Garmin nüvi 270 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $325.00 You Save: $324.99 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $111.99 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 270 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Reliable only 45% of the time in Italy, 60% of time in northeast US
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this as our first GPS in anticipation of a trip to Italy, since Europe maps were included. It was certainly worth buying one versus renting one for 8 days, especially when we heard fellow car rental customers being told that they were all out of GPS systems!
Regardless of which setting (shortest time, shortest distance and even a specific "via point"), we were very disappointed with the results. There was no way we would have been able to navigate without the help of a detailed roadmap and a naturally good sense of direction! One important feature that was conspicuously missing was a compass feature. It would have been extremely helpful to be able to press a button to see a quick compass or even better, have one displayed at all times in one corner of the screen. The other issue was not being able to adjust the volume. During familiar parts of the trip, we were unable to conduct cell phone conversations because of the loud, repetitive the voice of the GPS. It would have been very helpful to be able to turn it down, without having to turn it off and start all over again.
Customer Review: Get it-buy it-this is the one.
Summary: 5 Stars
Last month, after MUCH research, I purchased the Garmin Nuvi 270 for my first trip over seas. To say I am directionally challenged is putting it mildly. When it arrived I took it out of the box and without reading the directions (this is my first GPS) I had it figured out in about 5 minutes. It is sized perfectly to fit in your purse or coat pocket and it's light weight. The purpose of my trip was to wind around all the villages my grandfather toured in World War II. Many of the places were WAAAAAY out in the country-down dirt roads long forgotten by man. I punched in where I wanted to go and this little guy got me there EVERY time with no trouble...it even told me to slow down when I was exceeding the speed limit (you get charged on the spot in France). I can't tell you how impressed I am with this product. Since I've been home I've tested it even further in Atlanta and Savannah and havent been lost once. p.s. I read a few reviews about finger prints-duh. Of course there will be finger prints...its a touch screen. It didn't interfere with what I was looking at at all.Customer Review: Inexpensive option for European traveler
Summary: 4 Stars
I travel in Europe as part of my job. Historically, I have always used maps. I purchased this Garmin as an option and tried it last time there (Germany, Belgium and Lux). I chose this one as it has the European maps already loaded. My daughter has another Garmin with more options and it is easier to use while driving, but I ended up loving this unit. I preloaded a number of my locations prior to departing the US and added them to my favorites. Even locations that are not on the POI list can be added by identifying them using Long/Lat coordinates (I used Google Earth to find the coordinates and then located them on the maps using the coordinate option - worked excellently, by the way). The unit itself is simple to operate and fairly user friendly (I am a male and therefore don't generally read the manual). One option that I think would be great to add is a volume knob on the side like my daughter's. As it is now, you have to change the volume via software. The touchscreen works well. I would definetly purchase this again if needed.Customer Review: Useful tool which doesn't cover all of Europe
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought the 270 for a European trip. It worked fairly well in Italy, getting us through downtown Pisa and Florence and around Tuscany. If you're heading for a small town, it helps to know which of the Tuscan provinces your destination is in, since it asks you to choose a city with a province, i.e. FI for Florence, LI for Livorno. On the autostrada highways it identifies both mobile and fixed speed cameras, although I suspect the mobile alerts were false alarms from service stations. It regulary lost satellite reception in tunnels and did not recognize the new road network around Venice. On several seemingly random occasions it lost reception completely and only picked it up several miles later. It had very sporadic coverage in Slovenia and Croatia, not recognizing addresses or small-to-medium towns. In summary, it was a useful tool to have and navigating without it would have been very difficult (most Italian streets don't have visible street signs), but I recommend having printed directions and a general sense of where you're heading.Customer Review: Garmin Support
Summary: 4 Stars
I am certain that you can find a more expensive GPS with gee-whizz features to impress your friends. However, this model does what it is supposed to do and I recently purchased US Topo 24K Nat'l Parks which the 270 will accomodate. While attempting to download the maps I discovered that my unit was defective. The GPS would not stay on when the transfer cable was connected and consequently the computer could not find the unit to export the map files. Additionally, I could not register my unit on-line for support because again, the unit would not stay on long enough to get a handshake from the computer. I called garmin. WOW ! Best support I have received since the GI Bill. Michael at Garmin was on top of the situation, sent multiple e-mails, registered my unit manually at his location, called me and basically took ownership of my problem to resolve the issue. It was a defective unit but hey, these things happen. What is important here and what I felt compelled to say is that these guys stand behind their product. Thank you Michael.