Putting the "G" back in GPS

I finally gave in and bought a GPS last week. I got a great deal through a company discount, but I had to decide between the widescreen on the Garmin 265WT and the included European maps on the 275T ($149 if added separately). I went for the latter based on the fact that I'm going to Ireland in January to play golf (I know, I know) and to Barcelona -- hopefully -- in March. Besides, the widescreen would look stupid on my motorcycle handlebar. And what's the point, really? So you can see more streets that you're running parallel to? Rally car maps/waypoint lists have always been tall & narrow for a reason -- to let you see what's coming up ahead, not what you've already passed.

Anyway, I've got it all set up. Vent mount, 'cause the windshield's too far on the Saab -- check. Hard-wired power cord from the fusebox to keep the accessory socket free and to look neater -- check. The bluetooth sound quality when I used it with my cell was so poor as to be useless, but that wasn't why I bought it anyway. The traffic status seems to bear little relation to Queens traffic conditions, but I haven't yet hit a really bad jam, and it's free for life, so I'll reserve judgment. The suggested routings so far are fine for a tourist, which is why I really need the thing -- certainly not to direct me home in my own city.

It's got one odd quirk, though. Out of the box it would tell me to "turn right in point four miles," but not give the street name, as advertised. I figured it was a setting I'd dig up out of the manual later. But while we were telling it to route us to our favorite bookstore just for laughs, my daughter suggested we play with the languages it speaks. It offered us two or three kinds of French, two of Spanish, three of Norwegian (who knew?), several Portuguese, etc. More to the point, it offered two British English speakers and two Australian English speakers. Male and female of each. Well guess what? All four of them pronounce the street names just fine. So we've settled on the Australian female, who sounds a bit like Kylie Minogue.