List Price: $349.99 Sale Price: $199.48 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Amazon Users Rating:

The Cobra GPSM 5550, by Cobra uses the vehicles weight, configuration and dimension to plan optimal routes. The device’s Junction view navigates drivers to the right lane and thus making it easier to navigate multiple and complex interchanges. The Cobra GPSM 5550 points of interest capture major centers by offering detailed service and amenity information.

About the product

The Cobra GPSM 5550 is a wide touchscreen GPS device that features Junction view & lane assist, quick tab-menus, clear graphics, Hours of Service Timers and States Mileage-Log. Furthermore, it provides the industry’s last mile routing that offers superior secondary highways coverage.

The device is available for sale in major retail outlets including EBay, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Amazon. At Amazon, the device is retailing at a price of $254.95, down from $349.99- accounting to a total saving of $95.04 (27%).

The main product features:

• 5-inch screen size
• 3.3-hours Battery life
• 1- pounds shipping weight
• Model dimension of 5.4*0.5*3.2 inches
• 12 million POIs
• 1 year warranty

The pros

• Touchscreen versatility

The device features a 5- inch touchscreen that enhances graphics and makes menu options visible even with bright sunlight. The intuitive interface allows easy scrolling through configuration settings and searches. Furthermore, the Quick- Tabs offers critical information like the distance to travel centers, rest areas, mile markers and weigh stations.

• Junction View capability

The junction View together with the Lane Assist offer drivers a 3D image of upcoming junctions along the highway. It also offers lane guidance and directions that enables drivers to know where exactly they need to be.

• Advanced Map coverage

The device offers map coverage of 1 million more miles of US road coverage compared to other maps, including 17x additional last mile coverage and 4x additional trucking attributes on secondary highway coverage.

• For professional use

The device has been designed to truck professionals; with specialized features like “Hour of Service timer”, allowing drivers to keep track of their driving time, on- duty and off- duty. The “State Mileage-Log on the other hand, monitors the miles driven in a given state- to assist in IFTA reporting. Furthermore, the device uses truck map database to offer route guidance to travelling trucks based on their type.

• POIs Galore

The device offers 12-million standard points of interest (POIs) and an additional 33,000 truck POIs. The Truck specific POI include the major travel centers with detailed service or amenity information like internet access, food options, shower availability and much more.

• Aura Database

Owners of the device can receive unlimited downloads for 3 months, from the AURA Camera as well as the Driving-Hazard Database. Drivers receive alerts of red light cameras, dangerous intersections, known speed- traps and fixed speed locations.

The cons

• The device emphasizes on professional support and has little to do with offering advanced entertainment opportunities i.e. MP3 player
• The device lacks Bluetooth connectivity. The device fails to offer users the option of making calls and receiving calls hands free, while remaining focused on the drive.

The Bottom line

The Cobra GPSM 5550 is a thin, sleek, easy-to-use, lightweight 5- inch touchscreen GPS device, that is a must have for truck drivers. The device uses truck specific database to offer route guidance to travelling trucks based on their type. The system captures 12 different kinds of trucks, including single or double trailers and straight trucks. The device notes 30 types of restrictions in the process of planning a given route; and can therefore offer multiple point routine in order to optimize on fuel efficiency and avoid freeways and/or tolls.