Gift reality check: Road trip or refund for your GPS?

Dec 26, 2009 5:00 AM

The holidays are over, presents unwrapped, and once again a portable navigation devices (PNDs) were popular gift-giving items. For Garmin, the hot ticket was the 255W, a well-equipped wide-screen model with spoken street names. TomTom was pushing low-cost widescreen models including the XL 340 S. The device has helpful text-to-speech ability and could be found for less than $100. The Magellan Roadmate 1440 was another oft-discounted model. These are all decent units, but do they have the features you want? And are there better units?

If you received a GPS this holiday season, check our GPS ratings to see if it was a good device and see if you might prefer to exchange it. (It sounds terrible, but your family and friends want you to be happy. Really.)

For help in choosing a replacement or in picking a model to buy at a post-holiday sale, read our GPS buying advice and see our personal picks for the holidays. (We also have updated handheld hiking GPS buying advice and ratings.)

If you have a keeper, either a gift or a purchase you made yourself, let us know how you like it. Does it work as you expected it to? Is it easy to use?

You can share your initial impressions in the comments below, and once you’ve put some miles on it, submit a user review. (To read or write a user review, online subscribers will find link on the GPS model pages, accessed through the Ratings chart by clicking the product name.)

To interact directly with other consumers, enter the GPS forum.

—Liza Barth

Garmin owners—Learn how to dress up your Garmin GPS for the holidays and winter.