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It is a strange fact that many buyers of new cars are willing to pay several times the real value of a satellite navigation system in order to have it installed by the maker. It is true that the car’s manufacturer usually does an excellent job of fitting the device, but then you are paying a premium for it.

If you purchased the sat nav unit independently and had it fitted privately, you would buy it for a third or a quarter of the rate. Still, it is part of the image of having a new vehicle to have all the latest gadgets built in to it. Satellite navigation, popularly called sat nav, is a real boon, if you buy a system that is up-to-date and that is regularly updated.

It is not essential to have the sat nav fitted in the car factory in order to have it installed well. Many third party installers are quite competent of making a good job of it too without having to have your radio/CD player taken out.

Many auto navigation systems are attached to the dashboard by means of rubber suction cups in any case. Buying a sat nav device that does not have to have holes cut for it will also keep the cost to a minimum without having to sacrifice quality or safety.

An important issue to remember is that there are many types of GPS systems, each with rather specific uses. GPS for an ocean-going yacht does not have to have road maps, whereas GPS for a bicycle may not give enough advanced warning for the speed of a car.

Even if you buy a GPS sat nav device for a road vehicle, there are several varieties. The three fundamental types are: stand-alone, such as you see installed at the car factory; hand-held and systems that are intended to be used with a laptop computer or similar device.

The stand-alone units are the most prevalent, because they have various advantages: they are made for the job of getting you from A to B via C, D and E, if necessary; they hold a database of landmarks which will help you know that you are on the right road; a voice will give you directions so that yo do not have to keep looking at the screen and it will memorize and integrate previous routes.

Hand-held sat nav systems work, but require more thought and sometimes additional software to be provided by the user. The screen is usually too small to be of much use and some only create voice directions. Others only provide graphic directions. However, they are better than nothing if you are walking or cycling in unknown terrain.

Laptops and PDA’s offer an excellent service, especially if you already had the device for other purposes such as office work.

So, it is not just a question of getting hold of a cheap sat nav system and thinking that they are all the same, you have to see it working so that you can weigh up whether it is going to be of any use to you in your situation.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on various subjects, but is presently concerned with the Snooper sat nav system. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Escort 8500.

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