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: Amazing value!
Summary: 5 Stars
I would not have considered the Nuvi 270 to be anything special were it not for the low price and inclusion of North American maps AND all of Europe. I didn't really need a GPS for use in the USA, but I was planning a trip to England and Germany, and couldn't believe my luck when I found this device. Low tier devices from other manufacturers cost about the same as the Nuvi 270, but they wanted another $100+ to add European maps. I took along a paper map of Europe as a backup, but didn't need to use it once during my trip, and the only time I came across mapping errors was around areas of new construction. I took advantage of the built-in places of interest database by finding hotels, restaurants, and other services along the way. The instructions are a little sparse, but there is PDF manual available from Garmin's Website at http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/nuvi200_OwnersManual.pdf. Others have complained of not being able to plan a trip ahead of time, but there is a simple way of placing the unit into GPS simulation mode, then you can choose anywhere on the map (America or Europe) to be your current location and plan a trip from there or search for places of interest close by. Please do download and read the manual, because it provides information about features that you may not otherwise realize the unit has. At no time did the unit have a problem receiving satellite signals, even in Europe's narrow city streets with buildings blocking 80% of the sky, and although you are not supposed to use a GPS on commercial flights, I did, and the readings matched the aircraft's on-board location, altitude, and speed display. Admittedly, I had to hold the unit close to a window for it to locate satellites (and keep one eye out for flight attendants!) For the price this was one of the best value items I have ever bought.Customer Review: Got us around Europe (more or less)
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought the 270 before going to Europe on our honeymoon, figuring as long as I was buying a GPS, I should get one that would be useful at home too. We drove from Venice to Sermione (Lake Garda) to Monterosso (Cinque Terra) to Nice, and the 270 did a good job of getting us to the towns/cities themselves. Getting to our final destination in each was a little harder, but since this was my first time driving in Europe, that's understandable. And we has some backup printed maps, but mainly used them in the hotels just to see where we were.
Sometimes the "turn" prompts can be a little confusing, since you don't always know exactly when to turn. In Italy, I thought I was turning at the right place, but ended up down a progressively narrower road where the rental car would no longer fit. Turns out I was supposed to take the next "real" right.
This is my first GPS, so I have nothing to compare it with, but sat acquisition times seem pretty long with the 270 (especially in a new city). It will take a good 5-10 minutes to figure out where I am at times. Also, I've had lots of trouble getting the unit to mount on my Mac to update firmware and maps. It finally worked yesterday on my Mac at work (after trying it on three at home), but as someone else mentioned the documentation is almost nonexistant and the Garmin site doesn't have any FAQs for the problem I was having (only for units that fail to mount on PCs).
All in all, it's a nice unit in a tiny package that will get you where you're going. Amazon now sells it for around $400 (I paid $475), which is a good price for something that includes Europe and North America maps. Probably deserves 3.5 stars instead of 3, but there's nothing in between and it doesn't quite make it to 4.
Customer Review: Excellent for Home and Family use
Summary: 5 Stars
EASY TO USE:
Out of the box it is a quick set up using the guide. I would suggest setting the HOME location using you street address instead of the current location you are standing inside the house (i.e. the family room) as it was hilarious on the first trial the unit directed my wife to the park behind our house. I connected the unit to my MAC and it synced up with no issues.
CAN BE PERSONALIZED:
It was fun to down load the different voices from the GARMIN site (i.e. you select them as an alternate LANGUAGE in your settings). Elford is a great driving partner for a minivan full of kids who laugh at his comments. Garmin has 3 views (accessed on the settings:map menu) to choose from and we use track up and 3D most often (the other is NORTH UP which can be hard to follow in your car; its a good walking map view).
A FEW FEATURES I LIKE
When you go to favorites and show map your address show on the map as you zoom out. You can use the NEAR feature to look up stuff near out of state places if you are planning a vacation (one of the reviews had a complaint on this which is simply unfounded). I do like how this unit give vocal cues timely (my buddies Garmin has a bigger screen but the voice prompting gives too many directions at once and mentions turns after they pass on small neighbor hood streets so you have to slow down some times to make sure the map has refreshed).
MISSING FEATURES (I HAVE NOTICE ON OTHER GARMIN UNITS).
Though this unit comes with Europe maps it has some feature differences. FAVORITES you key in don't appear en route to other places. Some units do this and also show the posted speed limit real time on the left side of the screen, which this does not.
Customer Review: Using the Garmin nuvi 270 in Italy
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading the reviews about this unit and being amazed at the low price, I purchased for an upcoming trip to Italy. I've tried navigating this country with detailed maps and road signs and it has been challenging. It was hard to believe that such a low priced GPS would have maps for Europe and even harder to believe the unit would really be accurate AND helpful. Was I in for a very pleasant surprise! The accuracy was amazing, whether I was in a city or the countryside. Most of the time I used an address, a few times I used coordinates from Google as well as using the "points of Interest" features. This unit is packed with features for the price!
The only difficulty I encountered was using it in a city. The response time can be slow; on several occasions I stopped at the side of a street to allow the unit to "catch-up" with my position and "recalculate". If I missed a turn, I might choose to turn around and wait for a "recalculate" rather than to follow new instructions that might take me "around-the-block", so to speak. Accuracy at the final destination might be within a hundred feet or so; very acceptable! In rural areas, you might be directed to drive on a poor road. My solution was to drive in the correct direction on a better road, wait for a "recalculation" and then proceed to my destination. Still not a real problem!
I was thoroughly satisfied with this GPS, would recommend it to others and buy it again in a heartbeat. It was nice to drive around without having to look down at a map or watch for roadsigns that might or might not be there. My first experience at using a GPS was very positive, especially considering it was in a foreign country that can be very difficult to navigate!
Customer Review: It is a good GPS but can be better
Summary: 4 Stars
I picked this model mainly because of the preloaded Europe map which cost over $250 if purchased seperately. This save about $150 compares to buying an unit with same functionality and the Europe map seperately.
The touch screen and the menu are very user friendly. There is a built in help function that explains everything. The paper instruction manual is close to useless anyway.
The unit usually takes about 20 seconds to boot up. It was quick to find my location the first time I turned it on and I was inside my house. However, it usually takes 20 or 30 seconds for it to acquire satellite signal and start giving direction after entering an address and press go. I happened to travel to Toronto, Canada 2 days after I got my GPS. I plugged it into my rental car. The unit had problem in acquiring satellite. There were lot of concrete structures in and around the Toronto Airport to drive pass before seeing the open sky. The unit was not able to log onto satellite and give me direction until I was completely out of the airport area and already heading towards the exit to the main highway. Other than that it took me everywhere I needed to go.
The thing I would like to see Garmin to improve is that there is no easy way to take a look at the route that the GPS is going to take. You have to go into the route simulation mode and drag the map with your finger to see the route. It would be nice if the GPS could provide a route list. If a street is broken into sections or two towns with the same name (which is common in Europe), the route list and a map would tell you if you have the right destination.