Summary: I have used GPS systems for the last 10 years or so. This one is very nice, as long as you remember it calculates LAT and LONG - house numbers come from the map and their location is only as accurate as the map.

This GPS unit prompts you with intelligent, intuitive prompts. It alerts you to a ramp's location (left or right) so you know to get over. It flawlessly navigated us on a trip to Staten Island from Philadelphia. We choose a different route from the one it thought was optimal, and after re-calculating the route it said \"there is a better route available\" - which was kind of cute.

GPS lock is quick, voice prompts give you street names (so you can just keep your eyes on the road and look at signs) and the GPS voice prompts will interrupt MP3 playback.

I drive a diesel pickup (very noisy) and the loudness of the voice prompts was sufficient even with the stereo turned up a little. The only weakness I could think of was that a little more volume would be nice.

I have read many comments that you can only have one waypoint in your trip - my unit let me put 2 waypoints in. Not sure how many it will take. It did calculate the route correctly taking into account the 2 waypoints (and flagged them properly).

I am very pleased with this unit, but of course I wish it was cheaper.

Summary: I recently upgraded to the Nuvi from the Garmin Quest after much research. The Nuvi has met or exceeded all expectations, it is a definite keeper. The one and only negative is the speaker. It is small and distorts if you max the volume. This is an issue in my Escape which allows considerable road/wind noise intrusion, not with my Nissan Z. The compact Nuvi has an ideal size screen which is readable in broad daylight and at night. The touch screen is much easier than the Quest's cursor/button system. The text to voice feature is another reason I purchased it. A realistic female voice announces street names instead of just distances. The Nuvi has an excellent mounting system, much easier to use than the Quest's and unobtrusive. I have not used any of the travel companion features as it was not purchased for those. It was ready to use out of the box....no downloading maps. Some may complain that some of the point of interest data is not current and correct. This is true, but is a software issue, not a problem with the Nuvi itself. Updating road construction and restaurant openings/closings has got to be a monumental task. Even with the minor speaker issue I recommend the Nuvi

Summary: I love this product! It is one of those things I truly wish I had had before. It would have been a great help when I traveled on business to unfamiliar places or other times my wife and I weren't totally sure where we were. I haven't tested it in more rural environments yet, but I am hoping the maps will be as accurate as in the big city. From my research there is no other product with the portability and ease of use. You can slip this in your shirt pocket and you can get European maps. Can you imagine having this type of help in Athens or Rome or Paris? The internal battery holds up well. in fact, I haven't used the car cord yet. Haven't needed to. Just recharge it periodically. Also you never are alone in nte car and it's data base is helpful finding movies, restaurants, gas stations, etc.