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The Garmin 255w GPS can be found online for under $200 and has text-to-speech (TTS) which is commonly found in more expensive kits. TTS allows the device to give directions with street names instead of the generic turn left/right at a certain distance. The Garmin 255W GPS comes loaded with Navteq data of North America + Hawaii + Puerto Rico and includes 6.5 million findable points of interest.

Other valued features include HotFix (Long Term Ephemeris Prediction) which helps locate satellites quicker, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Basemap shows 3D shaded terrain features, Photo Navigation allows uploading of geo-coded photos from a phone, geo-coding camera or photo site and navigate to them, and the ability to send addresses directly to your Garmin from Google Maps or Mapquest via PC. There are a few things that I discovered to be slow about the nuvi 255W package. The first is the lack of an included mini-USB cable. As someone who reviews tech gadgets I have many of these cables lying around but for the average user this type of cable may be difficult to have at home. Garmin should package a mini-USB cable with this package.

While charging the Garmin 255W GPS I discovered that there is no charge indicator of any sort. This is not a big issue since the unit can be charged in the car but it is often good to know if your device is running out of charge or not. Battery life according to Garmin is around four hours with the rechargeable Lithium battery. During use I found it to last anywhere from three hours and fifteen minutes to three and half hours. Ultimately the Garmin has a deep menu system which to some people may be a bit restraining. The less technology inclined may not use all the characteristics of the “entry” model GPS because of its expansive menu. Luckily they will still get plenty of functions from this GPS device.

The importance of a great GPS system is the interface and the Garmin 255W GPS is one of the best ones that I have dealt with in comparison to other GPS models. It is a very well designed unit from the outer casing to the software inside. Garmin has been considered as the number one in GPS technology and they continue to dominate. While it is sold as an entry level unit in terms of price, its features and function make it act like a more expensive GPS model. Routing works great and that is the most important feature in these devices. TTS and the widescreen helps the nuvi 255W standout over other similarly priced models. If you are searching for a deep starter GPS unit, then the Garmin 255W GPS is the ultimate choice.

The author runs online shopping blogs and stores. For more information on Garmin 255w GPS Review visit Deal99.com.

What makes a good GPS review?

It is more than difficult to find a good GPS review on the Internet. The reason is this: GPS devices all do the same thing. They show your location on an electronic map, and then show you how to get where you’re going. Now, by GPS device I mean a car GPS device that you buy separately from your automobile and either hang from a bracket on your windshield or put next to you on the seat.

So, the key to a good GPS review is understanding the features that various GPS devices offer at each price point.

What do all GPS devices have in common?

All car GPS devices that are on the market today have a touch screen where you can enter information into the unit, such as your destination address. All auto-calculate the route to that address, and all give you spoken directions of some sort as you drive to your destination. In addition to this, virtually all GPS devices come pre-loaded with maps, usually at least of the continental United States, have an internal battery for emergency use, and can toggle between 2D and 3D map views. (3D gives you a slightly more realistic view of what you should be seeing in front of you.)

There are exceptions to all of these rules, but almost all are in the older models.

Who are the industry leaders?

There are three main manufacturers of car GPS systems, Garmin, Magellan, and Tom Tom.

Garmin sells about one out of two of all the car GPS systems sold in the world. They are known for making a quality product. Magellan was an early leader in GPS systems that can route you to more than one destination. They do not have nearly the market share that Garmin has. Tom Tom is a late arrival who is quickly catching up. According to Tom Tom, their GPS system, the Tom Tom One, is the best selling system in the world.

What are the main features to look for in a GPS system?

In this GPS review, let’s start at the cheap end and work our way up.

You can buy a GPS system for less than $200. The Garmin nuvi 200 and the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition currently sell for less than $200 at Amazon.

As you increase price, the main features you can add are

Voice prompts that actually say the street name

Cheaper GPS devices only tell you where to turn. They say something like, “Turn right, here.” A good feature to be aware of is having the GPS device actually say the street name of the road you need to turn on. So, instead of “Turn right, here,” a better GPS system would say, “Turn right on Highland Avenue,” or “Take a left onto the entrance to I-95.” Devices with spoken street names usually start around $300.

Another feature to look out for is real-time traffic and weather capability

Wouldn’t it be nice if your GPS device could not only tell you how to drive from Atlanta, Georgia to Charlotte, North Carolina, but could alert you to bad traffic conditions in time to take a detour? Well, many of the more expensive units can. How does your GPS device know what the traffic is like up ahead? GPS devices that have this capability are tuned to either an FM or satellite radio frequency that broadcasts this information. If your device has this function, then it will usually come with a free trial subscription to this service. After that, it’s going to cost you, but the cost is fairly low, especially considering how useful real-time traffic is. Along with real-time traffic usually comes real-time weather — an added bonus.

Any of the Garmin nuvis from the nuvi 350 up have FM traffic capability. The nuvi 350 runs slightly less than $300 at Amazon. If you want a Magellan that route you around hold ups, you’ll be paying $300 to $350. All of the Tom Tom’s have this capability, even the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition, which is one of the cheapest units on the market, currently running around $200.

Do you regularly use your cell phone while driving?

I know I do. It’s problematic to hold the cell phone in one hand and negotiate your way through heavy traffic on a busy interchange. If your phone supports Bluetooth technology you can get a GPS receiver with that same capability and actually use it to make and receive calls. You answer an incoming call by just tapping on the touch screen. You make an outgoing call by either entering the number in your GPS’s touch screen key pad or by accessing numbers stored in the device — downloaded from your phone when you first set up your receiver. So, now instead of wearing that silly Bluetooth headset and looking like a member of the Borg Collective, you can just have your GPS device do double duty. If you make a lot of calls while driving, this is definitely a feature you need to think about.

As to what Bluetooth is going to run you, the Garmin nuvi 360 is their lowest priced Bluetooth model. It currently sells for slightly more than $300. Virtually all of their upper end products have Bluetooth. Two of the Magellan Maestro series, the 3250 and the widescreen version, the 4250 have Bluetooth. They run around $280 and $350 respectively. The Tom Tom GO series has Bluetooth. They run anywhere from $350 to $900.

Multi-destination routing

It’s not something that I use much, but it’s definitely worth knowing about. Multi-destination routing means you can enter multiple routes into your GPS at one time and it will calculate the best route that includes all of your destinations.

Garmin’s nuvi 700 series does this, as well as a couple of their StreetPilot series. Most of the Magellan Maestro series does this – they can be programmed to hold up to 20 separate destinations. As for Tom Tom, the GO 510 can hold up to 15 routes. As to price, the nuvi 700s run anywhere from mid-$400s to almost $700. The Magellans are slightly less expensive, running from mid-$200s to the mid-$300s. The GO 510 costs slightly less than $500 at Amazon right now. The voice prompts, Bluetooth, and multi-destination routing are three of the more important features to consider.

Also, you want to keep in mind what maps your device comes with. And, almost as important, how many preprogrammed Points of Interest are included in its database.

Points of Interest

(POIs) are names, addresses, and phone numbers of possible destinations, anything from the nearest Starbucks to Yellowstone National Park. The lower priced units come with less than 1 million POIs. That’s not enough, if you’re going to be using this feature. For use outside of your normal travel routes, you really want a few million POIs. Virtually all GPS devices now come with this, except the lowest prices models, like the Garmin nuvi 200, which only has regional maps and less than 1 million POIs. (There’s nothing wrong with fewer POIs, if you’re not planning on needing them, but they sure can come in handy.)

Yet another feature to keep in mind is screen size. The standard size is 3.5 inches. This is measured on a diagonal. So the screen for the nuvi 270, for instance, measures 2.8″ by 2.1″. The so called widescreens measure 4.3 inches on the diagonal. You’re actually getting 70% more screen this way.

Why is screen size important?

It has to do with ease and safety of use while driving. Personally, I like a wide screen, but then again, my car is fairly big and has a big windshield. The difference in price between a regular screen and a widescreen is about $80. That might be money well spent. On the other hand, if you drive a smaller vehicle with less windshield area, the wider screen might be more of a hazard than a safety feature.

Currently at Amazon, Garmin nuvis (their newer product line) run from $179 for the nuvi 200 to $699 for the nuvi 770. The Magellan Maestros are running from $168 for the 3100 to $356 for the widescreen 4250. Tom Tom’s GPS systems are currently priced from slightly less than $200 for the Tom Tom One, 3rd Edition, to $899 for the GO 700 (which is overpriced).

Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate. Even with a good GPS review, with all of these confusing choices it’s tempting to just wait for whatever the next model is going to be. What you’re missing by doing that is lots less stress while driving! Imagine, if you’re a guy being able to always (really) know where you’re going despite what your wife or girlfriend says. And, even better, if you’re a woman you won’t have to pester your husband or boyfriend to stop at the local gas station and admit that they’re lost – not an easy admission for a guy. (I should know!)

To get even more information about these wonderful devices, hop on over to my website. You can get the link down below.

Lee Cole is a GPS enthusiast who has spent countless hours learning about and using GPS devices. He runs an informative website called http://www.hotgpsdeals.com There you can get more information to help you compare GPS systems.

If you’re looking for a great deal on a high powered entertainment laptop, you need to check out Toshiba Qosmio X505 discounts. They are offered by the best internet computer stores to help consumers save money on Toshiba products. This computer in particular comes with everything one would expect for a gaming PC.

It delivers great performance by combining a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M card and 4-6 GB of DDR3 RAM. Most laptops have less than 3 GB of RAM, so having twice that will allow you to do just about everything you want without worrying about sluggish or slow performance.

The display itself is huge. It’s an 18.4″ HD screen with a native resolution of 1920×1080. The lid is black with attractive red accents, and the mouse buttons and trim are a metallic red. There are even red system lights that illuminate the keyboard and touchpad. It’s a very neat looking machine that really stands out when compared to the standard, dull gray color commonly found on laptops.

The base Toshiba Qosmio X505 specs include:

· Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

· Intel Core i7-720QM processor

· 4 GB DDR 1066MHz memory (upgradable to 6 GB)

· HD TruBrite TFT LCD display

· NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M Graphics Memory 2298 MB total

· Built-in webcam and microphone

· Wi-Fi wireless networking

· Bluetooth V2.1

· Hard drive with 500 GB HDD

· Available optical Blu-ray ROM and SuperMulti drive and writer

This laptop also has plenty of ports along with a 5-in-1 memory card reader to keep you up to date with multimedia technology. The ports include: audio in/out, FireWire, HDMI, RGB, Ethernet, ExpressCard, and an eSATA USB port that supports the “Sleep and Charge” feature. You can hook everything from phones to HDTV’s up to this computer!

The keyboard also needs to be mentioned in this Toshiba Qosmio X505 review. It’s a spacious, 104 key keyboard that lights up in dim or dark rooms. The keys are glossy, maybe even a bit too glossy for some users, but still easy to type on. Left of the keyboard are a set of media buttons that control the volume, speakers, opening the disc drive and playing discs, launching WMP, and open the Eco utility to monitor the amount of electricity being used by the system.

The touchpad has a light, comfortable surface that makes navigation easy. You can always expect accuracy when playing a game. Unlike a lot of other notebooks, however, this touchpad doesn’t support multi-touch gestures. It’s not that big of a deal, and doesn’t take away from the overall quality of the Toshiba Qosmio X505.

Even though this laptop is obviously pricey, you can bring the price down a great deal with Toshiba Qosmio X505 coupons. Be sure to look at online computer stores to find out how you can configure it to suit your own preferences and save money in the process! Toshiba Qosmio X505 discounts are almost always available, so be sure to use one that will help you save.

About the author:

Nadav Snir operates a website which includes coupons and discounts to the best electronics stores on the web. To get those discounts, visit: http://Great-Info-Products.com/Electronics/index.html

I love using my mobile phone. It’s a great joy to know that I can sit down anywhere and talk to somebody from a long distance without any trouble whatsoever. I am really great at handling and playing and customizing my cell phones, and I have enough fun doing that I could play all day long.

I often have people in my sphere of influence coming up to me asking how I get such a good cell phone usage and quality out of my plan and mobile, and it’s really simple. I am able to distill it down into 3 tips.

• Know your phone. You have to know what your phone consists of. What are the parts and the pieces? Is it made of metal, plastic, aluminum, or what? The contents of the actual phone are going to have a role in the quality of your phone usage.
• Know your self. When do you like to use your phone the most? What is the best environment for you to be speaking and listening in? Do you enjoy a nice lively environment like the inside of a coffee shop, or would your prefer a nature sound like a park? Or even is it pleasing to you to be in perfect silence? This matters!
• Know your carrier. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your service provider? What are the peak hours of usage? Where are the zones where speech is optimal, and where are the areas where connection is dead? By knowing this, you can plan your conversation and phone usage around what they provide.

By knowing when and where to use your phone, you avoid stupid fees. Many phones go by a minute to minute basis, and dropped calls often count as a full minute even though the chat may have only been half a minute. It’s important to know how this all works to maximize the benefits.

This what I tell people. And like I said I am really good at cellular and portable devices. Put my tips to work and let me know how it all goes for you!

A mobile phone user, Kristen Lumbato enjoys teaching people how to get the most out of their phones and plans. She also enjoys beds. See her newest articles on down comforter sets and a visco foam mattress topper FREE for a short time. Kristen loves beds and phones!

This Upro golf GPS review is of one of the newer golf GPS units to come on the market offering many advantages over its competitors.

One such advantage is that you are not required to pay for annual subscriptions for your Golf GPS maps. Unlike many others on the market that tie you in to a yearly contract.

So how do you get the course data?

Well you purchase it for each course; meaning that you if you don’t play on many courses, you can then save yourself a fair amount of cash!

While researching the information for this Upro golf GPS review we were very surprised by its rich feature set.

The Upro GPS is smaller than many of its leading competitors giving you the advantage of not having bulky items on you while taking a swing.

The data for the Upro golf GPS is available in two formats “Basic” and “Pro.”

Basic format shows you the hazards that are on the hole you are on, showing you this data in order from where your position is to the green. As with many similar devices it also shows you information relating to the green itself.

In both cases the GPS will give you information telling you the distance to the front, to the back and in the case of the green will show you the distance to the center. Despite the small size of the unit the information is displayed in an easy to view format allowing you to make easy assessments of the hole you are on.

Pro format offers you three different views of your current hole allowing you to plan out the perfect hole.

The three views the Upro golf GPS are:

• Video flyover shows you a birds-eye view of the hole you to choose allowing you to plan your shots through to the hole.
• Measure, let’s you calculate any distance between two points you select.
• SmartView gives the user three options of views relative to where the person is at that point in time.

To summarize this Upro Golf GPS Review.

The Upro Golf GPS although being such a small unit, about the size of an iPod! Offers some fantastic features and a very clear display allowing the user to plan out the perfect round.

One of the down sides to this unit is the lack of a scoring storage system although with the many other features that it does have it is a worthy companion on the fairway.

Visit our site to see a complete Upro golf GPS review with actual golfer feedback and consumer reports for all top golf GPS units.