Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been using a NUVI 50LM for about a month now. It replaced a Garmin StreetPilot 7200. The 7200 was a top of the line unit at it's introduction. First the LM stands for Life Time Maps. This is a great feature. One of my frustrations with other GPS units has been the cost of updating the maps. With the LM I'll be able to do that any time there is an upgrade, prepaid! I'm used to the larger screen of the 7200 and was worried that I'd not like the 5" screen of the 50. After a couple of days it works out fine. The new unit is much lighter than the older one which even in the car mount turns out to be important as the new unit does not vibrate nearly as much on our dirt roads. Thus it's easier to use when the road conditions are not smooth. The Lane and Junction assists Garmin has added are a great help once you locate them. Basically in the upper left corner there is a lane layout with the lanes you should be in highlighted. When approaching an exit a pseudo image of the exit is presented on the right side. This is nice for sorting out what you should be doing on a fast moving and changing Interstate system. I get a laugh out of the shadow mountains in the background while driving in Kansas. Garmin has dropped the "Recalculating" statement that was made after a missed turn. This is both good and bad. There have been some times when I didn't know if the advice coming out of the unit was new or old. Overall it is less irritating. This unit acquires a fix noticeably faster than other units I've used, including the 7200. That's especially nice when I forget to turn in on until after I'm rolling in a busy part of town. Another new feature to me is the speed limit sign in the lower right corner. I've often wondered what the speed limit was on a stretch of road and missed the sign. This gives the limit. Now having said that it also dose NOT know about construction zones. Additionally, we just had a speed limit increase to 75 from 70 on many of our Interstates. Even though my last update was after the change the unit still shows the old speed. Overall this is a great feature. Oh, and it shows your speed in black if you are at or below the limit and in red if you go over. For a basic, no frills GPS I think this is a great value, and the LM is worth the extra $$$$.