I bought this item several months ago. After much research and comparison shopping, I picked the i5. I feel its' the best value for the money. I think the small size is an asset and gives you more options for mounting, etc. I waited to write a review until I had a good chance to use it. So far, I think its one of the best purchases I have made in a long time.

More than try to pursuade someone to buy it, I wanted to write a couple of things for people who are waiting for it to arrive or who already bought it. These tips may apply to all Garmin GPS users.

To begin with, don't even turn it on for the first time until you are in or around your car, or at the very least outside in a open space. I wouldn't do it sitting outside next to the apartment or house, and inside by the window won't work. It needs a clear view and no major obstructions around. If you do it inside the house, you won't get a signal and you'll wind up on the phone their tech support, like I did. I wanted to put in some addresses and the home location, etc. in the house and then take it out later and set it up the car. Bad idea. It immediately, and naturally, wants to find a signal. It gets mixed up in a weird loop of confusion when you do this. Although the Garmin tech support was helpful, I waited for a half hour to get them only to have them tell me to go outside and call back.
Then it was another half hour on the cell phone only to be told to reset it (see below).

Set the device up outside, and the for first time only, it may take as long as 40 minutes to get the signal. It took mine about 20 minutes. I was sure it was broken -- but not so, this is normal. Now, it always starts up in about 30 seconds or so.

If for some reason you set it up incorrectly and you want to restart it like was fresh out of the box -- press the arrow and wheel buttons down together, and then while holding them, power it up. It will ask if you are sure you want to reset it. Remember, everything you did will be lost -- like adding favorites, etc.

As for mounting, I tried it all around. I decided I wanted to keep it plugged in permanently and not deal with batteries. Garmin warns you that the "permanent" dash mounting disc will be near impossible to remove without much work. Well, I set mine up and after leaving it on the dash in the sun, it lifted off and tipped over! So much for permanent. I called them and they said this was unusual. However, I'm writing this because I have a tip. I went to the auto store and they had heavy duty mounting squares -- those little double sided white adhesive squares. Well, using those, I was able to mount this vertically on the dash near my dash controls. People say this can't be done due to the weight, but its there. I love this location. I have to just glance down near my gauges and there it is. Its hidden a bit in case thieves are looking in. Plus, I was able to easily string the power cable down along the seams in the dash and its completely hidden. It has never gotten loose at all, not the disc or the suction cup, not even in the terrible Eastern heat wave this summer. If the suction cup part is falling off for you, just wet the back a little bit, it will hold.

Using the Garmin wheel and back button can get a little tedious, so I have been saving all my locations. When looking for a location, don't get discouraged if what you're looking for doesn't appear in the suggested list. Keeping typing out the entire address, even if nothing is showing up. The same goes for businesses you might be looking for. For example, I was looking for a Bed, Bath and Beyond. I had already type in "Bed" and nothing appeared in the list on the side. In this situation, I used to assume the business just wasn't included in the POI list. I've learned to not give up so easily. I continued and by the time I finished typing in "Bath" it appeared on the list. Additionally, if you want to find a business in a place other than your current location -- go to find a city -- and then do find a business, and find your POI and navigate.

Also, when typing in addresses, you sometimes will have to try variations and abbreviations of some road names to get the right one. For example, I had to add in a street that began with "Mount." I tried over and over until it finally found it, I believe it was listed as "Mt." Sounds obvious writing now, but when reading it written as "Mount," "Mt." just didn't occur to me for a while. Also, if the Garmin can't find an address, reconsider the town you put in. If you can avoid putting in a town, and can choose a county or something similar, choose that.
I have never had it fail to find an address yet, but quirky things like the above have happened several times and wasted time.

This is in the manual, but a good thing to remember -- just press the wheel in like a button to save your current spot as a favorite. Its very handy.

If you are navigating and shut the i5 off without reaching your destination or stopping the navigation, the next time you turn it on it will still look to navigate.

If you test it out and find that its giving you routes that you don't like, say for example you know a more obvious route -- try switching the option for quicker time or shorter distance. If you don't get the difference, the quicker time option generally puts you on highways that may get you someplace quicker even though you are physically covering some more miles with that route. With this option, you usually get routes that are more direct and don't involve a lot of side streets, etc.

I bought the additional antenna. I read that someone said it helped her get a quicker signal just having it inside the car. This has not been my experience. I have the antenna way in the front of the dash, at the base of windshield with a clear view of the sky. I seem to get the same signal with the antenna plugged in, as I do with the GPS alone sitting just behind my steering wheel. I did try it outside of the car and it seemed to be a little quicker, but it wasn't that differnt. I didn't want to deal with having a cord running outside of the vehicle so I didn't bother. I wouldn't not recommend it if you are looking to use it inside the car.

On eBay, I purchased a little screen protector. I'm very happy with it. It sticks without adhesive, its just a cling.

Lastly, if you listen to music in the car, or chat a lot with someone, the option for "attention tone" has turned out to be really handy. You won't miss any instructions with it.

Hope some of these tips help -- and enjoy your i5. I do. :)

I spent a lot of time trying out GPS units, and have compared Garmin, Tom Tom, Magellan, and several factory GPS units. All of these GPS units tell you how to get somewhere and will re-route if you make a wrong turn. However, Garmin is my absolute favorite, and here's why:

1. The most important thing about Garmin units is the user interface. It is simple to understand and easy to use.

2. The Garmin unit uses a built in database of sunrise and sunset times (based upon your location) to automatically change from daylight mode to night-time mode. This is important because the daylight screen is much too bright for use at night. With the Tom Tom, you must make this change manually.

3. If you have the Garmin unit plugged into your car power, when you turn off the car (and the cigarette lighter power goes off), the Garmin unit will detect that and automatically turn itself off (it gives you 30 seconds to override and keep the unit on).

4. When you start your car again, the Garmin unit will detect that too and automatically power up. If you were in the middle of a trip, the Garmin unit will pick up where you left off, and you won't have to tell it where you were going again.

5. Unlike most factory GPS units, Garmin will allow you to select your route and make changes while you are moving.

6. The Garmin units have an extensive database of locations and the excellent interface makes it easy to search the database to find what you want. Do you want food or gas? Just click three buttons and a list of locations (sorted by distance) will appear. If you know the name of the place you want, you can type it in on the on-screen keypad and Garmin will find it for you. You can even add your own locations using the favorites feature. I first started using this when I was out of town, but its amazing what you'll find near you when you look.

7. While you are driving, the Garmin unit will both prompt you to turn and give you a written explanation of the turn (including the street or highway name and direction) at the top of the screen. The Garmin unit also shows an estimated arrival time (usually a few minutes earlier than you'll actually arrive) and the distance to your next turn. A separate screen gives you detailed trip information, including how far and how long you've been driving and your maximum speed. I used mine on an airplane once (yes, it is allowed - read the back of the airplane magazine), and it now says that by maximum speed was 590 miles per hour.

8. I often use the Garmin even when driving locally, becase it often finds better, faster ways to get there then the way that I usually use.

9. Garmin offers a variety of installation options and accessories. My favorite is the friction based dashboard mount (three weights connected to a center stand) which is much more convenient than the supplied mounting system.

10. If you turn off the GPS receiver (see settings) and then look up another location, you will get the option to set this new location as your present location. This will allow you to use search Garmin's points of interest for the new location. This is a great feature when planning trips, because Garmin's points of interest database is quite extensive and includes all of the typical tourist attractions, plus food, shopping, gas, banking, etc.

11. Be sure to check for the latest map and firmware updates at Garmin's web-site.

I was planning on getting a much more expensive GPS but thought for my first one, I'd get a budget one. Obviously $300 isn't considered a budget item if you've never owned one of these before.

My review is for a newbie as I can guarantee you that you will not use this as you expect; it will work different than you want; and you will think you got a bargain at $300+.

I've shown this to 3 different people and so far had to loan it out to 3 different people for their vacations. That is the first tip... don't show it unless you intend to loan it. Out of the three, two have bought one for themselves.

You really won't use it to type in addresses and then follow the route. You can and do at times, but most likely will use the other features for looking up such things as gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, car washes, motels, banks, ATMs, and everything you can imagine, including cemeteries... yeah, it has those too.

The "small screen" is the hardest concept to overcome before you buy. You don't need a larger screen. I'll say it again... you don't need a larger screen. Since it has voice, you seldom look at the screen and on those few occasions that you need the screen, it is large enough and has what you "need."

Before the voice feature I am certain the larger the screen the better. I'm not one for portability. I have a couple of cars and I will normally duplicate what I like in each car. This is small enough to swap around and bring inside to keep it from possibly being stolen. I'm usually one to permanently mount things in my car but haven't done so with this and don't foresee that I will.

I find that I will type in my `home' link when I perfectly know how to get home. I can take a shortcut in a strange neighborhood to avoid traffic and know full well that it will recalculate (automatically hands free continiously) the best and fastest path out of the neighborhood to my home. I've taken it to three different states and it works great.

Depending on what states you are in, I find that most Wal-Mart Supercenter stores have gas stations. And the fuel is almost always cheaper than the rest. I push the button to locate the "nearest" Supercenter, it takes me there, I get fuel and am set to buy anything else at one of the least expensive stores nearby.

Still, all is not perfect in paradise. One Wal-Mart turned out to be a church and a few other places abandoned businesses that clearly had been closed for a long time. It has to do with the information fed to it from the factory and some of it is old information or "proposed" locations that never came to fruition. Sometimes it gets confused if you are on a highway or the access road to the side. It won't switch back and forth. If it keeps telling you to "enter ramp on left" for twenty miles and you are still on the freeway, then you'll know it thinks you are on the service road. Keep in mind that if this is the case, you will miss your exit as it won't tell you of the exit "ramp" off the highway.

There are a few tricks with this. For one, if you are entering an address that includes a highway... try entering US Hwy... even if it is a state highway. Otherwise it may not recognize the highway and be looking for a street number.

Also use some common sense since typing in an address is longer than finding a business. If you remember the place you are going is near a 7-11, just search for 7-11's and you'll see the address to verify it's the one you want. Navigate to it instead.

One of the great benefits, is that I can be driving and call up a customer 150 miles away and tell him exactly when I will be there as the "arrival time" is on the screen. It is almost always perfect... add a few minutes for bathroom breaks and gas fills. This is especially useful for long distance and deciding if you need to guarantee a hotel room.

Here is a simple example that is practical in your own larger city. Scroll the wheel a little and with a few pushes find the your favorite pizza place. Pull it up with the phone number on the screen and order your pizza by cell. It will be ready in 20 minutes and give you time to go to the grocery store for the extras. Enter the grocery store as a waypoint, if you wish. Once you arrive at the grocery store take a look at the arrival time to the pizza place and you know how much time you have to kill in the grocery store.

IOW, what I am saying is that you don't just use it to travel out of town and you don't just use it to go places where you have never been. You can just as easily enter an address 200 miles away, locate a restaurant nearby that location (which retrieves the phone number) and make reservations for a few minutes after arrival.

While it is possible to do this while you are driving (by setting up the configuration differently; not advised by the manufacturer), I can tell you from experience you really should pull off the road while fiddling with this thing. It is much more distracting (only when entering the places that you are going) than a cell phone.

In the real world here is how you use it: One, don't use it on batteries as it eats them like crazy. Use the cigarette plug-in that comes with it. However that power cord also serves as a useful feature... you wrap it around your rearview mirror a few times. Why? It keeps it from falling on the floor when the suction cup fails on the windshield. My experience has been that once it is suctioned to the windshield it will hold about ten minutes, then fall. Suction it in the same spot again and it will stay for 6 hours. Why? I don't know... probably a scientific reason, but just plan on it falling. The cord will hold it from dropping in your cup of pop. Also if it loses suction more than once, then all you have to do is clean your windshield as it makes a major difference.

I know some states don't allow clutter in the viewable area, but I find mine is more perfect mounted next to the rearview mirror. I've tried "low" and high works better for me. Also keep in mind this antenna built in (also has an external jack) is looking for satellites just like XM and Sirius. So it needs line-of-sight up to the sky. If you can't do that, then you need an external antenna that does even if the antenna just sits on the dash inside the car.

It also comes with a plastic plate. One that has adhesive to attach to your vinyl dash, whereupon you place your suction cup. IOW, it just acts as a smooth surface so the suction cup will hold.

You can add addresses and points to your memory and can download locations from the internet to be placed in memory, later to be retrieve as needed. If you are good with Excel and can find longitude and latitude of addresses then you can create your own places. You can not change what comes with it or add your points in the same menu. The stuff you add will be placed in a different menu area.

Finally all I can say is that I really like it and don't see any reason to upgrade to something bigger and better. My only consideration is if there was one with more accurate data of businesses. But I think that will always be the case with all of these GPSs.

I'm not a technical guy (I could never program a VCR) so if you are... skip this review. I'm just a guy who doesn't like to get lost. I did a LOT of research. I was about to buy something a lot more expensive but opted for this product. I had some concerns. They got worse when I opened the box.

There sat the unit... maybe the size of a tennis ball. You have GOT to be kidding me, was my first (and second and third) thought. I opened the box carefully, fully expecting to be sending this back to Amazon in a matter of hours. Surely the real thing is deeper down in the box. Nope, just a lot of cardboard and air.

Now I'm not big on reading directions but there was no owner's manual (more on that in a moment). Just a multi-folded piece of paper with some GET STARTED directions, like you'd see for setting up an HP printer. This thing sat in my hand. You have *GOT!* to be kidding. This is the screen, the brain, the antenna, the controls... AND two AA batteries go inside. You have GOT... there MUST be more? Another box?

So I put in the batteries. Turned it on and in a few SECONDS it found the satellites and... it worked! With a total of two buttons and a little wheel (that doubles as a button) I could do what I needed. Find a location; set the volume, you name it.

Do I wish the screen were bigger? At first, yes. But you know what, it's FINE. Do I wish the voice told me to turn right on (name of street) instead of just "turn right." Sure, but it would probably butcher the pronouciation of many roads, so why worry... I CAN read!

Other reviews complain about "only" 5 million POIs (points of interest). Gimme a break. I went out last weekend to get my oil changed. In under 15 seconds I found a dozen Jiffy Lubes and steered right for the nearest one. It can't play MP3 songs or shine your shoes or tell you the weather in Hong Kong but who cares? And it doesn't have the means to receive reports so you can navigate around a traffic jam ... but do you really think a GPS can meaningfully do that? The radio traffic reports can barely do that!

The only disappointment (and I'd give it 4-1/2 stars if allowed) is the user manual. You download it and print it. But for a little over $300 what do you want? You REALLY don't even need it.

One note if you're thinking of buying the i2 or i3. From the manual it appears you have to download the data before you can use it. the i5 is READY out of the box. If you can stick in 2 AA batteries and can read English (OK, that's a growing challenge in this melting pot of ours, but get over it), you have all the technical skills you need for operating this highly sophisicated too-small-but-just-fine-sized marvel.

I'm amazed by it; it's well made, reliable, a good value and, for the last three weeks, it works. How many things can you say THAT about?

I read the majority of customer reviews before I purchased my i5. I was pretty much certain that I would be happy, but my expectations were well surpassed! I had to travel to Central NYS this past week to a location I knew nothing about. I received the address, put the information into my brand-new i5, and here I was a few hours later pulling into this driveway somewhere up in ski country. Awesome!!! I wouldn't have found this location in a thousand years.

I also liked the voice directions, a great feature in heavy traffic navigating through a city expressway. Another plus was the display of what the road looked like ahead. A tremendous benefit at night on an unfamilar highway.

Oh, I suppose you can be a cheap-skate and get the same printout from Mapquest, but did you ever try driving and using your reading glasses at the same time??? A real benefit for the over-fifty group, which I am, and certainly struggle trying to read those tiny map symbols and roads.

Thanks Garmin for an affordable, awesome product! I can't wait to hit the road again on another trip with my i5.

If you are looking for an affordable GPS unit - you CANNOT go wrong with the Garmin StreetPilot i5! I received this unit 2 days before a road trip, had it up and running right out of the box an hour after I unpacked it, and navigated my way successfully. It is helpful if you know the street address of your destinations. It does not have a touch screen, but the thumb wheel is very easy to use. The unit is small (fits in the palm of your hand), but surprisingly the screen is very easy to see and read. A pleasant female voice gives turn-by-turn directions, along with plenty of warnings that a turn is coming up.
I would not trade this unit for a car full of map readers!

I am an outside salesman who moved into a new territory (which has expanded even further) within the past year. I have spent the last 7 months getting lost, or looking on google maps the night before and counting on memory and maybe a note with directions. Needless to say, a lot of wasted gas, money, time, and stress.
I couldn't get permission to spend $500 or more on a GPS, and having shopped before, thought I was out of luck. I am so sick of being frustrated trying to negotiate around the cities I travel to, that I started looking into GPS units again, hoping to be able to convince the wife that $500 or more was worth it. Then I discovered the i2, i3, and i5. I went to Best Buy and Circuit City, who both kind of laughed them off as "so tiny you can hold it in your hand, so we just sell it online". Then I went through the reviews on amazon and read over and over what a great product the i5 is. So I told the wife, "$300, what a deal!" and ordered it. I received my i5 this week and figured I would test it out, so I went to a few accounts I had been avoiding because they were hard to find. Found them all without a problem. What I would say about the i5 is that it does it's job (GPS) in an excellent fashion without too much fluff or unnecessary clutter. Very clean and efficient software.
We took a trip up to the parent's this weekend and brought the i5 along, just for fun. My mom has a Lexus LS430 with the $2k Navi package that she never uses because it is so difficlt to "navigate" through. I figured I would try to help her out (again) try to figure it out. We got in the car and tried to navigate to a friend of her's house and it was quite confusing to get it to navigate us to the destination. We went along for a while with no luck, and figured we would input the "go home" and let it send us home. It sent us 15 blocks out of our way to do a U turn! Then we turned on the i5 and input my brother's address. What an incredible difference. Within 30 seconds we were on our way with clean turn by turn voice promps. (the Lexus kept telling us there were no voice promps for this area). I even changed the voice commands on the i5 to Spanish, german, and italian as we went. Pretty cool.
For $300, this is some of the coolest technology I have ever come across. Like so many people have said, I can't imagine traveling without it. Totally takes away the fact that you may get lost. It's just not a concern anymore. The only problem I am finding is that I am waiting for the thing to tell me to "proceed" every time the light turns green!

The screen size is perfect. I don't think you need anything bigger, unless you want to get a broad view of the area. Spend more, get more.
The wheel is fine, I am getting used to it. I love the fact that the Streetpilots have minimal buttons. Very clean.

I am looking forward to taking the i5 on the plane for our Thanksgiving trip to SoCal to visit the in-laws. The addresses are already in my favorites.
Great product!!!

I bought two of these as gifts for my sister down in DC and a cousin in NJ. Both are completely non-technical, but both were able to use the navigators painlessly. The rubber dashboard mount (optional accessory) is very nice for a minivan. If you're accustomed to the old-school full-size StreetPilots, you'll be shocked by how tiny the screen is. Works fine for basic directions and getting voice prompts, not so useful for situational awareness and getting a lot of data at a glance.

I recently returned my garmin i3 and upgraded for i5.
on paper and garmin's web site it did not tell you the following difference between i3 and i5

1. i5 has much faster processing time compare to i3
avg about 2-5 times faster in term of re-route, calculate
route,search on the directory, zooming map in and out.

2. the i5 i purchase from amazon on Aug 8, 2006 came with Version 8 of the map. also with newest firmware. my i3 only came with older version 7.

3. i5 came with black and silver matelic finish, which match match most car better than than i3's blue and black finish.


i3 is fine unit, if u on a budget, and you have pc and the basic computer skill to upgrade firmware and load the map you desire.
check costco web site, i think they are having the i3 on sale this week. I got my i3 at costco and returned after 9 month use.

I was very excited to get this product. A friend had one for 2 years and had not had any trouble. The first one I received, the voice went out after a week. It happens. I sent it back and got another one. it was broken out of the box. I called Garmin and they were no help. so I sent it back. I now have a Garmin c330 only because the other gps units I reveiwed got horrible reveiws. The c330 has worked flawlessly since I got it. I will say this for Amazon, their return policy is excellent. if something breaks within a certain period of time, or is broken out of the box, they will ship another one back to you immediately or in my case, they will refund your money very quickly. I would have no problem ordering from Amazon in the future.

You will likely be happy with this GPS. Yes, the screen is tiny; but the graphics are very good and the maps are quite readable. It lives up Garmin's description.

It is very intuitive - you really won't need the instruction manual (which is how such things are supposed to be). The selector roller is not as bad as some reviews may imply (it's actually quite easy to use).

I took the i5 cross-country and it got me from Wisconsin to Oregon. It's nice to be able to punch in the address of your hotel and have it direct you there without hunting for the hotel.

I bought the i5 because I didn't want to purchase two different GPSs for both driving and hiking. The i5 takes two AA batteries (I use NiMH rechargeables, which the i5 accepts along with alkaline). It is great for walking around in a new city, since it prevents you from getting lost. The stated battery life of 6 hours is fairly accurate.

I also took the i5 hiking off road (climbing to the peak of Mt Saint Helens - yeah, the volcano). Since I didn't load in any trail maps (not even sure if you can do so), I had to input markers about every quarter mile to show on the map where I had gone. Inputing markers couldn't be easier, you just press and hold the wheel a few seconds until it beeps. That's it. If you want, you even relable the marker (e.g., car, trailhead, peak, etc). It worked great and led me straight back to the trail head.

I used it recently at a Green Bay Packers game to mark where I parked the car (in an unfamiliar neighborhood near the stadium). After the game, it guided me back to my car.

The i5 also works on airplanes (but you have to hold it next to a window to get satelite reception). It displays where in the country you are currently flying, as well as your actual speed over ground (I was "driving" at 550 mph).

Now for some drawbacks that prevented awarding a fifth star.

It would be great if the screen were larger and if the i5 was less rounded - it is almost baseball shaped, which makes it slightly awkward to keep in a pocket (unless the pocket is loose).

The i5 is only average at selecting the quickest route to your destination. It periodically selected routes that added 5 minutes or so to a 45-minute trip.

It sometimes gets confused by odd intersections, telling you to "bear right" when you really should be turning right, or telling you to "keep left" when you should be going straight. Glancing at the screen (not really recommended while driving) or having a passenger look at the screen is occassionally needed to ensure you're going where you need to.

However, it's still a great little unit. The preloaded maps are simply great.

I bought this for my trip from NYC to home(southern Illinois). My trip was so enjoyable I didn't have to worry about looking at a map or printing out directions. I just got in my truck and started driving. It tells you exactly where to turn and gives you plenty of notice. I no longer worry about going places, I just put the address in and start driving it's great. I recommmend this product for anyone. It's so easy and only took a few minutes to figure it out.

You can also look up where the nearest gas stations, resturants, clubs, bars, car washes, malls, and tons more! It even breaks it down further to tell you where Russian food, Italian, Chinese, Greek, and every other food you would want to eat. It will tell you the phone number, and the address of the business. You just hit, start navigating and your on your way.

When you hit navigate it will tell you the time you will arrive at your destination this time adjusts, if you drive faster or make stops.

There is two downsides to this product. The first is it won't tell you recent road closures for instance I am in the military and on military posts they constantly change gates where you can enter and exit. It's not that big of a deal if you turn around it will tell you another way to go.
The other is when you are around tall buildings such as I was in Manhattan driving one day it loses signal I expected it, but as soon as I got away from the the buildings I had signal again. This also occurs if your in the mountains but, if comes back pretty quickly.

If you have to print out from mapquest or constantly look at maps this is for you. It will take the stress out of any trip.

My Garmin gps worked fine. I had one little problem with the unit. I e-mailed
the folks at Garmin and I got an answer the next day with instructions and
a telephone number to set up a repair. They found that I had not registered the unit at Garmin. That was no problem. The attendant registered it for me. I was told that that all I needed to do was to ship the unit to them and there was no charge for repair. It is great to own
a Garmin i5, but their service is unbeatable. I have owned some things that go wrong and I felt like the porduct owned me.I have seen both sides
and I am well pleased with both.

This is a great device, and arrives pre-loaded with maps and local information for the entire country!

Two minor inconveniences:

First, it requires you to input the state and city each time you use it. This take a bit of time, as you use the thumb wheel to key in letters, and then use it again to select the actual state. You then repeat the process for the city.

Second, it's sometimes slow to lock onto the satellites, which may take several minutes. So, you're forced to either 1) sit there and wait, or 2) start driving knowing that you may have to turn around and head a different direction once the unit starts navigating.

If you're very Type A, you may want to choose a unit with a touchscreen, and one which locks on faster.

I tried a GPS adapter for my pocket pc and ended up returning it and buying this one after my dad showed me his. What sold me was the pre loaded maps and millions of points of interest. I was worried about the small size, but actually, it is quite nice. I stick mine on the windshield near the rear view mirror and checking it is just like checking my mirrors, and it helps me to keep my eyes on the road. Occasionally, it has gotten a little confused and led me on a slightly longer route, but it has also surprised me several times in discovering new and faster routes on my daily routine. One of my favorite features is that it displays the estimated arrival time which I have found to be surprisingly accurate. It allows me to tell clients, coworkers and family members exactly what time I will arrive at the destination. One complaint my dad had was that if you are traveling west on a highway and look up fast food restaurants, it tells you the distances of restaurants, but does not tell you if they are on the way. For instance, if it says there is a Wendys in 4 miles, so you may start following directions and find that it makes you back track. Even with this tiny inconvienence, I still give it a 5 and would buy it again in a heartbeat!

This product is simply awesome! It's a lot of fun driving around with it on. Easy to user, right out of the box - no instructions needed. Great usability testing was done for this product. The voice is clear and the display is crisp and clear even though it isn't a large display.

Very satisfied with this purchase. Easy to operate without too many bells & whistles to make it confusing. Got us to the east coast and back very efficiently.

I got this to travel with for business. It's the first GPS I have owned. It is tiny, but plenty big enough to follow along on the screen. It does take about 5-10 minutes to connect to the satellite in a new place. I just have to remember to turn it on as soon as I get to the airport, so it's hooked up by the time I get to the rental car. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a great portable GPS.

The Garmin i5 is an impressive gizmo, if you have never used vehicle navigation before. If you have used more sophisticated navigation software, the performance of this unit will be disappointing. Set up and programming are easy, start up and data acquisition is fast, but navigation performance could be much better.

The i5 would route me through the center of urban areas and ignor obvious bypass loops. It would continually alert me to upcoming freeway turns, then upon arrival it would say "bear left". Well, if the exit is right and I bear left, then I really don't do anything but go straight, so there wasn't any turn after all. I even had to backtrack several miles due to making a wrong exit after counting down from "10 miles to next turn", then I couldn't hear the final instruction not to turn.

I've used GPS units since 1993 and routinely use navigation software such as Streets & Trips or Street Atlas. The inability to set road preferences or preview the selected route in the i5 limits its usefulness.

This one brought a price-wise revolution in GPS industry.
I5 is the cheapest GPS reciever available with the ability to hold all of North America.
However, with SD card so cheap and C320 on sale, I do not see any reason for not going for C320 which has a bigger screen and touch screen which makes data entry a breeze wheras entring address from wheel can be frustrating.
I am a lifelong GPS user and I think C320 is the best product for under $500. I used C320 side by side by Street pilot I5 and Neuvo and MS streets GPS. Garmin mapping functionality is almost identical but bgger screen and touch screen makes a difference.
The only limitation with C320 was no preloaded maps and expensive external memory. Now a 2G SD card costs $40 and 1 G (which will have 90% of US) costs $25. So I do not see any reason for going for smaller Street pilot I5 or much more expensive C330.

Garmin has discontinued this product (and the i3 and i2).

It is a very good product. But, technology evolves. Garmin discontinued this product within the past few days.

Prices for the i5 may fall rapidly.

Personally, I like this i5 better than Garmin's c330. The c330 does more and has the "neat" touch screen. But, as a casual user, I like how the tiny i5 can be stowed away without taking up much room. The softball-sized c330 takes up too much room for my taste. I don't want a big, noticeable GPS sitting on my dashboard.

Short and sweet: I have computers a-plenty, High Definition DLP television and TiVo. Fiber optic internet. Razr cell phone. iPod. Basically I am a tech-junky like many. This Garmin is quite simply the coolest piece of technology I have purchased to date. I do not know how it compares to the bigger more expensive models...but it is worth every single cent I spent. Unbelievable. My wife will never have to call and ask for directions again...

Buy three of them.

While on a weekend trip I rented a Garmin unit with the rental car and quickly became a fan of GPS navigation. I bought this unit 3 weeks ago and I am very pleased. Drove locally around Harrisburg PA with it for the first couple days and didn't use it to navigate. But then I had to go to Las Vegas. I gave it a real workout and it worked GREAT. The only "problem" with the purchase was that the cigarette lighter cord was defective out of the box so I had to run it on AA batteries for my 4 day trip. btw I'm still waiting (2 weeks later) for the warranty cord to arrive. Garmin says its backordered and I have no reason not to believe them, since they're sending it to me at no charge and I don't even have to send the defective cord back. ****(Cord arrived 5/17 as Garmin promised)**** The unit I rented had a touch screen and the i5 uses awheel and click system. Not a big difference to me but I suspect that a touch screen may be a bit quicker for most people. Since you only have to enter a few letters most of the time, the wheel worked fast enough for me.
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br /I got about 6 hours out of each pair of AA batteries I used, just as the specs say. It picked up the satellites quickly and the navigation was spot on. I generally trusted it completely even when it would take me in what first appeared to be the wrong direction. One time it turned out that the exit ramp took a strange turn and went back under the interstate in a way you couldn't see from driving and then went in the direction I hoped it would go. I learned to check the "review turns" menu function to see what was coming up and I found that the seemingly off track turns were to get me to an on ramp, etc.
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br /At the start of the trip it took me a different way than I usually went to go from Harrisburg PA to the Philadelphia airport. It seemed to take about the same amount of time but the i5's route didn't go on Schuykill expressway outside Philadelphia, which was fine with me. I picked the airport as my destination off the "where to" menu and didn't realize until later in my trip that you can drill down some more to pick out specific terminals in airports.
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br /At the airport I turned it off and put it in my carryon since it was so small and light (and I didn't want anyone to walk off with it in a baggage search). Next stop was Las Vegas where I picked the hotel off the "where to" menu and the i5 took me right to it. I noticed the time didn't automatically adjust from Eastern. I didn't bother to switch it to the Pacific time zone, but it would have been easy to do so.
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br /In Las Vegas I had to do a lot of running around to move an older relative east. I used the "where to" search to find and go to the nearest post offices and banks. I did some address specific navigating and it worked fine, recalculating as necessary when I chose not to take an interstate.
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br /On one occassion it took me to the nearest branch of Well Fargo which turned out to be an empty lot, on which I suppose the branch used to be located. Hard to blame this on the i5 but I'm going to update the map and POI software.
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br /With regard to the charger, the DC input seems to be a mini USB connection and it worked on my Ipod AC cord, so any 3 volt adapter should work. I almost bought a $[...] car adapter kit at Comp USA but decided to wait on the cord from Garmin. But I wouldn't hesitate to use an Ipod or Blackberry car charger if I needed to.
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br /Garmin has discontinued the i5 so the price is right and this is a great value. I hope they'll keep the map and POI updates coming as their website says they will. I'm thinking about buying another one for my wife's car. My brother was with me and has already ordered one for his wife. Maybe I'll someday want a GPS with more features, but this one has enough bells and whistles for me. Right now its hard to imagine what additional features I'd want in a basic GPS, much less whether I'd be willing to pay for them.
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br /I got mine with Amazon prime, but it doesn't appear to be available through prime anymore. Bummer. Costco has a good deal of the i5 now.
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I ordered this product (Garmin Streetpilot I5) a couple of months ago. It worked great for a few weeks, but then the 12 volt cigarette adapter cord (for use in the car) broke.

The Streetpilot still works with batteries, but they don't last too long. Rather than going through the hassle of returning the item to Amazon or trying to make a warranty claim to Garmin, I first looked into buying a replacement adapter from Garmin. To my surprise, a simple cigarette adapter cord is nearly $40 on the Garmin website.

Fortunately, I was able to find a generic adapter that works with this particular model on ebay for about $11. But it was frustrating to have an essential accessory part completely fail within weeks of purchase.

I purchased this Street Pilot i5 from Garmin after being shown it by a co-worker. I was lamenting on all the out of town driving I have to do with my daughter's volleyball team and she suggested this GPS. I was, admittedly, skeptical, but after doing some research and reading the reviews I gave it a whirl. At first, the screen seemed so small and the thumb wheel looked awkward. I was WRONG on both accounts. The screen is so bright that even though I have it suctioned to the lower windshield I don't have any trouble viewing it. The resolution is amazingly sharp. The thumb wheel is not at all awkward after all. In fact, I would say that for the price, this is probably the best bet anywhere. Consumer Reports rated it a "best buy" also. In the box came a suction mount, a dashboard disc, a 9v power cord (for the cig lighter) and a USB for the computer. Garmin offers lifetime software upgrades and it was as easy as plugging in to my laptop. In fact, I got this about 3 days before the new daylight savings time kicked in and the upgrade I downloaded patched that so my clock even runs right.

I gave it the "trial by fire" last weekend when I drove from Nashville, TN to Louisville, KY and forgot my paper directions. I had to rely entirely on the GPS to get me to my hotel late Friday night. Not only did it get me there but when there was a huge wreck on the interstate, it gave me a detour so I wouldn't have to sit in traffic for an extra hour.

My daughter likes the British voice so that is what we use but there are dozens of languages available and because it's portable I can carry it on plane trips and use it in my rental cars. When we carpool with other families it's easy to install in whatever car we are driving.

This would make a great gift for a new college grad, your parents if they are older or if you do a lot of driving for pleasure OR business.

The Garmin is easy to use. It doesn't always select the most efficient route, but it will always get you to where you want to go. I agree with other reviewers' comments on the software. I have noted one deficiency that appears to be common to other GPS on the market: It will let me enter the name of a nearby restaurant, but you can't tell it to go find "Fogo de Chiao" in a city 30 miles away. You have to locate the restaurant on the internet, then enter the street address into the Garmin.
br /I have had two hardware failures since Oct 2006. (1)I left it on my windshield all summer and the rubber mount melted onto the windshield. A new mount is $30 and a paint scraper is required to get the rubber off the window. (2) Recently the USB connector stuck to the cable, possibly because of corrosion, and when I pulled the cable the whole assembly came out. I had purchased a warranty from NEW and they readily repaired the unit.

I almost never write product reviews but I simply had to for this GPS. I recently moved to a new city and having this unit helped me settle down very quickly. I got to the DMV,nearby groceries,libraries, gas station, friend's apartments quickly and easily. I love this little device and can't imagine leaving home without it specially since I have a very bad sense of direction and can get lost in a parking lot. Very strongly recommed.

Purchased the I5 three weeks ago from Amazon, and am totally pleased. Was a little concerned about the screen size, especially since I need reading glasses for small details. Have found I rely mostly on the audible turns directions. Found that I can put it in my cupholder and just listen. It has found every location and POI I asked of it, in the Philadelphia/Delaware area. The Garmin website is comprehensive. Just learned a free map update, version 8, on DVD is available and will be shipped. The updating process is fully explained on the website. Several questions I had were answered by Garmin tech. emails within two or three business days (lithium batteries don't charge while unit is plugged into computer's USB port; and version 8 map update released Sept 15). I had considered the more expensive Garmins 330, 340, etc. The I5 delivers excellent directions, in a small portable, beautifully designed unit, at great value for $$$; so it gets my high five.

I enjoy the simplicity of this GPS. Also the screen resolution is awesome for the size of GPS. Very accurate and easy to use.
I have seen the other large ones and this has all you need.

I LOVE this device. This past saturday I had to drive to Boston from N.H. to pick up my 80 year old mother at NE Medical Center in downtown Boston. I literally had no idea where I was going once I entered Mass and my Garmin i5 lead me straight to the front door on NE Medical Center. I couldnt be happier. I totally trust this device.

Inputting info with the scroll wheel isnt that big of a deal. Everyone that see's it thinks its the coolest little thing.

The Garmini5 navigator is very easy to use and portable. A few moments reading was all it took to get started. The voice speaking was very clear and concise making it to where you could keep your eyes on the road where they belong.

The following was written for the i3 but it also applies to the i5 in many respects. At least it'll help you decide between the i5 and the i3 because they're both the same except that the i5 already has the maps installed but costs about $80 more than the i3.

I wasn't expecting too much from a $250 GPS gadget---the i3. I've used Magellen in Hertz Rental Cars. I always wanted a GPS but the then going price for Magellen of over $1000 discouraged me. But this one is extremely good and it's only $250.

I didn't think I'd like the "scroll" mechanism as compared with the "touch screen" on the C330, C340 and C550 and Nuvi. But, I don't find the mechanical scroll all that much more effort. And the price is more than half of some of the other units. And, they didn't "scrimp" on this model---the maps and functionality are "first class".

Some things you might want to consider when buying the i3 or i5: 1) I thought I might miss the voice saying the name of the street and that that function was "important". I find that I don't miss that the i3 doesn't say the name of the street because you can read the name of the street in CLEAR letters on the top of the i3 so you actually don't need the voice telling you what street it is., 2) I thought I might miss the "bell" that Magellen has when it rings at the exact time to make a turn. But, with the i3 some genius figured out the plan of putting a LARGE WHITE ARROW when a turn is coming up. You can then SEE the icon for your car as it enters one end of this white arrow. You can see the car icon moving toward the "crook" in the white arrow so you can easily determine when to make the turn. 3) Some people complained that The Garmin "puts you on side streets instead of on freeways". I worried about that but I found, at the suggetion of someone on Amazon, that you SET "THE VEHICLE" function under "settings" to "Truck" and also to "fastest route" instead of "shortest route". Thus, I've had no problem having the i3 put me on slower side streets when I would prefer to be on a faster freeway. 4) I was worried that this "lower end" GPS i3 wouldn't "find the satellite" very rapidly. But, the i3 seems to "find the satellites" rather rapidly...maybe within 2-3 minutes from a cold start--unless you've moved far away from where you last turned it off---then it takes 5 minutes or so. Therefore, if the i3 doesn't "find the satellite" it would seem that this would be caused by the satellite being "weak" or being "behind a building" rather than being the fault of the i3. However, I haven't had occasion to try the i3 in a "high rise" area like Manhattan yet. 5) As for mounting, I don't think it's realistic to expect the "suction cup" to work 100% properly on a hot windshield 100% of the time. Obviously, at some point, it's going to inevitably fall off--like when it "dries out" for example. However, the i3 is so small and light you can actually simply place it on the top of your dashboard with the cup assemply attached to provide more weight and stability but not "suctioned"---just laying there in front of you. Then, you can easily pick up the i3 to program it as needed and you can easily remove it from the car or put it away in the glove compartment when not in use. It is alittle "wobbly" when just sitting on top of the dash but I find this "the best" way to "mount it" so far---and it's right in front of you. 6) I was wondering "how hard" it would be to LOAD the maps on the i3 as compared to the i5 which already has the maps loaded. I found out it isn't hard at all! It's a sinch. So, if you want to save about $80 get the i3 over the i5. But, if you want ALL of the US, say for a long trip across the US, and you have the i3, you can buy another Mini SD Card of 1 GB for about $40.

If you're a realtor or are using a GPS constantly you might be better off getting a Nuvi 350. But, if you're like me, just occasional use on infrequent long trips and possibly a trip to Europe in the future, I doubt it's worth twice as much to get the more expensive units. And "the smallness" of this one is an ASSET because it doesn't dominate your dash board, it is inconspicuous and less likely to be noticed or stolen, and it's "cute"!

The only two possible deficiencies are: 1) There is MICRO SD memory Card in this one instead of the regular size SD Memory Card. There isn't much of a "downside" to the "micro" SD. You can buy an extra Micro Card for about $40 that has 1 GB. The 1 GB will hold all of North America and most of Europe---so who needs a larger memory capacity. 2) The Nuvi and C530 have the new "Sirf" receiver inside. This "Sirf" is supposed to be more sensitive when near tall buildings or near trees. I may do some comparisons later to find out how much better, if any, the "Sirf" is to the regular receiver.

All in all, this is a VERY GOOD GPS for it's small size and price. I think you might just "fall in love" with it! Email:boland7214@aol.

AFTERWARD: I had to return my i3 today. The reason is that I noticed over the weekend that it is VERY HARD to see the screen of the i3 in bright sunlight! It was about 2PM when I was returning from a Sunday Brunch when I noticed I couldn't see the screen---it was "dark". So, I asked my wife to "make it brighter". She told me that it was already set as bright as possible. This is a "deal breaker" because you NEED to be able to SEE what's on the screen so you'll know when to turn. Looking at my options I decided to order the new Garmin C530. The C530 has a NEW BRIGHT SCREEN which should be easier to see in bright sunlight according to what is written in the specifications. And, thanks to the internet I shopped around and found one for about $465. Where? Send me an email and I'll tell you if Amazon will let you to contact me, that is!

FINAL FINAL WORD: I've had the Garmin C530 now for several days. I suggest you get the C530 instead of this one. The C530 is "State of the Art" because of the new Sirf receiver. That receiver is alone worth the extra money becauuse it is FAST and STRONG! I can get satellite reception even inside my house, for example! (I found out how important this is on one cold night in Berlin in March 2006 when I came out of a concert about 11PM and wanted to go back to the hotel. The "Never Lost" 760 Megellen I was using on a Hertz Car could not "acquire a satellite". I drove around for about an hour waiting and hoping to "acquire a satellite". Finally a friendly taxi driver told me how to get back to the hotel.) The bottom line is this: for about $465 or about the same price as a C340 you can get a "state of the art" GPS. And, if you shop around you can get the C530 for about $465 or less. Go for it! :o) Email:boland7214@aol. (If you email me I'll tell you where I bought my C530.)

Afterword: Stop! My C530 just died---won't start! I'll let you know what happens later.

I purchased this for my girlfriend recently and she loves it. However the one drawback I find with the unit is the thumbwheel which although it is handy, seems to be slower to input an address than with a touch screen. I would spring for the couple extra bucks and get a C330 or C340 if I had to do it over. She is in realestate and when you ahve a lot of addresses to put in, the thumbwheel gets tiresome.
The power cord is attached to the unit directly - and so removal from the vehicle required detaching the suction cup each time which is not very fun.
One other small drawback is that you have to select the "State" every time you put in an address. I would like it to default to my home state - but have not found out how. Documentation does not explain this.
Otherwise it works great and takes alot of stress off traveling places. She wishes she had gotten one 2 years ago when she started real estate.
Cheers!

I'm new to this area, my new home. I could make it across the country but had a hard time navigating near my new digs. Very simple to use and it even navigates me where I need to go if I make a wrong turn. All I had to do is take it out of the box and put in a few addresses and I was on my way. Nothing to load, it was all in the system. I bought this model as a result of the Consumer Reports very high endorsement. My daughter bought one as well, a little before I bought mine but she is experiencing a little problem with hers. Her Garmin has stopped talking.

Had a I5 since middle of June, love it. Small size is a PLUS as you can mount it next to your review mirror without blocking your view. Maps of entire US, no forgeting to load where you are going. Watch out for bear left vs. turn left but unit recovers quickly to get you back on track if you make a wrong turn. Looking at the unit before a turn is best on complex intersections or interchanges. Only gripe that keeps me from a 5 star rating is it is slow to find the initial location when first powered up.

Good receiver, my only quim with this is that Garmin does not include a desk top trip planner to help you pre-plan your trips from your PC.

This unit is so easy to use and you just can't get lost. If you make a wrong turn the unit recalculates and gets you back on the correct route. I took it to Montreal Canada to visit a relative in the hospital in downtown Montreal. This unit brought me right to the doorsteps of my uncle's home. Since I couldn't get out of Montreal the same way I came in because of turn restrictions and road work, I set the unit on "get me home". I didn't even have to look for street signs, the unit directed me out of Montreal without any worries. It's so much easier to listen to the unit tell me when to turn then to keep looking for the next exit or turn. It's easy to program and even out of the car, it is small enough to fit in my pocketbook for strolling through the city.

Five minutes after I opened the box, this gadget was in my car and working fine. Twenty minutes after I opened the box, I couldn't imagine ever living without it. This is so easy to use and so safe (way safer than reading a map while driving) I would recommend this for anyone!!!

We never have to pick up a map or go to mapquest. She just tells us what to do... where to turn etc. The best purchase ever...even for local travel.

This small gps system is a joy to work with. Easy to set and use, although the voice can get annoying. If you want to go a different way than it wants to take you, it will keep trying to get you to turn around and go the other route. Eventually it gives up and recalculates from where you are. I like that it gives you a ETA and adjusts the time when you get stuck at a light or in traffic. I will be using it on every trip that I go on as I am usually getting lost.

We love it. It's very small and it's power packed. It fits nicely in the left corner of the windshield, and is easily locked away in the consold or glove compartment, I have even put it in my purse. The small size doesn't effect it's ability to guide you where you want to go. AND it's ability to find gas stations, restaraunts and atms is awesome. We love ours and several of our friends have ordered their own after seeing ours.

Just got my first GPS gizmo-- the Garmin StreetPilot i5-- to use as I travel in my trusty VW Beetle.
br /It's great and so simple to use (but I have to admit, I do talk back occasionally).

It looks cute and doesn't take up much space. I personally do not see any problem with the size of the screen since the maps are pretty clear to see. Also, It's so easy to use I didn't even have to look at the manual. It detects precise location although it does not tell you the name of the street. (you can see it on the screen though) Just one tip, you have to push it pretty hard to attach the mount to the machine.

This was my first GPS system and overall I have to say that it's not bad. I bought it because I just moved to Miami from New York and I had no idea how to get anywhere. I found the i5 to be very accurate but I felt it took far too long to input destinations. I couldn't deal with having to scroll through the long list of letters and numbers in order to program each address. If you make a mistake you have to scroll through the list to find the delete option then start again. It's the same deal if you need to put a space in between the names of the street address. You also have the option of using two AA batteries instead of the power cord but be careful because once the batteries run low the device will just shut off without warning. I wouldn't recommend this to those who are always in a hurry and short on patience. Spend a little more and get the c320 with the touch screen. Trust me, it's worth the extra money!

Overall I am satified with the convenience and usefulness of the Streetpilot. It's been very good.

I have found that this product is very good for most things, except if you're driving and make a wrong turn. Then it can take a while for the device to recalculate the route for you. Each time you pass a street that was part of the re-calculation process, the recalcuation of the route restarts.

We took this traveling and it works great. Took a lot of tension out of driving in a different city. Keep a map with you though. It doesn't have some things like National Parks stored in its data base and needs a specific address to go to places.

This little gps is easy to use once one gets used to the push-the-wheel-activate system. It works well if you have the address. My biggest criticism is that the vac-mounting does not stick to either glass or the material that covers the dashboard of my two vehicles. I finally mounted the swivel base on a good-sized clamp and mounted it on the cupholder that is up near the windshield. I have not figured out yet how one can update the maps and/or address listings. All in all, a satisfactory product.

Out of the box the unit sat idle since Dec 2006. USB driver install went fine on W2K as well as download and install updates. Indoors I did not get a signal. I followed the directions to go outdoors. Still no signal. Got "Locating Satellites" and "Aquiring Satellites" but no link up. Local interference? Took it for a ride still no signal until I turned it on and off at the next stop light 6 miles down the road. Returned home to a good signal.
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br /Windshield mounting was easy and the unit can be snapped off the mount without the suction cup coming along. It fits nicely under the rear view mirror on my S-10. Menu is simple enough and manually finding POI is easy.
br /With my eyesight the small screen is a little hard to read when it is mounted on the windshield. A tad bigger screen would be better for the bifocal crowd.
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br /Included documentation is sparse and the downloaded version is helpful but not complete. i.e., how to use your own downloaded POI. I get the feeling that the online download sight needs more. The online support is what holds me back from giving Garmin a 5 on this product.
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It is now being offered for under $200 (factory reconditioned) and for this price you can't go wrong. Obviously, more expensive models are better. As mentioned, it does take longer to acquire satellites and it is incredibly small (you will be shocked how small it is). Nevertheless, I am satisfied (so far) with this model.
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br /When starting out, you will have to wait longer than more expensive models for it to acquire satellites and begin working. Further, in difficult areas where you don't have a full clear view of the sky, it probably won't work at all, e.g. it probably won't work in Manhattan or in big city downtown areas.
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br /While it is incredibly small, it is readable and easy to operate (and I don't have great eyesight) plus you have voice instructions. Being small, it is easy to hide in the glove compartment or take with you...you shouldn't leave it exposed on the dash when you park your car.
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br /Bottom line: a reasonable alternative if you want to spend less than $200.
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This device was a great buy, period. It worked right out of the box and the operation and set up was so simple and intuitive that it was on my windshield and working flawlessly in a matter of minutes. It would be hard for me to imagine a better deal for the money. There may be more expensive systems that have a wider range of bells and whistles, but for purposes of general travel the Garmin has everything you could want or need. Check it out before spending big bucks on the competition.

My new Garmin i5 took me from Houston to Connecticut and back,with some very intricate geneological, historical, and sight seeing stops along the way. IT NEVER FAILED to get me exactly where I wanted to go, and found several very difficult cemeteries which would have been totally impossible to locate with a map. The workings of i5 have been discussed by others, all I can say is if you want a fabulous, quality GPS for the United States, this is the one to buy. CNS

This is one of the best electronic toys that I've ever bought. I used it in several areas: Boston, New York City, California, Las Vegas, Virginia. All worked well with the accuracy up to 95%. Even the local people could not catch up with me using the system in finding the directions.

The system is small and therefore portable. The GPS signal never failed during driving, unless you get into the long tunnel, of course you can't get lost in the tunnel. The signal is sometimes slow to acquire, it may take up to 2 or 3 minutes. In the unfamiliar area, you have to wait or driving aimlessly before the signal is available, and that's frustration, but I guess, it's common among the navigators.

The map is recent and accurate. With the complex traffic pattern, the navigator may be misleading. It says "keep left" but it means "keep the middle". There is no concept "middle" in the system, so be careful when you are in high speed with heavy traffic, and there are multiple exits ahead (left, right and middle).

The navigator is small but the resolution is high, so the map and texts look sharp and easy to read. The street name sometimes is too small to read, I wish the system were smart enough to use acronyms for familiar terms such as NW, W, S... in long phrases, because displaying the long phrase makes the text font too small. In my opinion, you need to listen to the voice, watch the street and read the texts in order to be accurate in following the direction in complex traffic patterns. It takes some time to get used to it while driving (it's dangerous though). Once you can do it, it's fun and precise.

When you're in the familiar areas, and don't need the guidance, then the system becomes the map and you can see where you're at continuously. It's merely entertaining rather than necessary in this case.

Besides you can add a lot of POIs. I did add up to 14000 POIs without any problem for testing purpose, but I don't need that much.

The downside of this system is you can not use it as the paper map, because you can't pan the map to find the street. You can zoom out, but then the map is too small to be useful. There is the way to find the intersections, but you have to know the street names which in some cases is not applicable. I hope the Garmin does it soon. Or at least someone shows the trick to overcome that issue.

Even though there are some downsides, I still give it 5 stars, because it exceeds my initial expectation from this little roundy user-friendly toy.

Update: As I mentioned earlier, in the familiar area, the navigator is entertaining. That's not always the case. One day when I hit the heavy traffic and used the Detour, the system found a way that I did not know even though I've lived in the area for 7 years. At that day I learned something new in my area. Great tool.

Its easy to use. Its small so its easy to pack and take with you on business trips. Its extremely accurate. It works just as well if not better than other more exspensive GPS units I have used in the past.

My daughter & I each purchased an i5 after first purchasing an i3 and noted it's limitations. Althought the i5 does not always have the most current addresses, it will get you either to your exact location or close enough to get there. We recently used it in Orlando, Fl and it always got us back to our hotel, no matter where we started from. Would hate to travel without it. I recently experienced a problem with my unit which was no fault of the unit. I contacted Garmin and they told me to send it in for repairs. They shipped me a new unit within a matter of days. Great Customer Service! Love it!

This is the first product review that I have bothered to write. But the I5 has really impressed me. It is fast, accurate, and easy to use. I was worried about the small screen size, but that is no problem. Using a little velcro and ingenuity, I have mounted my I5 over my tachometer. Yet, I can still see my RPM's because of the small footprint.

My wife and I are both retired and we like to travel. I can't tell you how many times we have missed turns or just became confused. While I'm driving, my wife's job is to read the map and watch for road signs. More than once, I have heard "I can't read the map and watch for signs at the same time"!!!!

In summary, the I5 is a great navigation GPS. I especially recommend it for senior citizens.

I was skeptical at first due to its small size. However, it works flawlessly, and the screen is bright with a high resolution, so it's really not as small as it appears. Doesn't take long to get the hang of entering in addresses, and it worked like a charm every time we've used it. Sure, it's not a dash-mounted factory unit, but for a small aftermarket component you can't beat the price and features. Audio instructions are loud and clear. I would definitely recommend this!

I wasn't sure about how happy I would be with this new "mini" GPS, but it did not take long before all fears were resolved. This thing works great, it is easy to use and has all of the features that you need.

The only feature that I sort of miss is the "speak" button. There is no way to get the GPS to repeat the command (i.e. "in 500 feet keep right") if you were not listening.

The screen is small, but easy to read and see, if you have above average to good vision. There is a roller wheel on the front that allows you to scroll through the alphabet or name list, I like that too. It is quick and simple. Well worth the money.

I bought this for my husband for Christmas 2006. He has used it now for 4.5 months. He loves it!! He is an Army Healthcare Recruiter and has a huge multiple state territory. When he goes to all these schools, job fairs, award ceremonies, etc...he finds this a very valuable and helpful tool. It always gets him to where he wants to go and he has saved countless hours by not being lost. In fact, when the other recruiters he sometimes travels with saw his GPS system, they were so impressed, they went out and got Garmin GPS systems too!! It is portable so when we go on family trips, it comes with us. Once I borrowed it to get to some stores in a shopping center I had never been to. It got me there quickly and easily and I had no problems following the prompts to turn and the voice was crisp and clear. We are thinking about getting me one too! Perfect if you don't want to spend a ton of money and need a "starter" GPS system. I asked my husband if he wanted to give me his and upgrade and he said he was perfectly content with the one he has and it works great for him!!

This unit works very well. I wish it acquired its satellites a little more quickly. I may drive a block or more before it can plot a route. I have learned to turn the unit "on" first thing before I put on my seat belt, etc. so it is ready more quickly. Naturally, the route it chooses is not always the one I would have chosen. I read the manual, but do not remember that it told me I can push the thumb wheel once at any location for a couple of seconds and it catalogs that location. I can give the location a name. It is easy to learn to use. Practice makes perfect and helps me to appreciate it even more. My wife is not very technical, but used it in a city she knows somewhat. The Garmin allowed her to find several places so well that she got more accomplished in the time she had than she could have any other way. We found restaurants and florists by using the option to locate other businesses nearby our destination, even though we were yet many miles from that city. When we programmed our home location from over 300 miles away I expected the mileage display to give the distance to our home, but it gives the distance to the next merger with a second interstate highway. The time of arrival estimation is unbelievably accurate.

Once in a while the programming can be frustrating. For example, if you tried to program a city name and the city is not recognized by the Garmin, you might try to program the intersection of two highways near or in that city. Or, drive in the general direction of the city and it will appear in the list of available cities once you are nearer. Once you enter a state, the Garmin has a one track mind and asks you for a city rather than for the first of the two streets or roads in the intersection. I have had to turn the Garmin "off" and wait. Even then this is not guaranteed to work.

Use the back arrow to go to another screen without interfering with the navigation. Push the back arrow again to get to the visual for the navigation.

I should also say this is the first GPS unit I have owned.

This is the easiest to use electronic product that I have purchased in a LONG time. It was out of the box and up and running in 5 min. The directions are impressive, it had me turn down an alley that I never knew exsisted, which cut out a major intersection and traffic! The screen is small, but that was the feature that I preferred, you can put it anywhere. We take it along on our motorcycle rides with ease. The only knock would be the short battery life if you choose that option(3hrs).

We were on holiday in the States and having been totally lost in Phoenix, we purchased the Streetpilot and it was brilliant. So easy to use from the outset. Can really recommend it!

I'm a tough critic on products, but this one does what it is supposed to and does it great. I travel a lot for work, so being able to take this with me has changed my life. I used to spend about an hour prepping maps and directions. Now I just take the i5 and it gets me to where I need to go.
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br /It isn't perfect, but its imperfections are minor and unimportant. I bought mine after seeing it work for a friend. Now I have at least 5 friends who bought one after seeing mine. And each one of those persons thanks me for showing it to them whenever I see them.
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br /If you know someone who gets lost a lot or doesn't go places for fear of getting lost - buy them one of these units.
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I bought this GPS unit in April 2006, and have used it consistently for road trips and business travel. In short, it is one of the best purchases that I have ever made. Though it lacks many of the functions of newer units (narrating street names, bluetooth connectivity, music playback, traffic updates, etc.), it just works!
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br /Updating the map and firmware are also a breeze on the Garmin i5. I am a Mac user, and am satisfied in Garmin's commitment to support the Mac platform.
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br /I highly recommend this unit for those looking for a budget GPS solution. There are many GPS units that fit this category, but none that I've seen that meet the quality and ease of use of Garmin units.

I decided on this GPS because of price/value, small size (used in my Miata), recommendation by CR magazine, and experience with other Garmin GPS's. I haven't been disappointed. The simple interface while providing only a map navigation screen is sufficient for most applications. I would like the ability to get the actual latitude and longitude but I sure that's really not that important to most people (which is probably why they kept it simple). Accuracy seems as good as any other GPS I have used (probably 8 ft) and it works great on the left lower corner of the windshield where I like to put it. It operates from 2 AA cells (about 2 hours) or the included cigarette lighter cord. I have loaned it to friends who have since gone out to buy their own. If you are looking for a no-nonsense GPS that a non-gadget person (hint:wife) can use, than this GPS will probably fit the bill.

I've owned this unit now for about a year. While it doesn't always provide me with the best route, it does provide me with a reasonable route. When it can find satellite reception. Last night, it lost satellite reception for a full half hour. Possibly because it was cloudy? Today, though, it lost satellite reception under clear skies.
br /Very annoying.

It worked fine in the start and then it couldn't stopped working. I checked the batteries and it still didn't do anything for me. I'm glad I brought this from a great company like Amazon though. I got my refund, so I feel good about that at least.
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The Garmin StreetPilot i5 has proved less than reliable. Sadly, it takes you in completely the wrong direction far to often. When programing in a favorite restaurant the Garmin i5 was 5 blocks short of the correct destination and on the incorrect side of the road. The Garmin i5 has given routing instructions that would drive you into the Missouri river instead of the correct left hand turn (and only option). The Garmin i5 in another instance said the destination was 300 miles away when it was essentially across the street. These are just a few of the errors the Garmin i5 has made. The technical support people were polite but only suggested a new map update. The unit was brand new when making these "mistakes" and I don't want to spend more money for a map update when it should have had correct mapping in the beginning. If you want a high percentage of accuracy finding your destination it's not the Garmin i5.

I did not like the street pilot. Everything was done with the thumb wheel. If you have large hands or a hard time with your hands it is not for you. It was not really user friendly. We actually had one that was malfuntioning as well which made it that much harder to work with.The screen was really small as well.
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br /As for Garmin products it would be nice to be able to program addresses into the navigator through the computer as well. This particular model would not even allow that to be done.
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I have had this product less than 1 month. I will exchanging it on Monday. It has already gone out. It was used less than 5 times.

I purchased two of these GPS units for Christmas when we first moved to Georgia from California and they proved invaluable since we couldn't find anything. But, now, after less than 18 months, one of them only is "searching for signals" and never gets us anywhere. My husband went on the Garmin's website and replaced the batteries and reset the unit and it worked one time after that. Today we had to use my cell phone to get us to a birthday party in Atlanta and home again. Over a 1 1/2 drive that should have been much easier on the driver - me. We had to use my cell phone to get us back from Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago. Why does my cell gets a satelite, but not my GPS? I feel like this was a lot of money to have to replace one of the units already. It certainly isn't going to be with another Garmin. I asked my daughter-in-law how her's was working and she said "okay" but does lose the signal frequently but comes back. It's like ours went out for lunch and got lost - and now we are getting lost too! I'd check around before settling on this unit. The extra money is probably worth it. This one won't route you around traffic problems, either - when it even works! I paid $280 each for mine.
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The display on this product is really small. I would spend the extra money to get a larger display and get a touch screen. It takes some time to enter all the information needed to get your directions. Not many catagories listed either. Once you input your info though, the directions are easy to follow and the ability to listen to the directions is good because you wouldnt want to be looking at the small display screen while driving.

Well, this unit will certainly get you there and I love the compact size (I have the almost identical i3), but I'd just like to warn people away from buying this older, and now discontinued model -- especially at this inflated price. There are newer and more advanced units available for less than 200 these days. Also, the baseball-like shape isn't too pocketable and this doesn't have a touch screen, which will slow you down when you're entering a destination. And since it has been discontinued a while, I doubt that it is loaded with the lastest maps.

Good for directions, but does NOT announce the streets as they come up. You have to constantly look at the screen for the street name. It just says "turn right in 500 feet" which is OK unless there a number of roads at about that distance.

Bought this unit for my wife after we moved to a new city. The first unit we had worked great, but only lasted a few months. Garmin replaced it with no problems, but the second unit seems "stupid". It frequently takes a route that doesn't make any sense no matter what the navigation settings are. Before we purchased the optional antenna, it could not hold a satelite for more than a few minutes. And, now the voice is coming out very garbled even after all updates and upgrades possible are installed. I thought of purchasing a new unit, but we've gotten used to the issues with this one, so won't spend the money.

After receiving my I5 it worked right out of the box as advertised. The only problem I have had with it is that it has taken me to a store that is already closed and one street that is no longer there. Other then that it is a great tool for getting around.

I know that the i5 was recently discontinued, but Amazon is still selling it (cheap!) and I have been using the i5 on a daily basis for about a year now and here are my observations. This is a great little GPS unit with all of the necessary features. It doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of some of the latest models, but it works well, is typically quite accurate and delivers good bang for the buck.
br /The clickwheel works well and is a efficient interface. The screen is small, but if placed in a good location on the windshield, viewing the screen is not a problem. My initial windshield mount melted to the glass (it's not like I live in Death Valley... who knows why that happened) but Garmin customer service was great and shipped me a new one immediately. This model doesn't speak street names, which would be nice. The reception in the NY/NJ area has been great other than in Manhattan due to the tall buildings blocking reception (In Manhattan, you'd better bring your atlas because the i5 is basically useless! I'm told this is not a problem on some more expensive models) Overall, I would recommend this model to anyone who needs an inexpensive basic GPS. That being said, I just ordered a Nuvi for my wife so let's see how envious I get over all the bells and whistles.

I travel alot for business. I wanted a small portable GPS unit that didn't take up too much room in my briefcase. The I-5 is perfect. Yes a larger screen would be nice, but then it would also take up more room in my briefcase when I travel.
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br /Highly recommend for business travlers.

Great product. I don't have much experience with navigation systems; however, this product has not let me down. It's taken me to the locations I've requested everytime.

This is a great product for the price. The scrolling wheel can be a bit tedious compared to the touch screen versions, but it's definitely manageable. Has given great, easy to understand directions. Between the audio cues and the visual map, it's very hard to miss your turn. And if you do, the route is just recalculated for you. I made it to and from a 5 hour roadtrip with only the Garmin and no written directions or other maps. The only downside is that very new roads are not found on the map, and I have once experienced it telling me to go down side streets when clearly the route I needed to go was straight ahead and when we did arive to the intended address, the garmin told us we were not at the destination, but it was in a small town.

fit in the glove compartment, does the work of helping my wife get where she needs

I'm very pleased with this navigation system. It is easy to use, inexpensive and works just fine. I've only had it a few days and I love it. I haven't had any problems with it so far.

I know I made a right decision in this purchase. I'm happy to say that It work's very good. I recommend this to all. Thank you again. Mommie1314

You will hear it a million times (or as many times as there are people who have GPS's) once you have one - especially if you travel often to unknown places (midwives, salesmen, weddings, vacation spots, etc), we don't want to travel without our GPS's! I have only used one - the Garmin - so I can't compare; but my daughter has a TomTom, and says she likes mine better than her touch screen GPS. I will tell you that this one being small is not a big help, because it's harder to read than the big ones (I mean while you're driving and need to keep your eyes on the road). It would be nice to have the voice state the name of the street, instead of just having to read it on the unit, but that's not been much of a hindrance. Also very important is the customer service you get with Garmin. Again, I don't know about the other brands, but the Garmin people are really there for you. I even got a free update ($60 value), when I called with a problem with wrong turns. And speaking of wrong turns, if you detect a glitch in Garmin's directions, there's a site you can go to and write a correction which (they say) they take into consideration when writing another update. Altogether, I LOVE (like alot) my GARMIN. I laugh at the commercial where the guy tells his that he loves "her"....!

I bought this product last week. It met all my expectations in features, performance, ease of use. My only concern was the small screen but while using i realised its big enough to see the directions without straining yourself. Excellent product for this price range.

I bought this for my wife, who gets lost often. This navigator is inexpensive, compact and efficient. It is so accurate to amaze me all the time I drive with my wife, as I am a very savvy driver and do not need GPS unless I hit a road block in an unfamiliar area. Yes, it has raised a yellow flag a few times, as it routed us to drive through some local roads which ended up taking more time than necessary. But I think this will happen with most navigators. Overall, this navigator is highly recommended for its efficiency and economy, unless you want to spend a fortune to show off.

This is the most AMAZING thing. Everytime I travelled I had to go online and plan places I might want to visit and print out driving directions. Well not anymore! I just pack my GPS with me and I always go exactly where i want to go. No more getting lost or asking for directions.

Everyone should have a GPS.

I purchased the StreetPilot I5, because i did not feel comfortable paying over $400 for a device that might not work well or a device that I might only use once or twice and then put away. If I Knew how AMAZING this was going to be I think I would have preferred a bigger one. Not too big because I would want to be able to travel with it. But I thing one of the Touch screen Garmin models would be even better. Maybe the C300 Series or C500.

But everybody should run out and get one NOW!!

This is a great powerful small GPS device. Never got lost, never need a map. Sound and vision activation. Most of the time I hear the voice rather looking at it. Easy to program and keep in your Favorites. Used in Hawaii & will use it in Las Vegas & California soon. Will only lose signal in your home and under long overpass so far. Small to carry and take around. Thumb wheel to enter characters and Numbers and save it in favorites (Don't need to enter address again) The touch screen for the other models maybe a little faster to enter, but its not a problem for a price wise shopper.

Fabulous item for the directionally challenged, such as myself. User friendly - so small, yet so clear and easy to read. You cannot screw it up because it gives you the street name you're looking for, the exact distance in feet/miles you are from it, and the audio tells you to turn before and right at the point where you should be turning. The only problem I have is when it can't find the satellite - I have to drive around a bit until it locates it. It's also great because it can find ATMs, stores, etc. from whereever you are. It's well worth the money, in my opinion.

Could not be happier with this model- only GPS I have had experience with so my opinion is biased. Would purchase it again and highly recommend it. I have had a slight delay in connecting to a satellite, takes up to 1 minute at times. Somewhat of an inconvenience when you want to start driving and are not sure the direction needed, and have to wait for the connection. One of my vehicles has OnStar, and I suspect that may cause some interference. Although the display appears small, it is quite adequate in size, I place my unit on the windshield next to the rear view mirror. One area that I have not investigated is a setting that allows me to stay on the interstate, if memory serves, the settings allow you to pick quickest and staightest, but in upstate NY, the Garmin took me on a 2 lane road through small towns, which might have been the most direct as the crow flies, but not the easiest. Otherwise, I give it a BUY rating.

I don't know how I got around town without "Gypsy." This little device is easy to use and provides the security that you won't ever get lost.

Best purchase I've made this year. It is a gem. Works right from the get go, and is very easy to continue to use. Mine even survived a major car accident - although I wouldn't recommend that method of testing! For the price, it is an even better deal. My friend has 'fancier' model at twice the price, and it is amazing as well, but for my budget this one is perfect!

This GPS is just what you need to get to any destination. It is as clear and concise as you could want. We drove all over Florida and never got lost!

The garmin is great, i use it everywhere i go and never get lost!! It is worth every penny I am so happy I bought it!
br /--tiffiny

ONCE YOU FIGURE OUT ALL THE THINGS IT DOES, IT'S GREAT, IF YOU MISS A TURN IT RECALUALATES, HAS ADDED ATTRACTONS IN THE AREA.

This has been a great tool in the car! I use it all the time to find new locations, nearby attractions, and to estimate arrival time.
br /I was leary about the suction cup on the windsheild mount, after reading other reviews. The mount worked great for about six months and then the suction cup became corroded-looking. We contacted the manufacturer who said this was covered under warranty and is sending out an improved version of the mount immediately.
br /I have been very pleased with the performance of this GPS, and now am very impressed by Garmin, as well.

I really like my Garmin StreetPilot. It's dependable and small enough to fit in my glove compartment.

I have a terrible sense of direction. I also am useless at operating complicated electronic devices. This is the answer to both my problems - I don't get lost, and I figured out how to use it in 15 minutes. I love it.

Was very happy, easy to use right out of box,simple setup a real snap! !!

I wanted a GPS for my wife, something easy to use, I read the reviews of the StreetPilot i5 and decided to give it a try, and it's exactly what I wanted. The screen is big enough, and the controls are very easy and intuitive, my wife was able to enter addresses right away without even reading the instructions. A very good affordable GPS for those who want the basics and simplicity.

Now I can no longer live without GPS. Works like a dream, and makes being away form home even better. I can look up local restaurants, or even find a gas station on the way to a distant friends home.

this gps is absolutely worth the money. I vel-cro'd it to my motorcycle and have had no problems at all. It does everything I need it to and more at an inexpensive price.

Its value for money all the way. One of the cheapest GPS systems out there. The only flaw is that it does not speak out street names!

Cons: The little cuplike part that clings to the windshield can be better, and the batteries could last longer (but no problem if you plug it into a cigarette lighter).

Other than that, it fits into a small place in your briefcase. I flew to Seattle from NY, and than drove to Vancouver, AND IT GUIDED ME PERFECTLY THROUGH THAT CITY. All the streets were in the memory, nothing to load. And it speaks. This is the kind of technology that would have cost multi thousands of dollars just several years ago, and now I had something that amazed my computer savy kids that I bought for a mere pittance.

This inexpensive device will become mainstream in my opinion. Why would any sane driver do without it?

Perfect for those who want the GPS for less money. Is perfect for the traveler, and everyday road/street driving... Actually is pretty awesome....

The i5 navigator is a life saver! It is not the most robust GPS product on the market, and the combination of tiny screen and click-wheel input will eventually drive you crazy, but you can't beat the value for money. The amount of time and effort saved with this GPS (or GPS in general) far out weighs the cost! If you don't need a full featured device and are just looking to get from A to B then you can't go wrong here.

1. The screen was too small to use in traffic.

2. It took too long to program. . .it's easier to print out MapQuest info.

Decent for the money, basic, no fancy stuff. Not thrilled with scrolling wheel, but whatever~

I've had the i5 for about 2 months and it works for the most part. It's simple to use and transport bc of its small size. However, it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes it takes awhile for it to locate satellites or will lose satellite coverage. With mine, it has been acting weird lately. If I had to do it over again, I would buy a higher end one if I had the extra money. But if you have a limited budget, the i5 will do.

Works well . I like the small size fits in my glove box

I think the system is good. However I feel the screen is way to small. I wish I had gone to a store to look at this in person before I ordered it. If I had i would have spent the extra money and got the bigger screen. It is very hard to see the directions on top of the screen. It is also very tough to see the map on the screen. When I buy my next one, it will most likely be a Garmin but with a larger screen

Good one but starts giving problem in tracking when you go out of your home (miles away from your home town) and also when the battery is low.

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE HOW FAR THESE HAVE COME .I HAVE A NUVI WITCH IS A LITTLE BETTER BUT FOR LESS THEN 350 THIS IS THE ONE TO BUY.INCREADIBLE.

Bought for my wife. It works great, easy to use. Wife uses it when she goes to work cause it looks cool.

I didn't know that Garmin i5 uses the old chip to lock onto the GPS signals. It is way too slow or insensitive to get locked, especially when I used it in woody areas or raining days. I never got a locked signal indoor. I would rather recommend other GPS devices which use the SiRF Star III GPS chipset.
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Had to return this since it had many flaws. Yes you get what you pay for, that is not a lot! The screen is small and not touch screen. The set up is clumsy and even had software glitches(may be just mine was defective). I bought the larger full featured StreetPilot 2720.

Although the text accurately described the unit size, the accompanying photo made it look like other Street Pilot devices. When I rec'd the I5 I couldn't believe how small it was. Perhaps good for pocket or purse, but not the car. I promply returned the I5 and purchased a 330. Amazon handled the return and refund promptly.

Guiding the directions and other functionality is good. But I am very much worried with the mounting of the device. Initially I was mounting to the car mirror, but for every 10 minutes it was falling down. Later I mounted it on dashboard, still it remains the same problem. It loses the attachment and falls down.
While I was trying to mount it again, I almost missed with an accident on an highway as I was concentrating for mounting. I really hate the mouting technology...

I can say that this device "exceeded my expectations" for 2 weeks, and then it died.
We figure that the failure had something to do with the electrical system because it first faultered when plugging it in. When the batteries were replaced it worked, but then failed again and did not come to life with new batteries or with prayer or anthing thing else.
I will not buy "Garmin" again, and I hope that you do not buy Garmin, either.

i bought this for my daughter and returned it because it was very difficult to use. do not buy,

The old joke goes, my dog can play poker. But he's no good - - he wags his tail whenever he gets a good hand.
The StreetPilot is amazing. It really communicates with satellites. It can tell where you are, and find routes to other addresses.
Of course, it's a slow and painful battle to enter the target address with the one-wheel-no-buttons interface. It has a tendency to choose nasty snaky routes with thousands of turns, presumably in an effort to save you 1/2 mile versus a sensible route on major arteries. Every now and then it directs you into a parking lot or a nonexistent exit. It's constantly losing the satellite signal. Then it falls off the window ... again.
You can make the effort to use this unit and marvel at the things technology can do.
Or, you can use Mapquest, print a nice map, and be ready to go in 15 seconds.

DCan't wait to use it... I am a very anxious driver, but can't wait to use my Garmin!!!!!!!