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 Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 270 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Pleased, but not delighted
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the fourth Garmin GPS receiver I've owned. Overall, I'm pleased, but there are a few areas I'd preferred to have better performance. 1. On my previous units (Garmin) you can move the cursor over to another location and have it search for lodging, food, gas, etc. all centered on that location. That is not possible with this model. You have to enter in the city or tell it to look at the destination or along the route. This does work, but it's more work than simply moving the cursor. 2. I found it too often routed me on slower roads even though I had chosen faster route. It was disturbing to be directed off the main route when it was obvious that it was going to take longer. This could have been operator error on my part, but I'm pretty familiar with GPS units and this is the first time I've seen this to this degree. 3. I never could have it search on the database and find a hotel in Europe. Because I was in the US, I was not able to make it shift over to Europe even though I could move the cursor over there and zoom in. I do have to give credit however, it's a very compact and low mass unit that fits real nicely on the windshield with the suction cup. The computer is very fast and responsive so operatins are quick. I liked it , but it's not perfect.Customer Review: Don't count on it everywhere in Europe
Summary: 3 Stars
I got this model because we were planning a trip to Greece and I wanted to be able to concentrate on my driving instead of navigating. As it turned out it was pretty much useless most of the places we went. It worked fine in Athens, but we didn't do any driving there. It did help us find the nearest metro station while in the maze of the Plaka, however. Once we got out on our own in the more rural areas with a rented car we found there was little detail, and what was there was often erroneous. According to the GPS we frequently drove in the Aegean or parallel to the road but some distance away. It had many of the cities and sites that we wanted to go to in its database, but it never provided useful information on how to get to them, which was on Chios Island and in the Peloponnese from Nafplio to Mycenae, Epidaurus, and Monemvasia. If it wasn't so helpful in the US I would be very disappointed and give it an even lower rating, but it has been great at finding a hotel booked online or the nearest restaurant of our choice. I would suspect that if you are planning on using it in major cities and/or in western Europe it would probably be fine, but if you plan on getting off the beaten track be sure to take a good map with you as well.Customer Review: OK- but What Can You Expect?
Summary: 3 Stars
The Nuvi 270 is my first GPS. I like the unit, but it's also a disappointment.
The best way to use this GPS is to first use it locally while going to routine places. While doing that, I noticed sometimes odd routes that didn't make sense. I went to one place and liked the route, but for some reason, the return route was terrible. I couldn't figure out how to make it take me back the way I came.
While driving on the freeway and obeying the directions, the device suddenly was re-calculating the route. Why? No idea. Then it told me to turn left. Um... but I couldn't. There was no left turn in sight.
One choice when buying a GPS is to just have turn directions, or the name of the streets spoken. My next GPS will definitely have the streets named. In one instance, two turns were next to each other, and the device was no help. Pay a little more for this feature. You'll be glad you did.
I hope to borrow a more expensive GPS and see if the routes are better and there is more flexibility in choosing a route.
Finally, the police department here warns that you shouldn't leave your GPS in sight when you leave the car since these GPS devices are popular theft items.
Customer Review: Needs newer maps which are not available
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this from Amazon as a Christmas present for my wife. When we first turned it on, roads around our neighborhood were missing. Some of these roads have existed for at least 5 to 6 years. We thought that when we registered it through Garmin's website, we would be offered a map update that would correct this. The only map we were offered was for Europe. Since we live in Tennessee, this didn't help the situation. These roads are our primary way in and out of the neighborhood. So, every trip starts by sending us in the opposite direction. When I go the way that I know, it tells me to make a U-turn.
We went to Sheffield Alabama last Saturday and used it to find the restaurant that we were going to. When we were nearly there, it told us to turn right and then stated that we were arriving at the destination on the right. The restaurant was nowhere to be found. We had to call the restaurant to find out where they were. Turns out that we needed to turn left instead of right and the location was about a mile on the right. On the trip to Sheffield, I looked at the display while driving on US Hwy 43 and noticed that it looked like I was driving through a field instead of on the road.
Customer Review: Nuvi 270 - Mixed Blessing
Summary: 3 Stars
The Unit is 2005 vintage and the maps are dated 2008. You get a free update on only one map - your choice of North America or Europe. It takes about 2-3 hours to get the updates sorted out. 2008 maps are not a big problem as streets don't change that much. I am also using a very old unit that has 2005 maps and I have not had a problem yet with locating a place.
This unit does not have spoken street names - just turn left or right in so many miles. The unit is quick to locate its position and quick to recalculate. Screen size is small in comparison with the newer units, but it gets the job done. The voice is crisp and clear. The one big issue I had was that it does not show the route as a list of streets, so if you wanted to know the route the unit had computed, you had to scroll the map and that's not a very convenient way to figure out the way you were going.
If you are looking for US, Canada and Europe maps, this is a good price.
Pros: Low price, US, Canada and Europe maps, Quick to recalculate, clear voice, small and light, mini USB charger
Con: Street names not spoken, average screen, no list of streets for calculated route, an updated map costs $69,