I can't help with #1 but I will say I love my GPS. I have Magellan 1600, which I don't really recommend. It seems to have some hangups, but I've made it work. It was very cheap - I got it for about $120 last December on one of those Amazon gold box special deals. It works, but there seems to be an issue with the battery life - it doesn't seem to realize that it is charged when it should be fully charged so it keeps turning itself off at inopportune moments.

That being said, I LOVE having it. It has helped me tremendously and I've loaned it to my sister-in-law when she drove down to PA for the Obama campaign and when we had friends in from England last year who needed to drive to New Jersey for a wedding. It helps with my Freecycle(TM) pickups - no more wandering around dark streets peering at non-existent house numbers!

Definitely get one. Check out www.epinions.com for product reviews before you buy.