I am quite new to this entire technology, yet having a lot of tacit knowledge about this topic seems to be assumed even in the "introductory guides" about gps units.

The first thing I am seeking advice on is gps units that are good for hiking/walking in the US and Europe.

I have looked on the internet for several hours now, and have not found any clear guides about GPS units that can be used for hiking/walking. I have found reviews here and there, and read the about.com gps site, looked all over Amazon.com, tried cnet.com, searched on yahoo.com, etc. I used the search terms "outdoor gps", "hiking gps", "walking gps". I have looked at the Garmin site and it does a bad job of helping one understand the differences amongst its lines and its model numbers. The Best Buy site's guide to choosing a gps is underwhelming also.

I don't know what "geocaching" is, but I've seen it mentioned a lot during my search. I don't do it (as far as I am aware...!) Just simple enjoyable walks at a relatively quick pace for a moderate distance - I don't scale massive mountains or go on rugged camping trips, but I do enjoy 8-12 mile walks/hikes across a variety of gentle-ish terrain.

What sort of price should I be looking to pay? What are the recommended models and brands?

And, if such a thing is available, I'd like a hiking/walking unit that can also be used and mounted in a car to give me spoken road directions when I am driving. And one that doesn't cost too much. (Hmm, I don't think what I am looking for exists yet!)

I am not sure what exists at the moment, what the differences are amongst the brands and various lines within the brands (for example, the Garmin Colorado versus their other outdoor models), and if it would be smart to wait a year when hopefully the whole she-bang will be available on one small multi-tasking piece of equipment, like a cell phone or pda type of thing.

I lived in the UK for the last 10 years and my impression from skimming the quarterly Field and Trek catalog there was that hiking gps systems were abundant, easy to use, advanced, full of good stuff - though I never tried one there - there I just relied on books of walks, or printed-out internet directions, or "ordinance survey" maps. On the other hand, I don't get the impression that hiking gps' are popular or useful in the US. My local Best Buy told me they have stopped carrying them.

Have I used the correct search terms for walking/hiking gps'?

Can you use a driving gps to get yourself around when walking, or does it just constantly show you in a green field and "recalculate" a lot?

Do they all come with the ability to download maps of various types (walking AND driving)? ...am I creating a dichotomy where there is not one?

Or, is it best to buy one gps for driving and another gps for hiking?

If so, I am also seeking advice on gps units for driving.

Not expensive ones, but solid and reliable. Don't need bluetooth (which I actually am not even sure what that is), cell phone reception, FM, or anything like that. Would like one that speaks the street names. And one that can have US and European maps. What sort of price should I be looking to pay?

I do not own a car, but I rent one pretty frequently for business travel, and I am really tired of the gps units that rental car companies provide for $12 a day, because their maps are so out-dated that they screw me up more than they help me to get around. [Just a few days ago, an out-dated GPS cost me a fine of $18 to go less than a mile on a PA toll road (because it told me to go down an on-ramp to the toll road that was not supposed to be entered - I had no idea what was going on, since I am not from a place with toll roads!), as well as costing me an extra 40 minutes to the Philly airport by not having within its knowledge the massive road construction that is going on in PA and telling me to turn at the wrong time, not to mention the day before taking me to the middle of a woods in the dark countryside at midnight and telling me that was where my hotel was located, etc.]

Is there a way for me to get an up-to-date set of maps when I have reserved a gps unit with a car from a rental car company? Can you ask for the people at the rental car location to update the gps' maps before you drive away, after they thrust the heavy, thick old thing into your hands?

My company won't reimburse me if I buy my own car-driving GPS, but they do reimburse for the rental car gps rentals, so up to now I've been doing that (since I don't own my own car). But I always am going to places I've never been before for work, and I am so frustrated with the rental car companies' gps' that I might just buy myself an up-to-date driving gps unit.

Thank you in advance for any clear, "gps 101" information and advice you'd like to share with me!