For millennia, the human race has looked to the stars for guidance as where to go and where we ve been. By studying the positions of constellations, the moon and the North Star, somehow we found our way. Then, we had astrolabes when we sailed or rowed in massive boats across oceans to find our way. Now, we still look to the stars to find our way. Orbiting satellites operate our portable GPS (Global Positioning System) devices.

<

p>Why You Need A GPS

<

p>Although it might seem like cheating, a portable GPS can get you out of very dangerous situations and just mere frustrating ones. GPS technology started publicized around the first Gulf War, when it served alongside soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force. GPS systems were soon installed in commercial aircraft and boats. Gradually, they have been getting smaller and more accessible to the general public.

<

p>The basic advantage of portable GPS devices is that they keep you from getting lost. That might not seem like much at first, but if you re out on a boat and a storm kicks up or even if you re on the highway and a detour happens and suddenly you re in a neighborhood where you know you can t stop and ask for directions finding out where you are and where you need to go to get home is nothing short of a miracle.

<

p>Star Trek heralded some of the astounding advances that we take for granted today, but definitely in the late 1960 s, the ideas seemed like science fiction. Laser beams, computer discs, the fall of Communism all seemed totally far-fetched. But one of the devices was a sort of portable GPS in their personal communicators. It constantly sent out a signal that let the Enterprise know where that person was unless they were somehow separated from their communicator.

<

p>Shopping Tips

<

p>Before you invest in a portable GPS, consider what you are doing with it. If you are hiking or doing nature documentaries, then you need a portable GPS that can take a few hard knocks. If you are a traveling salesman, then you need a GPS that is dash-mounted and not handheld and doesn t need to be so tough.

<

p>You re best getting a new, name brand portable GPS rather than getting one off of an online auction or a classified ad. A new one will have all of its instructions and warranties. You re still going to be set back around three hundred dollars.