my husband have a Garmin GPS which he use for vacation travel and hiking , but I could never take the time to figure out how to use the thing , so I print out my step-by-step instruction from Maps & Streets or Mapquest . and I have to admit that I put myself in danger more than once try to read the next turn while drive . my husband like he gadgit , so when he Garmin go kaput , he go into hyper research mode . he buy the TomTom even though he Mr. Fixit buddy repair the Garmin . he love the pre-loaded map and the long battery life . he download he own pous datum and when he be mess around with it , he contact user support and receive good technical support within a day . I be not happy he buy another gp when I be not thrill with the first one , but I let he have he toy ... I be convert when we have to go to a wedding of a distant relative in the NYC area . it route we the same as map and Streets , but without any effort . we easily be route to restaurant and gas station along the way . we stay at a secluded state campground and it even have the campground 's `` road '' in its database ! when we come back home , several bridge be wash out from severe rain , and we easily re-route to avoid the closed road . just be careful not to use the `` shortest route '' feature in rural area , because you may need a 4x4 ! we also let we friend borrow it for a few day while they be visit from out of town . they be skeptic too , until they use it . they know what they get for Christmas this year ! this thing be so easy to use right out of the box . I really like the feature of let you know what turn be come up and that it calibrate when to tell you and at what volume depend on you speed . I highly recommend this for the Mr. Gadgits and the people like I who just want it to be easy to use right out of the box . BJ