I admit it, I’m an Amazon junkie. I get a lot of what I need off the web, and Amazon is one of the best ecommerce sites out there. I was skeptical when I heard about Amazon Prime and their free trial. Two day shipping free- one day shipping for $3.99. Nope, that’s not a typo, for four bucks you can ship millions of eligible items (items Amazon stocks, as opposed to it’s partners) to your house. Free for a whole month. After that they bill you an ANNUAL fee of $79.
Here’s what Amazon has to say:

Amazon Prime members enjoy the following benefits:
Fast Delivery
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items
• Upgrades to One-Day (Overnight) Shipping for just $3.99 per item

Simple Shopping
• No minimum purchase required
• Members-only 1-Click buttons on product pages
• No need to think about shipping charges

Convenient Sharing
• Members can share benefits with up to four family members living in the same household

Free Trial
• Amazon Prime new subscribers are invited to try Amazon Prime free, for one month.
After the Free Trial period, customers will be automatically charged the $79 annual fee unless they choose not to upgrade to regular annual memberships at or before the end of the trial period.

So I signed up for the free month, figured I’d order a few things and then cancel. Well the membership paid for itself when I ordered a big piece of exercise equipment. I paid an additional $4 for next day service, figuring I’d get an email explaining I couldn’t do that. Nope, next day it showed up on my doorstep. Suddenly I was able to expect 2 day delivery for free. I find myself upgrading to next day service quite a bit, it’s just nice to have what I need exactly when I want it. A month goes by, I did some math and my shipping last year was already over what a prime membership costs- so I took the plunge. I’ve been happily ordering for months- if you regularly order from Amazon it’s worth your time to take a close look at Amazon Prime.

GPS (Global Positioning System) is giving people like me, who are chronically late, the inability to use the excuse, “I got lost.” But is that such a terrible thing? I am losing an excuse, but gaining so much more because I am one of those people that also gets lost easily. Please don’t ever ask me to follow directions! For the past several years, MapQuest was my best friend but MapQuest consistently gets the directions wrong! So, GPS has become a savior. But how do you know which global positioning system unit is sized right for you?

GPS is perfect for those people that are always on the go. Regardless of where you are traveling, a global positioning system can help get you there. However, your chosen mode of transportation is going to help you to decide which global positioning system is best for your situation. The majority of us will be able to easily use a simple GPS system that can be left in the car. Others will need more portability, or perhaps a marine GPS.

Portable GPS navigation is especially important when traveling or for those people living in cities. A portable device will give you the ability to bring your GPS device with you to use in rental cars. Additionally, it can be difficult to navigate through large cities. It is hard to know which end of Boylston Street you need to be on in Boston. However, a portable global positioning system or even a handheld GPS can help get you where you need to be.

Many cellular phones are now including global positioning system as part of their services. Granted, you will likely have to pay extra for these services, but it may be worth it in order to make it on time to all of those special occasions!

When choosing a GPS, you will also want to consider cost. Just like a cellular phone, you are using a service. Your global positioning system uses satellites to tracks your location as well as where you are going. So, in addition to the cost of purchasing the device, you need to consider if a monthly cost is associated with using their global positioning system service.

A final consideration when choosing the right GPS device is to know just how many capabilities you want from your system. Some global positioning systems can pick up XM Radio. Others can play games or connect to the internet. One of these devices may peek your interest more than a GPS that simply shows you which way to go!

Now that you have a better understanding of exactly what a global positioning system can offer you, it should be a little bit easier to discern which one is right for you. Whether you want something simple to use (like my tech-phobic father-in-law) or you want something that can show you the way and whip up a seven course dinner, there is a GPS system for you. With ever changing technology, we may see that seven course dinner sooner than we think!

You can find the latest version of this article and read any updates here: Choosing a GPS Form Factor

I absolutely love my Garmin Forerunner 305. It reliably tracks my heart rate, pace and mileage. I live in a relatively flat area, and I’ve never had a problem with it dropping a signal. The setup was a breeze, and downloading is painless. I highly recommend it. But don’t just take my word for it, check out the HUNDREDS of reviews in the store. You can find the Garmin Forerunner 305 for about $210 in our store. The runners group at blog catalog also have quite a few comments on the Garmin Forerunner 305.