Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator Review

Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Brand : Garmin Model : Nuvi 255W

Overall Rating :

From : 739 Reviews

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Technical Details

4.3 Inch Auto Navigator with Anti Theft Feature

Voice Prompted Turn by Turn Directions

With HotFix, It Calculates Your Position Faster to Get You There Quicker

Compatible with Optional Enhanced MSN Direct Content

JPEG Picture Viewer, World Travel Clock, Currency Converter, Calculator and More

Product Description

For peace of mind on the go, n?vi 255 leads the way with voice-prompted turn-by-turn and optional MSN Direct to get you there on time and keep you informed. It's packed with millions of destinations and maps for North America or Europe. Like the rest of the compact n?vi 2x5-series, this portable navigator is priced right and ultra-easy to use.n?vi 255 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and n?vi takes you there with turn-by-turn voice directions, 2-D or 3-D maps and and smooth map updates as you navigate. Its digital elevation maps show you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. In addition, n?vi 255 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. With HotFix satellite prediction, n?vi calculates your position faster to get you there quicker.

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Customer Reviews (see all-reviews)

Sandman ( Peabody,MA )

This is the first GPS that I have purchased. The reason I choose the 255W was because all I wanted was a straight GPS unit. We took it on a recent trip to Canada and we were very pleased with how it performed. The one thing I wish it could do is have a editable route itinerary, also you can not upload routes from Mapquest with this model. The recalculate time is excellent, so is the satellite signal connection. Overall we are very pleased with the 255W.

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Susan Zorn ( Too far north! Brrrr! )

I am a previous owner of a Nuvi 360. My maps expired so rather than buy new maps, I decided to get a newer Nuvi model. I don't use bluetooth (cause the speaker phone never sounded good on the Nuvi) or any of the other features like picture viewer or MP3 or Audible so I wasn't looking for a feature rich Nuvi. Just one that would speak clearly and with text to speech. I thought the 255W would fit the bill.

Unfortunately, the sound quality is HORRIBLE, really BAD!!! I am sending it back right away. The sound quality is far inferior of the Nuvi line from 2 years ago. It was full of static and difficult to understand the TTS voices as a result of the static. If you raise the volume above 80% the distortion is ridiculous. The screen is nice, I like the new layout, but I can NOT get past the horrible sound quality. I don't see why this is where Garmin decided to cut corners.

Well, I'm still shopping for a GPS!

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J. Green ( Boston, MA USA )

The 255W is a great all-around GPS.

I tried the 255WT first and was unimpressed by the traffic feature. It had highways as "green" with no congestion as my car was stopped in Boston traffic, and the idea of coupons on the screen was not appealing.

The 255W without the 255WT's traffic feature is perfect.

It is simple to operate and the directions were accurate. It has an uncanny ability to know the short cuts. The battery has a good life. Updates on-line are easy. It comes with everything one needs including all the cables.

I've only found one intersection 255W's maps were not updated for.

My nine year-old loves the custom icons and voices which are easy to download.

A great GPS for one who wants the basics without Bluetooth phone dialing.

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Sarah ( Maryland )

My husband and I used our Garmin on a trip to SC. It tried to send us off the highway too early, even though I'd chosen fastest route. It was useful in the city and for finding gas, eats, and lodging. With a paper map, guidebook, and the Garmin, we felt ready for sightseeing.

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Corvolio ( Atlanta, GA )

I rated this item with 4 stars because it does not have Jill's voice and there's no way to put it in. I contacted garmin and they said that it is not possible. All the english voices you have suck big time, you will not like not even one and the new Samantha voice really sucks big time. Very dissapointing from garmin. What they did was, they made new voice files a lot smaller that on the previous models and all the new voices sound like crap and there's no way to copy the voices from other devices like you use to with the previous models. It sucks big time! This is one of teh downsides, the other one is that, the power cord connects directly into the unit and not in the cradle so you can't remove it and put it back fast, you have to turn it around and pluf the power into the unit, thsi creates a big safety hazard on the road if you are moving and you need to connect your GPS, with the previous models, the power cord use to go into the suction cup or other cradle but now, you have to plug it directly into the back of the GPS unit. I was a big fan, but Garmin dissapointed me so bad with these two things.

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(see all-reviews)

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