The main problem in the US seems to be that there are so many providers of traffic information. Getting them all together is probably a major hassle.

But since TomTom managed to get their units in major reatilers like Circuit City I'm sure they'll manage...

I use the Garman 18 USB on my laptop. I am too cheap to pay Hertz $9 per day for a Neverlost system that is out of date.

As previously stated above, I can control my laptop GPS better than any Neverlost system. I travel weekly and my laptop rides shotgun on every trip. I have to have an Igo power supply for the plane -- works in the car as well.

I program in my destinations before I leave or worst case in the air. I never get lost and I have a time calulation so I know when I have to leave one customer appointment to make it to the next appointment ON TIME.

On short trips, < 1 hour don't even plug the laptop into the power supply.

At $110 off the internet, Garmin can't be beat.

I very much enjoy the Garmin C330. Very easy to use and has great accuracy. Comes with all US maps preloaded, will work on its internal battery, has a suction cup for windshield mount, and you can set the voice that speaks the instructions to you to a variety of different languages. Also has a port to upload free map upgrades for the life of the unit.

It can be had for $570 on www.tvnav.com. Normal list price is $899.

I just got a Garmin iQue M5. It is a full featured GPS and Pocket PC. Comes with all US street maps and I bought US Topo maps for hiking. Also got the external antenna which is a great add-on.

I love this unit, it is the best all around GPS for hiking and car navi.

I have the Garmin iQue 3600 and like it. It is Palm OS based so it functions as a Palm PDA as well. You need to get the car kit which has a weighted dashboard mount with a combination speaker/power cord for the 12 v outlet. It gives turn by turn directions which are easy to hear and understand. It recalculates when you get off course. It comes with maps for the US and Canada and you can purchase Europe. It does searches for restaurants, stores, services, etc. It is easy to use. It costs around $400 if you check prices on Froogle.com.

I had the same decision last year as re-located to Australia. I bought the Navman over a separate unit for a couple of reasons:-
- The "outdoorsy" type units didn't seem to do good navigation and the car ones did poor navigation
- Can get the maps for UK/Europe/US/Australia, and its PocketPC so if wanted to go off map could just get a different software provider
- PocketPC gives me flex to add nautical charts for sailing (as a back-up to my laptop on the boat), and add topo charts etc for hiking
- Has an integrated GPS antenna so less cumbersome than one that clips on.

Has worked really well for me, and would still go this way even though I use none of the PocketPC functionality (use Blackberry day to day) - so not sure how it would compare to others (though know it has no Bluetooth or WiFi which might be a handicap for some).

I lust for a factory in-dash navigation system, but in the meantime, I use a laptop loaded with Delorme Street Atlas 2005 and a generic GPS receiver I bought on eBay for $20. I've used a Delorme Earthmate, and it didn't work any better than the generic receiver. It's not the most convenient setup, since I have to rig the laptop to run in the car, but I was set up to do that, anyway, with an auto-desk doohickey that resides in the passenger seat, and a car power adapter for the computer. The receiver has a magnet that keeps it on the car roof, and the cord runs through the door seal. I've used this system for trips in unfamiliar towns and for long cross-country drives, and it's been great.

One "gee whiz" feature I like in the Street Atlas software is their "radar" function. Say that I'm on the road in an unfamiliar area and in the mood for pizza. I figure out where I'll be in 30 minutes or so, and set the map center to that area. Then I run the radar function to look for pizza restaurants within X miles of that location (the X is whatever you want it to be). I get a list of prospects, complete with phone numbers. I choose one, call them on the cell phone and place my order, and tell them I'll be in the pick it up. By clicking on that selection in the radar list, the program will automatically route me to that address as a stop on my route. I get my pizza and I'm back on the road in five minutes. This function works for just about any mapped feature: hotels, fast food, restaurants, hospitals, government buildings, etc.

One feature of Street Atlas that isn't too cool is their voice command function. You can supposedly tell the program "recenter map," "zoom out," and lots of other functions, but it just doesn't work, and wearing the required headset microphone is a PITA. I don't know why they bother to keep this feature.

Try TomTom Go ( 300 500 or 700 ).
Is better than a PDA nav system.
Easy to use and to connect.

I have just change my Nav with 300 for 499 Euro.
With 149/169 Euro I cab buy All European ( WesterEuopre ) Maps.

^

How long did it take #2?

:-)

ha ha

i have both the magellan roadmate 500 pro and the garmin 2610.
They both have their disadvantages and whatnot.

the garmin is annoying that it loses signal everytime you go under a bridge or something and it warns you and covers the screen

the magellan tracks as long as it can then has a little indicator telling you signal is gone but the gps changes to what the next directions you need to take are. so if you really lost signal at least you have a point by point direction

the garmin i find is faster but and the roadmate has this annoying lag.

reading wise i like the magellan.

but i really think you should go to a store and try them out. bestbuy and such have all them on display to look at but can't really show you the gps functionality cause your not really moving.

but look it up.

I like my Tom Tom GO. ( the original version)

It's totally self contained. With a charged battery, there is no need to have any wires dangling across the dash. It's pretty easy to use. The built in speaker is VERY good. Loud and clear.

Is it perfect? No. I run into map issues. But I suspect that happens on any GPS navigator. Roads change. IT takes a while to get stuff into the databases. IT does "weird" routings some times. But it's really nice about it when you deviate. No nags to "get back on the route". It quietly and quickly re-calculates a new route and continues to direct you.

I just ordered the DeLorme Earthmate GPS LT-20 with the new 2006 Atlas. For about $100 Mrs. Fredd, who already uses our laptop regularly when we're on road trips, can use it to augment her own instructions to me rather than just playing Free Cell.

I've been checking the DeLorme website almost daily because they wouldn't accept advance orders for the 2006 version, and previously told me that the "upgrade" would cost $40.

I'm posting here in case anybody else was interested in picking up the newest version. FWIW they claim "inventories are low" and direct the buyer toward a phone number. Maybe I'm just an easy mark.

Thanks to all who posted here with a great variety of pros and cons about the various products on the market. ^

I am very happy with my Garmin Quest. Small shape, good graphics and MapSource v6 seems to be pretty accurate.

GPS? I won't leave home without it.

So what about the Garmin C330? I see Best Buy has it for $499. The guys in the store said it was better than the Magellin, any feedback here?