Tom-Tom vs. Magellan
Best In-car Sat Nav Available

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Wow! We are still talking about an in-car navigation system, right? How can some electronic device make your life easier and more productive? Well, the answer lies in what the navigation system can do.

First, navigation systems come with some general features almost all other in-car navigation systems have. Our goal today is to investigate those features that make each in-car navigation system unique devices. That perfect in-car navigation system depends on what you need and expect from the in-car navigation system. Can that in-car navigation device deliver?

There are three basic types of in-car sat-navigation systems - in-dash sat-navigation, plug-and-play sat-navigation, and radio / sat-navigation combo. For this comparison, the popular plug-and-play sat-navigation system features will be compared. The Magellan RoadMate 2200T is one of many impressive sat-navigation systems by Magellan. Perhaps, if by nothing other than reputation, the Magellan RoadMate 2200T has the most, the latest, and the best features. However, the Tom-Tom GO 510 is another popular and impressive sat-navigation system available. By comparing features of both, deciding which one additional feature is a necessity with any sat-navigation system is simplistic.

With the Magellan RoadMate 2200T, the user is offered all the traditional features of a sat-navigation system, but many other features make this sat-navigation system unique and highly sought after. The colour screen is a hefty 3.5-inches with touch screen controls making it user-friendly and relatively easy to use and read. The Magellan RoadMate 2200T offers a MP3 player with playback capabilities, and both 2-D and 3-D map viewing is available.

An obvious interest point when choosing a sat-navigation system would be the points of interest. With over 150,000 points of interests available, the Magellan RoadMate 2200T promises to get you what you need when you need it. The Magellan RoadMate 2200T, however, is not Bluetooth capable, and live traffic service is available at an extra charge.

Finally, the Magellan RoadMate 2200T offers a 1 year limited warranty on parts and labour. In addition, the battery expectancy between charges is a healthy 8-hours.

Next let's take an investigative look at the Tom-Tom GO 510. The Tom-Tom GO 510 has an impressive colour touch screen of 4-inches, and measures in at up to 480 by 272 pixels. The 3-D map views allows for detailed images and instructions in a realistic and easy-to-use form. The internal battery is rechargeable lasts for a maximum of 4-hours, and the Tom-Tom GO 510 has input and controls for that favourite iPod.

Obviously, points of interest are important with any sat-navigation systems, and with over 5-million points of interest, the Tom-Tom GO 510 is going to keep you going where you need to go - and perhaps a few places you have yet to discover. Getting lost is next to impossible with the Tom-Tom GO 510 simply because the automatic route recalculation will keep you going in the right direction.

The Tom-Tom GO 510 is Bluetooth ready, and offers a suction-cup mount for the most reliable and easy to mount system. And to finish off the great benefits offered with Tom-Tom GO 510, this top-of-the-line sat-navigation comes equipped with a built-in speaker allowing for voice prompts in over 35 different languages. To top off the Tom-Tom GO 510, a new purchase includes a 2 year limited warranty on parts and labour.

Again, both the Tom-Tom and the Magellan offer impressive view screens of various sizes with 2D and/or 3D options. Both of these features are important, but the options available will be best suited to individual tastes.

Finding that one option that matters most when choosing an in-car sat-navigation system is as simple as asking one question - what is the main reason a person wants or needs an in-car sat-navigation in the first place? The majority of people answer it offers an ease of finding locations when travelling either around the local area or travelling globally. This means that for me, the one feature most important with in-car sat-navigation systems is the number of points of interest. After all, with more points of interest, the user is able to find more and spend less time getting there.