Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought my SE from REI in August 2013. Got the unit up and running fairly quickly, despite software that is reminiscent of trying to to connect a motorola flip-phone to the internet circa 1998. The hardware feels cheap, with brittle painted plastic parts showing injection molding seams, and a microscopic 16 color LCD screen that looks like it was borrowed from the same 1998 flip-phone. That said, I was able to connect with an iphone, which worked better than I expected and allowed easy entering of text, despite a dated interface which lacked needed (and basic) technical help information. The power button on my unit was troublesome, and it sometimes would simply not turn on. Regardless, I brought it on a backpacking trip, where I used it to send and receive about 20 messages total. When I returned, the people who I sent messages to complained that a), the messages were cut off (the 160 character limit does not mention that Delorme will use about 30 characters to insert an ad at the end of your message). This caused considerable trouble, since all of my messages were cut off. B) the GPS never functioned. All of my messages showed my location as somewhere in the middle of the India Ocean, rather than in the high sierras. I had a clear view of the sky, and the unit indicated a GPS signal. I called Delorme to complain about these issues, and asked them to clarify the $65 bill I received for sending these messages, which did not add up. Be prepared for $10+ of taxes and fees on each bill, and unintelligible details about your usage that do not match the billig plan you signed up for. Customer service apologized, but offered no refund. They promised to call back with an explanation of the cut-off messages within 48 hours, but never did. In December, three months later, I took the unit out to charge it an prepare for an upcoming trip. The unit would not charge, and would not power up. Customer service could not offer any help, so I returned the unit to REI. Delorme customer service refuses to cancel my contract or offer an type of recourse (12/26/2013). Buyer beware.