Nice but....

My wife bought me a Cobra 4500 for Christmas. It's a very attractive vehicle GPS with a big screen, crisp resolution and looks/feels sturdy. However, I have some complaints about the software design that I'd like to share. First, the routing software makes some directional mistakes when on freeways. For instance at freeway interchanges, sometimes it will tell me to get onto the upcoming freeway in the wrong direction (i.e. "keep to the left onto I-10 West" when it should say "keep to the left onto I-10 East"). It will always correct itself at the last second, but the correction usually ends up being just before the ramp. In an unfamiliar city, that would not give me time to make a safe lane change. Also, the 3-D graphics are so poor that I've had to select the traditional map view to navigate. As for traffic, it's hit and miss. Sometimes I get the traffic icon on the map as soon as the radio announces the accident, but sometimes I get it 20 or more minutes later, or not at all! Also, for some unknown reason the software developers decided to program the unit so that the user is unable to get a traffic warning notification pop-up unless a speed reduction was posted with the accident. I've encountered several major accidents where traffic has been at a near standstill, yet the pop-up that allows you to select auto re-route did not come up on the screen (probably because speed reductions are not being posted by the traffic provider, Clear Channel Radio). If the pop-up doesn't activate (which it has yet to do for me), you're forced to use the normal detour function to get around the accident. And sometimes, the detour function fails to perform the requested detour and keeps you on the same route, even when other routes are available (software bug)? Also, having to use the detour function vs. a built-in traffic re-route option (like Garmin provides) is very cumbersome because you have to zoom in on the traffic icon, look at where the accident is located, and then get to the detour screen so you can select your detour -- not something you want to do in heavy traffic! Hey Cobra, why not let the user decide if he/she wants to be notified of all accidents instead of the unit deciding for us??? I've notified Cobra of all of this and I'm hoping they will come out with a software update to correct these problems (current software update is v1.02.72R). Until then, I'm only lukewarm about the unit.