Features of a GPS

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Published on Tuesday, 29 November 2011 05:27

Written by Nikhil Chowdhary

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Features of a GPS

This article will help in you gaining critical knowledge off the major features in a GPS – both advertised and not advertised in order to enable you make an informed GPS buying decision. We will divide the features in functionality and physical attributes.

Functionality Attributes:

1. Text to speech (TTS): This basically means that the GPS announces the street names along with the directions so you would hear “Turn right at Washington Ave in 1000 feet” instead of just hearing “Turn right in 1000 feet”. What this means in computer parlance is that the GPS software has the capability to speak out written words (the words being the street names that are written in the map).This is a very widely touted feature of a GPS but is essentially just a software feature and doesn’t have anything to do with the hardware of a GPS – any GPS with a speaker can potentially have TTS if the software allows it or if you hack it (please don’t take this as an advice to hack your device).

2. Real time traffic monitoring / reporting: This means that the GPS has the ability to display traffic jams and construction zones on your map with real time updates over FM or data channels. Some GPSs have a built in receiver for these services while others allow you to install an add-on receiver. Some might require you to pay a subscription fee for traffic updates while some might give you a lifetime of free traffic updates. Some GPS models will automatically re-route you based on traffic updates as well. Good feature to have if you live or drive in crowded downtown areas prone to traffic jams/frequent constructions. Implementation of real time traffic monitoring is patchy at best though from what I’ve heard. It creates a few false alarms thereby causing you to be re-routed unnecessarily and in some cases it fails to generate alerts even when there are traffic jams. Never used this personally though so cannot give concrete test results.

3. Lane Guidance/Assistance/Junction View: This means that the GPS will tell you which lane you should be in to prepare for upcoming turns / intersections / exits. This is mostly enabled for complex intersections and might be available in terms of small lane guidance marks on top of your current screen, images of street signs or real world images of the road with the actual street signs. The feature is useful if you drive in an area which has a lot of confusing intersections on major freeways (I live in Sacramento and find this extremely useful for I-5/I-80/I-50 intersections which are quite confusing). I prefer ones that do not give you real world images (even though this is considered to be an advanced functionality) since the images cover the whole screen and for the duration of the intersection you cannot see your progress.

4. POIs (Points of Interest) / Waypoints: A point of interest, or POI, is a specific point location that someone may find useful or interesting. A GPS point of interest specifies, at minimum, the latitude and longitude of the POI. A name or description for the POI is usually included, and other information such as altitude or a telephone number may also be attached. GPS applications typically use icons to represent different categories of POI on a map graphically. (source: Wikipedia). Typically GPS specs will include the number of POIs in the included map. They don’t provide details, but a bit of research on the net will probably show you the data included with the specific model. Time and again I have found this to be the most useful feature of a GPS map especially at unknown locations. Picture yourself in a new town in your car with no internet access craving for Thai food. If you GPS POI collection includes this specific category of restaurants (POI collections) – this should be no sweat at all. Just look up in the relevant category and it will list all Thai restaurants sorted by distance from your current location (note that this distance in most cases is “as the crow flies” – when you actually set the POI as a destination, you will notice a different distance), but it will give you a fair idea. Based on your GPS and map the POI detail might also include the phone number of the place which enables you to call in advance and make reservations, check timings etc. All in all a widely used feature if you frequently find yourself in new cities.

5. On-Board Maps: Nearly all GPSs have this – and you should not even venture close to one that doesn’t.

6. GPS Receiver: This governs how quickly the GPS is able to acquire a satellite signal and how reliable/strong the signal lock is. I think all modern GPSs have a good enough receiver. But it wouldn’t harm to read detailed reviews of the specific model for any significant signal acquisition problems.

7. Card Slots: Most GPSs have two type of memories – one the built in flash memory and two add-on card based memories. The maps on the GPS can be on either one (again might vary from model to model). But its good to have a card slot for memory expansion. My GPS had just 1 GB of built in memory while the newer maps need 1.7 GBs. So had I not had a card slot for expansion I would have had to do with a gimped map with fewer POIs. Cards can also enable you to bring along music/pictures/videos for playback on the GPS – but quite frankly that’s one feature I will never use in this day and age of portable media players that are specially designed for that job.

8. Flash Memory: Built in memory in a GPS. Its good to find out if your GPS has a large enough built in memory. It should be atleast 2GB to be able to hold most current maps.

9. Bluetooth/Hands free Calling: This means that your GPS device can work like a Bluetooth headset. When a call comes into your phone, the caller ID information and the notification of an incoming call can display on your GPS. This can be handy if your phone is in your pocket or purse, and offers a safer way to take the call while driving. Uses the GPS speaker and an inbuilt microphone. Again something that I have never used and will likely never use due to other dedicated devices offering better functionality (any Bluetooth headset).

10. Image Viewer & Audio/Video Player: This means that the GPS has the ability to display your images, play audio files (MP3s, Audio Books, etc.) or play video files (all from the SD/Micro SD card in the card slot). Again features that I have never used and probably never will use due to other dedicated devices. But might be useful for long trips in lieu of a dedicated media player. The audio doesn’t sound good on any GPS I have used so far, so will be useful only if your car music system as an Aux-In feature and you connect your GPS audio out to the car Aux-in.

11. Voice Prompts: This basically means that the GPS will give you voice instructions on any maneuver that you need to make (turns, exits, etc.) All modern auto GPSs have this and its not worthwhile to go for a GPS that doesn’t have this feature unless you want to keep staring at the GPS screen at short intervals while driving.

12. 3D Map view: Most GPS navigation systems have what they call 3D maps, however those maps are not really 3D at all. They just take the 2D data and set a viewing angle. They mostly make your display appear as if you are flying over the road at a height of a few meters. All of the roads themselves are still drawn without any terrain contours. Some GPS systems also give 3D landmarks. This is mostly a default feature and most GPS companies will not even advertise it. Its not worthwhile to buy a GPS which does not offer 3D maps since the view ability of your progress in greatly enhanced by a 3D map view.

13. Auto-Reroute: This means that the GPS will automatically re-calculate your route in case you miss a turn or exit. Again, most modern GPSs will offer this by default. Its not worthwhile to buy a GPS that does not offer this.

14. Voice Control / Address Input: This means that the GPS software has a voice recognition engine that will enable it to take voice instructions from you. This might be a good feature since it allows for complete hands-free operation of a GPS. I have personally never used this, but from what I have read and heard, its mostly a hit or miss feature and doesn’t work all the time as advertised.

15. Map Share: This is a feature in certain brands of GPSs which allows crowd sourced map updates to be made available to the entire customer group of that brand of GPS. works like an incremental map update for your area if a substantial number of people have reported inconsistencies or new routes from your area.

Physical attributes:

1. Screen Size: Depends mostly on personal preference along with some consideration towards eyesight, driving maturity, finger thickness (for touch screens) etc. For example: I have acute short-sightedness corrected to 20/20 with glasses and have no trouble getting directions from a 3.5” screen size device. Auto GPSs are available from anything ranging from 3.5” to 7.0”. I would recommend any size between 3.5” to 5.0” – beyond that I think the GPS starts obstructing your view. Remember when we talk of screen sizes – its always measured diagonally be it for GPSs, TVs or any other device that uses a display screen as far as I know.

2. Screen Resolution:

3. Touch: Any automotive GPS that you buy should have a touch screen. Non touch screen GPSs are clumsy and difficult to use in my experience. This feature is more or less omnipresent, so I wont do an in depth analysis.

4. Voice Volume: The GPS should be loud enough to be audible above the ambient noise (if your car doesn’t have good sound insulation, at high speeds on freeways it becomes difficult to hear most GPSs). I have found this to be a problem with many GPSs. Some GPSs also come with FM transmitters to enable audio transmission through the car speakers.