Garmin Nuvi 255 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Garmin Nuvi 255 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

With easy-to-use Touchscreen displays, the nuvi 255 can route to addresses, restaurants, hotels and more with turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance. nuvi 255 will include text-to-speech, which will prompt you to “Turn right on Main Street.” New appealing features include MSN Direct compatibility, HotFix, Garmin Connect Photos, digital elevation maps, automatic time zone updates and smoother map updates. nuvi 255 is compatible with an optional MSN Direct receiver (GDB 55). This optional MSN Direct receiver provides premium content such as traffic updates, weather, gas prices, enhanced movie listings, stock info, news, local events and a send-to-GPS feature for trip planning. nuvi 255 has broader map coverage and comes preloaded with City Navigator NT road maps for North America and 6 million points of interest. The map data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Bright 3.5 diagonal color display; 320 x 240 pixels; QVGA TFT display, with white backlight High-sensitivity GPS receiver for improved performance and reception Trip computer records mileage, max speed, total time and more Built-in travel kit includes features such as picture viewer, world clock, currency and measurement converters and calculator Configurable vehicle icons - allows users to select a fun, customized car-shaped icon; users can download additional choices Offers a three-dimensional mapping perspective or 2D overhead view Built-in lithium-ion battery - lasts up to four hours depending on usage Dimensions - Width 3.8 x Height 2.8 x Depth 0.8 Weight - 5.2 ounces

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Very pleased
I am very challenged when it comes to directions. The product has been very helpful. There were a few newer places that could not be found. No problems finding a satellite and it located most of my places of interests as well as rerouted me when I missed turns (due to my own mistake).

5 Stars Excellent GPS
This is a great GPS unit for the first-time owner. It is very easy to use!

5 Stars Wow. Stunned at how great a GPS is. My first.
Purchased 2 weeks ago, and used to drive from Ohio to Boston. 1600 miles RT. My first GPS. I was totally blown away with these fantastic devices. Great voice quality, easy to read graphics. Shows shortest and best routes. Mapquest can’t compare. I exited an interstate that didn’t have a return ramp. The GPS saved me. Back on in 5 minutes. Can’t believe how instantaneous the transmission is. It made one mistake (twice), the entire trip. Told me to turn right, when it should have been left. Repeated the mistake on the same off ramp turn, on the return trip. It instantly recognized the error and gave accurate directions to get to my hotel. It gave me the exact speed limit of each road I was traveling. Instantly recognized changes in the speed limit. I passed on the factory Nav on my new Honda Ridgeline, after several friends told me the Garmins are better. One uses a portable Garmin, even though his new BMW has factory Nav. Incredibly easy to program. Thought they were an extravagance, when you can get a mapquest printout for free. Boy, was I wrong.

4 Stars Great GPS that’s a tiny bit short of awesome
Invariably, the 200-series will be compared to the super-popular 350, and I can’t help but do the same. The 350 was a true pioneer, but I always found myself waiting a half-second for it to get back to me, and overall, the experience was sluggish.

The 255 is plenty fast, and brings the GPS interactive experience to a new level. My purchase was based on Consumer Reports’ ratings.

The 200-line is certainly confusing in terms of number increments not matching up to features, but I would strongly recommend the TTS feature, which is only available on the 260/260W/255/255W. Despite the numbering scheme, the 255-line is newer/faster than the 260-line, which is why I chose the 255, though others may have chosen it for the FM/MSN traffic/info features.

Pros:

Size/Build:

Very small. Smaller than a hockey puck, and completely pocketable.

GUI:

The interaction with the menu is very fast, and without delay. Searches, map refreshes, etc — they’re all a lot faster and I don’t find myself waiting.

Map:

The 3D GUI updates at what appears to be 3-4fps, which may not sound like much, but compared to 1fps for older models, this is a significant improvement, and is the difference between missing an exit or not.

3D Terrain:

This is surprisingly useful when going up/down hills, as it gives you an idea of not just a left/right turn, but also the incline. Sudden, steep climbs/downturns (think Laguna Seca) were reasonably well-indicated, which allowed me to slow down a bit more than had I assumed it was a level turn.

Antenna:

I personally like that the flip-up antenna in the 300-series is gone. It makes it much more usable when holding.

Display:

The display packs a ton of information, including next turns, speed limits, and all things that were typically a few clicks away. Surprisingly, it does not seem cramped at all.

Routing:

Routing is very fast — maybe 1-3 seconds? It’s fast enough that I don’t need to count, sweat, and worry that I won’t get directions before the next intersection.

Re-Routing:

Most importantly, *re-routing* is fast. If I take an incorrect turn, it will re-route within seconds, and will prompt me with a turn direction half way down the block. In previous models, I would have to slow down or pull over.

Overall:

Size, build, battery life, screen, volume, TTS, etc… all wonderful. As a standalone GPS, this is quite impressive.

Cons: (this is where it gets knocked down to 4 stars)

Dock:

The 350’s dock housed the power cable, which made it a one-handed motion to get it back in the dock with power. With the 255, you need to plug in the power, then place it in the dock. Not a dealbreaker, but it’s too bad they couldn’t engineer it like the 350.

No QWERTY:

It amazes me that even with a touchscreen, Garmin still can’t give me a QWERTY keyboard. It’s not as if there are physical key limitations… This makes inputting text considerably slower.

Shortage of accessories:

No USB-A to USB-Mini cable, no AC adapter, no case. Not that *I* need any of those things, but someone who’s not a computer geek may not have those things handy.

Average Web Tools/Content, Photo Bookmarking:

I can see they’re trying to beef this up, but as of this writing, the on-line, web tool and photo-based location bookmarker is average, at best. The downloadable content (new vehicle models, and the one custom voice) offers considerably less than the competition (eg: TomTom).

Other: (Not pros or cons, but FYI)

- no mp3 playback

- microSD slot, not SD

- sorry, no feedback on MSN traffic, as it doesn’t fit my usage style

5 Stars excellent gps
I recently had to replace my Streetpilot 2610 and wanted something without some of the new bells and whistles that a lot of the new gps’ have. This has all the features I need and not much else.

I especially like being able to download locations from Google Maps and Mapquest.

Buy/More Info

Garmin n vi 750 4 3 Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Garmin n vi 750 4 3 Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Garmin’s nüvi 700 series brings two exciting new features — multi-destination routing and, “Where am I?/Where’s my car?” — to its popular pocket-sized GPS navigator lineup. As with all nüvis, you get Garmin reliability, the fast satellite lock of an integrated high-sensitivity receiver, a slim, pocket-sized design with a gorgeous display, an easy, intuitive interface, and detailed NAVTEQ maps for the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico with more than 6 million name-searchable points of interest. All of the 700-series navigators also feature a rich array of features including spoken directions in real street names, MP3 player and photo viewer, and an FM transmitter that will play voice prompts, MP3s, audio books, and more, directly through your vehicle’s stereo system. The nüvi 760 and  770 add integrated traffic receivers and Bluetooth capability for hands-free calling. The nüvi 770 adds maps for Europe. The nüvi 780 adds enhanced MSN direct content capability.

Which nüvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators

Garmin’s nüvis pack top of the line features into a slim form factor.

Wider screen lets you see more of what’s around. Compare these actual size views of a 3-inch (diagonal) screen and a 4.3-inch diagonal widescreen

New Features — Where Am I? Where’s My Car?
The nüvi 700 series is the first to answer two common questions: “Where am I?” and “Where’s my car?”

At any time, with a single tap of the screen, drivers can display their exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. And to help drivers find their car in an unfamiliar spot or vast parking lot, all nüvi 700s automatically mark the position in which they were last removed from the mount.

New Features — Multi-Destination Routing
This lets you enter several spots into the device (day care - supermarket-cleaners - office - day care, for example) and it will plot the fastest route. And once you’ve found the best router, the “Route Planning” feature lets you save up to 10 different routes, Garmin touts the feature for providing, “the most efficient route for errands, deliveries and sales calls.” The feature also makes this an instant essential accessory for anyone who shops garage sales (you know what we’re talking about).

A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you’ve been on the map.

See Better, See More
The super-bright, 4.3-inch (diagonal) touchscreen display gives is anti-glare for ease of viewing during the day and automatically changes its color profile for easy viewing at night or in dim light. It offers 2d or 3D perspective views.

The widescreen format gives you 70% more actual screen area than a 3.5-inch screen. Primarily this translates into a better view of the area through which you are driving. This is especially useful in showing you what parks, restaurants, ATM, gas stations, etc. are nearby, or in letting you know whether a detour is a good idea. Also, the device itself is larger, meaning controls on the screen are more widely spaced and somewhat easier to push.

First Rate Map Data
All nüvi 700s come preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps for the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This map database features nearly six million points of interest (POIs), including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions. Garmin gets its map data from NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.

Important note about map updates: Due to our high volume of sales, almost every Garmin portable GPS navigator sold by Amazon.com will come with the most recent map version. If you ever do need a map update, you can purchase one from Amazon.com at our Garmin Store.

Garmin Lock
Garmin’s patent pending theft prevention system that disables the unit from performing any functions until the user types in a specific 4-digit PIN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location

Easy To Use Interface
Garmin’s interface is a key to their success and one of the things that makes their devices such a pleasure to use. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip.

Beyond Navigation

Browse your stored pictures with an easy-to-use JPEG viewer.

A handy MP3 player lets you play songs stored on SD memory cards.

nüvi 250W accepts custom points of interest (POIs). View larger.

Navigation is just the beginning. All nüvi 700s feature travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, MP3 player, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more.

They are also compatible with optional content plug-ins available via SD card, such as the  Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide provide detailed data for attractions and information on nearby merchants offering discounts, so you can customize your nüvi for all your travel needs.

Garmin has also added the ability for customers to add custom points of interest (POI’s) from third parties such as school zones and safety cameras.

Trick Your GPS Ride

Custom vehicle icons let you ride in style, at least inside your GPS. See more icon option

All nüvis support configurable vehicle icons. These fun, customized car-shaped icons come in a variety of colors to add a personal touch to your vehicle’s position on the map.

What’s in the Box
nüvi 750, Preloaded City Navigator NT for North America or Europe (full coverage), Vehicle suction cup mount, Vehicle power cable, USB cable, Dashboard disc, Quick start manual

Notes

• Optional software for language translation, detailed travel guides, and savings programs allow you to customize your nüvi to fit your travel needs
• The FM transmitter feature is only available in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
• This nüvi comes with a free, three-month trial for MSN Direct services.
• Like most USB Mass Storage Devices, the nüvi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.

Which nüvi is Best for You?
Note: All nüvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.

	Screen Size inches (w x h)	Included Maps			Text-to-Speech (Directions in Real Street Names)	Traffic	Bluetooth	Media	FM Transmitter (audio through car stereo system)	Multi- Point Routing	Battery life (hours)
		Cont. U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico	AK and Canada	Europe
nüvi 200	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 200w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 250	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 250w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 260	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 260w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 270	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 350	2.8 x 2.1					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 360	2.8 x 2.1					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 370	2.8 x 2.1					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 650	3.81 x 2.25					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 660	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 670	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 680	3.81 x 2.25					MSN (receiver included; 1-year free); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 750	3.81 x 2.25					FM (with opt. receiver); MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 760	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included); MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 770	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included); MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 780	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free) receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 850	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 880	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 5000	4.5 x 2.7					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)					external battery only

END

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Good unit with a few quirks
I received this unit as a gift and was very excited about it. I first tried to download the newest software and maps to it, but for some reason it wouldn’t register for me. The customer service at Garmin was very helpful though and registered it for me and sent me a direct link to download the software. While they were nice about it, this took about a week to straighten out.

I then took my unit with the updated maps with me on vacation from my home in Pennsylvania to South Carolina. I also had written directions with our usual path on it just to compare. The Garmin took us into a major city in NC with many stoplights rather than the highway we usually take. Major detour mainly due to the traffic lights, low speed limit, and traffic around us. Also, it didn’t recognize a major highway that has been there for over 2 years. It showed us as in the middle of a field and constantly repeated “Recalculating” for a good half hour or so. It got to the point where we just shut it off because it got so annoying.

Also, this was when I noticed static/scratchiness to the voice which made it difficult to understand what the GPS was trying to say. The customer service people said this was not supposed to be this way so I exchanged it quickly and easily. However, the exchange brought along the same issue with registering the unit…

The second unit had the same scratchiness in the voice and that was the last straw for me. I just returned the unit yesterday and I think I might try out a Navigon this time.

Overall, I never tried many of the features but the ones I did use, such as POI’s were very nice and easy to use. I was pleased with the unit, but it would be nice to understand what it was saying. It also didn’t work well in major cities, but I would expect that from most units due to tall buildings and poor satellite reception. Therefore, I give the unit a 3/5. Not as good as what I expected from a Garmin, which I thought would uphold my expectations of it.

5 Stars Great GPS
Very good GPS. Touch screen is great. Provides trip info like average overall speed, drive time, stop time, total trip time, speed (very accurate). Countdown time to destination. Really incredible.

4 Stars Excellent product
I’ve only had the nuvi 750 a little over a month and I haven’t had the opportunity to use it on a long trip yet but I am very happy with it…for the most part. I have had three other GPS navigators, two Magellan and one Garmin C330 bought as an emergency back-up for a malfunctioning Magellan Roadmate. It was the cheapest thing I could find on short notice (old maps, slow response time) but it got me home flawlessly. So, when the Roadmate finally died after just two years and no help from Magellan, I did some homework and bought the Garmin nuvi 750 for its features.

My experience so far has been that it boots up quickly, locks on satellites quickly, and calculates routes as quickly as the fastest of my other navigators. It has by far the clearest, brightest, most readable screen (under all conditions) of any I’ve owned or used. One of the features I like is the speed limit display, on a long drive I’m focused on the driving and will suddenly realize I haven’t seen a speed limit sign in a while,… question answered.

Touch “Menu” then “Tools” and among the menu options is “Where am I”, it displays your current latitude and longitude, the name and location of the nearest cross street, and lists available emergency services. To me, that’s worth the price all by itself.

The routes are accurate and, as far as I can tell, efficient. Unlike some comments, I don’t worry about whether the route is the shortest, fastest, most efficient possible. It will never be as good as a knowledgeable human being. The point is, it gets me there and I’m not exhausted as I would be if I had to navigate from maps. The nuvi 750 is a major step up from all of the other GPS’ I’ve owned.

On the down side, to make it so slim and sexy required compromises. The built in amplifier is feeble and the speaker is tinny and buzzy! Inexcusably poor. Fortunately, it has an earphone jack and a built-in fm transmitter which works very well if you tune to the lower end of the fequency range. Since that means you can’t listen to anything else on the radio, I use a small sports radio clipped to my belt to monitor directions instead.

Another thing that seems to be characteristic of Garmen is a tendency to lag just a bit. I have to give Magellan credit, the display showed where I was in real time. Although the Garmin gives me turn directions in plenty of time, With both the visual display and voice instruction I’m often actually in the turn before it gives me the last “Turn right on”, etc. A minor irritation.

Where it counts though it works beautifully, I have no complaints. In fact UPS just delivered the four more I ordered as Christmas presents.

5 Stars Garmin Nuvi 750 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS
I did my research and decided on the Garmin Nuvi 750. I was going to Salem, Mass. and was it ever a lifesaver. The streets are laid out very differently there from what I am used to and the garmin got me everywhere and back to the motel, even when I didn’t follow directions. He would re-calculate and we had fun. For the first time I wasn’t afraid of getting lost in a strange place. This boosted my confidence and off I went. Won’t be without it again.

3 Stars Great GPS but lousy maps
Before buying the 750, I used to have a Garmin nuvi 260 and it was my very 1st GPS. I was very happy with the 260 because it did well everything it was supposed to do, except that at some times it would give me wrong directions, mention street names that didn’t exist, recalculated routes that forced me to do multiple u-turns like an idiot, the USB slot is useless (no MP3 playback), keyboard was only available as alphabetical (unusable!), and used to get locked up if destination addresses were entered inside a parking lot with no satellite signal. In this last case I was forced to reset the unit or it would never come out of simulating routes.

When I saw the 750 reviews I noticed some of those things had been fixed, like the keyboard now can be switched to QWERTY (finally!), the USB slot can be used to load MP3 music and audio books, the media player can be linked to the car’s FM radio with or without cables, the road speed limits are now shown on screen (I like that!), and the power cable now connects to the mounting bracket instead of the unit itself, which makes for less fiddling with the cable. You can also set multiple stops in a trip, which was not possible with the 260.

On the other hand, the maps are still ridiculously inaccurate. For my 1st use of the 750, I traveled from Prescott to Phoenix (Arizona) with my wife. We wanted to try new and different Asian restaurants and the Gamin Nuvi 750 had plenty to choose from. Here are some real world results from this GPS:

1. We chose one at random based on the shortest distance, and let the 750 take us there trusting entirely on the GPS map. We ended up on a parking lot of a private house in a residential area.

2. We tried another Asian restaurant in the vicinity, choosing randomly again from the GPS list by proximity, and this time it took us to the parking lot of a Mormon church in the outskirts of the city.

3. We tried a 3rd Asian restaurant from the list, again by proximity, and it took us to a place that was indeed a restaurant, but that people told us it had been closed for at least 2 years.

After 40 minutes of total failure, driving around trying to find a place to eat, we GAVE UP on the 750 and went looking around ourselves, and found a place nearby in just a couple of minutes.

4. After this we wanted to find a Wal-mart because my wife wanted to buy a hard case for this GPS. The Garmin nuvi 750 is quite expensive but comes with no case whatsoever. Already laughing, we used the GPS to find the nearest Wal-mart and this time it took us to a Sam’s Club instead, which we cannot enter because we are not members (ugh!!).

5. We used the 750 to trace a route to the the nearest mall, and it drove us into a desert wasteland (I am not kidding you!!).

6. We tried to get to the closest BestBuy and later (to make this short) to a CompUSA store and both had been closed for at least a year now.

7. We asked around to avoid following the GPS blindly, and found out a place that actually existed, the Metro Center Mall in Phoenix, and used the GPS to take us there. The problem was that the highway 51 was under construction and the nuvi 750 GPS insisted on re-routing back to the same ramp we already knew was closed. We had to drive quite FAR AWAY from that ramp for the 750 to finally choose another route, but by then we were already far away from the intended route and had to take the longest way.

8. I have to admit that what Garmin thinks it’s the “fastest” route sometimes involve going through absurd routes, and this has been confirmed by reviews from other people. In the most typical case, the “fastest” route almost always involve being the longest, like I could had turn right and got the destination immediately, but Garmin preferred to go around the block in the opposite direction instead, which takes 4X more time and it’s obviously not the “fastest”.

Conclusion:

The Garmin nuvi 750 is definitely an improvement over the 260 in what comes to features and ease of use, but the maps are still terribly inaccurate and some of the glitches still persist from the 260. I checked on the maps info using the 750 and it claims to be using the 2009 maps, which only confirm my suspicions that even the latest Garmin maps still prove quite inaccurate after all these years.

The MP3/audio book players, FM transmitter, QWERTY keyboard, wide screen LCD, and display of local speed limits are all very welcome additions that make using the 750 a much more pleasing experience comparing to the older 260 model. Re-routing is VERY fast, almost instantaneous in my driving experience with it, which in some cases can be life-saving. Satellite signal reception is also much stronger than with my older 260, where in some cases I get signal locks even from inside houses and parking lots - really awesome.

So there you have it: the pros and cons. I have never used GPS from other makers, so this experience is solely based on what Garmin has to offer and my need to get directions while driving on a city I am not familiar with. I am giving the 750 3 stars because of all the improvements and ease of use it has over the older 260 model, but taking 2 stars off because of the unacceptable map inaccuracies and the ridiculous routes Garmin put us through to get the “fastest” route.

Buy/More Info

Garmin n vi 660 4 3 Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

Garmin n vi 660 4 3 Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

With a gorgeous widescreen display, the Garmin nüvi 660 GPS Personal Travel Assistant is your answer to the call of adventure. A sleek navigator and a keen travel assistant, the nüvi 660 is preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps for the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This map database features nearly six million points of interest (POIs), including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions, and the data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.This preloaded navigator brings all this fantastic map data to your fingertips with a super-bright, 4.3-inch widescreen display for improved map viewing, day or night. Use the touch screen interface to select destinations, look up POIs, and play your favorite MP3s and audio books. The display also helps you control hands-free calling, traffic alerts, and the FM transmitter, all from the screen of your personal travel assistant.

Which nüvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators

Wider screen lets you see more of what’s around. Compare these actual size views of a 3-inch (diagonal) screen and a 4.3-inch diagonal widescreen

Widescreen — See Better, See More
The widescreen format gives you 70% more actual screen area than a 3.5-inch screen. Primarily this translates into a better view of the area through which you are driving. This is especially useful in showing you what parks, restaurants, ATM, gas stations, etc. are nearby, or in letting you know whether a detour is a good idea. Also, the device itself is larger, meaning controls on the screen are more widely spaced and somewhat easier to push.

FM Transmitter — Hear Better, Hear More
Instead of straining your ears to hear turn-by-turn directions or your favorite MP3s, you can enjoy wireless FM audio transmission via the nüvi 660’s wireless FM transmitter. Tune your car’s radio to the appropriate station and you’ll hear all the nüvi’s audio, including voice prompts, MP3s, audio books, and more, directly through your vehicle’s stereo system. The nüvi 660 includes many “must-have” entertainment and travel tools, including digital music and audio book playback, JPEG picture viewer, currency converters, and more. All these great features make the nüvi 660 a complete Personal Travel Assistant.

First Rate Map Data
The nüvi 660 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty POI database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. Garmin gets its map data from NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.

In addition, the nüvi 660 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs

Important note about map updates: Due to our high volume of sales, almost every Garmin portable GPS navigator sold by Amazon.com will come with the most recent map version. If you ever do need a map update, you can purchase one from Amazon.com at our Garmin Store.

Hands-Free Calling
In more and more places, it is becoming illegal to use cell phones while driving without a hands-free kit. The nüvi 660’s Bluetooth capability, microphone and speaker lets match it to any bluetooth-capable phone to make hands-free mobile phone calls. Simply dial the phone number with the nüvi’s touch screen keypad to make a call on a compatible phone. To answer an incoming call, just tap the screen and speak into the built-in microphone. Making and taking calls on the road has never been easier, or safer. In addition, Garmin makes it a breeze to look-up and dial numbers from your personalized phone book or even tap into your cell phone’s call history log.

Integrated FM Traffic Receiver

Steer clear of traffic with an integrated FM traffic receiver designed to receive alerts from TMC Clear Channel about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you’ll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you’re forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nüvi’s sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time. In most areas, TMC Clear Channel traffic broadcasts are continuous — there’s no waiting for scheduled traffic news updates or random alerts. Because traffic broadcasts are received via a “silent” FM data channel, you can still listen to music or news programming on your car radio without interference from incoming FM traffic data transmissions. A 3-month subscription to TMC Clear Channel’s Total Traffic Network is included with purchase of this device. For more information on subscription fees, coverage in individual cities, and traffic data networks in the United Kingdom and Europe, check the Garmin website.

Easy To Use Interface
Garmin’s interface is a key to their success and one of the things that makes their devices such a pleasure to use. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip.

Beyond Navigation

Browse your stored pictures with an easy-to-use JPEG viewer.

A handy MP3 player lets you play songs stored on SD memory cards.

nüvi 250W accepts custom points of interest (POIs). View larger.

Navigation is just the beginning. The nüvi 660 features travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, MP3 player, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. It also comes with Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and configurable vehicle icons that let you select car-shaped graphics to show your location on the map.

This device is compatible with optional content plug-ins available via SD card, such as the  Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide provide detailed data for attractions and information on nearby merchants offering discounts, so you can customize nüvi for your travel needs

Garmin has also added the ability for customers to add custom points of interest (POI’s) from third parties such as school zones and safety cameras.

Trick Your GPS Ride

Custom vehicle icons let you ride in style, at least inside your GPS. See more icon options

All Garmin nüvis support configurable vehicle icons. These fun, customized car-shaped icons come in a variety of colors to add a personal touch to your vehicle’s position on the map.

With this GPS system on board you’ll be prepared to steer clear of traffic with the integrated FM TMC traffic receiver. The nüvi 770 is designed to receive alerts about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you’ll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you’re forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nüvi’s sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time.

What’s in the Box
nüvi 660 GPS navigation system, preloaded City Navigator North, America NT data, vehicle suction cup mount, A/C charger, carrying case, FM traffic receiver/12-volt adapter with 3-month free trial subscription, dashboard disk, USB interface cable, sample language guide content (preloaded), sample travel guide, sample MP3s (preloaded), sample audio books (preloaded), owner’s manual, and a quick reference guide.

Notes

• Optional software for language translation, detailed travel guides, and savings programs allow you to customize your nüvi to fit your travel needs
• The FM transmitter feature is only available in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
• Like most USB Mass Storage Devices, the nüvi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.

Which nüvi is Best for You?
Note: All nüvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.

	Screen Size inches (w x h)	Included Maps			Text-to-Speech (Directions in Real Street Names)	Traffic	Bluetooth	Media	FM Transmitter (audio through car stereo system)	Multi- Point Routing	Battery life (hours)
		Cont. U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico	AK and Canada	Europe
nüvi 200	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 200w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 250	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 250w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 260	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 260w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 270	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 350	2.8 x 2.1					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 360	2.8 x 2.1					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 370	2.8 x 2.1					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 650	3.81 x 2.25					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 660	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 670	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 680	3.81 x 2.25					MSN (receiver included; 1-year free); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 750	3.81 x 2.25					FM (with opt. receiver); MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 755T	3.81 x 2.25					Integrated FM receiver with lifetime traffic		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 760	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included); MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 765T	3.81 x 2.25					Integrated FM receiver with lifetime traffic		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 770	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included); MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 775T	3.81 x 2.25					Integrated FM receiver with lifetime traffic		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 780	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free) receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 785T	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free) receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 850	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 880	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 5000	4.5 x 2.7					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)					external battery only

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Garmin GPS
Beyond my wildest expectations.What an excellent product.I get to my destination every time without any hassles.Thanks Garmin.

4 Stars nuvi 660
I recently bought this gps for my wife, she loves it. The navigation options are simple, the traffic feature is useful in the NYC area, and also the bluetooth is a great feature that she uses often. This GPS aquires its bearings very quickly and maps out the routes super fast. There was a slight issue when the car charger broke, but Garmin resolved that by sending out replacement parts quickly…. I would buy this again!

4 Stars Great top of the line GPS
Having used a few different GPS systems from the Nuvi 200 , Tomtom and hand helds, I decided to try a large screen ( frankly I thought I’d prefer the small Nuvi 200 so there was less distraction at night). Right away I loved the larger screen. I also wasn’t sure I “needed” all the extra functions or if they were worth the extra price ( I how ever got a great deal so there was little price difference). Once updating the maps to 2009 version I was able to compare the 660 to the units I was accustomed too and it far exceeded what I had hoped. I’ve even taken it through the woods to Geocache with, and other than knowing to be delicate with it it performed perfectly there (with the exception of it trying to direct me from the woods to the nearest road). I have noticed that the FM transmitter isn’t very good , hard to find a very clear unused FM station and even then it tends to pick up static. But Putting the audio over the car radio is a great idea, I think that if wired direct to the radio it would get rid of any RF interference, but I haven’t gotten far enough to see if it even can be wired direct. While using the FM transmit you do have to tune into the desired FM “station”, and because it needs an unused frequency you can’t listen to the radio while in this mode. The bluetooth works perfectly for me and again the FM transmitter was a little scratchy , but typically I’d turn down the radio while on the phone so having the unit tuned to its own frequency was less important while using the phone. Overall I’m very impressed with the unit, I have subscribed to the traffic alerts even though in New Hampshire I thought there would be little to monitor, however the state has just started to untilize these systems. I can note that a few of the traffic alerts are generic in that “traffic ahead” is just pushed the fact that generally there is a traccif problem in this area. But other than these few generic ones the one that broadcast when a new even accident/construction etc work great even though I’ve only used the unit locally as of yet ( a friend is borrowing it to go to Virginia for a couple weeks I’ll know soon how it works overall. No problems with the unit at all, and after using the Nuvi200 this weekend I really do love the larger screen and all the options I didn’t think I’d even care about. I haven’t used the MP3 player as my car Alpine deck plays them anyway.

The only con I have is just the weak FM transmitter and that ( as far as I know) it has to be set to an unused station. Hopefully I can direct wire it to my car deck to get rid of any interference in the built in FM transmitter.

5 Stars the best
have had gps units for a large number of years. the others always had a problem. bought the nuvi 660, and it is a fantastic performer. going on a trip at the end of the month, and the 660 is the unit we are taking.

4 Stars Great hardware but Software is a bit lacking
A great little machine overall, but the maps are often out of date. This was supposed to be shipped with the most current maps but much is off. It thinks my address is located at my neighbor’s house about a half block down the road, & some public locations just aren’t in the system. Despite this, I love the product. 4 Stars

Buy/More Info

Garmin Nuvi 255 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Garmin Nuvi 255 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

With easy-to-use Touchscreen displays, the nuvi 255 can route to addresses, restaurants, hotels and more with turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance. nuvi 255 will include text-to-speech, which will prompt you to “Turn right on Main Street.” New appealing features include MSN Direct compatibility, HotFix, Garmin Connect Photos, digital elevation maps, automatic time zone updates and smoother map updates. nuvi 255 is compatible with an optional MSN Direct receiver (GDB 55). This optional MSN Direct receiver provides premium content such as traffic updates, weather, gas prices, enhanced movie listings, stock info, news, local events and a send-to-GPS feature for trip planning. nuvi 255 has broader map coverage and comes preloaded with City Navigator NT road maps for North America and 6 million points of interest. The map data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Bright 3.5 diagonal color display; 320 x 240 pixels; QVGA TFT display, with white backlight High-sensitivity GPS receiver for improved performance and reception Trip computer records mileage, max speed, total time and more Built-in travel kit includes features such as picture viewer, world clock, currency and measurement converters and calculator Configurable vehicle icons - allows users to select a fun, customized car-shaped icon; users can download additional choices Offers a three-dimensional mapping perspective or 2D overhead view Built-in lithium-ion battery - lasts up to four hours depending on usage Dimensions - Width 3.8 x Height 2.8 x Depth 0.8 Weight - 5.2 ounces

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Great GPS that’s a tiny bit short of awesome
Invariably, the 200-series will be compared to the super-popular 350, and I can’t help but do the same. The 350 was a true pioneer, but I always found myself waiting a half-second for it to get back to me, and overall, the experience was sluggish.

The 255 is plenty fast, and brings the GPS interactive experience to a new level. My purchase was based on Consumer Reports’ ratings.

The 200-line is certainly confusing in terms of number increments not matching up to features, but I would strongly recommend the TTS feature, which is only available on the 260/260W/255/255W. Despite the numbering scheme, the 255-line is newer/faster than the 260-line, which is why I chose the 255, though others may have chosen it for the FM/MSN traffic/info features.

Pros:

Size/Build:

Very small. Smaller than a hockey puck, and completely pocketable.

GUI:

The interaction with the menu is very fast, and without delay. Searches, map refreshes, etc — they’re all a lot faster and I don’t find myself waiting.

Map:

The 3D GUI updates at what appears to be 3-4fps, which may not sound like much, but compared to 1fps for older models, this is a significant improvement, and is the difference between missing an exit or not.

3D Terrain:

This is surprisingly useful when going up/down hills, as it gives you an idea of not just a left/right turn, but also the incline. Sudden, steep climbs/downturns (think Laguna Seca) were reasonably well-indicated, which allowed me to slow down a bit more than had I assumed it was a level turn.

Antenna:

I personally like that the flip-up antenna in the 300-series is gone. It makes it much more usable when holding.

Display:

The display packs a ton of information, including next turns, speed limits, and all things that were typically a few clicks away. Surprisingly, it does not seem cramped at all.

Routing:

Routing is very fast — maybe 1-3 seconds? It’s fast enough that I don’t need to count, sweat, and worry that I won’t get directions before the next intersection.

Re-Routing:

Most importantly, *re-routing* is fast. If I take an incorrect turn, it will re-route within seconds, and will prompt me with a turn direction half way down the block. In previous models, I would have to slow down or pull over.

Overall:

Size, build, battery life, screen, volume, TTS, etc… all wonderful. As a standalone GPS, this is quite impressive.

Cons: (this is where it gets knocked down to 4 stars)

Dock:

The 350’s dock housed the power cable, which made it a one-handed motion to get it back in the dock with power. With the 255, you need to plug in the power, then place it in the dock. Not a dealbreaker, but it’s too bad they couldn’t engineer it like the 350.

No QWERTY:

It amazes me that even with a touchscreen, Garmin still can’t give me a QWERTY keyboard. It’s not as if there are physical key limitations… This makes inputting text considerably slower.

Shortage of accessories:

No USB-A to USB-Mini cable, no AC adapter, no case. Not that *I* need any of those things, but someone who’s not a computer geek may not have those things handy.

Average Web Tools/Content, Photo Bookmarking:

I can see they’re trying to beef this up, but as of this writing, the on-line, web tool and photo-based location bookmarker is average, at best. The downloadable content (new vehicle models, and the one custom voice) offers considerably less than the competition (eg: TomTom).

Other: (Not pros or cons, but FYI)

- no mp3 playback

- microSD slot, not SD

- sorry, no feedback on MSN traffic, as it doesn’t fit my usage style

5 Stars Excellent GPS
This is a great GPS unit for the first-time owner. It is very easy to use!

5 Stars Wow. Stunned at how great a GPS is. My first.
Purchased 2 weeks ago, and used to drive from Ohio to Boston. 1600 miles RT. My first GPS. I was totally blown away with these fantastic devices. Great voice quality, easy to read graphics. Shows shortest and best routes. Mapquest can’t compare. I exited an interstate that didn’t have a return ramp. The GPS saved me. Back on in 5 minutes. Can’t believe how instantaneous the transmission is. It made one mistake (twice), the entire trip. Told me to turn right, when it should have been left. Repeated the mistake on the same off ramp turn, on the return trip. It instantly recognized the error and gave accurate directions to get to my hotel. It gave me the exact speed limit of each road I was traveling. Instantly recognized changes in the speed limit. I passed on the factory Nav on my new Honda Ridgeline, after several friends told me the Garmins are better. One uses a portable Garmin, even though his new BMW has factory Nav. Incredibly easy to program. Thought they were an extravagance, when you can get a mapquest printout for free. Boy, was I wrong.

5 Stars excellent gps
I recently had to replace my Streetpilot 2610 and wanted something without some of the new bells and whistles that a lot of the new gps’ have. This has all the features I need and not much else.

I especially like being able to download locations from Google Maps and Mapquest.

4 Stars Very pleased
I am very challenged when it comes to directions. The product has been very helpful. There were a few newer places that could not be found. No problems finding a satellite and it located most of my places of interests as well as rerouted me when I missed turns (due to my own mistake).

Buy/More Info

Garmin nuvi 205W 4 3 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Garmin nuvi 205W 4 3 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

With easy-to-use Touchscreen displays, the nuvi 205w can route to addresses, restaurants, hotels and more with turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance. nuvi 205w will say “Turn right in 500 feet.” New appealing features include MSN Direct compatibility, HotFix, Garmin Connect Photos, digital elevation maps, automatic time zone updates and smoother map updates. nuvi 205w is compatible with an optional MSN Direct receiver (GDB 55). This optional MSN Direct receiver provides premium content such as traffic updates, weather, gas prices, enhanced movie listings, stock info, news, local events and a send-to-GPS feature for trip planning. nuvi 205w is the most affordable option, with mapping coverage of the lower 48 states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. It offers five million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions. The map data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Bright 4.3 diagonal color display, 480 x 272 pixels, WQVGA TFT display, with white backlight High-sensitivity GPS receiver for improved performance and reception Trip computer records mileage, max speed, total time and more Built-in travel kit includes features such as picture viewer, world clock, currency and measurement converters and calculator Configurable vehicle icons - allows users to select a fun, customized car-shaped icon; users can download additional choices Offers a three-dimensional mapping perspective or 2D overhead view Built-in lithium-ion battery - lasts up to four hours depending on usage Dimensions - Width 4.8 x Height 2.8 x Depth 0.8 Weight - 6.1 ounces

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star cannot find satellites
Software is great. Maps are wonderful. It takes 30-75 minutes to find satellites so the device is useless.

3 Stars It’s an OK unit.
It’s supposed to be faster than the previous line of products (thanks to a faster processor) but it doesn’t feel that way. I had a N

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