Garmin Nuvi 660

Pros: Large, clear display, decent voice instructions

Cons: Doesn't always select best route

Summary: First let me explain that this is the first GPS unit I've ever used, so I am not familiar with GPS capabilities in general. So, some of what I consider its shortcomings might be the same for other systems as well.

I read these reviews and was thoroughly confused by the wide disparity in user ratings. However, I ended up buying this because of the high review from the CNET editors and the many high opinions expressed here, plus I felt I couldn't pass up the deal at Costco.com -- $499. This is absolutely the cheapest price I've seen this unit.

The good: The 660 is easy to set up. The small start-up brochure works fine and there is a pretty decent user manual on the CD. The large display is bright and intuitive. I was also delighted to find out that the Bluetooth works great with my LG VX5300, even though that was NOT one of the compatible phones listed. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well it paired and that the address book was automatically downloaded to the nuvi -- a feature I didn't know about. I was also able to successfully hook the nuvi up to the FM stereo as well as load MP3 and jpeg files and download free custom POIs from POI-factory.com. The voice (I am currently using the British male) isn't bad at all -- except he pronounces "West Edmonston" as "Wes Ed Monster".

The disapointing: While I set my preferences to fastest route and to avoid traffic, Mr. Wes Ed Monster always seems to find the route with the shortest distance but usually the one most traffic lights, instead of the highways. They are routes I would never choose. He also directs me to left turns that either have no light, which makes it too difficult to turn, or not allowed. He doesn't seem to know that you can't turn left on certain roads.

I would like to be able to tell him to get to a certain point by taking a specific route which I know to be faster or more scenic, but there is no easy way to do this. While I can program in one stop as a via point, I can't just say use Route x instead of Route y -- I have to specify a specific location -- which is not always easy to do.

I wish one could do the following:

-Specify a specific road/route you want it to take.

-Manually enter the route to get from A to B (for example, if someone tells you the best way to get to his house) and save it -- then let Mr. Ed read me the directions instead of calculate it his way.

-Record the route one is taking.

-Save the calculated routes.

-It would also be nice to be able to enter more than one destination with one vua oiubt, However, I have figured out that I can save multiple destinations as via points and then just select the next one when I arrive at a destination.

Allow you to "pause" the directions -- for example, if you decide on the way to your destination to make a detour to see an attraction -- without it getting all upset and trying to get you back to the road he wants you to be on.

I don't know whether any other GPS unit handles any of these functions.