CyberCat,

Without a paid subscription, you can look at the preloaded maps and if your device is connected to a GPS satellite, it will tell you where you are located on the map, assuming you've got the right country on the screen. The paid subscription basically unlocks the route guidance feature (which I believe they specifically call "navigation") which tells you where to go, turn by turn. The latter is of course more convenient and safer while driving. The paid license also unlocks a feature whereby you can pre-program an itinerary with multiple waypoints, however those entries mysteriously vanish the moment you change maps. It's prudent to build you list of waypoints in advance by defining them and saving them as favorites; these will stay in memory with their respective maps, even when you switch maps. Then when you are traveling in a specific map region, just build your itinerary quickly from the favorites category. Hope that helps some.