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!

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.

This Garmin drive seems small given how large GPS units have gotten over the years, but if you compare to older models, it's larger. The important thing for me is that it's large enough to see from both the driver and the passenger side. I've had to adjust to the interface, having come from years of using a different brand, but once I adapted, I found its use relatively intuitive.Even though I have a car with a built-in navigation system and even though my husband generally prefers to use his phone, I bought this mostly for travel since 1. rental car companies charge extra for GPS and 2. phone batteries die and coverage can be spotty and 3. my husband's car doesn't have built-in navigation. This Garmin GPS keeps giving directions even in more remote areas where cell signals can be lost. It's small enough to pack in a carry-on or briefcase/tote. It also fits easily in the console of my husband's car so that we can hide it when not using it.I've learned that "lifetime maps" means that you can update it for several years before a company discontinues support for the particular unit. Do update the maps since road re-directions and newly-built areas can wreak havoc with navigation if you happen to be in that area.Garmin is a trusted name. I started with a Garmin before moving to a competitor, but I returned to Garmin due to reviews and my confidence in the brand. I'm happy I did.-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

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.

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.