Garmin NüVi 255 3.5-Inch Portable Gps Navigator (Discontinued By Manufacturer)

Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

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• 3.5-inch Touch Screen Navigation with Turn by Turn spoken Directions
• Pre-loaded Maps for all North America, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico with 6.5 million searchable points of interest
• FM Traffic or MSN Direct Traffic/Content compatible (with optional GDB 55 receiver)
• Easy to Use Interface; slim, pocket-sized form factor; 4-hour rechargeable battery; Vehicle power cable included;
• Automatically Adjusts Your Time Zone While Navigating

Buy Now : Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

Brand : Garmin
Category : Electronics,GPS, Finders & Accessories,Sports & Handheld GPS,Handheld GPS Units
Rating : 4
Review Count : 362

Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

• 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
• After some extensive research and comparison shopping I decided to get the Garmin nuvi 255. My key factors in purchasing was that it was a name brand, it has good reviews, its the latest model with the most recent interface and processor, it has text to speech and it was under $200. I was not interested in blue tooth (I already have a hands free set) or the FM transmitter (I don\'t think this technology has been perfected yet) or the mp3 player. I actually planned on purchasing the Garmin 350 until I read that the 255 was the new model that replaces the discontinued 350. This is the first GPS I have owned and have had it for about 2 weeks now so I wanted to share some initial impressions.Its a very nice unit with a bright screen and a nice compact size. I was worried that the 3.5 inch screen would be too small but it does the job. A 4.3 inch screen would definitely have been more attractive but that was a nice to have and not a necessity for me. I have read some complaints about the voice on this unit and that worried me too. However, its perfectly fine for a standard GPS unit. I\'m not looking for the perfect sounding voice, just something that can be understandable and clear and this does the job. The pronunciation of some streets is not always accurate but thats not a big deal for me as the name of the streets are displayed on the screen. The volume is excellent. When the volume is at 50% I can still hear it clearly even when I have music playing in the background. However, this is with the windows up and so most of the street/car noise is blocked out. The satellite acquisition is excellent and I don\'t have to sit in my driveway for 15 minutes waiting for the connection. The longest wait so far has been about 2 minutes. The interface is very intuitive and so you don\'t really need to read any detailed instruction manuals to use this right away.In terms of the negatives for this unit, the first is the route it chooses for you. Garmin will pick the most direct path to your destination but that is not always the fastest, given traffice lights, etc. So sometimes I find myself ignoring the Garmin directions and going down a road/street that I know would be quicker. Garmin will then immediately recalcute the directions which is a nice feature. As you can imagine this is not an issue when I\'m totally unfamiliar with the streets - in that case I let Garmin show me the way and it has gotten me there at the end of the day. The other negative is the on/off switch. Its very sensitive and just the slightest pressure will turn the unit on or off which is a problem if your storing the unit and accidently turn it on (there goes the battery)...to combat this there is a lock setting.I\'m sure there are a lot more features that I still need to become familiar with but at least in the early stages, I feel this product is definitely worth it given the price and that its the latest model. If your looking for a GPS under $200 then this should be on your short list. I purchased the leather Gilsson 3.5\" carrying case which is a perfect fit for this gadget (the original packaging does not come with a case) and I also got the Garmin friction mount which is really excellent.

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