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As more and more people take to the road, and with the advent of using military technology for civilian use, many people are investing in GPS units for their cars. They are quickly taking the place of road atlases which can be out of date as soon as they are printed, in contrast to an electronic unit that can be brought up to date with a simple download and install of an update via computer hook up. When choosing a GPS unit for the car, I took into account why I would need a second unit, when I already had a handheld Garmin eTrex used for the sport of geocaching. I realized that the small handheld unit would not be safe to operate while driving, as it required the user to handle the unit in order to operate it effectively. Garmin makes other GPS models specifically used for navigating on the road. The Garmin Nuvi 255W is a touchscreen GPS designed to be operated with a single hand touch interface, and is also designed to be mounted to the dashboard of cars with no built in GPS system.
The Garmin Nuvi is compact and lightweight and fits easily in the hand, as well as installs easily on a dashboard. It has a full color, touch sensitive, back lit screen, which makes it easy to see in both daylight and night conditions. It comes preloaded with maps of most of North America and Europe, which includes such useful information as gas stations, restaurants and ATM locations on the route. You can plan a trip and save it to the device prior to heading out, which helps plan rest stops and other activities along the way. One of the best features is the turn by turn voice prompt. When you are keeping your eyes on the road, it is useful to have the device speak to you telling you in advance to prepare for a turn coming up. The Garmin Nuvi can also display maps n a variety of ways, from moving 2D to 3D maps, whichever is most comfortable. I personally prefer the 3D view. It will also readjust your route if you take a wrong turn to get you going in the right direction again.
The unit costs around $300, which is comparable to other similar units sold by the Magellan company from $80 to around $300 for a unit. The unit is compact and nicely built, making it pocket portable, with a firm and solid feel to it. Its rounded edges and solid design give it a similar feel to the Apple iPhone, and also gives it a rather pleasing appearance. It has a rechargeable battery that saves the user from filling up landfills with used batteries, though this battery can start having issues holding charge if allowed to deplete entirely or if it gets a lot of use and rechargings.
The Nuvi brand has been on the market for about six years now. It has gone through many updates and feature additions, such as world clock applications, currency converter, picture viewer and vacation information guides. In more recent models, such as the Nuvi 255W, there is a new feature which allows the user to navigate via picture, that is to say a picture is loaded into the device and the GPS then finds the location and navigates to it. This could end up being quite useful to those uncertain of a location address. On the whole, the Garmin brand is a reliable brand and the Nuvi is an affordable and welcome addition to any vehicle.
Takes forever to load. Can't see it. Can't hear it. Screen changes at the slightest touch. It's supposed to return to main screen with a double tap and doesn't. It is a POS. The original cheap Garmin is much better than the NUVI. Would it hurt Garmin to put the model number on the outside for those of us who don't use it 24/7? Poorly designed and not well thought out. I see too many good reviews on this and think many people just haven't tried anything else. This is absolutely pitiful and way overpriced. Never again.
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