Garmin nüvi 260 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
|
List Price: Our Price: $199.00 You Save: $283.13 (59%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $40.00 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 260 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Very pleased
Summary: 5 Stars
Well since it was for my wife it had to be easy to use or I'd get complaints. The menus system never leaves you uncertain of where to go next...no getting lost on the screens. Almost bot a TomTom but didn't think the menu was quite as good while trying it in stores. I could be wrong. The audio is plenty loud and usually clear. I only tried one voice. Maybe there are more? Found it does two thing well. Navigates to locations AND if you just display the map without inputing where to go...it provides a fantastic situational awareness of where you are, showing the upcoming streets, side streets etc. While actually navigating, if you miss a turn or opt for a different way, it simply recalculates the remaining trip. Takes about 5 seconds. Never suggested a u turn. At first start up it took maybe 5 minutes to find itself. Every other time it locks on in just seconds. Keyboard is not qwery due to the size. 4.5 inch model has the optional keyboard. That's my only not complaint but a request to Garmin...even if the keyboard had to be smaller to fit the 3.5 in screen. Letters displayed as abcdefg are harder to find than a typewriter type display. If it is plugged into the car and you pull the power or turn off the car it will auto shut off when it detects the power loss. It gives you a choice to allow the shut down or overide and continue ON using battery power. A lot of write ups said the 260 didn't have this feature but mine does. Bought it from Amazon Oct 2008. I paid $200. The best price anywhere Best Buy wanted [...] with a rebate. As everybody says, units that anounce the street names is the only way to go. You might not even look at the unit, just listen. Wife wouldn't take the 5 minutes to learn the unit. After two weeks finaly did. Now loves it.Customer Review: Powerful, Portable GPS at a Price that's Perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
Received my 260 two weeks ago and this is one fine piece of equipment for your car (or walking around for that matter). I researched Consumer Reports online and every place I could think of to find a GPS unit that was just a GPS unit and had text-to-speech so I wouldn't have to look at the screen. The 260 is the closest I could come because it does have a photo album feature but at least it doesn't play music.
On trips to unknown places my Saint of a Wife would get dreadfully nervous with my looking at the [...] printout while I was driving and eating a burger and cleaning up the cola I had just spilled on the carpet - all at the same time. I still don't understand what made her nervous, I've never had a wreck but she has.
For the last two weeks since I received the 260 and ripped it outta the box and proceeded to throw the manual away (you really don't need it) I have put this device through its paces. I've deliberately tried to fool it by turning on the wrong street and within seconds it calculates a new route to the destination. I can't fool it so I suppose that would make the Garmin nuvi 260 Foolproof.
I'm back at Amazon tonight to buy another one, it's that good.
For those who might think they need to buy an AC charger, if you have a Motorola phone the AC charger cable on that will charge the unit and it already comes with a power adapter for the car. Many camera USB cables will work on it just fine to connect it to your computer.
In short I would recommend this unit to anyone - especially anyone who doesn't want an MP3 player or a portable piano with their GPS unit.
Go ahead - punch in those credit card numbers and move on with your life. You'll use much less Xanax with the Garmin nuvi 260.
Customer Review: Comparison with Other GPSs
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a gadget geek and own 6 GPSs. This latest Nuvi series is the best I have found if you simply want to get to your destination, and want user friendlyness. I think it is a bit better in this respect than the Tom Tom. I also have a Lowrance 500c. The Lowrance is big, heavy, runs hot [will trip off in hot sun], touch screen does not work as well, no battery, & is not near as user friendly. The Nuvi is easier to use-it is so intuitive that you dont need the user manual. The Nuvi turns itself on and off automotically, adjusts to day and night screens automtically. Also you neeed a battery, - so you can take it to a PC easily and program locations in for a long vacation. Also the unit finds satellites quicker than the lowrance, and in sub zero temps, it reponds to startup and touch screen prompts via your finger just like it would in warm weather. The others are not near as good as this. Also make sure you buy a dash mounted, four legged 'bean bag' mount by Garmin. Forget the suction cup on the windshield approach, also illegal in CA & MN. Trust me on this point, the suction cup does not work well long term. I own Three Nuvi's [one for Son] the Europe maps on the 270 model are great, and will save you on that EU vacation. Also have your favorite destinations preprogrammed, and forget the rental car unit, especially in the EU, you never know IF and what the rental people will give you, and can be a GPS that speaks French or Italian and fights reprogramming. The one feature to be aware of is Voice pronuciation of the upcoming street name ['turn left' vs. 'turn left on Oak St.] some Nuvi models have it, some don't. But the street is written on the screen for all models. This is a nice feature but you pay more.Customer Review: Great product and Great Price
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for my wife because she seems to remember how to get to a place from only where she initially went there from (used to live 10 miles north of it so she would drive 10 miles north just to drive back south the way she knew.. UGH!! HELP ME!) This is the first GPS I bought but I did some investigating and read good things about this unit. Let me say that my wife won't stop telling me how much she loves me after this purchase. It was a late, additional Christmas gift. The text to speech works very well. The screen is nice and bright with vivid colors. After you get used to what categories to use in the menu when searching for nav points then you will find that the searches work pretty quickly and everything but your grandmaw's house seems to already be in the unit. I checked several places I figured would not be in the unit at all yet it found every one so far. The touch screen works well and the unit is so small that my wife can either put it in her middle console or in her pocket. This thing does everything we want. I've been very impressed and my wife has been overjoyed with the purchase. I can honestly say that this is the best present I have bought her, well besides her engagement ring. :) One other note is that I had originally bought this at CC but returned it because Amazon's price was so much better. Every once in a while it goes the other way but typically I can find pretty good deals here and don't have too hard of a time on returns.
In conclusion. If you are looking for a well priced Nav unit that has text to speech and won't break the bank then I've found this to be a good choice. Most of the extras on the higher priced models weren't worth the extra money.
Customer Review: A map problem eroded my trust in it.
Summary: 3 Stars
I've had my Nuvi 260 for a month now. The unit is small, good-looking, very easy to set up, came with the latest version of their maps but... if I followed its direction I'd never get out of my neighborhood.
Driving from my home on GA SRXX I need to turn right on Hwy YYY. My nuvi260 tells me to first turn left on ZZZ Rd. about 200 ft from the Hwy, and then make a right U-turn on HwyYYY. The problem is that ZZZ Rd. DEAD ENDS in bushes and there is no way to get to the Hwy from there. This problem makes me wonder where else my nuvi will send me to when I'm in a location I do not know.
Garmin's customer support was very apologetic about this snafu and directed me to the web site where you can report such map deficiencies. But that was it, no patches offered. I guess I'll have to wait until they have a new version released and pay another $70 to get it.
Aside from this one dead-end trap (that I've discovered), my nuvi260 has been giving me generally good directions in my everyday driving within ~100 miles from my home. I'm yet to test it on an out-of state trip.
Overall, I like having a "live" map in front of me with my location clearly marked, particularly when driving at night in a city. The voice prompts about upcoming turns, often with "funny" pronunciations of street names, are very useful in locations you do not know, and they can be muted if you find them distracting. The display of the distance to the next turn is particularly useful for me and saved me several times already from making turns too soon. For the price Nuvis can now be purchased for(~$260), it is a good driving aid to have in your car. But do not trust it completely...!!