Just an observation

Well if your gps is not announcing the street name then you would still be looking at the street name sign to confirm where you are, or to confirm that is where you want to turn.

I have found with the street name announced I look at the signs less and the road and traffic around me more. Which I think is safer.

So I would think you would want them to be announced.

when you are driving in the downtown area of most large cities many streets are not far apart and I found I had missed the turn if the street name was not announced and then looking for a place to turn around. How safe is that? Give me text to speech anytime.

You raise an interesting question.

I have not extensively used one that does not announce names having had only one unit, a 255W. I could load a non-TTS voice to try this out. I would think that having more information is better than having less. I think there would be a tendency to look to the GPSr to see the name of the street which you have to locate signs for. Mine gives distances with the names so if one had a good feel for distance, one would not have to find the road signs.

One thing I have found is that there are times when a road has both a name and a number, the GPS picks one and the signs pick the other.

I am with you on that one

My GPS does not have text to speech, but the majority of the roads near my house have at least two names... if not three.

I have used both types and I feel if the street names are announced it is easier to negotiate the turns and safer.

If street names are not posted I use the "distance to next turn" to pick the street. This can be used on both types.

I've learned it's best to read the name of the road/street on the gps screen to which I'm being directed to turn. Even though the "distance to turn" and constant reminders to turn are announced, without verifying road/street names on the signs I've sometimes taken the wrong one.

Maybe I drive too fast sometimes, too slow others. But for me it works best to compare the gps to the actual signs if I want to get it right the first time.

I find having the gpsr announcing the street names to be much easier to navigate esp in unfamiliar locations.