That's interesting. I've noticed the same thing.
I'm just a bit conscious of 'thread drift' and of people like me hi-jacking Jakerr's original question. From Jakerr's perspective, I'd summarise my advce as: a second hand G196 at £250 is great value and a much better bet than something a bit cheaper with less well sorted software and a smaller screen.
From the perspective of the issues raised in this thread I'd say there are two further ideas I'd like to explore:
1) Why do handheld GPSs seem to drop signal more than panel mounted 430s, which always seem rock solid? I've noticed the same thing.
2) What is the best current pda, hardware and software for nav? And what is best practice in using it either as a complement to conventional nav and/or a dedicated GPS? I'm interested in this as I'm an avid pda user - I'm typing this on my o2 xda Exec and sending it by wi fi - but one who does not use a pda in the air.
Shall we go on, or set up threads dedicated to these questions?
And lastly, I'd like to offer a collective pat on the back to all concerned for being mature and tolerant (no insults, petty comments, etc.) on all of this, despite my silly ''legal" comment, for example...