Garmin nüvi 265W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

5 comments

1. 

   S. L. Palmer on August 29, 2010 at 3:22 am

   I got this before taking a trip to California. I can’t imagine how I would have survived without it. The maps and directions were accurate and easy to follow and the price was terrific.
   Rating: 5 / 5

2. 

   Nhon V. Doan on August 29, 2010 at 5:31 am

   It is a good GPS for navigating; but the bluetooth voice is not strong/clear enough through the conversation when being on the phone talk.
   Rating: 3 / 5

3. 

   a consumer on August 29, 2010 at 7:01 am

   We recently got this GPS because a sudden and difficult trip demanded we have one, and we could not find the power cord for our current one, a Nokia. It was easy to say we’d eventually find that power cord, but wouldn’t it be nice to have one GPS for each car?

   So having had the dinky Nokia, I have some basis for comparison. The Garmin is far superior in two ways- it is fast to find the satellite signal, and the maps it came with were good and current. It is a little more helpful too – it tells you which side of the road your destination is on so if you’re in an unfamiliar area you know where to look. Less important, but additionally, the voices are much better than our old Nokia, less robotic, and less likely to muddle up a complex street name. The Garmin was also easy to use right out of the box. It gives you sufficient heads-up time on turns and exits and advises you on where they will be, left or right. But…

   There are a few things about this unit that I find highly annoying. On start up, the screen displays an irritating legal disclaimer saying you shouldn’t diddle with it while driving as it is unsafe, and you take responsibility for anything that might happen when you use it. I’d be ok with this if it happened the first time I used it, but it happens every time you turn it on.

   Another issue is that it just plumb drops the signal. Yes, it is fast to find it when you’re starting out on a trip, but it doesn’t seem to hold that signal. I was on a test run in a suburban area where there was presumably little interference when it made this noise I’d not yet heard, but knew meant bad things, and looked down to see it admitting it had lost the signal. The Nokia had never done this. The Garmin was purchased to help get me to a remote location in the middle of nowhere, and this incident was not confidence building. It did, in fact, lose signal several times during my mountainous trip to God’s country. Worse yet is that when it loses the signal, you have to hit “OK” on the screen to unlock the warning for it to proceed again. You’re moving, so you just want it to get on with re-finding the signal, it shouldn’t have to ask permission! What was that about not diddling with it while driving?

   I’ve also found that it picks some bizarre routes. Using it around town to get used to it, I found it was choosing streets that would indeed work, but there were other streets more major that it might have better selected.

   One of its worst “habits” is its inability to differentiate direction when you are moving in a small area, like if you have to do a turn-around, or are in a gas station on a corner, re-entering traffic and it “thinks” you’re on the road perpendicular to the one you are on. It doesn’t know where you are til you’re moving some distance, and sometimes that distance is more than you’d like. I have exited just such a corner gas station and been urging it “Come on, come on, you can do it” while the screen view is spinning around cluelessly and it’s showing an inaccurate picture while giving directions that don’t suit where you are. I understand that satellites are far away and to expect pinpoint accuracy is unrealistic, but if the device doesn’t “know”, it shouldn’t “act” like it does, spouting off directions that do not apply to your location. (Equally goofily, the Nokia’s default position when it didn’t know what was up was to randomly tell you to “Make a U turn” – it was senseless but consistent so you knew it was just buying time til it figured things out.)

   I’m detailing these complaints because only you know what matters to you. Every GPS has its quirks that can get on your nerves. Overall, this one’s easy to learn and gets you where you’re going with some burps on the way. The lingering negative? The Nokia was about half the price and despite my hopes, the Garmin is not twice as good.
   Rating: 4 / 5

4. 

   Jo on August 29, 2010 at 9:28 am

   I bought this GPS before our Boston vacation and I am very pleased with it. The graphics are easy to read. The display is very user friendly and simple. Set up was also easy. It made driving around Boston much manageable. I was impressed that it did not lose satellite communication when driving thru Boston tunnels. We only had one small glitch in locating our hotel. I am not sure why it did not map it correctly, but it was about a block off. Normally, not a big deal unless you have never been there before and in heavy traffic. Overall, it is a very quality product and a good value.
   Rating: 5 / 5

5. 

   Elysa M Davis on August 29, 2010 at 10:46 am

   easy to use and set up. purchased the 265w over the 255w because of the bluetooth feature, a real pleasure. have recommended this gps to friends.
   Rating: 4 / 5

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