238 of 239 people found the following review helpful:
Don't pay more, this has everything you need
Let me set the scene for you: I arrive in Los Angeles at the airport, turn on my GPS system and instantly am ready to navigate. I then spend two days driving around Los Angeles not knowing where anything is located and haven't gotten lost once...
The nuvi 255, as in my review title, is everything you need. Don't spend more because you think you'll need to...
106 of 108 people found the following review helpful:
Very nice entry-level GPS.
After spending a few weeks researching this and that, I decided to go with the Nuvi 255. I would have liked a 255W, but just couldn't justify the cost. Besides, the 255 screen is sufficient. I chose it over the 205 for the extra maps and text-to-speech, which is a really nice function.
PROS:
The size seems small until you actually mount it on your...
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Let me set the scene for you: I arrive in Los Angeles at the airport, turn on my GPS system and instantly am ready to navigate. I then spend two days driving around Los Angeles not knowing where anything is located and haven't gotten lost once...
The nuvi 255, as in my review title, is everything you need. Don't spend more because you think you'll need to talk for navigation or that you want to connect to some navigation service or whatever else they're selling. This is a small, FAST, device that you can easily carry with you when it isn't in your car. And folks, that's part of a portable GPS system: you can take it with you so it doesn't get stolen.
I will give the following heads-up. The first time you calibrate the GPS system, it may take up to 10 MINUTES. Be patient, stand in a large open field, and don't move the device. Just let it sit. After that initial setup, you'll be walking on sunshine. Second, charging the device is easy. All you need is a standard USB cable that is used for most electronics. The downside, it doesn't show a progress bar on the screen as to when a charge is complete. Third, when you turn it on, make sure you have clear views of the sky from all directions. Otherwise, the system may not initialize properly. Plus, if you're in a city with tall buildings, you may be out of luck for getting signal (i.e. NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago). Normally, the difficultly comes from initially turning it on. After that, it's great.
This device is FAST in recalculating routes. Mere seconds and boom, you're back on track. No downtime whatsoever. This is really amazing.
You are given the option of navigation as a pedestrian or in a car. That is really great if you're on foot. You can easily switch between the two.
NOW... my word of advice. SPEND THE MONEY to get the 255 with the "text-to-speech." When you're driving in traffic in an unfamiliar place, you don't want to have to constantly look over to read the street names on the device then find them on the street. It is worth the extra cash.
All-in-all, I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. As I said to a friend today, it isn't often that I buy a piece of electronics equipment and have my expectations met and surpassed. As I continue to use it, new things continue to amaze me.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
After spending a few weeks researching this and that, I decided to go with the Nuvi 255. I would have liked a 255W, but just couldn't justify the cost. Besides, the 255 screen is sufficient. I chose it over the 205 for the extra maps and text-to-speech, which is a really nice function.
PROS:
The size seems small until you actually mount it on your windshield. Then it's just right. And the GUI is very simple and straightforward. There are a lot of "aftermarket" vehicle icons that can be just dropped onto the unit. It charges relatively quickly through a USB cord. I think with a little ingenuity, I'll be able to mount it to my motorcycle bars too. This thing is half organizer/phone book, half Nav system, which since I don't have an I-Phone is really cool. It's great to be able to look up a phone number and call a restaurant without booting up my PC.
CONS:
Even though there's 6 million POI, it's missing some surprising ones (a Walmart and a Lowes plaza, for example) that have been around for a couple of years. So to get there, you have to find something near them and that's a pain. Same with roads I KNOW are there, but not in this 2009 map software. Then there's the town names that seem questionable at times. My only other small gripes are that you can't change the text-to-speech voice...unless you want a lame elf voice or Death or something. And for some reason, mine doesn't want to charge if the unit is in use, which is kind of aggrivating.
VERDICT:
Seems solid, easy to use, and a genuinely decent product. Sometimes I know better than the direction engine (I'm sure you get that with any GPS), but if I didn't, I'd trust it. Seems to lack features of an upmodel unit, but for the money, I feel I've gotten a good value.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I purchased the Nuvi 255 as a replacement for my Nuvi 350. There is nothing wrong with the 350Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech. The 255Garmin Nuvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator has safety features I want which include "Where Am I" that gives your location by street address, city, state, zip code, nearest intersection and coordinates. This is important in an emergency in a strange and/or unfamiliar location. Another safety feature is the display of the posted speed limit directly above your actual speed. This helps to avoid tickets and reminds one about safe driving.
Other improvements include a brighter clearer display, revised touch screen graphics, an arrow indicating direction of next turn and a TTS voice that sounds like a real person instead of an elocution professor.
The 255 also has a world clock, unit converter, calculator and photo
display.
In closing, I saved the best feature for last--the GPS function is fast, flawless and exact.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
My son, who does not drive, wanted a GPS because most of his friends, who DO drive, don't have one. He thinks of it, along with some gas money, as his contribution to the trip. Since it was dad's money paying for it, I decided to give him my nuvi 260 so that I could get a 255 with its ability to make use of traffic information. (I've just ordered the receiver and will report on that aspect later.)
I'm not quite sure how to review a GPS. The 255 makes the fourth GPS in out family. The others are the Garmin nuvi 200, 260, 260w. Since there are so many makes and models on the market and few people will own multiple GPSs, the most helpful information would be areas in which a particular unit was found to be lacking. I've never found any of these units to be lacking. Other than the well reported difficulties they sometimes have locating satellites (the 255 seems a bit better in this regard), there's nothing about the Garmins that would make me want to try a different brand.
People debate about the 255's voices. Many prefer the 260's voices. My wife is one of them. I find the 255's voices similar to the 260's, except that I miss Emily. She and I have grown close over the months we've been together, but, alas, she was unable to make the jump to the 255. The format of the voice files must have changed. The .vpm files on the 260 are 10+kb, where those on the 255 are about 2kb and Emily was not offered as a download. So, Emily is no more. She was not included on the 255 and I could not get the voice file from the 260 to work on the 255.
I find pluses and minuses to the new interface. I'm not fond of the speed function because it takes up a lot of real estate and isn't reliable. I traveled Route 119 from Route 2 in Acton, MA, to Route 495 in Littleton, a main drag. The speed limit varies from a high of 50 to a low of 25, but the 255 showed a constant 45, so I would not rely on the 255 to warn me of speed traps.
I DO like the new distance and direction of turn indicator. It's convenient seeing the arrow indicating the direction of the turn right next to the distance indicator.
I do NOT like the new way the keypad changes from upper to lower case after the first character of a name is entered.
I WISH there were an option for a QWERTY keyboard layout.
I WISH Garmin would allow zip code entry in addition to City and State.
About 30 seconds after the 260's on/off switch is placed in the lock position, the screen dims and the voice goes silent. This is a very convenient way to silence the unit when traveling a well known road and bringing it back with a minimum of fuss when needed. On the 255, the screen goes dim, but the voice is no longer silent. It's necessary to go through menus to make the unit quiet. This means that there is no longer an easy way to silence the 255 since pressing menus is too dangerous to attempt when the car is moving.
But the quibbles are minor. They're not enough to make me remove a star.
Garmin makes a fine, accurate unit. I've stopped all but the most cursory glances at maps prior to making trips. I'm happy to let the unit send me on its merry way. (There's a movie here where someone figures out how to reprogram GPSs, luring victims into out of the way places. "Dear, are you sure the way to the mall is through the cemetary?") Just last night it showed me a new way to a place I'd been visiting for years and never used the GPS to guide me because I knew the way there. (Ah, so *that's* where that road goes!)
Now, if only I could figure a way to get Emily back...
Added in edit: Another thing I REALLY LIKE about the 255 over the 260...
When you're driving down the road, the title bar of the 260 will often say something like "Continuing on Route nnn". On that same stretch of road, the title bar of the 255 will have the name of the next turn/exit/route. That is, once you're where you're supposed to be, the 255 immediately displays the name of the next road.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I replace my 350 with this one. Overall this one is better.
But I want to mention 2 things which 255 is not as good as 350.
1. The TTS voice is not as good as 350.
2. There's no the "Ding" sound just before a turn.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
This is the fourth GPS that I have tried. Initially I had the VZ Navigator system from verizon. It's a phone GPS and works very well. However, I had to discard that after I moved from Verizon.
Then I got the top rated Nuvi Garmin 350. Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech When I started using it, I realized that its navigation features where inferior to VZ navigator. I was surprised that a dedicated GPS had less features than a phone GPS. Few things that annoyed me with nuvi 350.
1) It wouldn't show the distance or direction of next turn. I had to press the turn list, everytime I needed to check the distance to next turn. Also, since the direction of turn is not shown in advance, you could endup on the wrong lane before the turn.
2) The arrival time shown on the display would not take into account the time zone. If you travel a lot between time zones, you are always forced to calculate the actual arrival time using the time shown on the display.
3) It wouldn't remember the last entered city. You have to re-enter the city, everytime you enter an address.
The only thing 350 had better than the phone gps was the bigger display. Anyway, my 350 got stolen recently. I was half happy that I could get a new GPS. I researched a little bit and figured that the Tomtom One 130S TomTom ONE 130S 3.5-Inch Touchscreen Portable GPS Navigator did not have any of the annoyances of nuvi 350. It would always display the direction and distance to the next turn. I liked the compact mounting setup of Tomtom very much. Also, the voice instructions were very clear although many reviewers had complained about voice quality. However, I was forced to return the GPS due to one major flaw. The voice instructions and the directions were not correct!!! When I had to go westbound, the GPS would instruct me to take the ramp to Eastbound direction. This happened on two instances and I decided enough is enough.
Doing some further research, I figured that garmin has introduced a new model that fixes all of the shortcomings of nuvi 350. I have used it for about 2 weeks and I am very happy with the purchase. Although some reviewers have complained about the voice quality, I havn't had any difficulty in understanding the voice instructions. Apart from fixing the annoyances mentioned above, it also has some nice additional features.
1) Faster GPS lock
2) Speed limit display
3) Internal antenna and slimmer profile; so easy to store in pocket.
Overall nuvi 255 is the ideal GPS, atleast for now :-)
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Garmin makes one of the best, if not the best, GPS devices. Uniqueness of Nuvi 255 is that it is the least expensive Nuvi, as of September 2008, that reads the street names, which in my experience is an important feature.
Like all other Nuvi's it has clear display, is easy to use, and acquires satellites very quickly. The windshield attachment stays in place. This one displays the speed limit too! You just have to be careful with screen of Nuvi series; make sure it is well protected when stored, because it breaks easily.
Although you can display pictures on Nuvi 255, I am not sure how many people do that in car. My previous experience with Nuvi 680 is that Bluetooth in a GPS unit is a useless and unusable feature. Stand-alone Bluetooth speakerphones like BluAnt or Parrot are far superior for making handsfree phone calls. My experience with GM cars is that even speech recognition does not work well inside the car with wind and road noise. All these bells and whistles are not worth the extra cost. As pointed out by another reviewer, this Nuvi has everything that you need in a GPS - except traffic.
You can add traffic service subscription to this one by an additional FM antenna; but if you need traffic, you may want to look into Navigon GPS which provides free lifetime traffic, although Navigon lacks the simplicity and ease of use of Nuvi.
Overall, Nuvi 255 is a great basic GPS unit which reads the names of streets, gives you speed limit, has extensive POI database and Garmin has good customer service. You won't go wrong.
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
My love affair with GPSes.
I owned a nuvi 200 3.5" GPS, which worked perfectly well. My GPS mainly functions as a paper map substitute. I don't use any of the other features, like Points of Interest, traffic reports, photos, currency converter.
A new series!
I considered upgrading when I found out Garmin redesigned some of the screens on the 2x5 units. I was tossed between the nüvi 205 or nüvi 255. The 255 has spoken street names. I didn't want the Wide versions, because I heard those don't show more map area; they're just the same amount of map stretched on a larger screen. The 3.5 screen is plenty big for me, and small enough to be conveniently portable in a bag or a pocket.
Reconditioned snobbery.
I bought a factory reconditioned nuvi 255 for the price of a new 205. If it weren't for the white box (the new units come in a black box), I could not tell the reconditioned unit apart from a new one. It was pristine and worked perfectly, and came with the normal accessories. Based on this experience, I would not hesitate to buy another Garmin reconditioned item.
The new screen interfaces are a nice improvement over the old one. Go to Youtube and check out some side by side comparisons, if you're interested.
Things that seemed to improve from the 2x0 to the 2x5 models:
- 255 fixed on satellites much easier indoors. The 200 used to not find satellites when I turned it on inside the house.
- 255 satellite acquisition time is much faster, within 10 seconds. The 200 used to take upwards of a few minutes.
Features I like:
- I thought I wouldn't need it, but having spoken street names is nice.
- "where am I" feature shows me my long/lat and nearest emergency services.
- Garmin Garage. Free download from Garmin. It's a stupid cutesy thing, but I can modify the little vehicle to one that suits my mood.
Features I don't care for:
- There is no quick mute button. It takes at least three taps to mute sound.
- I can modify a path, by adding a waypoint, but I can't easily force it to take the road I want.
- On the 200 it was "Where To" - "Favorites". On the 255, Favorites got demoted to the next screen, and needs an extra tap. It would be nice if I could change the order of my frequently used functions.
Features I don't use/don't need:
- music
- bluetooth
- traffic reports
- maps outside of North America. I'm not a jetsetter.
- currency calculator
- Ecoroute
Feature I would like, if I won the lottery:
- Lane assist, it's in the spendy nuvi models.
One free map update.
I bought this reconditioned unit in 10/2009. It came with map version North America NT 2010.10. I downloaded their program then loaded the unit with the new map. My update to the latest version NT 2010.20 took about 1.5 hours total, and not several overnight hours I've read about. Maybe mileage varies with internet connection speed.
Neoprene case.
This isn't a review of the unit, but I thought I'd throw this in to help anyone looking for a suitable case. Ever since my first nuvi, I've searched for a proper fitting neoprene case. Garmin's official case is leather, open on one side, and spendy. This camera case fits just right.
Dolica SM-98305BK sold at the big O for $4.99 plus shipping. Internal dimensions are 4.1"x3"x0.8". External dimensions are 4.6" x 3.3" x 1.45". This will fit all of the 3.5" 2xx and 3xx series nuvis.
Mount.
I don't know anyone who owns a Garmin, use the sticky disk supplied in the package. Sticking the disk permanently to my dash is out of the question. I recommend the HandStands Sticky Pad GPS Dash Mount. Sleek, low profile and moveable.
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