Seller	Condition	Availability	Price
Tothtronics featured merchant	New - new	Usually ships in 1-2 business days	$244.99	Add to Cart

great system
This system is very good. Cobra did a great job in making a GPS for people who drive a lot. The features this unit has is what sets it apart from the others. For whatever reason Cobra seems to be the only manufacturer to make their product INTUITIVE. The screens have all the buttons you expect to find under the category heading. This is the major problem with the other manufactures. I have experienced problems with all of the GPS units I tried. The software update took care of most of them. I haven't had any problems with this unit yet. I tried this GPS because I have had good luck with Cobra products in the past. Since I drive a lot, I like to have a lot of information displayed at the same time, which no other GPS unit comes close to this for displaying information. I'd recommend this if you were going to use it for your vehicle only; I wouldn't recommend it for people who wanted to use it for multi-use as it's just too big.

Potential is there, but Cobra may have abandoned it.
(Cobra DECEMBER 12, 2007) today announced a major change in its mobile navigation strategy, ceasing all future development of mass marketed products. [.....]
Another consideration that has not been pointed out is listed later in the same news release, "...pending acquisitions by our competitors of the two principal content providers to the mobile navigation industry, Navteq and TeleAtlas, which are likely to create further competitive disruptions, both in pricing and features."
...Does this mean that in short order your map updates will be either too expensive or worse? The [.....] Cobra is charging now would indicate this to be so. This is about double what I have seen in the past, and Cobra doesn't even give 1 free update as they should so that your "new" product at least starts out with a current map.

Too bad! This product was on it's way to being one of the best on the market, but in it's current state only the 5" screen and the fact that most of the basic functionality of a modern GPS do at least work saves it from being a 1 star device. Depending upon your needs and the current huge discounts this may actually be enough for you to consider purchasing it none the less. Just don't expect any of the bugs that have not been resolved in the latest software to ever be fixed.

Here is a list of the issues that I have:

1) Slow Satellite Acquisition. Actually worse than my ancient Garmin Street Pilot III. Left on it's own without stopping and rebooting it is often still trying to find itself for the first 7 miles of my normal commute. If I stay motionless until acquisition is complete before beginning to drive it will hold acquisition, but that delays the start of every trip by a minute or two.

2) Day/Night Brightness. Unit always starts in BRIGHT mode and it takes many touch inputs to force it to dim... in fact you actually have to change the night's brightness setting to accomplish this, and then you have to change it back to your preferred level. They should have the unit power up in bright mode and automatically prompt to switch to night setting. This also delays your early day starts by minute. ...every day if you're an early driver.

3) Bluetooth Hands Free Cell Phone functionality is virtually useless. Nobody on the other end can understand a word you're saying, even in a motionless quiet vehicle. If anybody has tried using an external microphone and had any success, please post.

4) The altitude function remains unimplemented. Cobra Rep told me "A decision was made not to continue development of this functionality." but it remains a selection and can take up space on the menus & display. This is a map basic. If they're not going to finish anything this easy don't expect the 5000 to ever be any more than it currently is.

5) Cute Icons of speed and time functions are HUGE and do nothing to add to the interface. They are not all that intuitive and simply labeling the display with Speed: Av. Speed Drive Time: Stopped Time: etc would have made the display much more readable.

6) Accuracy of database. A common occurrence is hearing "you have arrived at your destination" when you are not quite there. Example, Last week I went to the movies to a 14 screen megaplex & was my 1st time there. Hardly an obscure destination. I was still traveling 50 mph down the main highway a couple hundred yards from the theater when the 5000 issues the arrival notification. It was luck that I found it at all.

7) In my opinion the large screen's real estate is often wasted by the HUGE pictures of Sun, Moon, & Sky on the 3D display and other "cute" items on other screens. I don't know what the difference is between "Standard" and "EZ View" display modes, & the manual doesn't even mention these.

THE GOOD:
You are getting one very large, very bright 5" GPS that can be had for under $200 on some sales. I'd expect near $100 prices soon. It works & does what is needed most of the time, and it has very good heat/cold operating temperature specs. The Window mount is the best I've seen yet for a GPS. I've contacted Cobra and they at least answer the phone and seem very easy to deal with. If you really need the larger screen you'd be hard pressed to find a better deal even with it's shortcomings, but if you can afford it stick with the name brands like Garmin, TomTom, or Magellan.

Ok for the money but nothign impresive
the system has locked up a few times on me, but after an update seems to be working fine. nice screen, kind of big but hey, bigger screen bigger unit. maps seem to be a little old 07 or 06 since it could not find a few airports around my area. I have a garmin nuvi 350 for a couple years and still is superior than this unit i think in reliability and performance.

I am very pleseased but has some drawback
The Product and quality is very good and thank you amazon for makeing it avalilbe to me.

It is working as advertised
I researched before taking the plunge on the Cobra 5000 GPS. Many early purchasers complained about "freezing" problems. Well, Cobra must have listened because recent boxed units do have updated firmware, and software patches are published on their [...] website. So, I suggest you apply the most current patch kit, and then let's see what you think.

The unit is easy to use, the display is huge and bright, just as they advertise! OK, so it won't fit in your pocket, but you just can't have everything. The voice is clear and volume is easy to control. I have tried out both the 2D and 3D views, and both have their pros and cons. Satellite acquisition seems good, and the street maps are quite current. I do hope that future map updates will be available, as we all know that new road construction is always going on somewhere nearby!

Finally, do realise that Cobra is not going to build any more GPS products themselves. There was a Cobra corporate news item late in 2007 to state they are getting out of the actual development, but if you read carefully, Cobra will not abandon these products altogether. I think that means they may simply OEM some other manufacturers products in future, and stick their name on them. Fine, but what about us with real Cobra GPS products? Time will tell, but Cobra assures that they will continue to support their current product line of GPS's. Let's hope so, or they may loose many customers if we are left with useless devices...

UPDATE.... September 2008.

The Cobra 5000 has worked magnificently all summer. If you buy one, make sure you UPDATE the software/firmware. Go to at least the V2.0 release. No freezing, it just works! Still recommended after several months of use. POI database is great for finding restaurants and such when you are travelling in unfamiliar areas. Great feature and easy to use.