High Tech Your Outdoor Fun With The Top Portable GPS Systems

It seems like eons ago when the closest thing to a portable GPS unit was your trusty old compass. They gave you the basic information – which direction you were headed, and which direction you were supposed to be traveling. They also helped Agent Mulder find alien hot spots on The X-Files. They also served many grander purposes throughout history. Hooray for compasses, the directional dinosaurs.

The vast difference between your compass and a portable GPS navigation system could probably fill up the Grand Canyon. It is like comparing Fred Flintstone’s little cinderblock scoot coupe to the ultra sleek Bond-mobile Aston Martin. Fred can get you from point A to point B, but the snazzy Martin can do it faster and without the blisters and calluses. And how much better would Columbus, and countless lost Boy Scouts have faired with a TomTom portable GPS device rather than a compass?

So Much For Hide-And-Go-Seek

What is all the buzz surrounding portable GPS systems anyway? You know that you should think them cooler than sliced bread, but do you know why? GPS stands for Global Positioning System, and was developed by the United States Department of Defense to aid the military in keeping an eye on their people when abroad. Those engineers likely had no idea how dependant the entire world would eventually become on this technology.

Eight satellites orbit the planet, sending a steady stream of exact positioning and time data. Contrary to what you may think, portable GPS devices that are purchased in stores are as precise in their information as those used by the US military. Everyone is plugged into the same system. The Global Positioning System is free for all, and paid for by the US government. Goodwill toward men was probably never so cool before.

The handheld devices are very popular with campers, hikers, mountain climbers, and even soccer moms in giant shopping malls. Road trips and sight seeing excursions can be mapped out with ease. You can venture into the wilderness with an assurance that help can come, no matter where you are. Rain or shine, you can always be found. Just think if Waldo had a portable GPS unit.

GPS technology is now almost everywhere it seems; it is in your car and on your cell phone. Portable GPS systems can be purchased over the counter in stores, and are easy to use and understand. It has taken the place of compasses and maps, by giving precise locations and directions to almost any destination. Road trips are finally becoming fun again. Now if only it could roast marshmallows and count bottles of beer on the wall.