Garmin Drive 50 USA LM GPS Navigator System with Lifetime Maps, Spoken Turn-By-Turn Directions, Direct Access, Driver Alerts, and Foursquare Data

I love everything about this GPS except one thing. It is not as brightly clear as my old one. It is just slightly muted. It is very readable but very slightly faded compared to the older model. Other than that, I find it very easy to use and it is very accurate and up to date. I like that you can control the volume on the home screen and when you get to an intersection on the highway, it shows you a split screen with a picture of the turnoff. You don’t have to change the state any more because there is a step that makes it easy to either choose or tell it what state you’re looking for. No one says recalculating any more but it signals at the top that it is recalculating by displaying the percentage of direction has been caclcuated so far. That’s how you know you’ve made a mistake. It’s more sophisticated in looking for nearby businesses, gas stations, restaurants etc. I love it. I’m looking forward to being able to update it using an ordinary USB cord. My old one had no way to do this. So take to the highway and enjoy!

Garmin Drive 50 USA LMI bought this GPS unit as a backup for google maps on my Nexus 5 for a cross country trip from IL to CA. Surprisingly by the end of the trip, I found myself using the Garmin about 99% of the time. I am comparing this unit against google maps that I use 99% of the time otherwise.The reasons I like this better than google maps:1. The split screen was really informative - especially with large lane guidance in unfamiliar areas and upcoming stops displayed next to the map without having to navigate away from the live map. This may not be a problem with long stretches of roads but in a city for example, the ability to show important stops like gas, food and rest stops without having to risk going away from the map and losing a turn.2. The "Up next" info was probably the most useful feature for me as the three most important things during a long trip Viz. Food, Fuel and rest areas are very conveniently shown next to the map. This allowed me to get fuel at the upcoming gas station if the next one after that (whose distance was also shown as part of what's up next information) was going to be 100 miles away. This saved my from running out of fuel a couple of times in the middle of the AZ/NM/NV area.3. The current speed limit was very helpful and I found it was about 100 yards off from the signs posted (i.e. the GPS took about 100 yards to catch up with the posted speed limit signs). This is better than google maps which does not have any such information at all.4. Offline navigation! This in itself was the main reason I brought a dedicated GPS unit and I was not disappointed! I shudder to think of not having navigation in the middle of Arizona/Utah because of lack of phone coverage.After using a dedicated GPS (while coming from a position of skepticism of it's usefulness over google maps), I will say that I probably will be using this GPS for all my long distance driving over using my phone (and leave my phone always connected to the charger). But for inner city navigation, I still prefer google maps/waze for almost instantaneous traffic based navigation.

I haven't gotten to use this much yet since it's still winter here and Maine and most of my traveling is during the summer since I'm a photographer. I'll be likely updating the review by then. In the meantime, I'm on the fence though it has more pros than cons. I love the larger screen compared to my old TomTom and the much better quality graphics. I'm also a constant second guesser so having a split screen when it comes to highway exits is nice as well. It's been pretty accurate so far except for when I have to hop on the northbound highway from my home. I kid you not, the gps made me drive ALL the way to the end of the road that the on-ramp is on and then made me turnaround on some strange side street before heading back to the on-ramp and taking it! It was 5 more minute of driving when it was completely unnecessary. Mind you, there is no clock or one-way turn onto the northbound on-ramp so I have no idea why it insists I do that. Now, I just double check which ramp I need and then skip that step Haha But so far it's the only real complaint I have. I mainly purchased this because it comes with lifetime map updates and I was tired of my old outdated gps and refused to pay for something that I feel should be included. It's the reason I don't use my in-dash gps in my Jeep because I refuse to pay for updates. Anyway, it's the perfect side, great quality, easy to read, doesn't have a super annoying voice and even has a green suv/jeep icon which is actually what I drive so bonus Haha

I bought to replace a NUVI 50. Took awhile to get it set up. I tried to register the device and get the updates. Seems the battery drain getting the updates was faster than it charges from the computer. When I plugging the device into my vehicle to get the initial charge, The updates etc went smoothly and the system works fine.It comes with a suction cup device to mount on the inside of the windshield. I found that although it works it restricts the view of the road. I prefer the Garmin-Portable-Friction-Mount.Since we are still using the NUVI 50 I ordered Another friction mount.

Much better directions than my wife's GPS on her cell phone and safer as well. Gets a little funny sometimes when switching between shortest distance and fastest route but it will get you there. Traffic works great in town but peters out about 30 miles outside of Boston. It comes in on an FM band so it probably just can't get reception that far out.Early notifications are fantastic, for things like which lane to be in or approaching roundabouts. Very occasionally will think you aren't on the street you are on but it's fun hearing the alerts like "You are not on a road" or "You are going the wrong way down the street." That cracks my kids up. It's just a very nice tool to have.