Garmin nüvi 42LM 4.3-Inch Portable Vehicle GPS with Lifetime Maps (US)..
Grab Now Garmin nüvi 42LM 4.3-Inch Portable Vehicle GPS with Lifetime Maps (US) By Garmin
Most helpful customer reviews
124 of 124 people found the following review helpful.
By Manoranjan
I have had this GPS for 1.5 months now and it has been excellent so far. I upgraded from my old Garmin Nuvi 885 and my thoughts are below:
Satellite:
* It is really fast to acquire a GPS satellite. Most of the time in less than a couple of seconds. I took this GPS on a trip to Myrtle Beach from Pittsburgh and it has always been fast in acquiring satellites.
Screen and screen navigation:
* I went with the 4.3 inch over the 5 inch version because I dont really see a reason to pay the extra $20 for an additional 0.7".
* The screen is not as good as the current smart phones but very responsive for a GPS. It is much better compared to my 885.
* The GPS is fast and very responsive. No lags when moving across different screens.
Map updates:
* The map updates are pretty good. I have updated it once now and the process was very smooth.
* This is my first GPS with lifetime maps. I have read reviews of other GPS where people complain about space issues when updating maps. This has 4GB space and the maps take about 2GB so lot of free space for future updates.
Compatibility with garmin mount:
* I had the garmin friction dash mount that I bought for my old GPS and it works perfectly with that. The dash mount is awesome and you can find it here:
Garmin Portable Friction Mount - Frustration Free Packaging
Summary:
An excellent GPS for the price.
92 of 100 people found the following review helpful.
By Nicholas Vendetti
This is my 3rd Garmin, the best one I've owned so far. Much better than the 40 LM, which I hated, and my older nuvi that locked up and died after a few years left in the car daily. Meaning, hot and cold killed it, my bad. Its better than my cars service, much better. Its cost is easy to take and it's just enough to make life easier and not enough to break the bank. It speed limit reminder is very helpful, a nice touch. For my needs its perfect. Its clear, clean and user friendly. It sound is great and directions quick and accurate. The online support is very good as is Garmins custormer service. In my mind, for my need of a simple GPS this is the best bang for the buck. There are other higher end GPS units but for me this is perfect hence 5 star. Settings are user friendly and making it more personal is easy. Its size is also perfect for my needs. Reception, so far, has been flawless.
46 of 49 people found the following review helpful.
By B. E. Watts
Bought this, my first GPS, to take on a solo trip where I wouldn't have someone else in the car to read maps or a smart phone to me, and I'm glad I did. Driving around an unfamiliar area, having to find various businesses and locations along the twisty roads of Boston suburbs, it was very useful. If you don't take the turn (either by accident or on purpose) that the device wants you to, it quickly recalculates and gives you a new route. Sometimes found instructions confusing when moving through expressway exchanges at highway speeds, but when I did the wrong thing, as I say, she gave me new directions.
The not so good: Very frustrating out of the box. No manual with the device, of course. When I plugged it in and registered the device, I assumed there would be a link right there to the manual for the device I was registering (wouldn't that make sense?). But no. I found a place to search for manuals on the Garmin web site, but it didn't provide one for my device. Eventually figured out by trial and error how to download and open up the Garmin Express program on my computer, which as it turns out, is where you find a way to download a manual. And once you open up the manual--guess what--there are instructions on how to do what I had just had to figure out how to do by myself to get to the manual. What is wrong with people who design and sell products? Do they want their customers' first experience with their products to be a frustrating waste of time? Does it ever occur to them to hand the box with their product to someone outside the company and say, "here, use this," and see what happens?
One glitch with the actual operation of the GPS: Three times when I have not taken the turn I was instructed to take, the GPS has tried to direct me to turn into a one-way street going the wrong way. Ooops.
But, overall I'm happy with the product.
XM receiver!