaded, detailed views of dozens of golf courses and you’re still able to download many more if you need them on your receiver. The Suunto X10 Military GPS watch can be seen as an entire PND combined with an altimeter, barometer and thermometer in a package that fits comfortably on your wrist. It makes an adventure trip through nature to an unforgettable experience.

Less specialized GPS units like the Garmin GPSMap 478 or the Humminbird 383C Combo – designed for marine environments – nevertheless provide an enormous range of features.

The 383C combines a GPS unit with sonar to make underwater surface features visible and fish finding easy. It also provides views and info on a lot og nearby land features like marinas, coastlines, channel contours, and so forth.

The 478 can be used in water or in the car with equal efficiency. It provides dozens of BlueChart g2 maps for marine use – coastal areas, inland lakes, and more – but comes with a City Navigator system that is just as good on land as any other road GPS.

In the field of auto GPS units only sky is the limit. Apart from those mentioned above (the Magellan, the nuvi, and the TomTom) the Navigon 7200T is a stellar competitor. The Garmin Zumo 550 can also be used for car trips but really shines when you mount it on your motorcycle.

Let’s leave the water and the city and sneak into the wilderness. Since you don’t want to get lost, you surely take along one of the dozens of outstanding outdoor GPS receivers.

The DeLorme Mapping PN-40 Earthmate makes a reliable companion in the mountains and along the trail. With its modern design dual processors and state-of-the-art software you don’t have to wait long before you find the right directions. Long battery life and a high-resolution screen ensure that you’ll have no trouble reading the huge amount of data it can provide.

The Garmin Oregon 400T is a favorite among geocachers and outdoor fanatics that love to hunt for the wonders of nature. The unit-to-unit data-sharing feature comes in really handy in an outdoor surrounding. In that hiking and climbing scenario, you need a stable and resistant unit with every conceivable feature GPS designers have devised. The 400T has everything you need for daily use.

So you see there are GPS receivers for all kind of events – you might be in a car or on a motorcycle, mountain bike, boat, or just on a stroll along a mountain path or city street. You are well prepared if you take one of the Personal Navigation Device that provides hundreds of easy-to-use features with you. With the addition of MP3, Bluetooth support, XM radio and more, many of these units are well on the way to be the new digital assistants you don’t want to miss on your side.