that's how they keep the price so low. They sell the "pop up space". Obviously, you need to have cell coverage for these to work. Myself, I like a dedicated navigation devise that doesn't need to be connected via cell or Wifi to give me the info I need. The newer chart plotters will give you accurate distances all along the route in a planning or navigational mode. Most also have a companion PC program that will help with the planning process while sitting comfortably at home. A reasonably complex route can be fully detailed in very short order.