(Sep 05, 2008)
Bonnie Cha
Senior Associate Editor
The Thomas Guide used to be the apex of car navigation, but GPS and digital-mapping technology have combined to make an evolutionary leap. These portable navigation systems can help you get from point A to point B with audible driving directions, color maps, points of interest, and much more. And while they were once a novelty tech toy for early adopters and gadget hounds, they've gained in popularity and the market is now flooded with them. To help you in your buying decision, we've selected our Top 5 picks for in-car GPS navigation systems. We will frequently update this list as we review new GPS devices, so check back often.
Garmin Nuvi 880
As we've come to expect from the Nuvi line, the Garmin Nuvi 880 offers an impressive feature list and solid performance, but it's the accurate speech recognition that really pushes the Nuvi 880 over the edge and makes it one of the best GPS we've tested to date.
Price: $678.00 - $999.99 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 GPS
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HP iPaq rx5900 Travel Companion
For the movers and shakers, the HP iPaq rx5900 Travel Companion delivers a sleek, all-in-one solution that can not only keep you on track during your travels but also with your schedule. This PDA-GPS combo is one of the sleekest we've seen to date.
Price: $399.00 - $499.00 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 GPS
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Magellan Maestro 4250
The Magellan Maestro 4250 is one of the first portable navigation systems we've tested with a voice command feature. While the ability to operate the GPS device with the sound of your voice is cool, we're more impressed with the accuracy and solid performance of this mid-level system.
Price: $259.00 - $599.99 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 GPS
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Mio C520 Navigation Receiver
The sleek Mio C520 is a good-value GPS device, packing in advanced navigation features, a large screen, and other extras for an affordable price. It's even sleek enough that we'd use it as a video player. Our only complaint is that we think you can get a slightly better experience and smoother performance from competing systems.
Price: $253.95 - $253.95 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 GPS
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TomTom GO 930 GPS
When it comes to in-car GPS, TomTom has always been of the philosophy that its products should be about navigation first. Its latest TomTom GO 930 brings several new features, including advanced lane guidance and historical traffic data, to make it a helpful copilot to any driver.
Price: $449.99 - $449.99 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 GPS
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