What is GPS?
The Global Positioning System (GPS) uses satellites to transmit signals to a GPS unit on earth to accurately identify a person’s direction, speed location and time. It was developed twenty years ago by the US military because of the security needs of the time. Today, it can be used by anyone provided they posses a GPS enabled device or unit.
GPS devices can be practically used in almost any situation that you can think of, whether it is commercial, military or recreational. In the scientific arena, it has been widely used for global navigations, scientific and aeronautical researches, and even for handling the probabilities of catastrophes like earthquakes and tornadoes. For the everyday lay person, probably the best know use of GPS is as an in car navigational device.
Why Use an In-Car GPS Unit?
A GPS car unit is a device that you use to navigate while you are in your car. They can be fixed to the car or portable. With a GPS unit in your car easily tracked by the satellites, the device will safely and accurately direct you to all the places you want to go to and tell you what is the best route to get there.
You may be surprised to discover how easy they are to use. The gadget will always provide the user with user friendly options, right through to the successful completion of your journey. For travelers navigating across the globe, one could follow their journey right from the dashboard of the car. The weather and climatic conditions are closely monitored from your driver’s seat, and you get the updates on events around you.
Brands of In-Car GPS Units
These devices come in different varieties and at different costs. Spending on an in-car GPS unit is proportional to the devices features and quality.
The Garmin Nuvi 660 comes with a wide and clear screen along with hands free communications from your phone for your convenience. The HP iPaq rx5900 Travel Companion is relatively affordable. It is smaller but has all that you need. Listen to music and indulge in games to break the boredom.
Then there is the Magellan Maestro 4250, one of the most popular GPS devices. With this GPS, you receive real and updated traffic as you cruise along the highway. Enjoy the Bluetooth feature and sit back as you safely navigate home. The Pioneer AVIC-Z2 is a sizable unit with wider memory capacity, thus it can refine the details of the maps even better.
When buying a GPS unit, you should choose one that is at the upper end of your budget so that you can get the best of what GPS devices offer. There are several other competitors which are just as good as those units outlined above, with marvelous performance. Some of them will be a little cheaper with comparable features and GPS units in general are coming down in price everyday. Make sure you test drive any GPS unit before you buy.
Today, most new cars already have the GPS unit installed when you buy them. This makes it more convenient and you have the warranty advantage for any breakages or fault. However, you don’t get to choose what unit comes with the car which can be a disadvantage when the unit isn’t that user friendly.
While GPS car units offer many advantages, some caution is necessary when you are looking to purchase a GPS unit for your car. You want something that is very user friendly and is of high quality. The lesson is: try before you buy.

As compared to the past, the satellite today has moved miles ahead. Today, the GPS unit can work from any weather conditions with the availability of a signal from three to four signals. With this in place, the satellite is able to calculate the unit positions. The GPS does not require subscriptions like the case is with mobile phones, although some of the GPS have extra features which require a monthly charge. This includes real time traffic updates like it is with Garmins Nuvi that has free life traffic for the specific unit.The parallel multi channel design deserve all due thanks for the accuracy that they have instilled in the GPS today. These satellites have features that enhance quick reaction. Not only do they lock onto satellites but they maintain their stand on lock in even a place that has a close proximity of buildings for instance a city. They have the capability to maintain signals to a level of not below eight satellites. If in any case they fall to the eighth signal connectivity is still experienced.After the wide area augmentation was developed by the Federal Aviation Administration. There came a lot of dependency on it other than the purpose it was made to serve. It was originally aimed at augmenting the global positioning system to enhance the accuracy, availability as well as integrity. This came as a great advantage as it was later used widely to measure tiny variations in signals and most of the GPS receivers are heavily relying on this system today.The stations in this case are quite vital because they are used in measurement as well as sending references of messages to the geostationary satellites which are WAAS enabled. Accuracy in this case is improved as computation takes place on the earth as a result of correction messages being send as data for the computation process. With the competitive market that we have today, much has been achieved since WAAS enabled GPS have proved accuracy working within proximity of three meters hence securing the best position in the market today. This GPS is capable of tracking your car by indicating the direction it is heading as long as you have the mapping that bucks “lane assist” direction. These satellites are currently rocking the market bearing in mind that we have no charges imposed on them than it is the case with cell phones. The GPS systems has not only been useful in tracking but also in the field of political issues as it is widely used by different governments today in communication using radio call based devices. Countries are able to communicate securely via encryption and decryption of information. The advancement is still at a demanding pace and it is hoped to penetrate quickly in to the market.

Wireless generally refers to any electronic device not connected to an electronic conductor or wire. Wireless operations allow longer range communication. It is incorporated in many applications.
Wireless technologies today are being applied to voice and messaging devices, Internet-enabled devices and data networking. Voice and messaging devices include cellular phones, two-way business radios, and pagers. These gadgets operate within networks that offer nationwide coverage. Some of the more popular providers are AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. They operate in varying frequency bands as directed by the FCC.
The Internet -enabled mobile phones and personal digital assistant (or PDA) are devices that can be connected to the Internet. Both the wireless application protocol (WAP) and wireless markup language (WML) were designed to enable these devices to connect to the Internet.
Wireless data networking devices include a router, USB adapter, and access points. Wireless router is a device found in WLAN. Its job is to specify the network point to which a packet will be forwarded. A packet is a unit of data transported between an origin and port in the Internet. This device can also operate as a hardware firewall. It provides security against hacking because the IP Address of the computer is not directly exposed to the Internet. The new model uses 802.11g that can transmit up to 54 megabits per second.
Universal Serial Bus (USB) was designed to allow peripherals to be connected in the computer with the use of a standard interface socket. A USB adapter is used to attach a USB-port device to a non USB-port device. USB3.0 is the newest specification introduced in the market today. It has a transmission rate of up to 5.0 gigabits per second.
Access point is a base station, a LAN with the use of Ethernet cable. It receives and transmits data between WLAN and the wired network infrastructure. Access points support the standard of Wi-Fi communication.
Bluetooth is a technology specification designed for short range communication between mobile phones, personal computers, and other portable devices. This technology is being used by a lot of companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, IBM, Intel, and Lucent. Bluetooth covers a distance of up to 10 meters in a 2.4GHz band.
One of the newest products in the world of wireless technology is GPS or Global Positioning System. This device can provide an accurate time and location data for unlimited number of people in any place of the world. This system has three segments (components): the space, the control, and the user segment. The space segment consists of 24 operating satellites; it transmits one-way signal that gives GPS satellite position and time. The control segment is composed of worldwide monitor and control stations. It keeps the satellites in their proper orbits through command maneuvers. It also adjusts the satellite clocks. The control segment tracks GPS satellites and uploads navigational data.
The user segment is made up of GPS receiver equipment. It receives signals from GPS satellites. The transmitted information is used in calculating the user’s position and time.
GPS System Top Sellers
Garmin Forerunner 305 Handheld GPS Receiver
This is the GPS personal trainer version. It tracks and stores information that charts pace, time, distance, and heart rate.
Garmin nuvi 660 Car GPS Receiver
Features include language guide, world clocks, calculator, speaker phone, and blue tooth. It also has a larger screen which measures 0.9 x 4.9 x 2.9 inches.
Garmin Zumo 550 Car GPS Receiver
It is specifically designed for motorcycles. This gadget is built with waterproof and fuel-resistant plastic. It is preloaded with City Navigator NT street maps. It also has voice directions, and real-time traffic and weather updates.
Humminbird NS25 Car GPS Receiver
Features include chart plotter and fish finder. It has a single beam transducer and split screen view option to show sonar information. Sonar information contains fish ID, structure ID, and fish depth.

A GPS Navigation Device can be used for anything from giving you directions, finding fish, tracking your your child, and even on the golf course. There are different types of GPS navigation devices, such as GPS Systems for your car to map your route, Marine GPS Systems that are able to give topography and water depths, Amber Alert Systems and many more.

A GPS Navigation Device has become a necessity for many people because of their numerous advantages. They can tell you where something or somebody is, and they are now being installed in cell phones or laptops and come in handheld units, in addition to the traditional fish finder in a boat, or car mapping GPS systems.

There are several makers to consider when you are looking for a GPS Navigation Device. One of the leaders in the market is Garmin, who has been manufacturing fish finders for a number of years. Other names are Nokia, TomTom, Magellan and Amber Alert Child Tracker, just to name a few, in this growing market.

The advantages of a GPS navigation device are varied, depending on the use. You can use it to keep from getting lost, for hiking and camping, driving across country, improve a golf game, find fish, navigate through the ocean or track your child, wherever they may be.

Some of the automobile GPS devices may include a voice feature telling you where to turn to get to your destination, so you don’t have to drive and fumble with a map at the same time. On your cell phone, it is a handy feature that can turn an average cell phone into an information center to find the nearest restaurant, store or gas station. You can have an amber alert tracker on your child whether he is out in the yard playing with friends, or in a theme park.

Because a GPS navigation device has become more affordable, it is becoming a common tool for many consumers. It is invaluable for salespeople, who have to make personal sales calls to businesses all over town or all over the country. When you are on vacation, a GPS navigation device can save you countless hours of taking a wrong turn and ending up going the wrong direction.

Professional fishermen have used them for years to find the topography and “dots” that indicate schools of fish. They can auto-pilot a boat, using a GPS navigation device to navigate any waterway they are on. A cell phone can become a GPS tracking device that can indicate your exact location, or that of friends and relatives, when programmed to do so.

Global Positioning Systems or GPS navigation devices have opened the door to more efficient ways to keep track of your loved ones, find your way when lost, or just find the nearest gas station. Many consumers have found them to be an invaluable tool once they have learned to use them for many different purposes. There are so many different makes and models that you can find one to suit your needs, whatever they may be.

When a technology becomes the “IT” product of the holiday season, there’s bound to be some misinformation out there. This year’s hot product is the consumer GPS – and it can truly do some amazing things, including: provide directions with real-time turn-by-turn navigation, help you avoid traffic and even make hands-free cell phone calls with Bluetooth. But there are also some things about GPS that just aren’t true. Here’s a look at some of the biggest myths about GPS technology.

5 Most Common Misconceptions about GPS:

Myth #1: The weather can affect your GPS

Fact: Cloudy or rainy conditions have nothing to do with the performance of your GPS device. Think about it like this: airplanes using GPS devices to navigate through cloudy conditions thousands of times a day. Last time we checked, the commercial aviation system was running without too many GPS-related problems. Well, the same technology they use is found in your car’s GPS devices. The only thing that can truly keep your GPS device from operating at peak performance are tall buildings, mountains and other large structures that may block it’s signal.

Myth #2: The government can track you because of your GPS device

Fact: It is true that some commercial grade GPS devices send out a signal about your whereabouts, the consumer GPS devices sold by Garmin, Magellan and other companies only receive information from satellite systems. While this news will be no doubt disconcerting to conspiracy theorists, the rest of us can breathe a little easier knowing that our whereabouts are private.

Myth #3: GPS devices mean you don’t have to watch the road

Fact: Just because you have a helpful GPS device in your car doesn’t mean you should be any less vigilant as a driver. It is important to watch the road and always pay attention to where you are in journey. In fact, some directions provided by your GPS device may take you through areas in which you don’t want to travel. It is always important to use these directions in conjunction with what you can see with your own eyes, and of course, common sense.

Myth #4: GPS devices don’t work outside of a local area

Fact: The beauty of GPS devices for your car is that they work almost anywhere. That means you can take your family for a cross-country drive and the GPS will provide with information every step of your journey. In fact, many GPS devices can help you find local points-of-interest along the way including parks, museums, restaurants and more.

Myth #5: GPS devices are too expensive

Fact: Of all the falsehoods out there about GPS devices, this one might be the most out of touch. Currently, there are more inexpensive GPS devices out there that at any time in the technology’s history. Even the high end models from Tom Tom, Garmin and others are reasonably priced, and the “basic” units (which are still packed with features) are affordable enough for almost any budget.