Garmin Nuvi 650 - 4.4 in. Car GPS Receiver

I recently purchased a Garmin Nuvi 650 for $350.00. I decided to buy it for my Toyota Camry after renting a Garrmin Nubi 350 with my Dollar Rent A Car rental in Dallas, which I was able to rent for $11.00 per day. I have used GPS devices for some time now, having used a built-in GPS device in our family MDX and, before that, dragging around my laptop with a De Lorme GPS program and GPS device, which I have used on planes and cars throughout the country. I was reluctant to invest in small, portable devices in the past, and this was primarily because of the device's delay in relaying my position to the screen. This delay can mean missing a turn-off from a freeway or street. Other worries in the past (not with the MDX GPS) have been the reliability of the street maps. This is not a particularly big problem in major cities, but on occasion, an inaccurate street location is encountered. The Garmin 650, as well as the 350, is easy to install. One needs only to plug in its power cable to your cigarette lighter and attach the monitor to a well-engineered suction cup holder for placement on the windshield. Attachment of any GPS device to a windshield or any window is illegal in California, so I have fashioned a velcro covered platform to hold it on the dash. I have not been stopped by the CHP yet, but, if I am, and the CHP says that it's blocking a portion of the front window, I will just reposition the mini-screen below the dash and out of sight to passing cops, but viewable by a quick look down.

The minute you turn on the Garmin GPS you are quickly and easily guided through the process of getting what you basically want to know: How to plug in the state, city and street address of where you want to go. Garmin does it clearly with large enough touch screen buttons that keep you from fumbling with the device when you don't have the time to waste. To keep you from programming your device when the car is moving, Garmin has a lock out system that waits until the car is stopped. You can over ride the device, which I don't recommend since the time saved in using the device will more than compensate you for the time lost in pulling over to safely program it.

What speed you want in a GPS device, the Garmin 650 provides, and that speed is in the location of your car and the time it takes to give appropriate voice or mapping directions so you can find the street or turn off you need to take, when you need to take it. This is where the Garmin 650 excels. Also, the clear screen that the 650 provides reduces much stress when looking for an unfamiliar location.

Other features on the 650 that are nice to have include the ability to save your destinations so that just one touch of the screen will return you to a location that has been previously inputted--something that is quite helpful when your trip is interrupted by unplanned stops or last minute changes in destination.

The Garmin 650 also provides information about restaurants, gas stations, hotels, etc at the touch of a button. These are helpful, but I have not used them, only observed them. What is particularly helpful is the time estimate for arriving at your destination, which the 650 provides you and which is fairly accurate.

So who should get the 650? If you travel out of town and rent a car, i would suggest you get one and avoid the $11.00 a day charge of the rental car companies. If you are thinking of buying a car, but don't want to pay the dealer markup of a built in navigation, I would consider the Garmin 650 price (which apparently now is under $300 in some places) as a cheaper alternative to a built in GPS device. But don't forget that a portable GPS device must always be removed from the car because it is an easy and tempting smash and grab prize for the criminal minded. There is really no reason for anyone to be without a GPS device these days. With gas prices so high, a GPS device is something that the consumer should not be without.