Nűvi 350 GPS

I've been eying the Garmin Nűvi 350 GPS for a year now, but hadn't been willing to pay its $800 asking price. But recently the 350 became a former model, replaced by a new version whose added features (Bluetooth and a wider screen) are of no interest. What was of interest to me was that Amazon was now offering it for $600.

What I particularly like about the Nűvi is that it fits easily in a shirt pocket, can run for 4 hours on rechargeable batteries or plugged into a car, has a full street-level map of North America, and uses the top-rated SiRFstarIII chipset that locks on quickly and keeps its signal even under tree cover.

Now that we have it, we also very much like "Jill" the synthesized voice that talks us through routes without even needing to look at the Nűvi itself. It also has given us quite a comfort level about going to destinations we've not been to before, knowning that if we make a wrong turn, "Jill" will quickly notice and offer a solution.

One other unexpected blessing is that Garmin has already upgraded the software on our Nűvi twice this summer with new features, such as showing our current Latitude and Longitude.

To safeguard the touch screen, I covered it with two Palm screen protectors.

I'd considered other Garmin models, ranging from a wristwatch version for runners to ones for hikers, bikers and cars, but the Nuvi pretty much does it all. The only feature it still lacks that I might appreciate is "breadcrumbs" (dots showing on a map where you've actually been, so you can retrace your steps.) Highly recommended.