Neil,
Good points on the Garmin stuff.
One minor correction in #6. I had an Etrex Vista Cx and replaced it with an Oregon 400t. I was able to unlock City Navigator on the new unit without $$ despite Garmin's convoluted web site.

I rely heavily on the GPS even when using AC maps. City Navigator is a key component of that. One of my (many) gripes with Garmin is the lack of updatable POI's. I'd buy them if available. Somehow, all that stuff was cataloged when they made the maps. How difficult would it be to update and sell it?

I admit, I'm geographically impaired....