Nuvi 5000 GPS by Garmin

With a 5.2 inch diagonal colour screen displaying 800 x 480 pixels, this super-sized GPS unit seems to be targeted at the truck drivers and larger RV units on the road. It comes with all the normal goodies associated with the smaller 600 and 700 series units - preloaded City Navigator and North America NT detailed maps; auto dimming backlight; MP3 player, audio book and picture viewer; and the popular vehicle icons that can easily be downloaded and changed to suit your whim.

Of course, the Nuvi 5000 is equipped with text-to-speech that prompts you with turn-by-turn voice directions identifying street names and points of interest so your eyes never have to leave the road. There's the trip log and route planning features, plus the always useful "Where Am I?" one touch feature that finds the closest hospital, police station, or gas station. It will also provide important information like the nearest address and intersection plus your latitude and longitude co-ordinates in case you should ever need assistance.

Along with the displays large viewing area, the Garmin Nuvi 5000 includes digital elevation maps that offer 3 dimensional mapping perspectives, or a 2D overhead view of the terrain. The Nuvi 500 is compatible with MSN Direct (with an optional MSN receiver) so you can get traffic updates, weather, gas prices, movie listings, and a whole range of other useful information that can be sent to the GPS unit for future trip planning. It provides an electronic "breadcrumb" trail so you can retrace your route and it accepts composite video for use with an optional back up camera.

Garmins Nuvi 5000 still comes in a relatively compact size of 14.5 cm x 9.4 cm x 2.03 cm (W x H x D), or 5.7 in x 3.7 in x 0.8 in. Weight is 264 g / 9.3 oz. It comes with a standard 1 year warranty, a windshield suction cup mount, USB cable and manuals.

On the down side, the Nuvi 5000 does not include Bluetooth for hands free cell phone calls, but this feature tends to be a bit overrated and probably shouldn't make a difference in purchase considerations. Nor does the Garmin Nuvi 5000 have an internal battery and only works when plugged into your vehicle. This may be okay if you're only using it on the road, but lacks the versatility if you want to use it while walking, or with that "find where you parked the car" feature the Nuvi 5000's smaller relatives have.

Overall, Garmin has another respectable unit on the market. If you have a larger truck, or RV, then this unit is definitely worth taking a look at.