WOW!! Garmin hits one out of the ballpark!

I was planning a road trip from Florida to Canada in the summer, with the kids and no navigator, so I wanted to get a GPS and get used to it before the trip. I have a bluetooth headset already but thought it might be cool to get that in a GPS. I also listen to audiobooks and music in mp3 format played from a Sansa plugged into my car's audio jack, but thought that feature might be cool too. Finally, I thought a traffic receiver might be worth a try. I couldn't justify paying over $300-$400 for a unit. So with these criteria in mind, I kept an eye out for refurb unit.

Every time such a unit would come up, I would research opinions on it. I decided Garmin was the way to go - too many iffy reviews on Magellan and TomTom. The C550 fit the bill and got great reviews. Because it's a little outdated, this $800 unit was now available for under $300. The new Nuvi line was more expensive but had worse speakers because of the smaller size, though they also reviewed extremely well. I decided on the C550 and was pleasantly surprised to find new units on sale for the same price as the refurbs - no-brainer.

I got the unit, turned it on, answered the first few questions and off I went. I programmed in a few favorites with ease. I'm a "read the manual from front to back before using it kind of guy" but I wanted to see how well I could do with the unit out of the box, so I told it to plot my course from work to my kids' school where I would pick them up.

The unit is an (slightly) outdated model, and one can tell from the 2006 maps (this was early 2008). Tampa had recently redesigned its I275-I4 exchange and that confused the unit somewhat, but I knew where I was going so I ignored the initial directions. As soon as it detected I was off course, it would recalculate the course (FAST!) and offer a new direction (which I continued to ignore). I touched the traffic icon it flashed up at me and saw there was congestion ahead (red streets). I was soon caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic and realized it had been trying to route me around traffic and take a toll road north, appropriate for the default settings. I kept the "avoid traffic" preference but told it to avoid toll roads as well, which it will unless it significantly increases your travel distance or time, again depending on which preference you have set. It kept trying to get me back on the toll road however, as my preference was not set to avoid them yet, and my trip preference was shortest time.

Finally through the traffic, I figured clear sailing was ahead until I ran into what must have been an accident further ahead. I pressed the Detour button and it quickly rerouted me - back to the toll road I was trying to avoid. I turned off but ignored its directions and tried to skirt a road parallel to the main backup and hopefully come back out on the other side of the accident. I hit a dead end. I came back out - but not past the jam - and saw there was indeed an accident and the police were diverting traffic. I headed back in the direction I came from and decided I'd let the GPS drive this time. It got me to the school using the toll road, on time, save for the 5 minutes I spent ignoring it and almost getting lost in the process.

While I was driving, I played the sample music files that were on the unit. I loved how the music would pause when instructions were read out. If I kept using my Sansa, the music would drown out the instructions (although at full volume, they are SUFFICIENTLY loud), or I'd miss the part of the audiobook being read while listening to the instructions. I decided this would become my new player for those reasons. My choice of the C550 for the better speakers was therefore moot since my car stereo obviously has better sound - and steering wheel controls - so the audio-out of the unit is plugged into my car's mp3 jack. The unit's speakers are great for handsfree or directions, but only passable for music unless you don't like it loud and in surround, with bass.

I had paired my bluetooth cell phone with the unit before leaving the office and sure enough, a call from work came in while I was driving. The music was paused while I answered the phone through the GPS. Typically I have to reach over to pause my Sansa, answer my phone before it transfers to voicemail, fumble for the earpiece and try to put it on with my other hand while I drive with my knees, turn the earpiece on (getting a call while driving is the exception rather than the rule and if I leave the earpiece on, the batteries are about dead when I finally do get a call!), pair the earpiece to the phone, then switch the audio to it. With this, the unit paired with my cell phone seconds after I started the car (the traffic receiver is built into the car charger so if you use traffic, the unit is always plugged in). This was awesome! And my music/audiobook is automatically paused while in the call. I didn't get a chance to see what happens if instructions need to be read while in a call.

It's also quite easy to view traffic, a map overview, a list of turn-by-turn directions, and trip progress using the unit. I haven't used the POI features yet but I look forward to. About the only thing I can think of that I'm missing is a JPG viewer to store pictures of the kids on, so I can show them off.

So while the Nuvi would have been thinner (and the maps and POIs presumably more up-to-date), and the poorer speakers wouldn't have mattered to me because I'm using the car's audio, it would have cost me a couple of hundred bucks more. Pick your preference. Either way, Garmin design is absolutely terrific!