If you’re like me, you understand the dangers of using your cell phone while driving. With this Bluetooth GPS comparison guide, you can learn all about the best GPS receivers that support Bluetooth technology. Now you can not only know where you’re going, but get there more safely as well.
There are three main manufacturers of GPS receivers, Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan. There are others, but these are the industry leaders. All three have great GPS devices that support Bluetooth technology for hands-free calling.
In this article, I’m going to talk briefly about some of the products each company offers that supports Bluetooth. The idea is after reading this article, you’ll be better prepared to buy a Bluetooth compatible GPS receiver.
Just so you know, I’m including my opinions in this article. It’s not meant to be unbiased. I run a GPS authority website where I get to see which GPS receivers people actually buy. So, I think I have sort of a front row seat to what people like.
Magellan
Magellan is a great company! They make an excellent product! I especially like their Maestro line.
In the Maestro line they have two receivers that support Bluetooth, the 3250 and the 4250. These are exactly the same except the 4250 is the wide screen version. It has a 4.3-inch screen as opposed to the standard 3.5-inch. (That’s measured diagonally, by the way.)
Both of these devices are excellent. They include maps of the United States and Canada, over 6 million Points of Interest, and AAA Tour Book integration for those who are AAA members.
Right now, the 3250 is selling for about $200 and the 4250 is selling for about $250. Personally, I would pay $50 extra for the wide screen. But that’s just my opinion.
Garmin
Garmin is the top manufacturer of GPS receivers in the world! They offer a huge range of product. I especially like their nuvi line.
The nuvi’s are newer on the market, replacing the older StreetPilot (which is still a great GPS, by the way).
The nuvi’s that support Bluetooth are the 360 and 370, the 660,670,680, the 760, 770, 780, the 880 and the 5000.
The 300 line has the smaller 3.5-inch screen. To get the larger 4.3-inch screen, you’ll have to spring for the 600 line or above. The newer nuvi 5000 has a whopping big 5.2-inch screen!
What the 600 line and above offers over the 300’s is FM transmitter capability, where you can get the transmission from the GPS receiver to go through your car’s audio system. The 700 line and above offers multi-point routing. You can put in more than one destination and the device will calculate the most efficient route to all the points.
Personally, I love the Garmin nuvi line. I think they make a totally awesome, very sleek looking product.
Currently the 300 line runs a little more than $200, the 600 line a little more than $300. Add $50 to that and you’ve got the price range for the 700 line. The nuvi 5000 runs around $650, and the 880 runs close to $1,000. (But let me tell you something. If you really want top-of-the-line high end GPS technology, that’s $1,000 well spent!)
Tom Tom
Tom Tom is more the new kid on the block. But that hasn’t stopped them from taking a huge market share from the older, more established companies. One way Tom Tom has done that is with offering more product for less money. Also, they have been very instrumental in introducing new ideas and technologies.
Tom Tom’s GPS receivers that support Bluetooth are the Go 510, 720, 730, and 920. The Go 510 runs slightly less than $200. It’s a direct competitor with the garmin 360. The Go 920 is between $300 and $350.
Check the prices yourself. They tend to go down with time.
Tom Tom’s products offer essentially the same features as Garmin’s and Magellan’s.
No short article can tell you everything you need to know. But at least this gets you started. To learn more, you need an informative website.