A while back I posted that I won a new GPS. Well it finally came and I have had a while to play with it and give some feedback. I am going to spare you from an in depth review because there are already a ton of them out there. We also don’t use it very often. It gets pulled out for times when we are going someplace new or on multi-hour trips.

Visually is is nice, it looks like a smart phone, simple and black. The interface is fast and the larger screen is nice. I used to have a Garmin 250W and it was nice, but didn’t have many features. I wouldn’t have paid for extra features, or at least I didn’t think I would. If/when I have to replace this unit it may be a tough call.

• Lane Assist - really cool. It actually can tell you that the right two lanes go right and the left two go left. That helps when traveling on unfamiliar expressways.
• Bluetooth – really cool. I always thought it was a cool thing, but using the GPS as a handsfree set comes in pretty handy when driving. Also cool with in conjunction with voice commands.
• Voice Commands – really cool. You can name the unit and it will respond to that name. Originally I called mine “Computer” that way I can say “Computer” before a command like in Star Trek. Then it was called “Rogue Leader” and now “Are Two Dee Two”. I tried for “Are Two”, there is some algorithm that test for length/uniqueness (?) so I had to use the longer name.  But the feature lets you do a good number of tasks without having to take your hands off the wheel or eyes off the road.
• Multi-Touch – meh. this basically means a touchscreen like an iPhone. It is better for scrolling and pan/zoom functions than the old style but not a must have by any means. Also it means you can’t use gloves with it.
• 3D Maps – pretty cool. So far I haven’t noticed this being helpful though.
• Speed Limits – hella cool. It tells you how fast you are going and what the speed limit is. If you are over it displays your speed in red. I have found this to be useful, but also advertises that you are speeding to everyone in the car.
• Traffic - unknown. So far I have seen the traffic icon come on the screen, but in my limited use it hasn’t been that useful.
• ecoRoutes - cool. With this enabled you punch in the city and highway MPG rating for your car and the price of Gas. It then uses the GPS ,accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc. to give you an eco rating (similar to those in a hybrid car) and also break it down into categories (braking, acceleration, etc). At the end of a trip it tells you how much it cost you. This could be depressing if you had a truck though.
• Trips - meh. Formerly called “routes” it basically lets you punch in multiple places you need to go and it will sort them for you or you can pick which order. You can save these for future or repeated use. It also has the function where you can input a arrival or departure time and it will tell you when you need to leave or when you will get there. It takes too much planning. It would  be good for delivery guys to program in the morning with the days trip.

I have had a couple of issues so far. When I first got it I was unable to update the maps or software from my Mac. I tried it on my PC and it worked fine.

Also when I initiate a call via bluetooth to my iPhone it calls, but nobody can talk or listen. If I switch to the handset I can use it fine and then switch back to the GPS it works. With incoming calls there is no problem either. My wives phone worked fine. A later update to the GPS fixed the iphone issue I was having.