Garmin nüvi 260W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $189.00 You Save: $40.99 (18%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $62.95 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 260W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Very Pleased
Summary: 5 Stars
I frequently get lost when I drive to unknown areas, despite having directions (written or printed) to go by, which causes me to panic as I drive.
It was suggested by a friend that I look at getting a GPS unit to help me find my way around.
I asked around to see which units were the best among my friends and was told that Garmin was very accurate and easy to use. So I looked on Amazon for a unit that had the features I wanted and came across this particular GPS unit: Garmin Nuvi 260W.
So far I've been very happy with it.
It was easy to use right out of the box. I registered it on the Garmin website and got an immediate update to the map software it was pre-loaded with so that everything was current.
I tested it out on a few routes I was already familiar with (to see how it worked compared to my driving) and it typically choose a route I was already taking. When I deviated from that route, it only took a few seconds to recalculate and adapt.
When I took it with me into the city, I took a wrong turn (my fault, not the GPS unit. The exits were close together and I took the first one instead of the second one it suggested) and it quickly got me back onto the road I needed to be on to get to my destination.
I found myself not panicking and felt more confident in my car for a change.
I played around with the voices and settled on "Australian-English: 'Karen'". The voice is pleasant, although a bit "robotic", but I still find the voice commands to be easy to understand (even with the slight 'accent').
I haven't used the Points of Interest that are preloaded, so I don't have any comment about them.
I'm looking for an excuse to use them but haven't had one yet.
Overall, though, I am very pleased with my purchase of this GPS unit and would recommend it as a great 'first time' device to anybody looking to get one.
Customer Review: Lots of changes in five years...
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought my first automotive GPS, a Garmin 2610, in 2004, and what a terrific unit it still is! But it was getting a bit long in the tooth, so instead of springing for an updated set of maps, I spent a bit more and got the 260W.
The 2610 was so good that I wasn't expecting the 260W to be that much better, but I'm surprised to find out how many improvements Garmin has made in the last 5 years. In particular:
- The 2610's receiver sensitivity was fine, but the 260W's seems to be much improved. I keep the unit in the center console when not in use, and it automatically powers up when I turn on the ignition. Amazingly, it's able to track where it is, despite being in a closed-up console (albeit plastic) under a metal roof.
- Lock time is much faster. In fact, I've never seen the unit fail to lock by the time I get to the map screen. (I'm puzzled to see that so many folks are experiencing long lock times, and have to wonder if their windshields have a metal film layer. Or maybe it's because my unit is on whenever the car is moving, so I never have to try locking from a new location.)
- The 2-1/2D view is very easy to read. Ironically, pronunciation of street names makes looking at the screen largely unnecessary. An occasional glance at the distance-to-next -turn in the upper left hand corner is sufficient most of the time.
- The points-of-interest database seems better, at least so far.
- Some of the annoying audio tics of the 2610 have been removed. For example, the 260W doesn't give you the grating "<double-bong> off route" when you miss a turn; it tells you "recalculating" and leaves it at that. A small change, to be sure, but a welcome one.
The most significant annoyance so far is that none of the voices I've tried to date seems quite as pleasant as the female American voice in the 2610. Oh, well.
Customer Review: garmin has zero useful support
Summary: 2 Stars
After a year or so of ownership...
The original unit had to be sent back and replaced -- the cigarette lighter connect must have caused an "arc" which fried the usb-power-supply on the unit; Luckily, the unit was still under warranty; After sending back the unit with ALL accessories in original packaging, I got back a refurb model with SOME accessories; Of particular annoyance is that the suction cup doesn't work; Totally sucks;
The Garmin support even over the 1-800 number was horrific; Those people saying they love Garmin support are likely moles for Garmin; Ignore them; They aren't real people;
I was never able to use the communicator-plug-in-from-hell to get the unit registered; Eventually, garmin "support" manually registered my replacement / refurb unit for me; All that nightmare to get registered so I could do a map update; Guess what? A map update costs over $130!!! Yikes!!! At that price, you're better off buying a new GPS -- make it a Tom-Tom;
Others have denoted the long startup time to synchronize; I guess I'm patient enough to sit there and wait for it to "lock"; With that said, I've found the unit itself rather useful and I don't necessarily have any complaints, although the volume doesn't seem to go over loud rock and roll guitar solos;
I give Garmin zero stars for support; IF YOU BUY THIS UNIT OR ANY UNIT FROM GARMIN, YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!!!
This ridiculous and non-functional Garmin communicator plugin is worthless and it makes purchasing a Garmin product worthless; You can't register your product, which means you can't get map updates; So, you've just purchased an obsolete unit from day one and you will never get maintenance nor support nor updates; Forget about e-mail/contact, and the 1-800 number is a waste of your time;
Customer Review: GREAT PRODUCT
Summary: 5 Stars
Garmin nüvi 260W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
I purchased the Garmin Nuvi 260W, which was shown in stock, and received the order acknowledgement. Within a couple of days I received notification of shipment on other items, but not the Nuvi. I emailed Customer Service. The next day I received an apology from the shipper, noting the order was not received by the shipper, however, the Nuvi was being shipped that day. I received it without further problems. Great response from all involved.
The 260W so far after several days has been great. It acquires the satellites within seconds. I had read other reports of slow acquire, but a hint might be; just turn the unit on until it acquires the satellites and then begin the "where to" or other operations. Otherwise, the unit worked flawlessly. In a one case it was not aware of service road along side the main road, but still pinpointed the destination. Some common sense has to be used with GPS systems.
The pronunciations of a few street names were comical, but then again some of the street names are comical anyway! Normally they were on target and very understandable.
Also purchasing the USB cable, I registered the unit and updated the maps on the Garmin website. Don't think there were any updates, but went through the motions anyway for the future. I noted that some of the points of interest in my area had gone out of business or changed names, so if that feature is used while traveling a call ahead would be good before going there. Perhaps Garmin could be better in that respect, or provide an avenue for feedback when changes are found, but a great feature to include.
I would recommend the Garmin Nuvi 260W to others. I will be using on my motorcycle also.
Customer Review: Completely Happy I Bought this GPS
Summary: 5 Stars
There is a lot of information out there on buying a GPS unit. I went through it all, learning about the bells and whistles, which one people liked better, blah-blah-blah. I ended up with readers burnout and decided to go back to basics: "...which unit would get me to where I'm going OR make sure I know where I am". That was my base criteria. The Garmin nuvi 260W fits the bill perfectly. My reasons for buying this one were it does all the basic stuff I need/want (where am I?) and it adds a wider screen, I can unclip it for portable use, and even though I don't/likely won't use it, it comes with a card reader suporting a few of those bells and whistles people seem to think are important. I also bought that Garmin Portable Friction Dashboard Mount (highly recommended to all!!) so I could easily remove the GPS for use in another car OR just hide the unit when I'm not in the car (thieves are looking).
Overall I am extremely pleased with my purchase. If I were to buy a second one, knowing what I know now, I would buy another 260W and stay away from those higher priced units. This one is perfect for me and almost everybody I know. Hope this helps :)
EDITED 14-Dec-2009: I wanted to add information I recently got from my brother-in-law. A while back he and his wife borrowed our GPS for their honeymoon trip. They loved it so much they went out and bought one of their own. When they boght they forgot what model i had so ended up buying a Garmin, but a more expensive model, thinking it should be just as good if not better than the one I have. They were wrong. Their more expensive model has proven over time to be not as complete as mine is. It routinely is missing roads and guides them on long loops. They's since sold their unit - I wish I could tell you the model, can't remember - and purchased this particular model. Now the newlyweds are happy! :)