Posts Tagged ‘Unit’

The Best Handheld GPS Unit For Your Next Outdoor Adventure!

The best hand-held GPS units aren’t just for cars anymore. Thanks to the sleek and innovative designs of today’s hottest GPS units, more and more broadcast are turning to hand held GPS units for activities that have existed for thousands of years: hunting, camping and fishing!

If you’re a hunter, outdoor enthusiast or delight in fishing, chances are that you’ve gotten yourself lost on a weekend expedition with your buddies. Maybe you never could figure out how to read that map, or maybe you wandered off farther than you intended – whatever the case, you can kiss the days of complicated manual navigation excellent-bye, thanks to the introduction of GPS handheld hiking units from major brands like Garmin and Magellan – and even persons that can be used on the water! Want to know more about these pioneering products? Here’s the lowdown on the best hand held GPS units that will turn your next hunting or outdoor trip into a stress-free expedition.

Which Way To Camp?

GPS units that are made specifically for hunting, camping and fishing work just like the one that you have for your car or phone. Using satellite technology, your GPS unit is able to track down your exact location and show your real-time position on an simple-to-read map – even if you’re travels take you to the most isolated forests. Thanks to your trusty GPS unit, you’ll never have to spend your valuable time or resources in manually determining your position on a map: just power up your GPS unit and mind as all of the complicated work is done for you! Better yet, use your GPS to mark down the locations of trails, campsites and other landmarks. With the typical battery lasting up to 24 hours, you don’t have to worry about losing these vital notes – so you can hunt, hike or fish without worry!

Another fantastic advantage to GPS units that are designed for outdoor use is that they’re made to take a beating. Accidentally dropped your hand-held hiking unit on the ground? Whereas a normal portable GPS unit might end up in pieces, these harsh products will continue to perform without flaw. Got to make a trek through a patch of terrible weather? Not a problem! Fortunate for you, waterproof GPS units will be able to withstand even the toughest of Mother Nature’s storms.

Some of the best hand-held GPS units out there contain the Garmin eTrex, which has an exclusive BackTrack® feature which will help you navigate your way back to your camp or hunting site; The magellan eXplorist, which boasts four navigation screens on a unit that’s smaller than the palm of your hand; and finally, marine GPS units (look for ones designed by Magellan, Garmin and Lowrance), which have enough memory to store up to 500 of your pet aquatic destinations with the ability to chart a honest course to them! What’s the best part about these products? The fact that many of them start under $200, so you don’t have to blow your budget in order to nab the best handheld GPS unit of your very own – leaving you with more green for your next outdoor adventure!

7 Reasons Why A Dedicated Vehicle Gps Unit Is Safer Than Gps On Your Mobile Phone

The GPS navigation system offers many compelling safety benefits to travelers going into unfamiliar territory, including keeping us from getting lost, guiding us to the nearest service station, rest area or hospital, and allowing us to report our precise location to emergency responders. Though the presence of another electronic device in the car can be a distraction, persons of us who recall fumbling with huge, unwieldy paper roadmaps while trying to keep our eyes on the road see the in-vehicle GPS revolution as a net benefit, particularly with the addition of voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions.

Today there’s a new revolution in progress, specifically the growing availability and sophistication of GPS Navigation features on smartphones, such as the iPhone, Android and Google Nexus One. But, from a safety standpoint, there are strong arguments as to why the GPS on your cell phone is best utilized while you’re bunged or sitting in the passenger seat and a dedicated in-vehicle GPS Navigation device remains a better choice:

1. Eyes Ahead – Read With The Ears: Amongst the principal risks of electronic products in the automobile is the fact that they draw your eyes away from the road ahead. Practically all dedicated in-car GPS systems provide spoken turn-by-turn directions (“in one mile, turn left”). The best units also feature text-to-speech capability, i.e., they read the road names aloud (“in one mile, turn left on Main Road”). Smartphone applications don’t consistently provide these functions and the speaker volume and signal quality is typically much better on dedicated GPS Navigation devices, which have larger loudspeakers.

2. Screen Size: Even with spoken directions, there may be situations when the driver must refer to the GPS Navigation unit’s visual map show. Despite the fact that the quality of mobile displays continue to improve, their size remains smaller, considerably smaller than that of a dedicated GPS Navigation device. This makes it harder to discern detail and has the the makings to hold your eyes off the road for a longer time.

3. Size of Controls: Touch screens are often tough to operate even when you’re not driving. Because mobile phones are smaller than dedicated GPS models, the soft buttons we press to control the system are also smaller, necessitating more effort, finesse, and time to operate. Once more, this has the the makings of keeping your eyes off the road.

4. Heads Up: Dedicated GPS devices are usually mounted to the windshield or dashboard such that they do not require the driver to go his / her head to see the screen; simply shifting the eyes can provide a satisfactory view. Unless a smartphone is affixed in a similar way, and not placed on the passenger seat, in the taste holder or ash tray as is commonly right, the driver will need to not only avert eyes and head to look at the show, but also may need to remove a hand from the wheel in an effort to hold the phone so it may be more simply viewed, an additional distraction.

5. Power: While dedicated GPS Navigation models usually plug into the auto’s power, we’re accustomed to the convenience of with our cell phones without plugging them in. When running on battery power, the mobile phone’s screen saver may switch on, requiring you to reactivate it (by touching the show, for example), one more distraction and requirement to remove a hand from the wheel.

6. It’s For You: It is simple to forget that your cell phone is, well, a phone. An poorly-timed mobile phone call could interfere with the capacity to navigate.

7. Precision: Acquiring a GPS transmission from space demands an antenna and sensitive GPS Navigation chip. A dedicated GPS device has a larger antenna and typically a very sensitive GPS Navigation chipset which makes sure you can hear GPS Navigation signals even amongst tall structures and beneath a forest canopy. Your smartphone handset can’t offer the same level of sensitivity therefore would not have the ability to estimate your location as precisely. Why is this a safety concern? Missing a excellent fix on your location, your GPS could route you incorrectly or furnish directions too late for you to complete a turn safely.

There’s no doubt that smartphone technology will continue to advance and address a number of these safety issues, but for now there continue to be strong safety advantages in using a dedicated in-vehicle GPS system when using your mobile phone only as a backup or while riding shotgun. Today’s dedicated GPS devices, such as Garmin’s nuvi line, are easily transportable and light, conveniently carried inside your purse or briefcase. If you must operate your smartphone to navigate when driving, take the following steps to maximize safety:

- Make particular your mobile phone is affixed to your windshield or dashboard in a “heads-up” location.

- Plug your mobile phone into your car or truck’s power outlet.

- Make sure that the speaker volume of your smartphone is satisfactory; use your auto’s audio system by plugging your auto’s speaker jack (if available) into your mobile phone; alternatively, make use of the smartphone’s wired or wireless earpiece to be particular that you can hear spoken directions plainly.

- Prepare and review your route in advance of when you head out and while bunged.

- Stay off the phone until you’re bunged or roving in a region where you don’t need immediate GPS help