Prices of take-anywhere portable GPS navigation devices are falling through the floor.

It’s amazing to think these handy little talking devices were priced at $300 and up only a couple holiday seasons ago. Now look at these stunning deals, coming to a retailer near you starting this Friday — the notorious black Friday when the deals are the best all year:

Wal-Mart is offering a TomTom GPS for $59 as part of its post Thanksgiving early bird “door busters” deals, indicating that the sub $50-GPS can’t be far into the future. Best Buy is offering its own 5 a.m. GPS deal, a Garmin nuvi for $99. Don’t want to brave the frigid morning and endless lines? Amazon is selling its lowest priced GPS, also a Garmin nuvi, for $119, almost half off, including free shipping.

TomTom, Magellan and Garmin face some big challenges in the traditional navigation market. It’s being taken away by iPhone apps and other smart phones.

For only a few dollars, and often no monthly charge, smart phones are able to give drivers turn by turn directions. They no longer need their traditional navigation devices. It poses an even bigger challenge for automakers, who have designed their dashboards around built-in navigation systems that now may become outmoded — fast. Also, away goes another expensive option that buyers will no longer need.

Source article www.content.usatoday.com