Garmin - DriveSmart 55 & Traffic - 5.5" GPS with Built-In Bluetooth - Black

So fast, so streamlined, everything in its right place. Once you've used the DriveSmart on a long trip or just around town, Google maps just seems antiquated and clunky. The size of the 55 is just perfect and the screen has zero reflection, but for some reason the screen looks reflective when you try to take a pic of it with your phone.

I purchased for my husband and several of the features he pointed out to me are: Alerts for traffic ahead School zone approaching Over speed alert Split screen at freeway exits approaching National park listing/historical sites If you are Passing a historical site an H pops up on screen so it gives you time to get off and explore Bluetooth speaker

I love this GPS. I'm going to buy two more for my kids. Everything I buy from Best buy is great. I love how it can stick to your window so it's right in front of your face.

Not bad for a GPS if you don't have a phone to use. The software is a bit outdated though so it is not the easily to use.

There are many things to like about this GPS. If you plan to mount it on the windshield, the display size is great to prevent any obstruction of critical viewing area for driver. The interface is nice. Directions, turns, upcoming events are communicated in a very friendly and easy to understand manner - some units are just annoying. The traffic feature is very nice to alert driver to lane or road closures, road construction, estimated delay times and automatic reroute suggestions are provided to avoid delays. The automatic change to a split view showing both map and closeup of turning lanes for upcoming turns is really nice. It does keep the driver well informed of what to expect and proper lane position. The only concerns I have experienced so far are 1) as others have noted, the voice recognition often does not pick up on verbal commands and manual touch screen entry is required and 2) We ran into a situation returning from a trip to the shore where the GPS was actively rerouting us around some road closures and the unit seemed to get scrambled and shut down. We were on an exit ramp following it's display and commands and all at once it indicated to make a U turn while we were still on the ramp and promptly shut down. Obviously, that wasn't a pleasant experience. I had to find a place to pull over and set it back up for the rest of our trip home. It worked flawlessly the rest of the way and since. I am hoping that was a fluke and not something that will occur again - but it's also the reason for 4 stars and not 5. Overall, for me, the nice features far outweigh the negatives that I have experienced.

Cell like to overheat and drain battery especially since iPhone 7 I don't take any charger with me anymore. I had to send this device back to Garmin because I got software error and the replacement wasn't that great. Have now three yellow dots what don't show strongly. I didn't had time to complain again. Least it's working

It has a great display and some interesting options such as using your cellphone to enable traffic updates and the History channel "interesting things" option. •I didn't like having to connect my cellphone in order to get traffic updates. My older model Garmin had a data cable that came with it (the cord you plug into the lighter port to charge it) for traffic for the life of the device. •This GPS has an absolutely HORRIBLE battery life compared to older models. It made it extremely difficult to do the initial update of maps, etc before the first use. •Very useful features on the older models are NOT on the newer model. There is no more "breadcrumb trail" feature to track and show you which rides you've been on before. That was my favorite feature of the older models, as it came in very handy. •Another feature that has been removed is the ability to add/delete personalized Avatars from the Garmin site (icons to representyour vehicle). For example, I downloaded an X-Wing fighter, a truck with a xmas tree on the roof & the Black Pearl to my older Garmin. You can only choose from the defaults on the new Garmin. •You can no longer download different "fun" voices to use on the device. I used to have Dr Nightmare as the voice on my older Garmins & the are now no choices available other than what comes on it. (There used to be a yeti and a crazy squirrel to name a few other options from the Garmin site that you could download to your device). Overall the GPS worked as expected, but I wouldn't buy it again. The poor battery life alone was annoying. I'm disappointed with Garmin on this because it seems to offer less than the older models but since it looks nicer you just assume all of the old features are included and improved and that is not the case.

The Garmin DriveSmart 55 has everything I would like to have in a GPS: Free map updates for life, map and software updates via wifi, voice command and Garmin Traffic. My 13-year old Garmin nuvi has none of these, therefore this new device is a MAJOR upgrade and is worth every penny. So far it is a delight to use. My only criticism is that once you installed and paired the Drive App, the device sets it as the default "current traffic provider" with no other option (ie, Garmin Traffic). If you want to use Garmin Traffic, you must remove the Drive App completely, by resetting to factory settings (turning off bluetooth won't cut it). The whole point of buying a new Garmin is to unchain myself from my phone which has been serving as a GPS, so I removed the Drive App and will use the device entirely as a stand-alone.