With the explosion of interest in the global positioning and navigation market, the number of suppliers for GPS products has also exploded. In addition to the retailers sanctioned by the major manufacturers of GPS equipment, traditional retailers and e-tailers are offering consumer GPS devices as well. There are literally dozens of companies that produce GPS products and hundreds of companies that sell them.

GPS devices are available in more and more forms, and with more and more accessories than ever before. The fitness market uses GPSs tracking and timing capabilities to measure distance and average speed for joggers, with the ability to plot a backtracking path for runners in unfamiliar surroundings. These devices are also being coupled with heart monitors and other health-related devices that make use of GPSs superior atomic timing ability.

You need not necessarily go to a dedicated GPS provider to find such niche devices. GPS is rapidly becoming a ubiquitous technology, and you can find GPS products marketed in other product categories, too. For example, you can often find GPS watches listed with regular watches, rather than having to search through all of the available GPS products to find them. In the strictest sense then, GPS suppliers are everywhere.

Dedicated, Respected GPS Suppliers
In the consumer GPS market, the two acknowledged leaders are Magellan and Garmin. These two companies put out more GPS devices, for a wider range of uses, than any other companies. They are both backed by large corporations who will likely be around well into the future and available to answer your questions and offer support throughout the life of your GPS device. They also offer extensive software support and mapping capabilities.