Garmin NUVI1310 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Ultra-Thin GPS with City Navigator for Israel Review

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(More customer reviews)I buy a lot from Amazon, but rarely write reviews. I am writing one now to protect others from the frustrations I suffered because of this product.
I have used a Garmin nuvi in the U.S. for a couple of years, and have been quite satisfied. It's not perfect, but it nearly always works. So when I planned a solo trip to Israel this summer, I bought this unit without hesitation. It was almost the same price as renting one. I knew I wouldn't have a navigator, and I figured a GPS would remove some stress. What a mistake.
First of all, this unit doe not have the same reception and precision in Israel that it does in the U.S. The streets in Israeli cities can be small and tightly packed, but often the Garmin simply had no idea where it was, and would think I was on a parallel or connecting street, and thus give nonsensical directions.
Second, it absolutely mangles from Hebrew and Arabic names. My favorite was the major Jerusalem street Salah E-Din, which it pronounces "Salah East Din"! It literally didn't pronounce *anything* right, which made it hard to drive without looking at it.
Third, the spellings of cities and POIs in its database seem completely irregular. For example, I could not get it to navigate to "Ein Gedi" or "Qumran," both of which are the normal spellings. I even tried other spellings, but without success. This was a major problem.
Fourth, it often chose bizarre routes or said it was impossible to drive a route that turned out to be quite drivable. This may have been in part because of perceived security issues, but more often that did not seem to be a factor.
All in all, I found myself using the free map that the car rental company gave me much more than the GPS, so the money I spent was basically wasted. This GPS appears to have been designed by people who have never been to Israel and have no ideas of the issues with driving there.
I am going to contact Garmin to try to get my money back, but perhaps I can save you before you spend your money in the first place...

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