Best selling GPS for November 2010

My top ten GPS list comes with a twist this time around. This monthly feature usually ranks units according to the most popular GPS Tracklog reviews. But during the holidays, there are enough sales made here and on our GPS Deals site, through our various partners, that we can rank actual units sold. Of course, auto units dominate, especially this time of year; the handheld list carries little meaning below the top eight spots, with the remaining models selling just a couple each. I’ll save further caveats and analysis for the end. On to the rankings…

Top selling auto GPS

1. TomTom XXL 540TM
2. Garmin nuvi 265WT (tie)
2. TomTom XXL 540M (tie)
4. Garmin nuvi 255W
5. TomTom XL 340TM
6. Garmin nuvi 1450
7. Garmin nuvi 1490LMT
8. TomTom EASE
9. Garmin nuvi 295W (tie)
9. Garmin nuvi 260W (tie)
9. TomTom XL 335SE (tie)

Top selling sport / handheld GPS

1. Garmin Forerunner 305
2. Garmin Oregon 450
3. Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx
4. Garmin eTrex Venture HC
5. Garmin Forerunner 405CX
6. DeLorme PN-60w + SPOT Communicator
7. Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx (tie)
7. DeLorme PN-60 (tie)
8. Garmin Dakota 10 (tie)
8. Garmin Dakota 20 (tie)
8. Garmin Forerunner 405 (tie)
8. Garmin GPSMAP 62s (tie)
8. Garmin GPSMAP 62st (tie)
8. Garmin GPSMAP 78 (tie)
8. Garmin Oregon 450t (tie)
8. Garmin Oregon 550 (tie)
8. Geomate.jr (tie)
8. Magellan eXplorist GC (tie)

Caveats

This list is affected by several factors – sales and promotions on specific units, which of my reviews rank better on search engines, how positive (or not) I was about a particular unit, previous top ten lists, and probably a few other factors. Nevertheless, our rankings haven’t been too far off others in the past, and it’s interesting to look anyway.

Analysis

On the auto side, TomTom’s undercutting of Garmin on price definitely had an effect. The TomTom XXL 540TM outsold the next model by more than 3:1. And with deals like this, it’s no surprise. What features sold well? 5” screens and lifetime maps and/or traffic. Also notable is Garmin having several 2xx series units in the list – these older models were about the only place they could approach TomTom on price.

I don’t have a lot of comments on the handheld side, though it is easy to see why Garmin is hot on fitness – the Forerunners did quite well. Newer Garmins, such as the 62 series, just weren’t discounted, which pushed them way down in the rankings.

And a thank you

Thanks once again to all of our loyal readers for your patience and support over the past week or two. We do make a small amount with each purchase, and it is the only way we can justify the time and money spent running GPS Tracklog.