Portable GPS units are quickly becoming the road map of the new millennium. As the units have become more affordable, they have become almost as common in vehicles as cell phones and digital cameras. Small, affordable models, including the Magellan 1412 and the Garmin 205W, don't offer the bells and whistles of more expensive models, but offer you the same features as paper road maps in a small, portable package that doesn't need to folded and unfolded when you need to find your way.
Size
A GPS unit's size relates directly to how portable and convenient it is for you: the smaller a unit is, the easier it is to take with you. The Magellan 1412 is 4.57 inches wide, 3.27 inches high, .73 inches deep and weighs 7.1 ounces. The Garmin 205W is 4.8 inches wide, 2.9 inches high, .8 inches deep and weighs 6.1 ounces.
Screen Size
The two most common sizes for display screen on GPS units is a 3.8-inch standard screen and a 4.3-inch wide-screen display. The 4.3-inch wide screen offers you not only a larger overall screen--making it easier to see--but also gives you a fuller presentation so you can see adjacent and nearby roads. Both the Magellan 1412 and the Garmin 205W have the 4.3-inch wide-screen display.
Maps
Both the Magellan 1412 and the Garmin 205W come preloaded with maps to get you going. Besides road maps, they also include interesting landmarks and points of interest, such as restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, that you may want to find on your trip. The Magellan 1412 comes with a Secure Digital (SD) memory card that includes maps of all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and Canada. The Garmin 205W has maps of the lower 48, Hawaii and Puerto Rico built into its internal memory. Both models allow you to add new or different maps to make your GPS even more functional.
Spoken Directions
GPS units have the ability to speak your directions to you. The Garmin 205W has basic voice assistance: turn-by-turn directions. Turn by turn simply tells you when it's time to turn onto a new road: "Turn left in 500 feet." The Magellan 1412 has a more advanced voice assistance system called text-to-speech (TTS). TTS not only tells you when it's time to turn but speaks the street name to you as well: "Turn left on Jackson Street in 500 feet."
Battery
In order to take full advantage of your GPS's portability, you need the unit to have a battery that is strong enough to run for a while when it's not connected to a power source. Both the Magellan 1412 and the Garmin 205W are equipped with rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs. The Magellan 1412's battery can last for up to 3 hours in between charges, and the 205W's battery can last for up to 4 hours between charges.
Price
As of October 2009, Magellan has a suggested retail price of $229.99 on its website for the 1412 and Garmin has a suggested price of $189.99 for the 205W. Both companies caution that other retailers have different packages and that those retailers determine the final selling price of the unit.
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