A good GPS system

[M forever]

As a nice accessory for the long trip from San Diego to Boston that I have ahead of me, and to make getting around in a completely new area easier, I have decided to finally get myself a nice GPS navigation system. I don't need any of the gadgets, bluetooth, mp3, all that nonsense, I need a good, reliable system that is not too bulky to take with me when I am flying somewhere.

It appears to me that the option where the systems announces the street names as well as turns (text-to-speech or whatever that is called) is more important than a widescreen display. You aren't supposed to stare at the screen anyway while driving. One of the systems that interest me is the Garmin nüvi 260 which is the cheapest one with text-to-speech and a regular display and not much (if any) multimedia features. It also seems to be quite handy, flat rather than the CRT shape some of them have and which make them a little bulky.

I guess the actual navigation features and content such as points of interest, shops, hotels, etc, are pretty much the same and the price differences are just additional features such as widescreen display or multimedia. So far, I have only used Garmin systems, so I wonder how other systems, like Magellan, compare to these?

After reading a number of reviews, I am leaning more and more towards the  Magellan Maestro 4040 which is only slightly more expensive than the Garmin nüvi 260, but it also has text-to-speech, widescreen display and bluetooth for hands-free calling. Dunno if I really need that, but it might be practical. The navigation features appear to get generally very positive reviews although some say the semi-transparent icons on the screen are a little hard to read. Still, that looks quite attractive. But I have absolutely no experience with Magellan systems. Has anyone ever used one of them?

[Holden]

If it's available the  Navman S30 is a great little GPS and very cheap!