246 of 252 people found the following review helpful:
A GPS for all that is required from a GPS..
Ok..now I feel morally obliged to offer my review after reading so many other reviews to base my buying decision. The inner voice kept asking me to post a review even though it is boring like mowing somebody elses lawn.
I have used nuvi 205 couple of times and find it really well designed. Garmin has tweaked the screen-interface and I must say that it really...
114 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
Not all changes are improvements
I've had the Nuvi 205 for about six weeks and use it several times a week. I also have a Nuvi 200 that I've owned for a little more than a year. I opted to buy the new 205 instead of upgrading the maps in the 200 because the 205 was available for only $118. Since I have both units, this will be something of a comparison review.
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Ok..now I feel morally obliged to offer my review after reading so many other reviews to base my buying decision. The inner voice kept asking me to post a review even though it is boring like mowing somebody elses lawn.
I have used nuvi 205 couple of times and find it really well designed. Garmin has tweaked the screen-interface and I must say that it really works in favour of the users.
Users care less about mp3 and other cosmetic stuff provided in nuvi 350. All we care about is a smart GPS that guides us through the best route. 205 has all those ingredients!!
Nuvi 205 does not have spoken street names but it does have voice guidance that says something like " turn right in next 1 mile". Users who typically find guidance through one of those green-freeway-signs are smart enough to figure the street name. Moreover, the street name is right on top of the screen. In my view, it is a waste of $$ to pay 100 bucks more for just yelling street names when it is right in front of you. Satellite acquisition and Route recalculation also seemed to have improved a bit. I have not used the traffic support and POI to offer any good comments. One little feature I find cool is the speed limit mentioned on the screen. This way user doesnt have to be on lookout for signs showing the limit. Of course, this is of little use to people who drive in left lane @ >70...
And for those of you who think that GPS should offer more..205 does have photo navigation, customized car-shaped icons, world travel clock, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator.....I wouldnt really give big grades for having them..
Hope that this review helps users..to navigate to the best GPS!!
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
The Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator is one of several updated models in the 200 series. It's funny to admit this, but using some of the higher end versions has actually made me like this model more. Sure, this doesn't have the 4.3 inch widescreen of the 600 series, or the W models like the Garmin nuvi 205W and Garmin Nuvi 255W. And it doesn't give you Bluetooth like the 600 series and others. But what it does give you is a GPS unit that covers the basics very well, is very affordable, and has been updated with a LOT more features than entry level models from the competition. So if you need a starter GPS, this is probably the daddy of them all right now.
Pros:
+ Great performing unit for a starter GPS unit
+ Comes with all the things you need, GPS, window mount and car power adapter
+ Updated Garmin features including HotFix to speed up satellite acquisition
+ Included compatibility with MSND traffic service (though not great in all areas)
+ Improved pedestrian mode
+ Improved interface with slick look and feel
+ Cool extras like photo navigation and cool web features
+ Nice pricing
Cons:
- Still some software issues to be worked out with updates
- 3D view still needs some work
- Not the least expensive starter unit on the market
- Garmin still overcharges for map updates
- Traffic services not great in all areas
Pros
The updated interface is very nice, though many of the changes are subtle in terms of functionality. The look and feel are definitely slicker, but there are also extra directional markers. In order to really access all the extra info, you have to change your settings to display "most detail." Either way, those who've used the 200 will definitely notice the improvements.
The main complaint that all GPS units have to overcome is the dreaded delay in finding satellites. All models and all brands have this issue to one degree or another. Now with the Hotfix, the 205 and other updated models do find satellites a little faster than before. You will still have issues locating satellites indoors, but under standard use outdoors you will see it find satellites faster.
The other feature that is aided by the update is pedestrian mode. This feature is not used too often. In fact, it's somewhat hard to find in the menu settings. But the problem that was often encountered with the older generation of products was that in cities like NY with tall skyscrapers, it was very hard to find and hold a signal long enough to use pedestrian mode. Now, it can still take a while but is noticeably faster and more reliable.
Some of the newer Garmin features like photo navigation and send custom location info to your GPS unit are really slick. You can go to the Garmin website to access these things and more. Still, those are all true extras. You don't need those things to enjoy the main function of this guy, which is to give you directions via GPS navigation.
There are some things you should know about the MSN Traffic Service. For some people, this is going to be a great service. For others, not so much. Garmin should be given extra points for integrating the functionality. This service has been offered with other models for a while I'm very familiar with it. The shortcomings are not totally the fault of Garmin. The bottom line is that the MSN traffic data may be stale depending on where you live. You need current data to reroute around rush hour jams or accidents. It's not ready for prime-time everywhere yet. And when the service improves, believe me I plan to use it full time.
The 3D terrain maps are the result of people clamoring for altitude data. Well, the data is now there, though it seems somewhat limited. These 3D maps are not very useful and it is difficult to display the information without zooming out to distances that are not ideal.
Certainly, Garmin isn't the low cost provider when it comes starter units, updated maps and POIs. But those cons are all minor. Overall, this is a nice improvement and a great starter unit.
Conclusion
If you are looking for an upgrade for your Garmin nüvi 200 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator, you are probably going to want to step up to the Garmin nüvi 660 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator or better. If you need a starter unit for yourself or as a gift, the 205 definitely needs to be on your list of models to consider.
Enjoy.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I've had the Nuvi 205 for about six weeks and use it several times a week. I also have a Nuvi 200 that I've owned for a little more than a year. I opted to buy the new 205 instead of upgrading the maps in the 200 because the 205 was available for only $118. Since I have both units, this will be something of a comparison review.
For the most part I like the Garmin interface, and they've made a few improvements in the 205. The speed limit information is very handy, and it's nice that the zoom in/out "buttons" are now placed next to each other. I love having a constant display of the street I am currently on. It also finds satellites faster than does the Nuvi 200. The suction cup mount is much improved, with the rubber cup itself being softer and tackier. The mount for my 200 would often lose suction and fall off the windshield.
The Garmin literature touts the 205's new faster processor as being able to redraw the map more smoothly. This appears to be true, but this also appears to be a case of technology for technology's sake, and it has actually made the unit more difficult to use. This applies primarily to situations where a destination has been entered. Anytime the car approaches a turn along the calculated route, the display begins to zoom in, presumably in order to show more detail. Unfortunately the zooming is done in such a way that the upcoming turn remains at a fixed distance out ahead of the current position (on the screen). It almost appears as though the car has stopped moving, especially when there are few details on the map to provide a visual cue that the display is zooming. Once the zooming in stops, the map rapidly rushes by. When I first used the 205 I missed several turns because I thought I wasn't very close to the intersection and then suddenly the intersection was behind me. Even now that I've grown accustomed to it, I still find myself double checking the map with the distance-until-turn reading. I never had to do this with the Nuvi 200.
Other nit-picks
===============
* The Nuvi 205 gets lost more often when I'm downtown. The buildings seem to confuse it whereas the 200 has no problem.
* The rerouting is sometimes baffling after I've missed a turn. It once sent me two miles along a couple of roads to turn around in a cul-de-sac and then retrace my route. I don't know if this is the case with the 200 because I didn't miss turns with it.
* The LCD display is not as good as the Nuvi 200's, with lower contrast and viewing angles.
* Battery life is not quite as good as the Nuvi 200's, presumably because it now has a faster processor.
* It does not display the compass heading when following a calculated route. It displays the current speed instead. Every car has a speedometer, but not that many have compasses. I really don't need validation of my speed, but I would like to know my current direction.
* Searching the POI database is often so slow that it's unusable. This is not new to the 205. As an example, yesterday I had some extra time after running an errand and wanted to find a Toyota dealer to look at a new car. There are quite a few Toyota dealers in KC, but I didn't know what dealers were in the immediate area, so I just entered 'Toyota'. After five minutes it had returned no results. If you know the exact name (Superior Toyota, for example), the search speed is reasonable, but that limits the usefulness.
My feedback to Garmin:
======================
* When displaying turns on calculated routes, just zoom in once or twice when approaching a turn rather than in a longer continuous zoom that sometimes makes it appear that the vehicle is not getting closer to the upcoming turn.
* Use a better LCD screen.
* Improve the POI searching or make more categories.
* When displaying a calculated route, make the bottom left button/readout user configurable. It currently displays the speed, and when you touch that area of the screen it displays all sorts of navigation info (including the compass heading). The user should be able to touch any item on that screen and have that be the new value displayed in the lower left corner of the main screen.
* Draw major roads with thinner lines. Sometimes the highways are drawn with such thick lines that useful details are obscured.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I had to give the Nuvi 205 a 5-star rating because it's better than the Nuvi 200, which has an average of 4.5 stars at Amazon. All in all, I'm glad I got the 205 vs. the 200. Not in any order are the following improvements I appreciated most:
The faster screen refresh is noticeable. There's a YouTube video where the 205 is compared with the 200. You can see a huge difference.
The redesigned display is more intuitive with arrows vs. "left"/"right". Personally, I think the screen design looks better, too.
The ability to import addresses on the computer from Google map is very nice since entering the address via the touchscreen is a bit cumbersome.
BTW, the documentation is very, very light. There was no mention of how to use the map importation feature so I appreciated the Amazon product page including the link to download the plug-in. Also, I didn't know I could download more vehicles till I dug around the Garmin website.
About text-to-speech, which this unit does NOT have, I don't think I'm going to miss it. Usually I have the radio or iPod blaring, and my car is pretty noisy anyway, so it would be hard to hear the street names called out. In fact, I keep the volume down and rely on the very intuitive display. You clearly see the upcoming street name to turn on and even if there are a bunch of streets bunched up together, the main map would show them all and it would be easy to differentiate the one you want.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
When researching a new GPS, you have to concentrate on what features you want, and then pay attention to how the unit functions as a whole. The maps will occasionally be wrong with any unit, and locals will likely disagree with some of the routing in areas they are highly familiar with. But you aren't buying this to help you navigate your neighborhood. In my research I've found Tomtom, Magellan, and Garmin all share similarly high reviews depending on the product.
That said, the Garmin Nuvi 205 is a fantastic entry level unit. It is incredibly easy to use, very quick to acquire a signal, immediate re-calculation, and accurate placement and position updates. This unit does not speak street names, but I find the verbal updates adequate enough. "In one mile, turn left" etc. gives plenty of notice on what you need to do without continually harassing you. Enterting destinations is easy. It will guess the city / street names after only a few letters, and it has a large preloaded database of locations to search.
In addition to the map, during your drive it will display your current speed, the local speed limit (most of the time), distance to destination, ETA, and your next turn and which direction it will be. If there are no other turns prior to your destination, it will display which side of the road you need to be on and mark the spot with a checked flag. So far it has been 100% accurate on "side of street" placement.
It has multiple settings if you need to adjust any part of the programming or features. You can have it avoid tolls, highways, u-turns, etc. You cannot edit the main interface, or what it shows you where, I would not make any changes even if I could though. This unit is compatible with the optional traffic receivers, however I have not used any of them. I love the small size as well, it fits well on the windshield with the included mount but does not get in the way, and is still very easy to read.
Updating your maps online seems easy enough, I was able to connect to my computer with a standard mini-usb cable (not included) and load the website quickly. I also downloaded voices and icons directly to the device with no trouble.
If you are looking for a low price GPS for casual use, and can live without bluetooth, spoken street names, and multi point routing (you can have 1 destination + 1 extra stop at once) then the nuvi 205 is perfect, and a great price. I am very satisfied with my purchase.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Very good product. Very good idea. This is my first and it was quite an experience. Before GPS I would go camping and to find the nearest store to buy groceries I would go street by street. Now I press "shopping" in the GPS and find dozens to choose from including name and distance. After that it takes me there turn by turn.
In particular this GPS was very good, but if you can afford the ones that give you the street name, go for it instead.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Garmin nuvi 205 3.5 " GPS
What a great tool and great value! This is a great basic system that met all of our needs. If all you are looking for is a GPS to keep your eyes on the road and out of a map while keeping the cost low...this is your baby.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Due to some issues with my internal navigation system, I came to the realization in order to maintain my sanity, I really needed to invest in a GPS. I wanted to keep the cost down, but wanted also to get allot of bang for the buck. After completing the research, it was clear that the Nuvi 205 was the way to go. From opening up the box and turning it on, I found it incredibly easy to use! I have tried to use it for places that I know where I am going and how to get there and have found that there were very few times that it didn't follow the same route I would have taken. It is not perfect, but does a good job for sure. If you need to hear the street names be read to you for turning, you need another model because this one won't do that. It will however tell you when a turn is coming up and tell you to "turn right/left here". If you are unsure about a turn, the GPS also displays the road name and distance before turn on the screen making the whole thing pretty easy to follow. All of this said, it is not a perfect system. There have been times when I knew where I was going and in testing the GPS it took me a route that was longer distance and time then I needed to take. The other thing I have found is that the announcement to turn does come up on you pretty quick, but as I said before, if you look at the display, it sets you straight. All in all I am very happy with my purchase. In fact I have talked it up to a few people and some of them are now going to purchase the Nuvi 205 for themselves. For what I spent vs. what I got, it was well worth the investment!
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I owned Nuvi 200 in the past. I had to part with it rather unexpectedly, and Nuvi 205 was the replacement I got for it.
It exceeded my expectations.
First on its predecessor Nuvi 200. A very good unit. Found directions well, had 95% accurate map, useful features and good layout to use them.
Nuvi 205 kept most pluses and expanded features.
Graphical interface was refreshed and looks smoother than its predecessor. Nuvi 200 was well laid out, this just puts it in a better wrapper.
It comes with NT2009 maps - newest maps! if you buy nuvi200 now, it may come with 2008, 2007. You'd need to register it and HOPE you get a free map update.
When you zoom out on a map now you will see all your saved locations! this is great, and was not available in nuvi 200.
I particularly like the "where am I", which shows where you are, your grid coordinates, closest address and intersection.
They added a tracker, so you can see what roads you traveled down.
I tried it on foot, and it was ok. Compass was hard to read and I went to reading the sun to figure out which was is North, but using the tracker I was able to approximate how far I went into the woods, where return trail and how far am I away from it.
The only two degrades from nuvi 200 was the favorites. It now has two extra clicks to go through to get to them. When its rerouting instead of explicitly writing "rerouting" it shows nothing, which can be misguiding.
I would recommend it as a good GPS to people in US. for foreign service it does not have the maps and you may consider a different model that does.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
This is a perfect GPS - EXTREMELY EASY TO USE, accurate, powerful database, bright screen, small, slim, rechargable battery built-in. This is probably the best GPS period. The more expensive GPS units have all this stuff most people don't need (MP3 player, etc.) but if it's navigation you need, this thing is it. It's hard to believe you can get this amount of technology for such a great price. I can't say enough about this unit.
I already have an iPhone (1st gen). It does everything I need since it has an iPod, photo viewer, Internet browsing, and it has Google Maps. However the 1st gen iPhone does not include true GPS technology. It only can approximate your position based on cell tower (and wifi hotspot) locations. The 2nd gen iPhone (plastic case) has a true GPS chip built-in that integrates with Google Maps, but the GPS functionality EATS the battery when you're using it. I just needed a GPS to complement my iPhone when I'm on the road. This unit is perfect.
I also have a Honda Element, and it's difficult to find a good spot to mount a GPS without blocking the view. This unit is small and it's suction cup mount is so low-profile that it was easy to find a spot on the dash just to the right of the steering wheel to mount it. I thought I might want the larger 205W widescreen, but I'm glad I have the smaller screen since it keeps the unit small but there's still plenty of map area.
I was surprised at how accurate the Garmin units are, and with their 3d maps with smooth scrolling, they provide a superior navigation experience. The screen is extremely bright and here in the Northwest where there's very little sun, I keep the brightness at 10% and I get over 4 hours of battery life. The speaker is very loud too, if you need it.
The only drawback is that the unit doesn't come with an AC charger nor a USB cable for updating your maps via computer. But it does come with a DC car charger. The documentation was sparse, but after playing with the unit for about 30 minutes, I figured out all the ways you can get to the different options and views. The touchscreen is not that sensitive, so you have to give a little extra push with your finger. These are all minor inconveniences given the power and simplicity this unit delivers.
Garmin definitely has studied how people use a GPS and have designed clear screens, simple controls, and useful options. For example, there's a "Car" versus "Walking" mode. Also, the screen background turns a dark blue at night so that the screen isn't glaring in your eyes. If you're using the unit plugged-in via the car charger, the unit turns on and off automatically with your car. That may seem obvious until you realize you can also simply run the unit via it's rechargable battery, and if you don't turn it off manually, it stays on until the batter runs out (useful for hiking/biking, etc.). I thought these were all nice design touches that shows that Garmin knows their users and translated that into a nice product.
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