Dads and grads – New GPS ratings

As school begins to wind down, many families may be planning road trips, or searching for the right gift for graduation or father’s day. If that describes you, then a portable GPS unit may be just the answer you’re looking for. We have updated our GPS ratings with new units, as well as the pricing on the dozens of others that are still available.

While we tested models in the past weeks that spans that full spectrum, there is a clear trend of premium features working their way do toward budget models.

The latest Rated navigators include:

Alpine PND-K3msn - A full-featured, multimedia unit, the PND-K3msn is similar to the PND-K3 and it marks a significant improvement over previously tested Alpine units.

Garmin Nuvi 885T – A flagship navigator, the Nuvi 885T with voice recognition improves upon the Nuvi 880 with the latest Garmin software that includes a reality view and lane guidance.

Nextar Q4-01  - A budget wide-screen navigator, the Q4-01 touts an MP3 player and photo viewer.

TomTom One 140 / 140 S – The latest One pushes the boundaries for a basic navigator, adding lane assistance and reality views.

TomTom Go 740 Live – The innovative Go 740 Live is equipped with a cellular modem, making it a "connected" device ready for traffic, weather, fuel prices, and a Google search right out of the box. (A subscription is required for this service.)

Our testing continues, with several new units from Magellan and TomTom now being evaluated.

—Jeff Bartlett

For more information on portable automotive GPS navigation systems, see our Ratings and buying advice and watch our video guide. Discuss GPS devices in the forums.