I have the 2011 Giant Defy 1 and I absolutely love it. I've put over 2k miles on it this year. I tested a lot of bikes (Trek, Cannondale, Fuji, Masi, and Specialized) before I bought this one and to me it's the most comfortable, well equipped bike for the money. I don't think you can beat it at that price point.

The negatives are the saddle and the tires. This is a fairly common issue for bikes in this price range. Both items are terrible and I had to replace both fairly quickly. Just be aware of this so there isn't any surprises.