 I have been designing and selling GPS systems for over 9 years now. During that time I have learned quite a bit about consumer GPS products. Here are my GPS picks for Christmas 2009. Car Navigation: Garmin Nuvi 765T The Garmin Nuvi 765T is one of the best all around GPS units on the market. Two features I like about the unit are, Bluetooth and the FM transmitter. Customers using the bluetooth feature for hands-free calling, are less distracted while driving, thus being overall safer drivers. The FM transmitter can send your phone conversation or music, through your car stereo. The Garmin Nuvi 765T also offers 3D buildings and lane preview, in select areas, as well as MP3 and audio book players for long trips. Using the internal music player is great because, when giving directions, it will mute your music, give you a turn prompt, then turn your music back on. The same goes for playing audio books and phone calls via Bluetooth. Another cool, but often overlooked feature, is ECORoute. ECORoute is going to study your driving habits, then use the data to save gas. This in turn will reduce your carbon footprint. These features work together to create an amazing unit. This is one to tell your friends and family about. Hiking and Caching: Garmin Oregon 550 The Oregon 550 is a great new unit from Garmin, with some interesting features such as; a 3 Megapixel Camera, touch screen, 3-axis Compass, Barometer, high sensitivity GPS reciever, 3D mapping and more. Custom maps are a new feature, just introduced by Garmin this Christmas season. It allows you to take a scanned map or a map in JPG format, then geo-reference the map, using google earth. The custom map file will then be copied over to your Oregon GPS. This makes the unit perfect for work or play. The Oregon 55 is very easy to use, and is recommended for both new and advanced users. You can purchase various types of maps to use on the GPS, such as; topography mapping, for back country adventures. Street maps so you can find grandmas house, or marine maps for fishing and more. Fitness: Forerunner 305 The Forerunner 305 is an excellent training gps unit. I have owned one for a few years . The design is primarily for running, but can be used for multiple sports. I get the most use out of my forerunner, on my mountain bike. I record my speed, heart rate and other stats. I use the collected data to analyse, and share my adventures. It can be worn on your wrist so it does not get in your way, or mounted to a handlebar. I also carry it as a backup GPS, on hiking trips. You will get alot of use out of the Garmin Forerunner 305. This is the perfect gift for somebody starting to get serious about fitness training, or the tech geek. It provides a ton of useful data from runs, bike rides, ski trips and more. Monitor your heart rate or just see how many calories you burn on a run or walk. ____________________________________________________________________
I hope these selections give you some good ideas for you, your family and friends. For more info and ordering, feel free to talk to one of our GPS City Customer Representatives. 1.866.GPS.CITY | 
