The holiday buying season is revving its economic engine and getting ready to take off, as turkey-filled shoppers prepare to storm retailers on Black Friday. We have been monitoring the offers on portable navigation devices (PNDs), and finding great deals on many well-rated products. Last year, GPS navigators were a door-buster favorite, but then it seemed many of the products were from second-tier brands, borderline outdated, or simply not very good. That really isn’t the case this year.

For shoppers, there are many choices this year that would make great gifts or personal indulgences. To ensure the device is not only affordable but packs all the features that matter most to you, check our more than 303 GPS model pages. Dig deeper with our detailed ratings and scan the user reviews. (We also have handheld hiking GPS ratings and buying advice, as well as mobile phone app reviews.)

How to choose

In selecting a GPS unit for a gift, consider the features that will truly matter to the recipient. A wide screen and text-to-speech for spoken street names are key features, and reality view is a welcomed addition. Other features such as Bluetooth connectivity, MP3 playback, and even traffic may matter much less. In fact, past Consumer Reports surveys have shown these features were often not used by GPS owners who had them.

Beyond features, consider buying a recent unit. GPS product cycles mean new product is introduced at least twice a year. Buying the previous generation can save some money and still provide contemporary features. Going further back means a device that may be a touch dated and have a map and points of interest database that is already dusty. With this in mind, scanning the deals identified in our blogs this week, there are a number of devices that stand out.

Door-busting products

For Garmin, at this point I would pass on the Nuvi 200 and instead choose the Nuvi 205 as a pocket-friendly basic device. There is no practical price difference, and the 2x5 series is more recent. The hot ticket there seems to be the 255W, a well-equipped wide-screen model with spoken street names.

TomTom has a couple of appealing, low-cost widescreen models in the sales flyers, the XL 325-SE and XL 340 S. Both of these devices have helpful text-to-speech ability and are available for less than $100.

Magellan, the third-largest GPS maker in the U.S. market, is less represented in the promotions we have seen this holiday season. In our tests, Magellan products have often had mediocre performance, but some of the latest devices have been quite good. And some such units are being highlighted in sales, including the Roadmate 1440.

Again, as you map out your shopping strategies, do take the time to check the Ratings and make sure that if you’re getting up at the crack of dawn, you buy the right unit.

Also see: Black Friday GPS deals online
Countdown to Black Friday: Best GPS deals

—Jeff Bartlett