> I start looking and realize that each manufacturer has at least 76
> models
> available...
That's because they assign a different model number to each collection of
options. They're all pretty much the same basic receiver inside, the
options are things like display size, voice recognition, free map updates,
traffic subscription, etc.
I bought a Garmin Nuvi 1350T for the wife, she seems quite happy with it.
4.3" color display, "free" traffic subscription (actually it's supported by
advertising that pops up on the screen occasionally), and one free map
update. About $120-130 most places. Or they now have the 1350LMT which is
the same receiver but with "lifetime free map updates", and costs some $30
more.
But don't forget they do sometimes make mistakes, of various kinds. We took
a long trip with a friend's Nuvi before buying ours, and it once guided me
into an abandoned parking lot in the middle of nowhere, saying "continue on
highway 15" when there wasn't a highway within miles. It also tried to get
me to drive through a river (which might be fordable for part of the year,
but was 4-6' deep when we were there).
-- Randall
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