The San Jose Mercury News (I think) recently reported that cars that show evidence of having a GPS stashed inside are having the windows broken. And, most disturbingly, that “evidence” includes a ring on your window/dash left behind by the suction cup. It’s at the point where local police have been handing out microfiber cloths to help drivers prevent window breakings. Wipe it off or beware!

Finally, the built-ins are supplied with mapping data from companies that are considered the most accurate available (usually Navtech); frequent updates of less accurate data aren’t all that helpful.

And really finally, someone has pointed out the far superior display quality and voice output, which can be tied into the car stereo so that the stereo is muted when something important needs to be said. They can also report the car’s position in an accident or emergency automatically.

You get what you pay for.

That said, I don’t get service outside the US so when my wife and I took our honeymoon to Ireland, we decided to rent one. In retrospect I should’ve just bought one (renting was expensive) and loaded Ireland maps on it, but the GPS itself, a Garmin Nuvi, was awesome. It is the only reason we made it back alive, because none of the towns in Ireland had street signs. Plus, as one reader said, it can disconnect and be used in pedestrian mode.

I may get one for the wife as a Christmas gift =) Does anyone know how much maps for different countries cost?

However, one advantage of a built-in system is that you don’t have a long cord hanging down over your dashboard. I really hate the messy way it looks. (Not enough to pay hundreds of dollars more for a built-in system, but still…) I hope that in the future, cars will do a better job of incorporating devices that need to plug in, whether it’s a GPS or an iPod.

Magellan makes some handheld models that give audio prompts and might be suitable for driving. I’ve been very happy my low-end Magellan for hiking, but most outdoorspeople seem to prefer Garmin.

My husband also has GPS on his Blackberry which is helpful for seeing traffic. Yet, it is too small and doesn’t speak to us like the Nuvi.

I could have gotten rid of all of our maps, but I find that I still love admiring the terrain and details in our Atlas — and the other map we have is a fold out of Manhattan that I have marked up with details.

I don’t intend to ever have one built into the car, I much prefer portable.

Unfortunately, the Blackjack lacks an internal GPS, so I had to get a bluetooth GPS. It’s a little bigger than a pack of Juicy Fruit. It fits perfectly into a cubby in the car, but if I’m headed somewhere on foot, it easily fits in my pocket (unlike a full-size unit).

Music player, GPS, web browser, PIM, camera, satellite radio, and if I have to, I can even place a phone call.