Garmin nuvi 40LM

I bought a GPS, Garmin nuvi 40LM for Christmas, at Walmart. It was as good deal. I paid under $100.00 on sale. When I tried it out I found the keyboard was slow to respond so I took it back, but to another Walmart location. Walmart's policy with GPS is returns only up to 14 days. The lady who sold me the GPS told me I had 30 days. When I wanted to return it it had been in my possession for 28 days. The woman I dealt with at this other location was not very helpful. She told me I would have to deal with Garmin directly. When I told her no other store would tell me that, especially since I had paid an extra $10.00 for an extended warranty, she said it was their policy, and there was nothing she could do for me. Only after one year had passed Walmart would deal with me directly. I've never heard of that before, and that snotty young woman did not leave me a satisfied customer and very little respect for Walmart's return policy. So I went back to the location where I bought the GPS. The man I dealt with was friendly and courteous. He said he couldn't give me back my money but he exchanged mine for a new one. I was okay with that. Well, this new one works and I' m happy with it. I've downloaded a number of different voices, but the one I really like, American English, Michelle, doesn't say the street names. Too bad. I really like her voice and I can understand her clearly.
Now I'm using my GPS whenever I drive, just to practice. This one doesn't say 'Recalculating'
when you make a mistake. Hearing that constantly can be annoying, but sometimes it is useful to be told you missed your street or exit. I liked my old GPS, a Garmin nuvi 255, but that one didn't have lifetime maps. That was the reason I bought a new one. The 40LM doesn't have the 'Where am I feature' which I miss, but there is a way to mark your present location by clicking on the vehicle that shows where you are and then putting the location in Favorites. It's a bit more complicated and takes another step. But once you get used to that it's not a problem.
Last year I used a GPS for the first time when we went for a holiday in the US and I found it extremely useful, almost a necessity. It is great when in a strange city. You just mark the location of the hotel you are staying at and you cannot get lost. It will almost lead you back. A GPS is also great for planning the route you want to travel and you always know how long it will take until you arrive at your destination.
However, you can't just blindly follow the suggested route, because sometimes it may lead you down an untraveled road, one that is old and hardly used. So, you can't rely exclusively on the GPS. It is good to have a map handy, just in case.
What I found interesting is the feature that warns you of Red Light Cameras. The first time I head the 'ding' I wondered what the heck was wrong until I looked at the GPS and saw the black line with the warning. But when I wanted to upgrade the Red Light Cameras I discovered that it would cost me $27.00. So I didn't upgrade. It is not so important. I just hope there is no time-limit on the ones I have on my GPS.
That seems to be the thing they do when you buy a gadget. My new computer had a partial Windows Word program. If you want the complete version you have to buy it. The same with the Virius program. I also had a six month trial period for changing a written story into the PDF format. I didn't realize that until I used it for the first time yesterday, only to be told my trial period has ended. To buy the program would cost me about $70.00. That was a special price.Well, I didn't buy it. I don't really need it. Why do they even tease you like that? How many times do you read: Get (this) for free. Then when you go to the site and want to download the program you find out it is free for 30 days or so, and after that they'll automatically deduct an x-amount of dollars from your account. Sadly, we live in a world that is rife with misleading advertising and you have to be on constant alert not to get taken. Not much is really free. There is always something attached to the free gift.