Garmin nüvi 270 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 270 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Review updated 7/14/2008, after Italy trip.
Summary: 5 Stars
It's small, fits in a breast pocket. It's light weight, It doesn't have much of an instruction manual because if you work with it for a while, you learn all the things it can do. Sure, it might be nice to have the GPS say: "Turn right on Vine Street in .2 miles" instead of "turn right in .2 miles"... but the display shows the name of the street anyway. It does more than I thought it could because the Garmin site really doesn't elaborate on it's functions, such as multiple languages. It's fun just learning how to use it and I'm looking forward to using it in Italy soon. It comes with a suction cup mount and 12V car charger. I have purchased the leather case, a wall charger (for use in 110/220 volt) and a (off brand) 512mb memory chip. We already had two Garmin devices for sports, so the Garmin/USB cable we owned was compatible for downloading software updates and photo transfers on the Nuvi 270. I've already found and memorized my hotels in Italy on the map, but of course, it will not be able to plot out the driving routes until over there.
I will add to this review after the trip.
So far, I highly recommend the Nuvi 270 GPS. Seems like a good product and worth the money.
7/14/2008
Back from Italy safe and sound... What a great trip and it was made easier and safer by using the Garmin Nuvi 270. This thing worked great in Italy, with only a few hitches. 1. We learned quickly the "AVOIDANCES" needs to be disabled, otherwise it will not go on toll roads, make U-turns, things like that. We turned them all off and it worked better for us. 2. Remember to check your Pedestrian or Automobile modes. 3. Take the first several round-abouts carefully and listen to the Garmin lady say: "...then to round-about, turn right on 2nd exit..." 4. Be mindful of your battery supply. 5. Consider the satellite signal problems in very narrow city streets. 6. Because there is no detailed user manual, it will take time and practice to learn all the things the Garmin Nuvi 270 can do.
The Garmin in Pedestrian mode took us to our hotel in Venice. In the car, it found our way in and out of Florence. Got us to the Rome Airport and helped us day trip around Tuscany. The most impressive thing was going to a friend's house in Northern Italy. The Garmin navigated us from Venice to Valdagno, up hills above the town, rural roads got narrower, then one lane, then onto a gravel path, right to the front door of their home. They couldn't believe it when we drove up to the house. In Siena, we found our way back to the car by GPS. In Rome we really needed it with Pedestrian mode. This little machine made a huge difference in vacation navigating. It reduced travel stress,( very important factor on a vacation). As we used it each day of the trip, we learn another thing it does, then another thing, then another method of searching... you get a feel for the machine and learn to use it better as time goes on.
The Garmin Nuvi 270 perhaps is not the fanciest of the GPS units, but it worked great for us on vacation and now we use it for day trips or even finding places in our own city. Great product, very reasonable price.
Customer Review: Go where no American has gone before...
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for a trip to Europe in May 2009. I have a much more expensive marine/auto GPS made by Garmin which I am very happy with, but it is an expensive toy to lose and the European maps for it cost more than this whole unit. C'mon Garmin, let's stop gouging on the maps and charts!
Anyway, onto the Nuvi 270 - First, when you get to Europe, don't panic, it will take the unit up to 5 minutes to find satellites the first time you turn it on in a new land. (Likewise when you return to the good ole USA).
Once it gets orientated, this unit is awesome. We drove all over Germany, into Poland and the Czech Republic. Without fear we charged down goat trails, cobblestone streets and over to anything that looked interesting in the distance, knowing that the Garmin would get us back to civilization. Yes, it does get confused sometimes and not surprisingly some of the maps are a bit out of date. But in the end it ALWAYS got us back on target. It found "roads" in Poland that in the US we call river beds and it made it possible to weave our way through Berlin and Prague while rubber necking at every corner. When I missed a turn, gazing at some stunning bit of architecture, it swiftly recalculated our route, with nary a snide remark.
The Nuvi is not perfect, it is far less precise than my GPS 478, but once you learn it's idiosyncrasies you will meld into a fine tuned navigating team. On foot the biggest problem is that it often takes 30 seconds of walking to figure out which way you are headed. But again, you can wander the streets of a big city or small village at night and be assured of finding your hotel or car again. Without this beauty we might still be wandering the streets of Prague. It slips into your pocket and will take you about all day if you shut it down when not using it.
One of the great features is that you can preprogram it with the addresses of places such as your hotels, museums or that long lost 37th cousin in Austria. It will also look up and find most major tourist sites. The food and drink listings are limited and I suspect based on who paid Garmin to be listed. It is extremely reassuring when you are in the middle of the Czech Republic to learn that there is a McDonalds and gas station 10 kilometers ahead, when the low fuel light is on and the wife is getting surly from hunger. Unlike America you cannot count on a gas station in every town or village.
In summary - the Garmin cut us loose to get off the beaten path, two Americans with minimal foreign language skills were able to wander about Europe like it was Kansas. One of our favorite adventures was to drive in one direction for an hour, then ask the Garmin to navigate us to our next destination. One thing you want to be wary of, the difference between the "fastest time" and "shortest distance" modes. In shortest distance mode it is more likely to get you into a cul-de-sac or try and send you the wrong way on a one way street. Fortunately Europeans are much more blase about such things than Americans.
If you have no plan to head to the Continent, buy the cheaper non- European model. Happy trails.
Customer Review: Nuvi 270 - Two Week Vacation in Europe
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought the Nuvi 270 in anticipation of using it during a trip to Europe. I did extensive research comparing the major brands. I also considered TomTom, but their maps for Europe were less comprehensive than the Nuvi and the Nuvi had newer technology and maps. Reviews for the Nuvi were excellent at all tech sites, as well.
I initially used it in the states and was impressed by its design, display and compact size. Excellent verbal directions, sound and visibility in the car. Good access to settings and easy to customize (would like more options for voice and icons, though). Good battery life. Easily obtained 6-8 hours of use with display set at 30%. There are a few quirks in the interface. For instance, I find it hard to browse a town when you are not in the town itself. POI database is nice but not comprehensive. Sometimes difficult to find historical landmarks. Very impressed with accuracy and ease of use in the car. Had some "drift" initially when stationary but this was improved by downloading latest software upgrade. Overall, I was not pleased with difficulty determining which way I was facing when at stand still. Sometimes the database amazed me with the obscure places it could find. Other times I was amazed at points not available in the database.
First tested the unit on the airplane over the atlantic. It showed position and speed if I held the unit against the window. Arrived in Barcelona and had significant difficulties obtaining good satellite signal, even when near a large window. This problem was especially pronounced during start up, requiring me to leave the unit on a lot to maintain contact with satellites. Signal reception was also poor when walking the streets. Streets and alleys in Europe are much more narrow than US. This problem plagued me from Spain to Italy, France, Greece, Croatia. Accuracy especially erratic in Greece.
Overall, I was disappointed in the unit while in Europe. Poor reception (extremely frustrating), difficulty determining heading while walking slowly or standing, difficulty with searches and POI.
I will still keep the unit because it is great in the states and it is a quality product. Hand-held GPS still has a long way to go before they are practical for use outside US and for walking tours. Garmin is the industry leader as far as I am concerned. They market this as a "personal travel assistant". I think it fell short in Europe.
The reception seemed to suffer after I downloaded the software upgrade. Maybe I just got a weak unit. Having a harder time obtaining signal at start up. Signal seems to be stronger in US in general. Quality hardware, though. You really don't need a higher end Garmin unit for use in the states. The 200 series is great and should be enough for most users.
Customer Review: OK, but needs some tweaks
Summary: 4 Stars
Used this on a trip to southern Ireland. Only Garmin seems to have current maps of Ireland so it was hobson's choice.
Overall worked fine. Ireland is under major construction so it's helpful to have looked at a map before going someplace. Found several cases where the roads no longer existed or the new Nx freeway was formerly a field of stones on the map, but overall worked good.
Major flaw was the system can't tell the Irish difference between an N road (freeway of sorts) an R road (probably means a real road) and everything else, (cow path with or without cows). It routes by what it thinks the shortest path is, which may be the longest time wise. In some GPS systems, there's a SELECT freeway option. In Ireland, it would have been wonderful if there was NEVER SELECT cow path option. It may be that competition like Tom Tom which doesn't have cow paths actually gets you there faster. I would gladly take an N road for 4 times the distance and arrive in half the time of an optimally routed cow path.
There is a new slogan in ireland. Give the Gift of Life. Get a Doner Card. Then drive at the posted speed limit. Garmin calculates trip times at the posted speed limit. If you plan on donating body parts, you too will drive at the posted speed limit. Over two weeks the average trip time was what Garmin calculated plus 45 minutes, whether the distance was 10 kilometers or 200 kilometers. Just add 45.
The more expensive Garmins will pronounce road names instead of turns. In Ireland, that's probably a very bad idea. Let's say you're on the N9 coming up to a round about. The 270 will say, "enter round about and take the 2nd exit". If you actually pronounced the roads it might have said "enter round about and take the o'Hagerty cow path on the left" Road names change every 50 meters or so. Plus, they're only identified on the map. Look for a street sign and you'll die of old age going round and round the roundabout.
System never got lost. Always got us to our destination.
Compared to U.S. destinations Ireland destinations were about 50% present by name, 25% findable under a different name, or otherwise findable by selecting a pub in a nearby town. For Galway, finding the nearest grocery store might take you to Dublin, so some of the features weren't real for Ireland.
Half the time, I thought the unit was trying to get me to die in traffic. Half the time, I thought it was a life saver. Probably more about Irish roads than GPS features.
Net net, study the map before you go so you know if you should be on an N or R road instead of the cow path. Otherwise, it will get you there, somehow.
Customer Review: Good, but some improvements needed
Summary: 4 Stars
I took the NUVI 270 on a trip to Spain, specifically selecting it for the European maps. Most of the time was spent sightseeing by foot. I never had a problem with the battery running out on me during tours of several hours (I would turn it off once I found where I was going). The unit performed well, without any malfunctions that I was aware of.
However, there are some ergonomic and software issues that Garmin should address:
1. The unit does, in fact, fit in a shirt pocket, and there is a switch position you throw to prevent accidentally triggering the touch screen while it's stowed away. However, being flat, it is difficult to pull the unit out and manipulate it while walking. It should have something that makes it easier to grab out of the pocket, a small bump on one side, for example. So an ergonomic point.
2. If one uses the unit in pedestrian mode in Europe, one will be walking down little narrow streets which block the GPS signals to various degrees. Not a fault of the NUVI, to be sure. However, they could work to permit the unit to zoom in as one approaches each turn while in Pedestrian mode, since you are looking for street signs to find your way around as an additional aid to the information NUVI is providing. Often, even at high zoom levels, streets were not labeled on your route. Also, streets that were labeled had large type that might be suitable for a car, but not for walking, where you are reading the thing like a book. It was possible to use the unit on narrow streets, but it took some getting used to, as the unit often would give incorrect direction information, because of GPS signals being blocked. I suggest a Garmin engineer be sent into the field and walk those narrow streets to see what improvements they can come up with. Tough duty, I know, but someone has to do it.
3. Finally, the maps. It was surprising that the huge main bus terminal in Seville, which has been around for years, was not indicated on the supposedly current map. Also, across the river in the Triana area, several recently built highways were not on the map. Garmin needs to speak to its European cartographer and get the maps updated. Most of the time, however, the older streets were correctly marked. Especially helpful were pathways in large urban parks, which helped one find one's way out!
All in all, I can recommend it to users. But Garmin needs to work on the physical shape of the thing a little so it is easier to handler while walking, work on the software routines for Pedestrian mode in small European streets, and update their maps.
Steve