Holux GPSmile52plus

usability, price, reliability, screen, performance

route planning, maps, size

44% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

unlockable if you have the time

old maps bad customer support

Cheap. Works well. Picks up GPS signals in about 30 seconds. Comes with a car and home charger. Small and sturdy. Has a unit shut off switch so you can make sure that it doesn't drain your battery. Good battery life of over 4 hours.

Poor software. Hard to enlarge the map and keep it that way. The street names are squeezed on the street instead of being over it, making it hard to read. The voice is a female with an English voice which is a little different than US English and says...

Quality hardware with venerable SIRFStar III GPS. Solid feel and just generally well-made. Long battery life. Accurate stock maps and relatively tidy information display (speed, elevation, time-to-dest, etc). Gives reasonably good directions. Decent...

Stock Smart2Go nav software is decent but route calculation is extremely slow, POI are a bit lacking and often outdated, and the map detail is horrendous. Street names are all listed in a small font and are almost unreadable with the GPS stuck to your...

The link was removed from my previous post. This unit is extremely easy to modify. Just Google ""gpsmile 52+ unlock"". A few links down you will find the GpsPassion Forum discussion. There is nothing illegal about doing this. What you are buying here...

The software I am using now is is just plain easier to use. It's so easy that after I demonstrated how it worked to my elderly mother... She wanted one. My wife quickly turned into a true believer as well. I purchased a second unit for my mother ; she...

Quality Hardware with extra functions like a MP3 player.

Sticks you on streets even when you are off road resulting in grossly miscalculated directions. Programed for a Brittish market which does not reflect American Rules of the Road. This can result in dangerous directions like asking you to make an...