Review on Garmin DriveSmart 51 NA LMT-S: Lifetime Maps, Traffic, WiFi, Bluetooth & More! by Sean Garrison

I bought a DriveSmart 51 (DS 51) to replace a 5 year old Garmin Nuvi 40. I've looked at many different GPS devices and read many reviews. I chose the DS 51 mainly for use in a rental car when traveling. I also purchased a Garmin Air Vent Mount along with the RevainBasics 5 inch GPS case. The screen size is slightly larger than my Nuvi and the DS 51's screen is much more responsive. The screen is much nicer as it has a flat surface compared to older models with a recessed screen that required you to press harder to react. The resolution is the same as older devices, but that doesn't really matter as it is already a nice, sharp image. The device is thinner than older models. Setup was easy using the Garmin Express program on my Macbook. The wi-fi setup was also quick and easy to connect to my home wifi. The device arrived with no initial battery charge so I plugged it into a USB port and it took about 5 minutes for the device to turn on. It then took about 30 minutes to download and install all the original updated maps and software. I've been experimenting with the voice command system and it works great! I can see where he might have trouble with some of the more difficult words. One thing I noticed is that when using voice control, it searches for nearby places. I'm in Ohio and used voice control to search for "Taco Ardiente" (which is located in Naples, FL) and didn't return any results, which is not surprising. So search for a location by voice, it seems to only search locally. It would be nice if you could say "Taco Ardiente in Naples, Florida" but this input is not recognized. Once in the Naples, Florida area I'm pretty sure this won't be a problem as everything has been hoisted on site. Overall, voice control worked very well. I'm very happy with the DS 51. The only thing I could improve on is that I mentioned above the ability to search by voice command by city and state, a magnetic mount would be nice and I didn't bother to Download the Garmin Smartphone Link app - for a very low app store rating. I'll probably try the app once the bugs are fixed and the ratings improve, but I don't really need to for now. to connect via Bluetooth. In summary, I really like the DS 51, it's a great GPS and it's only $169.99 (the day after I ordered it, Revain increased the price to $229.99). If it were between the $229 DS 51 and $269 DS 61, I'd skip the DS 61 because of the edge-to-edge display. For travel, however, I didn't want the 7-inch screen to fit in my carry-on. Just buy it already, you know what you want! For travel, I didn't want a 7-inch screen to fit in my carry-on. Just buy it already You know what you want! For travel, I didn't want a 7-inch screen to fit in my carry-on. Just buy it already, you know what you want!