Garmin nüvi 260 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 260 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Very Good with a Few Shortcomings
Summary: 4 Stars
I had been thinking for awhile about buying a GPS unit for my car and did quite a bit of research about what I wanted or needed. Then low and behold I get a Garmin 260 for Christmas. While it wasn't the model I was thinking of buying for myself I am perfectly happy with this. Initially I was reluctant about getting one with the Text to Speech function thinking it would be distracting or aggravating to have it talking to me while driving, in fact though it's probably the best feature on the unit. Driving in an unfamiliar city is difficult not to mention dangerous looking at the screen instead of the road but the Speech to Text eliminates those problems. The sound is a little tinny and robotic due to the small speakers but isn't terrible. It would be great if it could be routed through your car's FM radio like an XM radio but I'm sure that would cost more.
The display is easy to read during the brightest sun and at night it seems to automatically dim so as not to blind you. While driving it shows the street you're on and the upcoming cross streets on each side. When driving to a destination it tells you how far to each turn and then warns you as you come up on it. Missing a turn or making a wrong turn forces the unit to recalculate the route again and almost immediately directs you to the best way to get back on course again. My first trial run had me laughing because it sounded like it was getting aggravated with me. "Turn left in 200 ft....turn left...turn left, turn leftturnleftturnleft".
You can take it out of the box and be using it in five minutes but some menu options are not clearly explained in the instruction manual. The manual is very thin, mostly how to turn it on. Basic functions like how to set a Favorite place is not explained at all. After two days I found it in the units help section and it is actually easy to do, just not easy to learn how to do it. You have the ability to search for Points of Interest in your area but I also wish you could do so in your destination location. For example, by entering a ZIP code it would list the various restaurants or motels in that area. Currently (or at least as far as I know) if doesn't do that, you have to enter a destination address
Overall I've played with it for a week now and really like it. The shortcomings would be found in all GPS units I've looked at. With what I know about it I would buy it for myself and give it 4 stars due to the thin manual and being unable to search Points of Interest in other areas.
Customer Review: Newbie loves Nuvi :)
Summary: 5 Stars
I exhaustively searched the different GPSes because the price tags were allot more than I wanted to spend, so I had to get it right on the first try. With the Garmin Nuvi 260 I made the right decision, and I am VERY happy.
* Ease of use = (now my 6 year old son even programs destinations using the "Find or Spell feature"
* Portability = I only use the battery power b/c we use our sole power outlet in the car for something else (Sirius Radio) I have been very impressed how long it holds a charge and have not had a problem loosing power. The "battery Low" indicator comes on when you still have about 30 minutes left, and that is usually plenty of time for me to get there. NOTE: When you are navigating (have a destination set), you can turn it off then turn it back on and it will remember your destination. A long road trip could be done entirely on the 5 hour battery by setting the destination, hopping on I-95, turning off the GPS, driving 400 miles and turning it on again when you are near the city you are going to. - Pretty cool.
*Pedestrian Feature - Because this is so well contained in the case, I often times take it out of the car and walk with it. It even gives the prompts and estimated time of arrival for pedestrians!!
*text to speech - MAJOR< MAJOR< MAJOR PLUS - this feature says "Turn on Maple Street in 500 ft" instead of "Turn in 500 ft" - incredibly helpful and least expensive Nuvi that offers it.
*Navigation - from research, garmin is supposed to be most accurate - I have been impressed once it is fine tuned. (One setting avoids U-Turns and causes you to be routed strangely, so I now make U-turns when needed)
Minor Cons:
*Magellen supposedly has the AAA ratings for all of their points of interest - that would be nice (my wife travels allot and is thinking about the magellen)
*When you have the radio cranked (as we all do from time to time!) it is hard to hear the sound prompts (but the screen prompts are always great so it doesn't cause that much of a problem)
*when it gets really cold outside, and you leave the 260 in the car, it doesn't work (it needs to be warmed up) sometimes I forget to bring it in the house in the winter and it causes an interesting scene.
All in All, I Love it and am very happy with the decision - I didn't need the MP3 player, but might like the FM Transmission to solve the sound problem, and in the future, when I am not a newbie, I would probably get the traffic notices in the more expensive models.
Customer Review: Great value - very pleased
Summary: 5 Stars
Money's tight - and this item bordered on a luxury item for me. I have an older model Magellan and was getting so tired of it taking forever to find the satellites. I wasn't confident that the routes were even the most efficient/shortest anymore. The way I get lost...and now that I'm single with kids, I needed something more reliable. I'm just plain geographically challenged. So, I researched for a while before purchasing anything. I determined to strip out the blue booth and the other luxury features in exchange for the price. This unit has really surprised me. I went for value but I can say I don't feel like I've sacrificed. There's one place where navigation seems just a bit off (it doesn't tell you to turn ahead consistently), but it's visually right on the screen. I used it in naiive areas when going on a 7 hour trip. Even if I missed the turn, it quickly re-routed. I have not had the delay with finding the satellites either. I've actually found some better routes compared to what my Magellan had previously directed. I think a big part is that the satellite locates me faster and so directs me sooner on the best route. Prior to that, I may have already passed up the better turns before receiving instructions. I paid $125 on amazon for this. I'm extremely pleased. I did purchase a separate Garmin attachment to sit the unit on my dash instead of attaching it to the window, so I cannot address how well the suction attachment works. It's far more convenient for hiding the unit and makes it sit at a better angle for me when in use. I picked it up at Staples - only because I had a gift card. BTW, I was unsure about how it shows the arrival time vs. our old Magellan. It's been a far easier adjustment than I expected. As I sit in traffic, it just keeps adjusting. I don't mind the extra taps on the screen to dig down to other information. My biggest disappointment has been searching for points of interest. It takes far, far too long - specifically if you are spelling the name. I know the information is in there. On 3 searches, I stopped the search after 15 minutes - no exaggeration. I was timing it. Maybe there's a trick to it to shorten it which I haven't figured out yet. If you search by category without spelling the name, it opens faster - but then you have to scroll thru the list and hope you still find it there. I have not updated it from the web, so maybe Garmin has improvements for this experience. I'm very happy in every other way. The 3.5 inch screen has not been an issue at all.Customer Review: Very pleased with the product
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my second GPS unit - the first being a different model Garmin that I use for geocaching - and I am impressed. My wife insisted that I buy a navigator that gives spoken directions for a recent out-of-town trip I was making by myself, because she was scared that I, in my ever advancing years, would take too long looking at a map, not enough time looking ahead, and plow into somebody from behind. She has some historical justification for this. So we bought the least expensive Garmin we could find that featured audible directions.
The unit performed very well. I found the voice to be pretty easy to understand (although at top volume level, the unit feeds more signal into the speaker than it can handle, so you get clipping, which makes it a bit harder to understand. Solution - turn down a the volume a little - it's still plenty loud). The unit is also intuitive to learn to use for basic functions. And basic functions are about all I use it for. It seems to be capable of many more things than the absolutely execrable user's manual informs you of. Or at least, a look at the Q & A in the tech support section of Garmin website describes capabilities not even hinted at in the manual, not even remotely.
The unit is not perfect. It mispronounces some street names, which is no surprise, and perfectly tolerable, especially with the redundancy of information on when to make a turn (it tells you what street to turn on, and how far away it is; either piece of information would be sufficient. So you get a belt and suspenders). I also wonder occasionally, when on familiar turf, at the routing it chooses. It has directed me to routes that I know to be longer than necessary. But when you are on unfamiliar territory, it'll get you there. I also find the feature that tells you about what time you should arrive at your destination to be very helpful. It's pretty accurate, too.
I recommend using the unit on familiar ground for a while before trusting it for navigating your way around someplace new to you This helps you get used to how it expresses itself in certain situations. For example, you will learn how to tell the difference between an upcoming turn with a significant distance before the following turn, and a turn with another one right after it.
The Nuvi 260 did exactly what I expected it to at a price that I found to be very reasonable. What could be better?
Customer Review: Very Satisfied
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my Garmin Nuvi 260 for about six weeks and I'm very satisfied with this GPS unit. I do a good amount of research in all of my purchases and this one was no different.
I started with Garmin, then looked at the others and ended up coming full circle back to Garmin. Simply the best portable GPS units on the market today. I am certainly guilty of overkill in my past purchases of other products, especially computers. Buying features that I realized later that I did't really need.
I realized I didn't need an MP3 player or bluetooth built into my GPS. From all of the reviews that I read about these devices, a dedicated MP3 or bluetooth would be a better choice in my opinion. So I went with the least expensive GPS that had TTS (Text To Speech) feature. Which was the Garmin 260.
Pros:
1)I drive for a living and in the six weeks that I've owned this device it hasn't steered me wrong one time.
2)Great screen, even during the daytime.
3)TTS
4)Recalculates quickly when you go off course.
5)Quick satellite acquisition times. About one minute on a cold start (after 4 hours). About 30 seconds on a warm start (within 4 hours).
6)Points of Interest. Over six million of them. I really like the feature while your driving that allows you to view and see the POI's that interest you the most by displaying the names, direction and distance from where your currently at. When you see the one that you like, you just tap the POI and it will direct you there.
7)Very portable and easily fits in your pocket or purse.
Cons:
Can't think of any.
So far as mounting my GPS, I went with the Arkon air vent. Works great and only cost me $7.00 shipping included from Amazon. They say that it is designed for horizontal air vent louvres only, but I use it with vertical louvres as well. Like I said earlier, I drive for a living and drive different types of vehicles. No problem. I like having the device just below the dashboard and closest to me. This mount allows that.
Note: Make sure that when you first turn on your GPS, that you allow it to download the data from the satellites for about 45-60 minutes with no obstructions. This will allow your GPS to acquire satellites much quicker after that. Hope this helps.
BB