Simple, Excellent GPS Unit for Money
354649
This is a pretty good item overall.  It only got 4 stars instead of 5 for a couple of minor issues depending on how you look at it.

Pros:  Price!  Great unit for the money.  Many places are selling this thing well under $200.  I got mine for $169 brand new in the box.  Much cheaper than my previous "box" style TomTom that I got a couple of years ago.  It is a good looking unit.  It is light, mounts easily, and is easy to use.  The screens are easy to navigate after a few "trial" runs to get it setup the way you want.  Another plus is that the "S" model speaks the street names instead of just saying "turn left ahead"... etc...  That is a big improvement over my older model.  The screen is bright and easy to see in the daytime and it also has night settings, both of which you can adjust to your liking.  Speaker is nice and loud.  I have had none of the "slow" startup times some have mentioned.  I guess it might depend on your surroundings like being in the heart of a big city, mountains, or other things that typically impair things like this.  I am not so mine fires right up.

Cons:  I really only have two complaints.  It has typical TomTom battery life.  3 hours on a devices like this seems a little short given Lit Ion batteries available.  I am sure that it is a cost saving measure to put in a smaller, weaker battery.  I expected it on the unit I bought 3 years ago.  I can use my iPhone playing movies, making calls, listening to music for a good 7 hours or more non-stop on a screen not much smaller.  You telling me I can't get that kind of battery life on this thing doing one task?  I mean, most of the time I am using this on a real trip, it is for more than 3 hours.  It does have some battery saving "options" but I am personally not fond of them.  Of course you can plug it in, but I really like not having the cord hanging around when possible.  The other knock I have is that you have to buy the seperate "traffic" antennae for that feature, weather, and fuel prices.  My other model had it built in and 3 years ago it was pretty cutting edge.  I know you can buy them with it, but in this day and age it isn't so cutting edge anymore as everyone else offers it.  I think it could be pretty much included on every unit, especially considering that TomTom makes money off these extra services.  Like I said, it comes on other models but at a huge cost premium vs. the value of the services in my opinion.

All in all, you can't get much more for the price and I recommend it to road warriors that need a great looking/working GPS but not the premium price.
340470
I purchased this unit as a replacement for an older and larger GPS unit.  This Garmin Nuvi 40LM 4.3 is compact and very well made.  Being small, I'm able to rest the unit comfortably (vertically) inside my car's cup holder which eliminates the need for a separate holder or the supplied and ungainly windshield mount.  I don't recommend using the windshield mount because the suction cups eventually lose their ability to seal properly when mounted to the glass and can send your unit tumbling while driving.  Not Safe...The unit requires download of the free lifetime USA/Canada map when new and the download takes about 90 minutes to complete with a typical Internet connection.  Once installed, the unit operates very intuitively with the driver able to adjust the root as you go.  So, if you take a route that you prefer while driving, the unit responds by adapting it's directions to the change rather than arguing "route recalculation" as my old one did.  Voice prompts are loud enough to be heard even with windows down on the highway.  The display is bright and gives next turn distance and estimated time of arrival in addition the usual "moving car" icon and other information.  One of the best features is when the unit is run off the car's power outlet.  When you shut off the car, the unit automatically shuts down after 30 seconds and will then restart automatically when the car is restarted again and the map will pick up right where it left off.  No reprogramming is necessary.  This is a great value GPS.
1090352
I spent hours combing through TONS of data on various GPS units.  It is truly a challenging purchase because there are so many choices, and so many pros and cons to consider.  What I found is that there is NO perfect unit, and that at the end of day, I had to deeply consider what features were most important, and the price I was willing to pay to get higher end features.

I choose the 7200t because the user interface didn't look like a cartoon, and I prefer (not everyone does) to have a lot of trip data displayed on the screen. The 7200t also features many higher end features that Garmin charges  well over $100 more for - like lane assist - which has turned out to be one of my favorite features.  On a recent trip to KS, this feature came in very handy.

The 7200t does have some cons - text is a bit small, but it has achieved its core objective quite well at a price point that I was looking for.  I have no regrets!
1820312
The Garmin GPSMap 76 is a nicely thought out and solidly built device that works great if you're willing to learn how to use it.  It has super-sharp graphics, a fair amount of detail, good satellite reception and accuracy, and nice additional features like tidal and sun rise/set information.  Oh, and it's waterproof and it floats.  I've had mine a few months and have gotten good use out of it while driving around northern California and city hiking in San Francisco, and i'm just starting to look at geocaching.

This should be obvious to most people but, for the price of this unit, you are not going to get a GPS that puts your seat belt on and gives you turn-by-turn directions in your choice of voices.  You have to be a bit of a gadget-head (or, at least, not a gadget-phobe) to figure out how to use all of the 76's features like navigation or the surprisingly detailed trip computer.  The menu-driven UI is rather terse and doesn't have built-in documentation.  Luckily, the GPSMap 76 allows you to work in simulator mode so you can put it through all of its paces from your living room.

The 8Mb RAM does seem light, but GPS Mapquest format must be very efficient in storing data, because that actually works fine for most localized uses.  If you travel around a lot and want to keep two or more locations memory-resident, you might begin to feel the pinch.  As others have mentioned, some of the stored topo and location data is rather high-level and you can spend ~$90 for a CD set that will provide more detail.  That seems to me to be a reasonable price-performance investment.

The only thing i've found in this unit that i would consider a bug is that  the user has to tell it what time zone to use.  I would think that it would figure that out based on its location.  Minor detail, though.  One other thing -- the 76 doesn't come with a carrying case so you're out a little more money buying a pouch for it.  Great deal for the money though, and a solid product overall.
900048
I live in India and visit US frequently. I purchased this GPS to get directions when I visit US. Garmin provided "maps guarantee", where I can update the latest maps as of today after buying. This is one-time, to guarantee that I have latest maps when I buy.
The unit is very nice, recognizes the satellites quickly. Other features are described by several reviewers.
I bought India maps to use this unit in India, and it's working great with India maps too!
Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with this unit.
2604177
This Garmin "nvi 1490/1490T" is full featured and is relatively easy to use, with only minor issues that keep it from being great. This unit is replacing a defective Motorola TN555 GPS and is one of a long line of various manufactures and models we have used, so now have a very good feel for what features and "ease of use" factor I expect out of a GPS. Here are my observations after about a month of heavy usage in both rural and city settings:

Pros -
+ Intuitive Menus; easy to do the basics with just a few selections
+ Layout; important information is logically displayed and easy to find
+ Screen; large and clear display makes it easy to see important information
+ Bluetooth; paired easily to my BlackBerry and works great as a speaker phone
+ Accurate Routing; took me on "short cuts" that other GPS units didn't find
+ Traffic Feature; works surprising well and likely saved us a lot of time sitting in a traffic jam

Cons -
- Highlighted Routing Bug; only saw it once, but the "Highlighted Route" was floating about 200 yards off the road for about 20 miles (in both directions of the trip) however the GPS correctly showed my car on the correct road and gave accurate directions
- Limited Simultaneous Information Displayed; the display can show the "Arrival Time", "Distance", "Time To Drive", etc in the lower left hand corner, but not more than one at a time, which is odd since there is more than enough room to display more

Misc -
* Updating the GPS is fairly easy, but it is time consuming

This GPS has some great features and overall works very well with the positives outweighing the few negatives, at least for my needs.

Recommended!

CFH
1925403
This is a great unit if you want a GPS that gets you from point A to B.  Alot of the neg reviews are from the fact that the MSN traffic is going away.  Well I wasn't going to pay an extra $50/month for that service anyway.  Picked this up for $129 during Amazon's deal-of-the-day, and am very happy with it.

Intuitive, easy to operate, not a bunch of options that gets in the way.  Voice speaks street names clearly, volume is just right.  Overall excellent product.  There are bells and whistles as well, Bluetooth, FM tranmitter, picture, etc.  But the only feature I'm using is the Bluetooth, no need for the other stuff.  If you need traffic updates, get the 265WT, but from what I've heard, traffic accuracy is spotty, and you'll have to deal with advertising.
4407036
Purchased this unit for data collection of a moving GPS marker on our site. Aside from some small elevation fluctuations, the location capabilities are very good. It's not the most exact unit available, but it gets close enough for the price point. Would highly recommend.
4135297
ok, so i got my unit on black friday. but even if i had paid twice as much as i did, i would still give it 5 stars.

i have a 2005 infiniti g35 coupe, with a factory-installed GPS system, which was around a $1000 option. i have stopped using it in favor of this little gem of a unit. i have also played around with a tom tom go 700, and a garmin c320, which are also great systems, but cost much more and aren't nearly as portable as the Mio.

PROS:

-- the screen is beautiful with extremely sharp resolution.

-- although the interface is a little complicated at first, once i played with the unit for an hour, it now seems quite intuitive. there are a lot of customizable options. one thing that is difficult to figure out was how to save my address book. you actually have to do it under 'My POI'.

-- it locks on quickly and gets a strong signal even inside my apartment.

-- the small size, and the fact my system came with a AC adapter. also the rechargeable lithium battery lasts a pretty long time between charges. this is one of the few GPS systems that i would not be embarassed to carry around while touring a new city on foot, because it is so thin that it looks like a PDA. It seems like that Mio designed this unit with this in mind because there is a "on foot" setting which takes into account the slower speed, and avoids freeways, etc. This is unlike most of the other units i have seen (Garmins, Magellan, Tom Tom), which are way too bulky to carry around. i have been carrying my Mio around on my waist in a PDA case. i plan to use it when i visit a new city to get around--it will also be extremely helpful to find stores, restaurants, hotels, gas stations (see next comment)

-- the Points of Interest function is awesome. i can search for nearby businesses by 'category' (for example, nearby japanese restaurants, or nearby gas stations, or nearby shopping malls), OR i can search for nearby businesses by 'name', for example, the nearest Best Buys, or Targets, or Disneyland. this is awesome, and is my favorite feature because in my Infiniti, i can only search nearby businesses by 'category'. (in my infiniti, if i want to find the nearest Best Buy, i have to choose 'shopping', and then scroll through tons of stores before i find it.)

-- the rerouting is almost immediate once it senses you have passed the suggested turn.

-- as the last reviewer mentioned, the zooming function also works wonderfully smoothly and quickly.

-- i have been using it in Los Angeles, and i have had no problems at all with the TeleAtlas maps. it has consistently chosen the best routes all over Los Angeles.

CONS:

I have to think long and hard to think of some cons...but there are a few

--when i turn on the unit, it sometimes freezes and becomes unresponsive while it is searching for the satellite signal for 15-20 seconds. at first i thought the system crashed. but just be aware of this.

--although there are 15 or so voice languages, there are two voices for English and they are both male! (one is an american accent, one has a english accent) it would be cool to have a british lady accent.

--the mount is a bit on the larger size, but it does work extremely well, so i guess i shouldn't complain.

--no bluetooth, but i don't think any GPS systems less than $300 have bluetooth.

all in all, an awesome little piece of equipment. i couldn't be happier with this baby.
3329543
I bought this GPS already knowing it was an older baseline model. I simply wanted a unit that I could take with me to kick around in the woods, on hikes, biking trips, etc. The main purpose was to take out and scout deer and wildlife sign for hunting later in the year and I could mark where I find things. I know there are apps and services you can but for this now but I wanted a simple dedicated unit where I would not have to rely on my phone for yet another thing. The reason I went with this model is because it was the cheapest and has the B&W screen which saves on battery life in a huge way. This unit is a great little unit If you're looking for a simple straight forward affordable device. It acquires satellites almost instantly and is very accurate. I recommend this one if these are the qualities you're looking for.
91940
Disclaimer: This is my first GPS, but I chose it after a lot of research.

For my taste this unit is at the "sweet spot" of the Garmin product line. It has all the features I really need, including a high-sensitivity SiRF chipset, WAAS three-meter accuracy, and spoken road names, without the cost burden of extra features such as verbal commands, blue tooth speakerphone, or MP3 player.

Among other things, the battery [if you charge it for 24 hours you really can get nearly five hours out of it] is an anti-theft feature. I do not mount the 260W to the window or dash; thieves look for tell-tale rubber ring marks. During short trips the 260W sits on a small beanbag in the well beneath the cigarette lighter, running on battery. When I park I pop it into the console CD cubby with one hand. No power cord to mess with. Even a badbuy watching me park would not see what I was doing.

My only complaint, and it is serious, is that there is no instruction manual. I was floundering until I found [...] It is a review of the earlier 250W but so far as I can tell the only difference is that the 260W adds text-to-speech street names.
4862256
This my first GPS unit so I have nothing to compare it to, but it does what I need it to do - get me where I'm going.  A couple times, I've questioned the route taken in an area I was familiar with, or it's tried to send my the wrong way down a one-way street, but I imagine that all GPS units will do that from time to time.  I bought this unit because of the text-to-speech function and the computer voice does indeed speak street names.  Excellent value for the money.  I was lucky enough to buy it while there was a $20 rebate, so it was a great deal.  I would definitely recommend it.
458475
If you are considering upgrading to a new GPSr, or if you are looking for your first purchase, Garmin's GPSMAP 64s is the best unit for your dollar. It is full of features that everyone from the casual outdoorsman to the soldier in the field will find useful and fill their needs.

Users of the previous 60 and 62 models will be right at home with the latest version of Garmin's GPSMAP series. The interface and software is exactly the same as that as the 62 series with nothing new to learn. New users will find it easy pick up after a quick read through the manual and a little time operating it. The menus are fairly intuitive, but might take some time to get familiar with navigating them and finding your way back to certain options. Never fear though, there are infinite resources available on the internet should a question arise!

Major improvements made to this unit are all under the hood. The new quad helix antenna allows you to get a very swift fix on your position by utilizing signals from not only GPS but also from the Russian GLONASS satellite constellation. The unit's improved three axis electronic compass accurately points at North (True, Maganetic, Grid, or User Defined North are available settings) no matter how the unit is held. The compass on the 64s makes a significant improvement on its predecessor's. It has Bluetooth and ANT+ support allowing you to connect to your cell phone and other accessories like a heart rate monitor or temperature sensor, as well as the option to recharge its batteries without removing them from the unit.

Geocachers will be happy to find that it comes preloaded with a great many worldwide caches from geocaching.com, making it easy to pick up and search for a cache whenever the mood strikes. A built in barometric altimeter makes it easy to track your elevation changes while also monitoring trends in pressure changes.

I recently took it hiking through the mountains of Eastern Europe, and with it loaded with free maps from Open Street Maps I never once questioned my location. It had no problem finding a route along a hiking trail while simultaneously recording my elevation changes and pointing me to geocaches along the way.  I highly recommend this unit to anyone who wants to have a quality piece of equipment that will keep them on course anywhere in the world.

A few things that could be improved are the following:
-Compared to previous models the battery life is rather short. This can be mitigated by turning off GLONASS and WAAS reception, as well as turning down the back lighting. Throw and extra set of AA's in your pack as a contingency.
-One of the great things about this unit is that the user can choose from many different coordinate systems (Lat/Long, MGRS, UTM, etc) but did not support the less popular systems as much as the more common. If you are a radio amateur you will be disappointed to find that it will only give you a Maidenhead Locator grid out to six digits, making the extended locator unavailable whereas it gives a ten digit MGRS grid.
-The screen is rather low resolution, and while for the price I'm not expecting an Apple Retina display, I do think it could stand to be a bit better and a bit larger.

All in all this is a great piece of tech to have. It is well worth the money and you will use it over and over. Just remember, all technology will fail eventually, and no GPSr is a substitute for a good map and compass as well as knowing how to use them.
4295291
I acquired this device for use with my cell phone as a GPS system. I've been successfully using it during my vacations, without any problem. It is small, reliable, not very fast for boot up but reasonable. The battery lasts for enough time to be useful the whole day. A very high value for the money.
44654
I bought this device for $144. I purchased the add on traffic for $70. First, this is not going to be a world beater GPS system, but for the cost it is well worth it. The complaints that are out there, are easy to fix and adjust. You can adjust the text size, to make things easier to see and you can adjust all the icons to make them more appeasing to your eyes. You can even take out some of the stuff you won't use, to make the system quicker. All of this can be done with simply copying over some files on the unit.

Typing on some of the small inputs is pretty easy, but if you have large fingers, it may be difficult. I don't see the slowness that some have complained about, it is quick enough for me. I haven't had any issues from that perspective.

As far as looks, I give this thing a 10 out of 10. In terms of routing, I give the unit out of the box a 6 out of 10. After making adjustments to its calculations (Again taken from a GPS review site), I give it a 9 out of 10.

In the end, it works very well for the cost. Navigon is making adjustments to their "stuff" as they go to make it better. In the spring, they are supposed to release a patch that will make the routing better out of the box, and make the unit faster. (if any joe-schmoe can do it, Navigon can). The unit is nice and compact and, like I have already said, you can adjust the unit to make it your own. Not many others will let you do that.
4452862
This is my first Portable In-Car GPS Navigation System, and to make it very simple, this GPS has achieved its purpose and that is to give me the best navigational direction to where i am going. For those who wants addtl features, this thing has an MP3 capability. The only downside of this unit is that, it has no battery. You can only use it by plugging it on the cigarette 12v socket. Also there is no on/off button- when the car starts it powers on and when you stop the car it shuts down. Lastly -  Great Price !
4155496
Editing my earlier review- device died after three months of ownership, had to send it back for warranty repair.  Battery failure was the verdict, they shipped me an exchange unit that appeared to be brand new.  I had to re-activate my maps software with the new serial number and reload maps. Since then it's working fine (knock wood).

This is the first GPS I've owned.  Just got back from a trip to New England and used the C320 extensively there. It never steered me wrong, and the detour feature came in handy in Boston where there were some Big Dig related closures.  It seemed to know about every little dirt road in Vermont (though I wish it had a way to include more detail about the road type).  It was fast in calculating and recalculating routes.  This model does not speak street names but was not a problem.  The suction mount holds onto glass VERY well.  The touch screen is sensitive and the user interface intuitive.  I NEVER had an issue with satellite reception (except in tunnels, naturally- and when emerging it would pinpoint location again in seconds).

I do have a few quibbles.  When using "shortest route" option it can send you on some odd paths.  Claiming that you are a "truck" can eliminiate some of the back-road routes.  Fastest route seems to work best.  If you miss a turn, and have included UTurns in "avoidances,"  it can send you on quite a big loop rather than just having you turn around at then next intersection.  It can be hard to read in bright sunlight.  And it's "points of interest" seem to cover things like gas stations and tourist destinations well, but fall short on shopping.

Overall, I don't hesitate to recommend this as a good midpriced GPS option.