how do they work compared to the color version ? i know color is prob. better but more expensive. i dont have a lot of money to play with right now, but would like to have better one than i have now.

It depends upon what you are used to. I know a guy that was only used to b/w units, and when it died, he had to find one used on E-bay (it was a big screen unit). It definitely makes it easier for me to see, and it gives you a lot of color menus to chose from. I think its is far superior in low light conditions.