Garmin Nuvi 255W Review – Portable GPS Review
Garmin Nuvi 255W – An Excellent Entry-Level GPS Device
The Garmin Nuvi 255W, the Garmin Nuvi 205W and the smaller Garmin Nuvi 205, are the entry-level models in Garmin’s Nuvi portable GPS line up. The Nuvi 255W is the one that really hits the sweet spot of price, performance and features. There are certainly other models that offer more, but for the money, the Nuvi 255W is hard to beat.
The Nuvi 255W comes with City Navigator map data for the continental U.S., Canada, or one European region, depending on where you buy it. The Nuvi 255W has a cool feature tucked away called “Where Am I?”, which tells you all you need know about your current location (the nearest address, nearest intersection, GPS coordinates, even your elevation). “Where Am I” also provides information on gas stations, police stations and hospitals. This is a very convenient feature though it is tucked away in the tools menu.
As it stands today, the Nuvi 255W does not provide traffic updates right out of the box, but FM traffic or subscription-based services can be added after purchase using add-on antennas and/or cradles.
The Garmin Nuvi 255W – What We Like
The Garmin Nuvi 255W is the proverbial workhorse of the portable GPS market. A large touch screen and an easy-to-understand interface make it quick and simple to use and easy to see. Getting started, inputting your destination and routing / rerouting your trip is fast and easy. Text-to-speech, one of the primary differences between the 255 and the 205, reads street and points of interest names aloud, which makes this cost-effective device much safer to use. The “Where am I” feature is also useful whenever you are in unfamiliar territory.
What We Don’t Like about the Garmin Nuvi 255W
The feature set of the Garmin Nuvi 255W isn’t the richest, but it delivers a good combination of functionality for the price. For the most part, all the features your really need in a portable GPS device are in the Garmin Nuvi 255W, but there are definitely more bells and whistles available.
Feature Overview
Design
The Garmin Nuvi 255W is one of the entry-level models of the Garmin line up. Unlike it’s stylish Nuvi 3700 sibling, the 255W is a basic design that is similar to most other products on the market. From the name that is nearly synonymous with GPS, the 255W delivers a functional blend of features for a very competitive price. If, however, money is less of an issue, the Garmin Nuvi 3790T is definitely worth a look. At just under $400 it is, without a doubt, the most elegant portable GPS on the market today.
The Garmin Nuvi 255W design, however, is very similar to other Garmin GPS devices and it measures 4.8 inches wide by 2.9 inches tall. It’s a thin.8 inch thick and has a crisp color touch screen that is basically the size of the entire unit.
Standard with the Garmin Nuvi 255W is a 12-volt power cable, a suction cup windshield mount with cradle, a disk to mount it to the dashboard and a getting started manual. Getting started with the Nuvi 255W is surprising fast and intuitive. Immediately after powering the unit on you are taken to the Nuvi’s main menu, which gives you two large options: “Where to?” and “View map.” The bottom of the screen displays the basic functions of volume, tools and stop.
The User Interface
If you have seen the Nuvi 255W, or if you have read any other reviews on it, you know that some complain that the interface is too basic, or overly simplified. However, this simple interface is one of the strong points of the Nuvi 255W. The 255W is one of the easiest-to-use GPS devices on the market and their simple interface is the primary reason.
Small Details
The cradles and mounts on any portable GPS system should be secondary to the features, speed and functionality of the system itself. However, two characteristics are very important if only for the “hassle factor”. On the negative side, the Nuvi 255W has a mount that is a good bit larger than comparable TomTom GPS systems, making it a bit less portable. On the other hand, the larger mount delivers good suction and swivels wide in all directions, which are not things you think about when buying but can be real hassles after the fact.
For most major roadways the 255W displays a speed limit warning as you reach or exceed the speed limit on those roads. One of my cars doesn’t have cruise control and this is a very convenient feature that can save you some money if you have a heavy foot.
Performance
Overall, the performance of the Nuvi 255W is quite good. It powers up and locks onto a satellite much faster than older models. The keyboard (on the screen) accepts input as fast as you can type it so you don’t have to wait for the screen to catch up.
With respect to input (entering addresses and points-of-interest), the Nuvi 255W does not have the autocomplete feature that tries to predict what you’re trying to type, but honestly, I don’t find the predictive feature to be that accurate.
Overall, the Garmin is a fast, simple, and easy-to-use device that is useable right out of the box, which make it a great choice for most people.
The bottom line:Fast performance, great screen, solid features and a very reasonable price. If you’re looking for an entry-level GPS navigator, the Garmin Nuvi 255W is still one of the best available. Another excellent choice that you should compare is the TomTom 330XL, which might actually trump the Nuvi 255W with TomTom’s IQ Routes and MapShare features. The bottom line is that the Garmin Nuvi 255W is an excellent portable GPS for the money. Whether you choose it or the TomTom 330XL, you will mostly likely be happy with your choice.
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