"I'm a navigation-system junkie. I looked in a drawer this morning before leaving for the office. I counted three handheld units, one of them, a Trimble; dates back to the early '90s when GPS first rose to American mainstream consciousness. But these, days I'm testing about five GPS systems—three portable ones, intended to be suction-cupped to the windscreen, plus a motorcycle-specific Garmin 660 and a DeLorme PN-40, designed to be good both for driving and hiking. Most of the cars I drive have a nav system built in to the dash too. Oh yeah, there's one in my phone, as well. I use them even if I know where I'm going, which drives my wife crazy.
I've come to one conclusion recently—I'll probably never buy a new car with a factory-installed nav system. I find portable systems far more useful. The built-in systems are expensive, usually $1500 to $2500, and are only available with the high-end stereo system."
