My husband suffered a stroke three weeks ago. This forced me to have to drive to strange cities in order to get him to his appointments with various doctors and specialists. I never had a good sense of direction, which is why I never drove much. I always depended on my husband to take me places. When the stroke hit, this forced me to be the driver. This GPS device is a life saver for me. I don't know what I would do without it. Now, if I hear that my husband has to go to such and such a place, I am no longer afraid to drive him because the GPS device will tell me exactly where to go. I was always afraid to drive because of my lousy sense of direction. If there was a detour in the road, I would panic. This device took the fear away from me completely and has liberated me from my self-imposed prison. Not only this, but I am able to get my husband to the places he needs to go. I will never be without this device ever again.
Garmin Drive 50 USA LM
I bought this GPS unit as a backup for google maps on my Nexus 5 for a cross country trip from IL to CA. Surprisingly by the end of the trip, I found myself using the Garmin about 99% of the time. I am comparing this unit against google maps that I use 99% of the time otherwise.
The reasons I like this better than google maps:
1. The split screen was really informative - especially with large lane guidance in unfamiliar areas and upcoming stops displayed next to the map without having to navigate away from the live map. This may not be a problem with long stretches of roads but in a city for example, the ability to show important stops like gas, food and rest stops without having to risk going away from the map and losing a turn.
2. The "Up next" info was probably the most useful feature for me as the three most important things during a long trip Viz. Food, Fuel and rest areas are very conveniently shown next to the map. This allowed me to get fuel at the upcoming gas station if the next one after that (whose distance was also shown as part of what's up next information) was going to be 100 miles away. This saved my from running out of fuel a couple of times in the middle of the AZ/NM/NV area.
3. The current speed limit was very helpful and I found it was about 100 yards off from the signs posted (i.e. the GPS took about 100 yards to catch up with the posted speed limit signs). This is better than google maps which does not have any such information at all.
4. Offline navigation! This in itself was the main reason I brought a dedicated GPS unit and I was not disappointed! I shudder to think of not having navigation in the middle of Arizona/Utah because of lack of phone coverage.
After using a dedicated GPS (while coming from a position of skepticism of it's usefulness over google maps), I will say that I probably will be using this GPS for all my long distance driving over using my phone (and leave my phone always connected to the charger). But for inner city navigation, I still prefer google maps/waze for almost instantaneous traffic based navigation.
This so far has been a pretty nice gps. I’ve owned several (and still have two) Garmin GPS units and have always been happy with their products. Only difference I notice between this Drive model and an older Nuvi is the sharpness and color saturation. This newer Drives colors seem to be (at least to my eye) a little more muted than the older Nuvi. Also the gps body seems to be made of a thinner/cheaper plastic. Other than that seems to be a capable unit. Updated easily, picked up the satellite fairly quickly. Recommend fully charging before doing the update. Mine came with a pretty much uncharged battery. I tried updating before the unit was fully charged and it kept dying during the process. After letting it charge for an hour or so things went great.
Absolutely the best refurbished product I have bought on Amazon. I cannot say enough about how easy it is to use, many new features than my previous Garmin. Highly recommend. It was a steal for $46.
I got the Garmin 010-N1532-0C Drive 50LM 50 GPS Navigator, 5", (Certified Refurbished) and it works great! At first I couldn't download the software or update maps... that's because the battery wasn't charged first. You will see the screen light up with a red battery bar.... then a green battery bar... and that's still not charged... wait until the screen lights up and then you are good to go!
Feature Product
- DRIVER ALERTS - Receive alerts for upcoming sharp curves, speed changes, school zones, a fatigue warning, nearby red light and speed cameras and more
- EASY TO USE - Dedicated GPS navigators display current street, current speed, speed limit and arrival time
- GARMIN REAL DIRECTIONS - Guides like a friend, using recognizable landmarks, buildings and traffic lights. Display type : WQVGA color TFT with white backlight
- FOURSQUARE - Preloaded data from Foursquare adds millions of new and popular stores, restaurants and more. Display resolution 480 x 272 pixels
- DIRECT ACCESS - Simplifies navigating to select complex destinations, such as malls and airports ; rechargeable lithium-ion. Battery life up to 1 hour
- Free lifetime traffic avoidance for a stress-free driving.
- This USB mass storage device is compatible with Windows XP or newer and Mac OS X 10.4 or later
Description
Garmin Drive 50 USA LM is a 5-inch GPS navigator featuring spoken turn-by-turn directions, lifetime maps of the lower 49 U.S. states, and the latest in Garmin driver alerts to increase situational awareness and encourage safer driving. Features new driver alerts for upcoming sharp curves, fatigue warnings, speed changes, railroad crossings, and so much more. Receive alerts for nearby red light and speed cameras. Garmin Real Directions feature guides using landmarks and traffic lights. Preloaded with millions of more new and popular places thanks to Foursquare. New driver awareness warnings make Garmin Drive the watchful companion to your daily commute.
I generally purchase refurbished electronics as they are considerably cheaper than new and rarely show signs of wear. I have owned Magellan's, Tom Toms, and generally use Google Maps on my cell. The problem with using a cell phone for a GPS is that it only works when you are within range of a cell tower. This little Jewel quickly locks into several satellites and always gives me accurate directions to my destination. With a fast processor and excellent voice directions, I highly recommend the Garmin Drive 50LM!
Perfect. Lots of features... accurate for finding upcoming restaurants, gas stations and community services. We drive cross country every summer and updated our older GPS to this. Worked through all states, even in low-service areas through the desert. I like being able to search ahead for hotels and restaurants. The battery lasted a long time and there wasn't a lot of screen glare. We also purchased the weighted holder which we really liked.
I took a chance on this unit because it was refurbished. So far, I'm glad I did. It does everything that my older GPS used to do, but at a third of the price. I really like the mounting system but I don't like the power cord. The power cord is permanently attached to the cigarette lighter plug and the end plug appears to be the type used on numerous Android type cell phones, but it is proprietary. I can live with that, but it would have been nice if they would have used a USB instead of a permanently wired cigarette plug. With so many new cars having USB power sockets that would just make sense in my opinion. Still, the unit works great and does exactly what I need it to do, and at a price point that if it is stolen I won't be out a lot of money.
Bought a refurb for ~$55. Arrived like new.
Updated maps and at 70% volume I hear it over my speakers blasting music.
At 40% volume I hear it on the highway with windows down.
At 20/30% I hear it loud and clear.
Never get lost again, buy one and only look back in the rear-view mirror :)
Used it one time so far on a 3.5 hour trip to Orlando, Florida. The screen is a good size to see where you need to go without being too distracted of where you're driving. Was accurate with the speed limits and tolls no matter where we went. I bought this one because of the lifetime maps feature. In Florida the growth is always changing the roadways so it is comforting to know how to get somewhere even if the last time I went was three-four years ago. Was also pretty good at showing local amenities based on my location. Helpful when you're in a place like Orlando. The only thing I found annoying was the GPS seemed pretty stubborn on the different routes it calculated. I specifically wanted to limit my time on I4 & I75 and it took some extra effort to customize the route I wanted. Otherwise I still really glad I have this GPS when I go on road trips.
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