Garmin Nuvi 650

Summary: The Nuvi 650 is an excellent GPS. I purchased mine at Bestbuy and am very impressed with its performance. The negatives are that it does not come with a carrying case or an AC Adapter. The leading competitor to Garmin - Magellan does include the carrying case. However, after reading several of these consumer reports and talking with sales people I decided on the Nuvi 650.

The 650 is very intuitive. No guess work here. From mounting the gps to finding your way to your destination every step is a snap - literally. The level of detail and accuracy of the maps in my area (Gaithersburg - Germantown, MD) is spot on. The volume is plenty loud enough. This was a concern because other posters complained about this on another site. I have not issue with volume. The unit is bright and the maps are crisp. The unit is loaded with features - far too many to try to include all of the here. However, the unit does speak the names of streets and turns BEFORE you get to them. In addition, if you change your route for any reason the until will automatically create a new route based off your new location - neat. All of this is done while you focus on the most important task - driving and avoiding the idiots around you. Downloads are fast and so to is start up. Just suction the mount the windshield, snap the 650 in place, and enter your destination.

The unit has a large screen which is nice; however, it does not interfere with your view of the road.

The unit is light enough to carry with you and solid enough that you don't have to worry about too much when you do carry it.

There are a ton of POIs and basic info to go along with the points of interest - like telephone number.

There are other EXTRAs that are very good, but frankly they did not influence my buying decision. The MP3 player is a basic unit, but the sound quality is surprisingly good when using headphones.

I was disappointed that there was no carrying case. I could do without the AC adapter because you can charge the unit with your USB adapter which is included. The female power connection will mate with certain cellular telephone AC adapters - BE WARNED; DO NOT DO THAT! I tried just because and my unit locked up. I reset it and it was fine because I only did it for a minute or so. That can blow a fuse in the unit - according to a sales man at a local electronics chain store. I don't don't him. Transferring files between the unit and your PC is very easy.

This unit is great and accomplishes all that it was designed to do with ease. It is really fun to use.

For users who need or would like to have Bluetooth then the 660 model would be the appropriate unit. Be prepared to pay up to $100 more for that unit.

(I am in no way affiliated with Garmin; I am not a paid reviewer; this review reflects my opinion of this unit and no one else's. Any errors are unintentional.)