Since they are designed as 50W mobile units, they will not carry the FRS only channels 8-14 mostly due to power. There is a lot more detail to this of course as to the channel spacing also which requires them to be narrow band, and these now have the option to go wideband. I am looking forward to the 500 and 575. While there are plenty of haters who push the Motorolas or Kenwoods, that is not needed IMO for the market Midland is targeting. Jeepers and family campers just want something that is end user friendly, packed full of features and ready to work out of the box without having to dig deeply in the software. Personally, I can go both ways when it comes to the radios but the form factor of the 575 and now having 50W and split tones, that is all I need for GMRS. For more than that, I can switch to my ham radios. :)