Garmin may be better but you can get a TomTom with the same sized screen and features plus lifetime traffic and map updates for less. Lifetime map updates is worth quite a bit.

What makes this worth almost twice the price of some of the others that were posted over the last week?

#2: The quality of the routing algorithm is a primary advantage of Garmin. Garmin's routes often are shorter or faster than TomTom's and Magellan's in competitive tests.

Garmin is respected also for the engineering of its mounting hardware which combines easy adjustment with rigidity.

That said, Garmin's units do omit some conveniences the competitors' units offer, such as the ability to sort favorite destinations alphabetically.

A source I trust for info is GPSMagazine.com. In general, one should probably read carefully the reviews posted by owners. They tend to be candid.