Non

Non-Biased GPS Product Comparison


	Street Atlas 6.0 w/ Earthmate GPS	Sony Skymap w/ etac GPS	*Garmin GPS III+ with MapSource CD**

Ease of installation
Cost	V8 $179.85 w/ Power Adaptor	$100	$500-$600
Map Accuracy¹	Poor	Fair	Poor
Frequent Software Updates
Software Cost	$44.95	$27.99	$200
Works with other GPS devices
Works with other Software			n/a
Disk Space	150-200 meg	250-300 meg	n/a
Memory	n/a	n/a	1.2 meg
Fast to acquire satellite fix²
Able to acquire satellite fix while moving²
Dependable fix³
Fix Accuracy⁴	Poor	Good	Good
Works with handhelds (Palm, Handspring, WinCE)
Fast Screen Refresh⁵
Bread Crumbs⁶		needs improvement
Data Cable Built In			optional
Power Cable Built It	optional		optional
Battery Power
External Antenna⁷			optional
Handheld Operation

* Garmin GPS III+ is a stand alone unit with a small b&w green backlit LCD screen and keypad interface
¹ Important so you know exactly how an upcoming intersection is designed so you can decide what lane you need to be in.
² Keeps you from sitting around too long at the beginning of your drive
³ You need to know that when you look at the screen it will be showing where you actually are there no matter what the topography or atmospheric conditions
⁴ The Military who operate the satellites intentionally introduce an error into the information so NON-MILITARY GPS devices can only get so accurate. However by combining the feeds from more of the satellites you can mathematically reduce the error distance.
⁵ Nothing more irritating then trying to quickly glance at a map just to find it is taking it's time displaying information.
⁶ This feature creates a trail on the map showing where you have been so you can follow the trail backwards if necessary.
⁷ Can improve GPS reception in very poor areas when the GPS receiver is inside the vehicle.