GARMIN 3.5" GPS Navigation

Pros: (1) Works right out of the box, just plug it in. (2) Touch screen is easy to use and includes on screen keyboard for typing in addresses and other destinations. (3) It has partial completion of cities and streets, Usually typing in 3 or 4 letters of a city or street will bring up a list for you to choose from, such a time saver! (4) It talks to you, tells you where to turn and when, this model does not have the ability to say the street or highway names, but it updates the distance to turn frequently enough to keep you right on track. (5) Kind of a silly thing, but you can change your on screen vehicle representation. The default is a little purple car on the map, I changed mine to a truck since that is what I drive. It has a couple other vehicle options as well with more available online. (6) It has a favorites area where you can store any address you want, so planning a trip is as easy as putting in all the destinations beforehand and then clicking the favorite on the list.

Cons: As with any GPS unit on the market you are tied to the most recent satellite data. We did run into some new construction (Like weeks new where an exit ramp had been moved) and the GPS told us to "Make a U-Turn when possible", since we were on the DC/MD Beltway, this was not possible, but taking the next exit sufficed. The Garmin recalculated and we were back on track in a few minutes.

Overall Review: All the basic features are obvious right out of the box, take a look at the manual to figure out other nifty features (like switching the screen to Odometer mode, which keeps track of current speed, overall speed, traveling time while moving, and time spent stopped). It can also show you the entire route from start to finish and even do a simulated autopilot of a trip (sped up of course) if you want to familiarize yourself that way beforehand. Overall top marks to this unit, it was even able to navigate some large parking lots correctly. Neat stuff : )

Pros: *Bright anti-glare screen with auto-switch to night colors. *Very easy to use. A few button presses and it will route you anywhere in North America. So far it's been very good at US, Canada and PR maps are built in. Has new SiRF III high sensitivity chipset so it locks on very fast and stays locked. Built in Li-Ion battery with advertised 8 hour life. *Optional traffic receiver. *SD card slot for optional maps,etc. *Good audio quality with plenty of volume.

Cons: *No AC adapter included. You have to charge it in your car,via USB cable or buy an adapter. *Some display features missing like Lat/Long, and elevation. The machine calculates them, why not make them displayable? *Maps missing some local roads. If you drive on them the GPS goes into a "calculating" loop when it tries to reroute you over known roads. *No text-to-speech capability so it won't announce road names. It will say "turn right in .2 miles" instead of "turn right on Smith St. in .2 miles" That is a deal-breaker for some. *No Bluetooth.

Overall Review: This is a very simple to use GPS that has been very accurate so far. Throw it in your car, hit "Where to" plug in an address or point of interest, hit "go" and you are off. It lacks some of the features of it's big brother, the c550 such as TTS, BT and MP3 playback but I just couldn't justify the extra money to get them.

Pros: Very fast aquisition of satelites. Very fast recalculations if you get out of route. Great visability in sunlight. Great night vision no glare.

Cons: need to upgrade maps right away to 2008 at a cost.

Overall Review: the cost of upgraded maps are worth the money. I am a truck driver and this HAS A SETTING TO SPECIFY TYPE OF VEHICLE YOU ARE DIVING and truck is one of them. The unit hasny failed me yet as far as keeping me on major roads, and I dont think it does size weight and low underpasses but you can check your books for that. But unit does seem to keep me on major routes and streets. Unit has been 100% accurate getting me to my destinations without any problems. Very nice and loud voice guidance I can here over my tractor noise. I would recommend this unit to all truck drivers.

Pros: Easy to use right out of the box, fast generating routes

Cons: None

Pros: Very easy to use and intuitive menu system. Loud, clear voice that does a very good job, giving ample time for turns. Great POI's

Cons: Doesn't say (out loud) what the street names are to turn on, but this is relatively insignificant since it is usually obvious, and if it isn't one can always look on the screen where the street names are displayed. A little bit confusing to update, don't make the mistake of purchasing new maps, the update is included with this item! After some fiddling on the website, I managed to get the 2008 NT North America maps for free. (You have to buy an SD card for this)

Overall Review: Absolutely magnificent GPS for the price. Doesn't come with all the bells and whistles like Blue Tooth, or a DVD player, but it works fantastically as a GPS.

Pros: Ease of navagation through the menus, very user friendly, and very durable(see "cons")

Cons: Only one negative for me...the suction cup isn't strong enough to hold it on hot summer days here in NC. Mine has fallen from the windshield about 5 or 6 times, but it still works GREAT

Pros: I have purchased two of these units one for my company and one for my wife to use. On the company side this usnit has a route feature that is for truck routing. We used to send out our drivers with maps or older GPS units that did not understand parkway or bridge restrictions for trucks, this unit does. If you are in a business that needs a low cost great bang for the buck solution then I'll reccomend this unit. As for ease of use I gave it to my wife after the initial setup and said 'it's yours'. She loves it and fell right into using it with no prompts for me. I have used a GPSMAP 76CS for my own use for a few years. This unit beats it hands down for street navigation.

Cons: Not a buy 1 get 2 deal...

Overall Review: Not necessarily a con since it has not given me a probem but I would have preferred a more robust (read less fragile looking) hook up for the 12V DC input.

Pros: Has every feature you need in a GPS. Before I bought this I had used a friends TT unit for a week that cost more than double what I paid for this one. This one has everything that the more costly unit had with the exception of multiple voices to choose from. And it recalculates quicker. This is a good unit. Even driving around my own city it has been useful. Giving me new and better routes that I would have never taken before.

Cons: Paying for updated maps. Garmin should be ashamed for charging for updated maps. It wouldn't be so bad if it were only ten or twenty bucks. But this is not enough in my opinion to lower the rating. The maps are still overall very accurate.

Overall Review: Yes, as many others have said the maps are a little outdated. But if you see that you are in a construction zone you need to start looking for signs pointing you in the right direction for the turn you are looking for. Even if you were to get maps that were released today, tomorrow they will be outdated to some extent. You should never just blindly trust any GPS unit. If you are a truck drive I suppose it would be worth getting updated maps. But I think for most people the stock maps will do just fine. By the time you really need to update the maps it will most likely be time to get a new unit anyway.