Selasa, 17 Februari 2009

The Rise of the Sat Nav

By Paul Hockney Platinum Quality Author

Finding your way around the roads has just got a whole lot easier with the introduction of the in car sat nav. Up to a few years ago the sat nav could only be found in top of the range Mercedes, BMW and other prestigious makers.

However as we all know technology moves at lightening pace and manufacturers have now started making more affordable models which are not only highly accurate but are also very affordable.

Most of the models available today are portable, so they can be used pretty much out of the box. All you do to power the Sat Nav is plug it into your cigarette lighter adaptor and with the aid of a suction pad attach it to the car windscreen, with it angled toward the driver for ease of view.

But one of the best features of the Sat Nav is that you don't always need to take your eyes off the road in order to see where you need to go next. One of the advances in technology is that with voice simulation and all the latest sat nav models come complete with a digital voice that 'speaks' out the directions you need to take. This makes it virtually impossible to get lost and it also means you can drive more safely.

The only problem with digital voices is that they can be very one dimensional and mono-tone which means that on a long journey and if you are taking a lot of detours the sound of the voice can become very irritating. Manufacturers have taken this on board and they now allow users to download more voices, which can then be varied throughout the journey if necessary.

Another useful feature of the sat nav is the ability to download maps for countries all around the world. So if you fancy a trip down to the south of France and need to navigate your way through a foreign country then all you need do is download the maps online and then upload to your Sat Nav. The process is very simple and doesn't cost very much.

Following on from downloadable maps is the ability to download the location of speed cameras around any given country. Of course there is no reason you would need this information if you are sticking to the speed limit. But given that some cameras are more sensitive than others in terms of what speed they flash when you go over the speed limit it may make good sense to pay for this optional extra.

The sat nav has come a long way since it was first introduced into the mainstream for drivers. And what can we look forward to next from the sat nav? Maybe a calm soothing voice that tells you to calm down when you get frustrated in those traffic jams!

Paul Haughney is an avid car driver covering 1,000's of miles each year. He is also a converted Sat Nav user and also has an online resource for cheap in car sat nav.

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