Why you SHOULD OR SHOULDN'T buy this unit......

If you have never owned a navigation device, this is a perfect starting point. This unit visually displays your current position, streets nearby, direction, and if you have programmed a destination, it will display the distance to the next turn, and talk to you before you need to turn, pronounce the street name, and is essentially a co-pilot on your journey.

What this unit does for you :
1. It gets you from the current position to your destination.
2. It announces voice commands for upcoming turns .
3. It allows for detours, planned or unplanned, and re-calculates the best route.
4. It estimates your time of arrival.
5. Guides you in using its features, needing no special skills.
6. It has a detailed pre-loaded map of the entire continental USA.
7. It has 6 million pre-loaded points of interest, like restaurants, gas stations, etc.
8. It can track your trip information, such as travel time, speed, max speed, and waiting time (0 mph).

What are the defining characteristics of this unit? This is a windshield mounted unit (other mounts available at extra cost.) The screen is small, but acceptable. It is touch-screen controlled. It has human voice announcements of upcoming turns and distances. The announcement includes the name of the street, such as "checker" or "route 6". The voice is quite understandable, for most street names. Of course, there are exceptions because english can be imperfect in spelling vs. speech. This unit has the capability, again for more money, to be hooked up to a receiver that has traffic information and can adjust routes based on traffic. This seems of limited use for most folks, and of dubious value. It cannot give you latitude/longitude of your current position. It does not have the latest satellite receiver hardware, so it may lose signal in downtown urban canyons.

Things that I like about the unit:

-The voice announcements. You can keep your eyes on the road without worrying about missing your turn.

-The display. The display is large enough to show where you are without blocking your view of the road.

-The general ease of use. You could use this unit right out of the box without reading any manuals.

-The "back" button. The screen always has a "Back" selection for going back to the screens you have previously had active. So, if you need to backtrack through what you just did, you can easily do it. Very useful.

-The price. Amazon.com is selling it now for $234 dollars. That price changes seeming hourly, but it used to sell for well over $500.

Things I don't like about the unit:

-The 12v. power cord connects to the windshield mound. The windshield mount powers the unit. You cannot plug the power directly into the GPS. It also lacks a 120v. power supply, but does come with a USB cord to charge it from a PC.

-You cannot display your current latitude/longitude. So, you cannot write down places you've been as exact spots on the globe. That is a universal "position" that it should provide to the user.

-To save money, it doesn't come with a manual, but there is one online. That's actually OK with me, but it is a little frugal. It does come with a mini "how-to" manual.

-Every few years, you have to spend about $75 to update the internal map of the USA. And the current map is already a little outdated. But, it is a big job to keep the whole thing timely. (Joke follows - A space satellite camera took a picture of the entire Earth. The picture didn't turn out; somebody moved.)

-There are some quirks in the map/software that tell you to turn at points that are maybe 100 feet from the true turn. So you have to use some intelligence when you exit a street with multiple exits that are close to one another.

-In urban canyons, you might have to fly blind for a while, and use the "mapquest-like" listing of turns as a fallback. This should be rare. The system needs essentially a clear line-of-sight to three satellites in the sky. Skyscrapers can block the signals.

The good far outweight the bad. If you have never used a navigation system, this is about the right feature/price car GPS unit for the average person. For less the $250 you have a mobile unit that will take you anywhere in the US and tell you how to get there. Never been lost? What else do you lie about? We've all been in that black hole of positional ignorance, and it's seldom a fun place. The peace of mind on a trip just about pays for the unit.