Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
by Garmin
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Category: GPS or Navigation System
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: GarminBrand: Garmin
Edition: Electronics
Format: CD
Model: 010-00575-10
Publisher: Garmin
Studio: Garmin
Music Label: Garmin
Product features:
- Bright 4.3-inch diagonal color touchscreen; 480 x 272 pixels, WQVGA TFT display with white backlight
- Sleek, ultra-thin design fits easily in pocket
- Preloaded with City Navigator North America NT
- Supports Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling when paired with Bluetooth-enabled cell phones
- NOTE: Model number on the box is 265WT because the traffic receiver is included; however, the model number on the device itself is 265W as the "T" in 265WT refers to the additional component
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- Garmin GDB 55 MSN Direct Receiver
- Garmin Vehicle Suction Cup Mount
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
Customer Review: Garmin 265 Vs 255 - Hands Down 265 ~ Heres Why....
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, I'm just like you... I want to know the good the bad and the ugly before I spend my hard earned (yet limited) cash on anything I buy online. Like me, you do the homework and read all the reviews and wish some people would be more specific. I'm going to do that for you. I've had the Garmin Nuvi 265WT since Mid-July 2010 (Several months now) and I used it to travel over 3000 miles from the Pacific Northwest to the Mid-west and back.
How's it work? It works great! This is my first GPS and I can't believe how I've managed to live without one. I'll get into the specifics in a few moments but first, I got this because my girlfriend is "Directionally Challenged" and since she can't drive, she's the one I depend on to tell me where to turn, etc. before I got my GPS. Needless to say, we fought like cats & dogs because we would miss a turn or get lost and end up being late for an appointment, even when we left early enough for it. (It happens).
So we decided to get a GPS... but which one? There's a whole bunch of them out there! Well, I've learned through my research that Garmin is the leader in quality and reliability so that helped me narrow down the search as far as which brand. Now, which one is for me? Well, based on price, age of technology, etc.
I was able to narrow it down further between the Garmin Nuvi 255W and the 265WT. (Don't let the "T" throw you. It stands for Traffic. If you see the letter T behind any of the brands, it means it comes with a traffic antenna that's built into the cord.) I'm happy to find out that you get FREE lifetime traffic reports and you don't have to sign up for anything fancy. If you have the traffic antenna built into the cord, you have this feature! I'll talk more on the traffic later.
Okay, Garmin 255 vs 265 ~ What's the difference? I was able to compare mine to the 255 and there's a big difference in the quality of the sound. The Garmin Nuvi 255W sounds like someone's hand is over their mouth (Muffled) and only one voice on the many voices you get to choose from is actually clear enough to understand.
If you didn't know, your Garmin has male & female voices, I counted 66 different ones on mine. So if your native language is not English, they have every other language - you name it, it's in here! Pick that language and the GPS will talk in that language with very nice accuracy!
The Garmin nuvi 265W has better clarity than the 255. It doesn't sound muffled and is pretty clear. (It can always be better as some people would argue with this point)... but comparing the two GPS, 265W sounds better! Other than the sound, the 255 & the 265 are nearly identical, except the 265 has bluetooth built in for those who want to be hands free on the road. I didn't use this feature so I can't comment on it. I don't remember if the 255 has the Traffic antenna built into the power cord but remember, if it says WT, it has it.
(Please Note: Amazon is selling the 265W and is leaving off the "T" but they are including it when you buy it. I know it's confusing but in the fine print, it does say this comes with the traffic cord.) Since I'm back to the traffic feature, might as well get it out of the way...
The traffic feature picks up the local (city) traffic-monitoring signal of what ever city your in (If that city is broadcasting it). It will be on the left side of the screen and have two little cars in a circle. If you click that it will give you several options. You can check to see if you have traffic on route to where your going (which I found was a nice feature) and if you're not going anywhere but just have it on, it's nice to see the birds eye view of the main highways and where there's red, there's congestion. Please keep in mind, people blame the GPS for being wrong if there's no traffic where they said there should be and vice versa. It's not the GPS fault... it's the traffic monitoring system which maybe slow to update.
If there is traffic along the route your taking, it will give you a button to "divert" around the traffic which is nice. I didn't try it but it's nice to have if I'm running late.
The ADVERTISEMENTS (*Cue Dramatic Music*)- I've read so many reviews of people whining and complaining about the advertisements. WHAT ADVERTISEMENTS? You mean the little tiny one that pops up when ever I'm stopped at a red light that says "Crabfest at Red Lobster". So what? It's half an inch top to bottom and maybe two inches side to side that disappears once I start moving. Give me a Break! I barely notice them and 98% of the time forget they even exist. Don't let this bother you... they don't get in the way.
So driving from Portland, Oregon to Grand Junction, Colorado was a breeze with my Garmin 265W(T) - Before I left, I typed in the address and hit save and it saved it so when I was ready to leave, it told me where to go, step by step. I love that I don't have to look at it when I'm driving because it will give me a heads up that I'll be turning left or right up ahead and it will even say the name of the street.
The first heads up will say "In one mile, turn right on baker street" Then when I get close by, "Turn right" literally before I have to turn for a flawless turn... no sudden last minute lane changes. If I look at the GPS, it will show the arrow of where I am now and where I will be turning and will put the little icon right on top of the street/location you're at, so you can't go wrong. Same thing if you're taking an On Ramp to a highway you've never been on, it will stretch out the pointy line so you will stay right on track.
Another neat feature I like is the speed limit indicator. When you're in route somewhere, it will show the speed limit of the road your on (95% of the time). I saw the speed limit sign up ahead change and I watched my GPS which said 55mph change to 65mph within a foot of the speed limit sign! (Very Impressive Garmin!). Naturally, driving several thousand miles, I was able to stay in the speed limit and passed through several speed traps with no problems because while I couldn't see the speed sign (say it's night time), I just looked at my GPS and it said the speed limit AND the speed I'm going! Using the satellites, it was accurately clocking my speed! I thought that was sooo cool. :-)
It's got a ECO-Button that uses the above technology to help you better learn how to save gas by measuring your acceleration, deceleration and speed consistency to give you a score of up to 100. (100 is perfect). It averages everything and let's you know what kind of eco-friendly driver you are. That works sometimes, but I couldn't be eco-friendly when I was in stop and go/rush hour traffic where we're speeding up and slowing down but when I was out and about, I got the general idea and it helped me save on gas. (Another nice feature).
If you don't go the route you want (Say you turn off the road to stretch or take pictures, etc.) It will automatically recalculate your position and tell you where you need to go to get back on track! (VERY NICE!)
If you've got FAMILY or a significant other who has to go to the bathroom, one of the nice things you can do is click on "Points of Interest" and click on "Fuel" to find the nearest gas station so they can go relieve themselves and you can get some coffee to stay awake... All this while in the middle of driving from point A to point B. I found myself having to divert course in a city I've never been in and the GPS took me there like I lived there all my life... it was nice.
The Points of Interest (POI) - It's got a whole bunch of POI's pre-programmed in, to look for restaurants, fuel, shopping, repair, you name it! Even in a different city, it can tell you where's the nearest .... based on where you are at the time. If there's a certain POI that you don't see or want to find, you can type it in. I found myself typing "Walmart" and it showed me where all the walmarts were and what ever one I wanted, I just clicked on and hit "GO" and it took me there! (Replace Walmart with the name of your favorite store, etc.)
Along the way, if there wasn't a POI, I made one. Example... As I was driving and found a rest stop, once I drove in, I clicked on my car icon on my GPS and it will show my current location, the nearest address, nearest intersection and there's a great big button that says "SAVE LOCATION" - I used that a lot, especially for the rest stops. So once I clicked it, a keyboard came up and I typed in what I wanted to call the spot I'm at, and it saved it under my favorites folder!
So on the way back, I could see far down the road the rest stops I stopped at before so I can decide if I wanted to pull over or not. I also made my POI for places that have free wi-fi so once I needed to go to a wi-fi hotspot, I went under my favorites folder, clicked on the name "Free Internet Wifi" (I made that up) and from where I was, the GPS took me right back to that spot.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When you click on your car/icon, it will also have 3 major buttons next to the Save Location. These are nice to have... they are Hospital, Police Station and Fuel. So knock on wood, you're driving down the road and someone gets sick, you click on the hospital button on your GPS and it will show you ALL the hospitals near you, tell you how many miles away, point you in what direction and even give you the address & phone number in case you need to call ahead!
The Garmin Nuvi 265WT is loaded with a lot of very nice and useful features. It's got a big screen, great battery life, and will take you where you need to go. When we were in Grand Junction, we made the place we were staying our POI (Point of Interest) so when ever we drove away from the house and explored the city, at anytime, we just clicked on the POI that we made and it took us right back to where we were staying! We didn't have to worry about getting lost.
Any Errors? In all fairness, yes, it had 1 minor error - it took us to a store that no longer was there. Was that the fault of the GPS? No. The software does have to be upgraded and you're given ONE free update within the 60 days you have it. If you don't upgrade it, you will have the option of paying for any future updates. You can pay $100 something and get free updates for life (which I don't agree with but that's business for you) but if you use it constantly, it maybe the right choice for you.
Is it perfect? No. There's lots of things that can be improved but people... come on... it wasn't that long ago we had this technology! We've come a long way and all of this is constantly being improved on. The one "Flaw" if you can call it that is lack of instructions. You just have to play with it and figure it out. That's the only thing they dropped the ball on. Everything else is wonderful!
I LOVE my new Garmin Nuvi 265WT. Are there better ones? For the great price I paid, IMO... No, this is the sweet spot on getting quality, size and reliability for this GPS. Yes, there are fancier screens, yes you can get fancier graphics. From doing all my homework, research and reading TONS of reviews of MANY GPS's... The Garmin 265WT is a no brainer. Stop Reading and Just Buy the damn thing already. IT WORKS BEAUTIFULLY!
Oh- One last thing... If you go to Navtones dot com you can download the voice of K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider and have it be the voice of your GPS! When you download it, it will ask you for your name, so now when I'm using my GPS, it address me "Steven, I'm Knight Industries Two Thousand. Where would you like to go?" And if I'm not going the way KITT/GPS routed for me, KITT would mouth off saying "Steven if you don't want to listen to me, I'm going to turn myself off. I'm recalculating..."
There's other celebrity voices and things to customize your Garmin 265WT... Just do a google search and look for them. They made my trip a very enjoyable one. :-)
Hope this review helped. Sorry it was long winded but I give credit where it's due!
Trust your gut and hopefully trust this review.
I'm very happy with my GPS and it's very reliable. I recommend it and LOVE IT.
You can't go wrong with the Garmin Nuvi 265W(T).
Stop Reading and Buy it! (Thank me later)
:-)
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