There were a number of reasons that went into my decision to get the 7200, not the least of which was its size. I had previously decided on the 7500 because of the dead reckoning ability, but that is an option that must be hard-wired to a single vehicle and actually makes no sense on a portable unit. Before I go much farther I would like to clarify something: some reviewers have incorrectly stated that there are no street names displayed on the 7200/7500 units. Don't you believe it! As with other units not every street name is displayed, but many are. You will find fewer street names while using 3D mode and more if using 2D mode, but street names are there!!! It's funny, but I knew how large a 7" diagonal screen was before this thing arrived and yet it still managed to look big to me. I think it's because the items being displayed are all large. What I mean is that even though the screen is about twice the size of most other portables you don't get twice as much information on the screen...in fact, you get just about the same; things just look bigger. That, I am sure, is in keeping with Garmin's intended purpose for this unit: large trucks and buses where the unit is located pretty far away from the driver. I purchased the XM radio antenna along with this unit so that I could have traffic updates as well as good programming while travelling. Having a remote control in addition to a touchscreen is a nice thing and should be offered by more manufacturers, but I'm sure it won't be. In case you're wondering, yes you can use this unit with a bean-bag mount. That is precisely what I am using and it works just fine, despite comments by some folks who claim it won't work. Garmin makes a good bean-bag and it's up to the task! The first time you turn the unit on it takes a good bit of time for it to get its bearings, but after that you'll have fairly short start-ups. I purchased a Gilsson external antenna for $16.95 and am quite astonished at the difference it makes. The Garmin antenna is almost $60.00 and will do the same thing. When looking at the GPS details page the bars go from few and small with no external antenna to many and almost 100% filled in with the Gilsson attached. I actually bought the antenna so that I could locate the GPS on the transmission hump rather than on the dash...it certainly works for that. Now that gasoline is obscenely high priced, being able to navigate around traffic jams, via XM and Garmin, is a more compelling argument than ever before; and the 7200 is at a very attractive price considering what you get. Now, if it only had BlueTooth...!

The Garmin StreetPilot 7200 is is a super navigation system, it works great, the screen is bright enough to be seen in the bright California sun and the map and the text is plenty big enough for a 75 year old man to read while diving at 80 down the freeway. It has a cool big sticky-back base so that it can be mounted on your dashboard almost like a head-up display so your attention is not drawn away from the road. I had already mastered the system in my new Corvette so that learning how to operate the Garmin proficiently only took me about ten minutes. I bought it for my motorhome but I have been using it in my old van to check it out and I am delighted. One of the nicest things about it, that is not in the Corvette system, is that you can save your routes after you put them in. This makes planning a big vacation an in-the-house job done well before you leave. All of your proposed routes can be saved into the system ahead of time. I bought a Garmin because of the excellent service I got out of my old hand held GPS and I bought the "big-screen" so that I could read it better. Both were clearly the right decision. This is a first-class piece of gear and I recommend it highly.

I never thought I needed a GPS, guy thing, but I bought the 7200 Garmin for my business, for the employees to help them learn a new route, up to 28 via points, I have found that it is a very good tool for me too when going to a new location I've never been. It may not take you the fastest way every time and I have to watch out streets a big truck can't go down but it will get you there. The BIG touch screen is great. Good satellite reception even though it sits one foot below the dash, could use an outside antenna.

The worst thing I hate is when you leave a via point and it decides you haven't been there yet and routes you back. The cradle lock for the 7200 has also broken and I can't get it out of it.

Yes there are flaws in the software and hardware, but the timesavings over shadow these flaws.

This navigator is great. The large LCD Monitor is great for viewing, the voice commands are understandable and we love being able to move it from one vehicle to another, in fact we are getting ready to go on vacation and planning on taking it with us for use in the rental car! If you are debating on which navigator to buy...I highly recommend this one.

Just like the previous StreetPilot models I've owned, this one is exceptional. Its severely lacking in 1 place the others didn't though and that's with the mount.

I purchased a third-party dash mount similar to the old beanbag mount they included with the smaller units, but this mounting is a real disappointment for a unit that costs so much. I have always hard-wired my GPS in to the truck and then had a second power cord when I needed to use the GPS in another vehicle. The power on this unit is attached to the mount which means that you can't take the GPS without taking the mount and therefore also taking the power cord with you. The only solution I can think of it to purchase a 2nd mount with attached power cord but then I will always have that tacky mount on my dash even when the GPS isn't with me. Ugh!

Garmin - you had it so right with the smaller units... how did you mess this up so much on the more expensive units??

Otherwise... I don't like the fact that you have to press BACK sometimes 4 - 6 times just to get back to the main menu.

Even with these gripes its 100 times better than the closest competitor, in my opinion.

The GARMIN Streetpilot 7200 GPS is a perfect GPS. It has all the features you could every ask for. I read one review (after I ordered mine) that stated a problem with the display of street names, not being available. So had some second thoughts, till I recieved the unit. I have no idea what the reviewer was talking about. I found the street names with no problem the unit is absolutly perfect for me..

I researched it for months and knew exactly what I wanted in a GPS, before I purchased the Garmin StreetPilot 7200. It has all of the features I was looking for, a large screen, real time traffic, remote, etc. I'm not going to dwell on all the great features. Every review will tell you about these, and they are great, if entering an address to go to or finding a restaurant or gas station is all you're going to use it for.

What you won't see in the reviews, and what the manufacturers ads don't tell you is that this unit does not show street names on the map. If you program in an address and want it to guide you to a specific place, it shows the next street you are going to cross, and will tell you every turn to make and when to make it. And it does that very well, most of the time. I have had it take me on a circuitous route that never ends if you keep following the directions, but that is rare. A much more common problem is that on some freeways it does not know when I take the entrance ramp, and still thinks I'm on the service road. At a certain point before each new entrance it starts telling me to take the next entrance ramp, in spite of the fact that I'm already on the freeway. And as I pass the entrance and it thinks I have missed the ramp again, it says "recalculating route" in what seems to me a reproving tone of voice. Very annoying. Also, unless you're on a major Interstate Highway, it does not tell you the name of your exit. If I'm on Northwest Freeway a mile from my exit at 34th Street, it says "Take exit to Northwest Freeway in one mile", etc.

Looking back on it, it was the one feature that I didn't research. But then I guess I just assumed that it would have the street names on the map. After all, I wouldn't ask if a Rand McNally Road Atlas had street names. Every GPS I have ever seen shows the street names.

I have to admit, this unit works as well as a yellow pages if you're sitting in a strange place and need to find a gas station or restaurant. It lists every conceivable place you might want to go, along with address, phone number, and directions.

But if you are simply parked in a strange part of town and want to know what street you are on, forget it. It shows you the street layout, but you have no way of knowing the street names. What if I just want to use it as a regular map? If I'm simply driving down the street and want to know what street I'm on I have to look for a street sign or pull out the old Key Map Guide that I thought I'd never have to use again. If you need directions to get somewhere specific and know the address, this unit is great. But what if you're lost and need a map? Forget it. There's just no way to use this "map" as a map. You can zoom in on an area and see the way the streets run, but not the street names.

I've contacted Garmin twice... surely there must be a way to see the street names... to turn this feature on? I was told that the system was not designed to show street names, there is nothing I can do to make it show street names, and the reason for that is that it would be too cluttered, and might distract me while driving.

Maybe that's true, but I think I should have the option to see the names of the streets just like a regular map, and be able to make my own decision whether to turn it off if I feel distracted, instead of Garmin making that decision for me. The reason I BOUGHT the big screen was so that I could see the street names better. Every other unit I've seen, even other Garmins, show street names, and most have smaller screens than the 7200.

A friend just bought a 2008 GMC Sierra 2500 with a factory installed in-dash Kenwood GPS, with a swing out screen about the same size as the 7200. When I first saw it, I was amazed to see the same basic layout and graphics as my Garmin, and that it in fact uses Garmin software. I was helping him set it up, and I have to admit that deep down I was kind of glad that he too would no longer have the street names on his GPS, like his old one did. Maybe the old adage "misery loves company" has some truth to it. Just as I was having to bite my tongue to keep the glee out of my voice as I commiserated with him over the fact that now he, too, was going to have to do without street names... well, I could hardly believe my eyes. On this screen that looked just like mine, using the Garmin software I have gotten so familiar with and with Garmin actually written on the screen, just as it was on mine... all the street names within a two-mile radius popped up! I'm actually very happy for him. It's just that he never researches anything. He just goes out and buys the most expensive one of whatever it is, and everything always seems to work out great. And I research it and compare models for months and buy a top of the line GPS and... OK... I'm not really happy for him at all. I wish I had his unit and he had mine.

And before you ask, no, this software will not work on my 7200. I tried to purchase it on the Garmin website the same day I saw his Kenwood and they acted like I was crazy for even thinking it might work.

Well, I've had my 7200 for almost a year now, and it stays stored in my center console most of the time, unless I have a specific address to go to, or need to know where the closest What-A-Burger is (like I don't already know the exact location of every What-A-Burger in the Greater Houston Area!)

I'm very envious when I'm in a friends car, and even though I may have to put on my glasses because their screen is one third the size of mine, I can see every street name. I thought I had done all the research, but I was wrong and would have looked further if I had known this unit lacked the basic ability to display the names of the streets on the map. I just wish I had it all to do over again. Even if I had to spend more to get what I want, it would be worth it. And needless to say, I would NOT buy a Garmin... even one that shows the streets.

I recently purchased a Garmin StreetPilot 7200. It does everything I expected. I especially love the big screen. My only kick is that I live in a fast growing area and many of the streets don't show on the GPS. I did not expect roads to show that were one or two years old but I did expect roads older than two years to show. I talked to Garmin and they said their maps are updated at the same time as MapQuest on an annual basis. My neighborhood has been in existance for four years and yet my whole neighborhood does not show. However, Garmin said that my neighborhood will be on the next update in September. The 7200 itself has performed flawlously. I would recommend the 7200 but don't expect newer streets to show especially if you live in a fast growing area. The question is whether any other company has more updated maps.

This is a first class product. I had a Street Pilot III that finally gave up the ghost giving me an excuse to up grade. I have used this device from the moment I opened the box. I use it for both business and recreation and I am on the road most of the year installing police and fire radio systems.

I am especially happy about the following:

1. Touch screen

2. Soft keyboard - better data entry

3. Fast processor - less delay recomputing the picture when travelling through an intersection with multiple entrances and exits

If there is any weakness in the product:

1. Better explanation of the functions on some of the sub-menues in the manual.

2. Why the XM antenna offering when an external XM receiver costs LESS?

Hey Garmin, Keep up the good work

The unit is very effective in selecting routes and giving turn warnings. I like the list of nearby places for finding lodging, golf courses and restaurants in unfamiliar locales. Some times in rural areas and where new streets hae been constructed the machine gets a little confused.