Best Vehicle GPS Units & Equipment
Garmin Real Directions - Garmin Real Directions guides like a friend using landmarks and traffic lights.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It warned us of an accident that took place on the road 20 miles ahead of us while driving at night and on the return trip it warned us of an interstate closure because of a severe accident, then directed us on an alternative route to not get stuck in traffic."
"The Garmin StreetPilot 2720 was a top of the line unit back in 2006 and I was pleased to find that the "cutting edge" tech of 2006 is now in the "low end" Nuvi series of modern models. The GPS on a smartphone tends to drain it, then you have to have a cable running to your lap or a windshield mount and I find it a big pain in the you know what. This isn't a problem if you never leave New York City or San Francisco, but for those of us who live out in the country or do field service of some sort and travel all over (big cities and small towns), there are still places where my phone can't get 3G or can't find any data connection. The directions are very accurate and if you hook it up to a PC and download Garmin Express you can get alternate voices and vehicles. Of course the built in voices do Text To Speech and will say things like "In half a mile, turn left on Miller street". The screen CAN be a tad bit hard to read compared to my old 3.7" Garmin StreetPilot 2720, but just a small turn to the left or right will fix it. For example I added a shortcut to the "Fast Food" section in addition to the standard restaurant icon as I frequent those the most (hey, don't judge me). The only two things I found that I wish I could change would be (1) having a north indicator (red arrow or letter N with a pointer) on the screen at all times."
"Directions are clear, and I appreciate the way the Nuvi warns me about getting into the correct lanes so that I can make subsequent turns."
"In all honesty, I received my new GPS for our second vehicle yesterday afternoon, so it's not like I've tried it for a long time before writing this review. Last night I went to the Garmin site, registered it and downloaded any new maps and updates, transferred all my favorite locations from the older GPS to this new one and got it ready to use this morning. That for people like me with severe arrested development, was great fun, and now Garmin forces us to keep the same boring settings."
"This was quite the upgrade from my Nuvi 52, so the learning curve as been a chore and not quite as user friendly."
"So far so good, I upgraded my GPS, I'm travel a lot so I needed something that I could depend on."
"It took me a while to learn how to use this model having had another Garmin with a smaller screen since 2008 but the more I use this one it has really nice features to make a driving trip more fun and secure, like warnings ."
"I used it for the first time and it got me to my destination without any problems."
LIFETIME TRAFFIC - Free lifetime traffic avoidance, no ads or subscription fees.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is a big point because I almost let that reflection issue sway my decision on whether to buy this one, or one with a non-reflective screen."
"This unit covers most of the country and gives voice directions which my wife says make more sense and easier to use, but the reflection and need to tilt is very annoying: around home I may use my older unit. I may return this unit if I can't find a way to decrease the glare and reflection."
"After updating to the latest map and other recommended updates, the unit ended with 1.7GB free and 77% full. 6) I specifically like this new function: you can point anywhere in the screen, and the unit tell you the exact address (specially useful when the address is sometimes off by tens of yards, typical in foreign addresses, OR when the address doesnt match that of google maps). In the old unit, you could only see the location you specified, and if you wanted to know what was the name of the next street and touched the screen, all you got was zoom-in the map. 7) Finally you can choose what type of format you want your coordinates to be shown, I personally like the same format as google maps, which is: h ddd.ddddd I was very frustrated by the different formats my old unit and google had, often times leading to different map outcomes. 8) Smartphone Link Capability also allows your GPS to communicate with your smartphone, albeit at a cost, to send Google Map coordinates directly to your GPS, as well as other functions such as advanced weather and traffic. 2) Since the power cable is attached to the GPS at 90 degrees, rather than the mounting base as the old unit (adding to the overall width of the product), I find it much harder to detach and re-attach the unit."
"The voice address input works well half of the time. If the street has a hard pronunciation or the address has more than 4 numbers, I don't even bother anymore, I just input in manually. The biggest problem I have with it is that half of the time it does not take me on the fastest route. I do like my cell phones navigation better, but I don't have an unlimited data plan and if I use it as my primary gps, I burn through 1gig in a couple days and at $10, it's not very cost effective."
"I was driving along & a message popped up that said "THE CONNECTED POWER CABLE IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH TRAFFIC FOR THIS DEVICE."
Provides real-time services, such as Live traffic and select Live parking, when using free smartphone link app on your compatible smartphone.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"To ensure that you have a smooth experience, make sure that you charge the unit, put it on your WiFi network, and update the firmware before you do anything. Most of us reasonably expect that a modern device is going to be user-friendly, but this GPS -- at least for me -- was a huge jump in terms of features. Since I am my girlfriend's official pilot wherever we go, I just paired up my smart phone so that I can take advantage of extra features while driving. I loved the improved prompts, generally better pronunciation, the visual assistance for turns, the hazard warnings such as pronounced curves on the road, etc. I am so happy with this unit that I ordered a Garmin Fenix 5X watch to try out expanded navigation after I've parked my car."
"UPDATED Aug 12th 2017: Love the capacitive touch screen and size. Would have preferred a magnetic mount for this rather than the round plastic snap-in type it comes with. Have only used Bluetooth connection with phone a few times just to test it out as I really don't need traffic info where I live. I think I read on some forum that perhaps you can use a Garmin HD Charger/Traffic receiver with this and it works fine. About half of that is available for personal use (after deleting unused voice files) and worry free map update sizes that will fit without the need for an SD card. Updated Software and Maps fairly quick on a good network. You can put your saved points/addresses into categories which makes it easier to look for certain stored items without having to look through an entire combined list. One of the things that I do not like is the plain square flat greenish map symbols that have replaced the previous multicolored shaped ones. One thing that puzzles me is that if you put in an SD card that you have your backed up gpx files on (stored points/addresses) it copies them into the main internal memory automatically. I can stop right on an abandoned rail crossing from the 70's and it will either pop up with a warning window I have to manually close or say that it is still 20ft ahead... It still picks weird routes when you know the once you usually take is the better choice regardless of its settings of Shorter or Faster calculation. I purchased the Evecase Portable Case Bag Cover with Extra Front Pocket 5-Inch...It actually fits this unit well even though it says it is for a 5 inch GPS... Just about the same Internal dimensions as the 61 LMT-S."
Best Aviation GPS Units
Stratux dual band ADS-B receiver transforms your tablet into the ultimate flight tool with Wide Area Augmentation (WAAS) GPS, subscription-free ADS-B weather and air-to-air traffic. ASSEMBLED ADS-B KIT: Stratux dual band ADS-B receiver kit includes AHRS, fan controller, EasyAcc 6000mAh battery pack, suction mount, strap, SD card adapter, supports ForeFlight Synthetic Vision and other popular EFBs. Provides ADS-B traffic and weather information and navigation GPS position using internal GPYes WAAS GPS receiver, supports multiple iPads, iPhones, or Android tablets connected via WiFi.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Extremely simple to assemble, and linked up perfectly using FltPlan go application on my I-pad. Overall, I’m grateful that these guys at Crew Dog took the time to build and test this product for the general public to access the ADS-B information."
"From inside of my house, it is able to acquire anywhere from 6 to 9 satellites as well as 1 tower which is on the mountain behind my house about 1 mile away."
"I had forgotten all about it until a couple weeks ago when I couldn't get LTE on my phone, at 3000', which I've been relying on for weather and TFR updates. It has a built in flashlight and the USB cable attached to it can't be lost."
"As a full time CFI, this gets used daily."
"Bit skeptical about this purchase. As I was getting ready to go through Amazon's return policies, I got a call back! Helped me out right over the phone...and this thing works awesome!"
"The device came with easy to follow instructions and tools just in case something came loose in shipping."
"Could not be happier!"
"It works great and all pilots should have one."
Best Powersports GPS Units
nüvi 2597LMT features Garmin Traffic to help you spend more time on the move. With Garmin Traffic, your driving map remains onscreen at all times. Lifetime traffic² entitles your nüvi 2597LMT to receive free traffic information for its entire useful life. nüvi 2597LMT redefines “spoken turn-by-turn directions” with Garmin Real Directions, easy-to-understand driving directions that guide like a friend, using recognizable landmarks, buildings and traffic lights. Garmin Real Directions and Garmin Real Voice are features that are only available in our line of GPS navigators. ¹If you purchase a nüMaps Lifetime subscription (sold separately or bundled together with certain GPS models), you will receive up to 4 map data updates per year, when and as such updates are made available on Garmin’s website, for 1 compatible Garmin product until your product’s useful life expires or Garmin no longer receives map data from its third party supplier, whichever is shorter. A product’s “useful life” means the period during which the product (a) has sufficient memory capacity and other required technical capabilities to utilize current map data and (b) is capable of operating as intended without major repairs. Unless otherwise stated, the updates you receive under the subscription will be updates to the same geographic map data originally included with your Garmin product when originally purchased. In some instances, your Garmin product might not have sufficient memory remaining for you to load an update to the map data, in which case you will need to either (a) select reduced map data coverage for your updates, or (b) purchase separately a microSD™/SD™ card (if and as applicable to your Garmin product) and load all or a portion of the map data coverage for your updates to the card and insert the card into the microSD/SD card slot contained in your Garmin product. ²FREE lifetime traffic updates may not be transferred to another person or another Garmin product. Lifetime traffic extends for the useful life of your Garmin traffic receiver (as long as you own a compatible Garmin GPS) or as long as Garmin receives traffic data from its traffic supplier, whichever is shorter. A traffic receiver’s “useful life” means the period during which the receiver (a) has the required technical capabilities to utilize current traffic data service and (b) is capable of operating as intended without major repairs. Up Ahead displays nearby services info including restaurants, stores, hospitals and fuel alongside your map and updates as you drive your route.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I was getting tired of being nagged to pay for a map update on the older unit. My last unit kept searching for a satellite connection so long I was afraid I'd get lost in the process. Regarding Bluetooth, The ability to use as a speaker phone when connected to your mobile device is nice. If Voice command and the speaker function are not important to you, you could save some cash buy getting the 2557 model."
"*The first issue I had was how the old unit clipped onto the base, to get it to release using one hand, half the time it would slip out of control and fall to the floor. *This new GPS has a LCD display that is not affected by polarized sunglasses, wow, what a difference! This new one uses a great birds eye animated graphic that highlights the lanes you need to be in; you can just glance and see where you want to be. Update 12/27/13: There seems to be a lot of concern about the LCD screen and polarized sunglasses. Even a slight tilt of your head started to dim the screen of the previous Garmin model."
"You can also do it manually from the GPS touch screen, personally i find it faster but there is a use where the non driver or any person in the car can send routes to the GPS without distracting the driver which is really nice to have."
Best RV GPS Units
Bundle Includes Garmin RV 660LMT BC 30 Wireless Backup Camera Microfiber Cleaning Cloth Civilization on Demand Custom RV routing for the size and weight of your RV or towable trailer Road warnings for bridge heights, weight limits, sharp curves, steep grades and more Directory of RV Parks & Services; filter campground search results based on your preferred amenities Easy Route Shaping lets you easily change your route to include preferred roads or cities, just by touching the screen Elevation map tool displays possible steep grades along your route RV 660LMT, our latest navigator for the RV lifestyle, lets you enjoy the freedom of the open road with the convenience of traveling with a helpful guide. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"yes, I wanted a second camera to mount on my travel trailer and that is what this package is for."
"Camera is 65% of factory camera in clarity i."
Best Trucking GPS Units
Cautions and advisories include risk of grounding, lateral wind, narrow road, sharp curve, steep hill, tree overhand and state borders. Cautions and advisories include risk of grounding, lateral wind, narrow road, sharp curve, steep hill, tree overhand and state borders.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The interface is Garmin, which I am familiar with so no problem updating this unit or operating it. Compared to the previous 4" unit, I was concerned that the suction cup mounting system would not hold this steady. In actuality this unit weighs noticeably more than the 4" one it replaced, but fits the same stem and does not move at all. I got to enter my coach's height; length; weight dimensions and now asked for a route to another RV park. That was a relief as my first experience in this area included the local police stopping traffic so I could turn around and take another route. I knew that two of the fuel stops were able to provide me with a proper approach and exit to the pumps. I glued the suction cup to the mounting surface as eventually it stopped holding vacuum."
"What is nice about this RV 760LMT model is you can program in the size of your RV, in our case a travel trailer, and it will try and avoid areas where RV's of this size should not be or should not go. So my experience is it is a great Garmin to have with an RV, it's definitely pricey at this time of introduction which is typical though of Garmin's newer products and I suppose one of this size, the only real negative is the weak RV Park directory."
"I like the weather alerts that tell you where you are relative to the alert, I like the RV routing and the updated maps and points of interest like gas stations."
Best Marine GPS Units & Chartplotters
Color: Black |. Style: Maps, Compass, Barometric Altimeter. Marine-friendly handheld with high-sensitivity GPS receiver and 2.6-inch color TFT display.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I intended to use the device for a motorcycle but realized the display was too small."
"have always enjoyed garmin products, the 78s is no exception."
"Nothing beats Gamin. Use it to track time and distance walked."
"The position of the buttons relative to the screen is upside down.... Garmin, the 60cs was dang near perfect."
"He very much liked the Garmin, even ordered the maps to go with it, but found it lacked one thing that he needed that this Garmin did not have."
"Excellent product, the color unit is dead on!"
"Best GPS i have so far."
Best Overhead Car Video Players
Dual 1080P Front and Rear Dash Cam. With a 170° front facing OV4689 sensor camera and 140° rear facing sony sensor camera(80° rotatable) in one body, N2 pro shots both front and inside the cabin simutaneously in full hd 1920x1080P 30fps, perfect dash cam for taxis, Uber, rideshare, lyft drivers, commuters, and families, provides drivers and passengers with optimum protection. Single Front 2.5K 1440P 30fps or 1080P 60fps. If you don't need the inside recordings you can record with the single front facing camera, the advanced F1.8 front OV4689 lens ensures it to capture crystal-clear videos of the road front at: 2560x1440P/30fps, 2304x1296P/30fps, 1920x1080P/60fps, 1920x1080P/30fps. Dual Car Camera with Infrared Night Vision. F1.8 6-glass lens front facing cam and unique HDR video system automatically balance the light and dark areas of the video, while F2.0 6-glass lens rear facing cam plus 4 IR LED lights greatly enhances night vision in car at low light environment. Triggered by the motion detection, the dash cam will auto record once it detects motion in front of your car on parking mode. Loop Recording. Auto Starts up and records automatically when the ignition sparks up, loop recording saves the latest the videos and overwrites the oldest videos when card reaches capacity. Video. : H.264 compression; MOV. External Memory. : 64GB max, micro sd card of Class 10(. No Memory Card. ). USB Port. : USB 2.0, Mini. Battery. : 250mAh. Video Playback. : Support view on PC/TV/Dash Cam. PC Operation System. : Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 10/Mac. The FIRST DUAL 1080P dash cam on the market: Based on the powerful Novatek NT96660 CPU, equipped with advanced Sony Exmor IMX323 (rear cam) and OV4689 (front cam) image sensor, the Vantrue OnDash N2 Pro dual 1080P dash cam simultaneously captures the road ahead (170°) and the cabin (140°) in crystal details at dual 1920x1080P 30fps . Infrared Night Vision: F2.0 6-glass lens rear facing cam plus 4 IR LED lights greatly enhances night vision in car at low light environment, making your driving more safer at night.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Pros: Easy to setup and install even for a dummy like me, plenty of options, great instructions provided. Excellent Mount, easy to install and fully adjustable. Power cable connects to either the mount or the camera itself.It is very easy to mount/dismount the camera so if I don't want to leave it in the hot sun all day I can easily move it to my center console or glove box. HD video quality – when I review the video it is crystal clear, I can easily make out street names, signs, stores, license plates, etc. Two way camera – records both in front of the car and inside the car."
"The camera itself is compact, so it won't take up much window space and having the charging cable attached to the suction cup makes it easy to pop off the camera when not in use and download the captured footage."
"To have the ability to record both in front of you, and what's going on in the rear is a must! This device records in 1080P on BOTH cameras. When purchasing it, I was skeptical about the rear view camera. How well will it record the cars in the rear window?"
"Would definitely buy again and will most likely buy another one for my wife's car just to have for video proof in case of accident."
"The only drawback is no option to move the rear view camera image on the screen which is permanently fixed on the top left side of the screen. The camera screen turns off after a few minutes."
"Simple and great.Before purchase it I look it up on youtube all these live videos and sound quality.it looked everyone who ever bought it was really happy about it so as I.I also cought a deal and paid $150 lucky man lol.I spend $10 for hurd wiring and $50 to install a hurdwiring so Im very satisfied with the resolt no cabeles and everything is on.My conclusion if you looking for something simple to use and good quality product its defenatly good choice."
Best Amazon Launchpad Automotive
Navdy’s full color, fully transparent image is ultra-clear and visible in direct sunlight and automatically dims at night. Navdy’s natural gestures let you effortlessly interact with simple swipes, so you can say goodbye to fumbling with your phone. Navdy will read aloud all the messages and notifications you want from your phone and let you reply using Siri or Google Assistant, so you can stay up-to-date and in control at all times. Navdy Dash lets you customize your dashboard with key driver info like speed limit, MPG, fuel range, RPM, compass and more. Navdy is more than a new display, more than a new UI, and more than a new platform for Apps, it’s an entirely new experience and one we hope you enjoy every time you get behind the wheel. Find your destination through this car GPS with search powered by Google Maps and avoid traffic; control your music on Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and more.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"After traveling 500 miles with my Navdy, I feel completely confident that this device has nearly everything one could ask for (GPS, music controls, text/phone notifications), with the issue being that a majority of the features are not as functional as the individual devices they are trying to replace. I may be one of the few who purchased this device with music control as one of their top 3 features. - Hardware: The design of my current auto would not permit me to mount the device flush to my dashboard, so the positive aesthetics take a small hit when using one of the taller mounts. The most significant issue is that road vibration is sent to the device with greater frequency when using these taller mounts."
"I take my Navdy off my dash whenever I leave my car, and reattach it each time. No more glancing at my phone at messages, either; (2) I find that I don't speed as much, because I'm more aware of my speed at all times - Navdy's interface shows you not only your current speed but also the current speed limit, and it does it both digitally and via an arc that changes color; white while you are within the speed limit, blue when you are a few miles above the limit (around 7-8), orange when you are doing more than that. Navdy is more configurable than you might think: Not only can you tweak the interface so that you pick and choose which widgets appear in your view as you drive (compass, time/date, next calendar appointment, current music, time and distance driven during the trip, etc) but you can also change things up on the fly quite easily. Plus, you can choose to get (or not get) what Navdy calls "glances" (think "notifications") from various apps. Sound - Navdy doesn't have its own speaker, so all sound comes through your phone (or your car's stereo, via your phone's connection to the car). Navdy greets you (optionally) when you start your car, and Navdy shuts down automatically when you turn off your car. iPhone tip: You can download and make accessible to Navdy some high quality voices by going into your phone's settings -- Settings/General/Accessibility/Speech/Voices - make sure you download the "enhanced versions." Car information integration - the widgets that are available to you will depend, I believe, upon the data your car's manufacturer makes available via the OBD-II port. Here's a scenario that can easily play out, given the Navdy's bridging of the information from your car and your phone: (1) You have an appointment at 10:00 AM listed on your phone's calendar. (3) Navdy assumes you might be going to this appointment, and suggests that it map the route for you; (4) Navdy, via the information from the OBD-II port, also senses that you are running low on gas. And Navdy is the type of thing that you are going to want to show off."