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I purchased the Garmin GPS10 Deluxe bundle as a first time GPS user. I am extremely pleased with the Garmin GPS unit and the software. I know that eventually when the SiRF III chipset matures and becomes more mainstream and comes standard with WAAS; eventually I will probably upgrade just my GPS device to a newer GPS device. But that whatever GPS device I upgrade to needs to be able to work smoothly with my Garmin mapping program.
But my overall expectations with the Garmin GPS10 was surpassed. The usability and intuitiveness of the user interface and the fact that I can use it also for geocaching is amazing.
If you're a first time user, get a GPS bundle. Just make sure the mapping program in the bundle is something that you would like after reviewing it online.
Major points to consider;
*** can you choose parts or the whole of North America maps on storage drive (yes for the GPS10)
*** do you care for 3D (not for the GPS10; this is eye candy for me)
*** can you do a route list (yes for the GPS10)
*** can you see how many sats and signal quality (yes for GPS10)
*** quality of software aka robustness (yes for GPS10)
*** map accuracy of Canada + USA (yes for GPS10)
*** basemap accuracy of rest of the world (yes for GPS10)
*** sat reception in city with skyscrapers (no for GPS10, but good if you have a SiRF III)
*** logs your tracks and routes (yes for GPS10)
*** transparencies for your map info so more PDA screen is able to be shown (yes for GPS10) == do a search and look closely at the GPS10 screens.
*** ability to block roads so that you force routing to not route thru blocked roads (yes for the GPS10)
*** Colors of the map makes it usable (yes for the GPS10)
*** VGA capable (yes for the GPS10 but not the splash screen) - however, to small for my eyes... :-)
As you see, some mapping programs will be able to do some or all of the above. It is just a matter of which feature you want most. Usually not all programs has everything. Its up to you to decide what you can live without.
Good luck and happy GPS'ing.
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