Recently at the market there are four major types of GPS receivers - the Standalone GPS receivers, Bluetooth GPS receivers, CompactFlash GPS expansion cards and Combo devices. In this article we give you one very quick to read but good for novice or future becoming GPS users guide.

Standalone GPS receiver

Standalone GPS receivers come in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit different budgets from the basic monochrome screen ones to full-colour handheld and car navigation systems. There are quite a number of manufacturers in the market, but the more well-known ones are Magellan and Garmin, and they produce a bewildering array of standalone receivers, even down to wristwatch-sized ones specifically meant to monitor activities like jogging and cycling. Some issues to consider when buying a standalone GPS receiver is how much built-in memory it has - normally 1MB to 4MB of internal memory is not a good idea if you’re planning to load a lot of maps into the receiver as most maps tend to take up about 2MB to 5MB. High-end models also feature barometric pressure sensors and even digital compasses to augment the information provided by the GPS unit. Most standalone GPS units are also built to be very tough and water resistant which makes them ideal for hiking and water activities like sailing. more…