Garmin nüvi 255W/255WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic

by Garmin

Product Features

• The Garmin nuvi 255WT GPS Navigation features: a 4.3" touchscreen display, NAVTEQ maps of North America
• MicroSD expansion.

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Product Description

Amazon.com

Get the big picture and big features for a small price with nüvi 255WT. This widescreen navigator takes you there with preloaded maps and turn-by-turn directions that call out streets by name. It comes with lifetime traffic to simplify life on the go. Like the rest of the nüvi 205-series, this portable navigator is priced right and ultra-easy to use.

Its sunlight-readable, 4.3"  display is easy to read, from any direction.

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With nüvi 255WT's widescreen display, you'll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3" (10.92 cm) display is easy to read, from any direction.

Get Turn-by-Turn Directions

nüvi 255WT sports a sleek, slim design and fits comfortably in your pocket or purse.

nüvi 255WT's intuitive interface greets you with two simple questions: "Where to?" and "View Map." Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator® NT street maps, more than 6 million points of interest (POIs), 2-D or 3-D maps and smooth map redraw rates 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, nüvi 255WT 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, nüvi calculates your position faster to get you there quicker.

FM traffic receiver with vehicle power cable (indicated by "T" after model number on the box).

Avoid Traffic Tie-ups
Steer clear of traffic with nüvi 255WT's integrated FM traffic receiver. Receive alerts about traffic delays and road construction that lie ahead on your route. Next, simply touch nüvi's screen to view traffic details or detour around the problem area.

Take It With You
Like the rest of the nüvi 205-series, nüvi 255WT sports a sleek, slim design and fits comfortably in your pocket or purse. Its rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient for navigation by car or foot. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations.

Go Beyond Navigation
Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 255WT includes many travel tools, including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock, automatic time zone transition, currency converter, unit converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect™ Photos and navigate to them. The 255WT is compatible with our free Garmin Garage™ where you can download animated vehicles that show your location on the map. It also comes with Garmin Lock™, an anti-theft feature. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in SD™ cards such as Garmin Travel Guides for detailed data on attractions.

What's in the Box
nüvi 255W, Preloaded City Navigator® NT North America (U.S. and Canada), Lifetime traffic¹, FM traffic receiver with vehicle power cable (indicated by "T" after model number on the box), Vehicle suction cup mount, USB cable, and Quick start manual

Compare all Garmin nüvis
Click the button below to compare by series, user type, and features.

Visit Garmin.com at https://www8.garmin.com/support/download.jsp to get the latest firmware updates for your nüvi to keep it current and performing at its best.

¹Lifetime traffic extends for the useful life of your Garmin traffic receiver (as long as you own a compatible Garmin GPS) or as long as Garmin receives traffic data from its traffic supplier, whichever is shorter. Traffic content not available for all areas. See www.navteq.com/rdstraffic for traffic coverage areas and www.garmin.com/traffic/fm/navteq.html for program License Agreement containing complete terms and conditions.

Product Description

Get the big picture and big features for a small price with nüvi 255WT. This widescreen navigator takes you there with preloaded maps and turn-by-turn directions that call out streets by name. It comes with lifetime traffic to simplify life on the go. Like the rest of the nüvi 205-series, this portable navigator is priced right and ultra-easy to use.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 113 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Product and Life-time traffic, spoken street names June 2, 2009

By jake

"I bought this GPS for my girlfriend because she was always having trouble in cities and constantly is getting lost, so it made sense to invest in a GPS that would help her to navigate from place to place easier. I wasn't attached to any brand when I looked but was always impressed with the reviews and testimonies from friends with a Garmin who said they never had problems and were in love with it. I looked at the 205 as it's cheap, but for the price the features and peace of mind of having a Garmin are unbeatable. First, the life-time traffic is great because it helps cut-down on time stuck on the high-way and shows her the quickest way from point A to point B before she even knows the difference. Second, the screen is large and the user interface is incredibly easy to use. It's a bit expensive, but if you're going to invest in a GPS unit, then you might as well make sure you do it right. I'm not sure that a GPS is nearly as valuable without the traffic and not having to pay any subscription fees just sent it over the top.

Definitely purchase if you're looking for easy to use and for a unit that gets it right every time."

70 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best GPS deal. Period June 12, 2009

By Joshua S. Aglio

Amazon Verified Purchase

So basically I got this and it is truly the greatest thing ever if you drive a lot. Not only does this one come with the FM traffic receiver(much better if you live by a big city-check out their website I live in NY),which is worth $[...] by itself, this unit is great on its own. Nice big screen, good sound, did I mention LIFETIME TRAFFIC??, and it has so many POIs in it. Plus if the unit does not have your desired POI, you can go to Google Maps, connect the unit to your computer via USB cable, and send the location to your Nuvi.
Eco-route helps you save gas (create a profile and it works better) and don't worry about sitting in traffic anymore with the traffic updates. There are a few ads, but well worth the time you don't have to sit in traffic. Granted I live in NY and we have good coverage here, but check the website for your area.
Smooth scrolling during driving, and quick updating. You also get a free download of the newest maps, which does take a while, but its worth a free update, which regularly goes for $[...] (or you can pay $[...] and get lifetime map updates). Do yourself a favor and buy the friction mount so that you don't have those rings on your windshield for thieves to see(big problem around here). This way you can just put it under the seat.
This one doesn't have the bluetooth, but if you go read the reviews for the 265wt, most people say it stinks anyway and this one is [...] bucks cheaper. It also doesn't have lane assist(I can figure out lanes all by myself and I figure most of you can as well) or voice recognition(don't really care, but you might want this option)
This is a great price. Check around (make sure to add at least $[...] for the traffic receiver) and you will see there is no way you can pass this up if you are in the market for a GPS system.
Also, Garmin does not list this model on its website, which worried me at first, but I have had no problems with updates [...]seems to think that they are simply ones that were reflashed by Garmin with the American maps. I agree, but if this truly worries you, perhaps you should buy the 255w and get the traffic separate. Up to you, but this is much cheaper and works like a charm. I suggest that website to compare models as well. Very informative and helped me greatly with my purchase.

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great product September 11, 2009

By Twin-Mommy

Great navigation system. We used it a lot this summer on our vacations and it has navigated us all over, up and down the east coast, from northern New Jersey to Williamsburg, VA. It has been right on for us everytime but one time. Takes a little too long sometimes to search for a location by name, but otherwise loads up pretty quickly. I also figured out it takes via points by touching the locations on the screen and you can scroll around the map using the touch screen "drag and drop" method. I love that you can search for things like restaurants and stores on it when you are in an unfamiliar place. Also, the traffic transmitter is great to have and it sucessfully navigated us around several traffic jams. Also the speed limit posting on the screen is also nice to have. But is also turned my 6-yr-old daughter into a backseat driver as she can monitor on it how fast we are driving versus what the speed limit is :)

FYI - My 255wt is the same as the 255w, but the 255wt includes the traffic transmitter with no montly charges ever for traffic subscriptions. I highly recommend the unit with the traffic transmitter. Also the 255wt is the same as the 265wt, except the 265wt has the added bluetooth capabililities. If that is not a deal breaker for you (as it wasn't for me), I would go with the 255wt if its a lower price.