Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic by Garmin
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Digital camera reviews of Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
Digital camera Review: A very good little device
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased "Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic" from Amazon to replace my 4 year old Magellan which died after a trip to Yellowstone national park. I am not picky on GPS as long as it does what a GPS supposed to do with easy navigation and provide necessary information.
Overall this is a very good little device compare with the older version GPS.
The features that really work well for me are:
* The size and weight are right
* Wide screen makes it very easy for the driver to see without turning away from the road
* The Bluetooth is an excellent feature, easy to connect and easy to use - 5 start
* The keyboard like touch screen provides an ease in date entry
* The POI is actually very effective, it has large map coverage. The recall feature saved me from typing previously search strings
* The language selection is a plus in both display and audio
* Other tools such as time zones, converter, calculator...etc provide fantastic road assistances
The features that NOT work well for me are:
* 4star - Ease of Use: There is no way to return to the main screen directly. Say if I navigated to the POI screen, did a few searches but decided not to proceed with any of the destinations, the GPS doesn't provide a way to jump me back to the main screen. Instead, I have to hit the Back to traverse back each page I have gone through, it's a pain. If there was a shortcut I didn't find, Garmin surely made it hard to be found.
* 3start - Software :
1. There were multiple occasions that the GPS was ahead itself, means it jumped to the next step before I even got there, like it's going through a trip simulation although I had the simulation turned off. It sometime corrected itself after a several turns later, other times I had to reboot it, another pain point.
2. Another problem with my device was that the audio was descrambled - like playing a fast-forward voice. Turned off and turned back on after a few min. fixed the issue. However it's distractive to play with the device while driving.
3. It takes long time to acquire the satellite, especially when the previous trip was not closed completely. So I had go through the motion to close the previous trip for the GPS to start locating the current position - "where am I" feature. The software should be able to detect the trip status and reinitiate the next trip as instructed.
* 4start - Display : I find it inconvenient to not seeing the major trip information on the first screen, you have to find the information such as the total miles of the trip, miles travelled, and remaining miles by hitting the maneuver button on the screen. That is a reach-find-hit action, and I don't feel it is a right move for a driver.
* 4start - Features :
1. Beware this unit doesn't speak street names, if you are like me used to hear the turn names (and dingdong alarm), this is not the right GPS for you.
2. There is also no Highway assist feature, it's something nice to have but I am ok to live without it.
3. The unit has a feature called navigator with traffic" - I still have not figured out how it works. The Online Manu only provides the basic instructions, if you need anything more, play with the unit and figure them out yourselves.
Digital camera Review: A very good portable GPS
Summary: 4 Stars
I've used Garmin SPIII and Garmin SP2610 in over 7 years, and am very happy with their overall performance. I travel by cars frequently, and have been pleased for the most parts with these 2 units. However, they both share the same problem: "almost useless when I was driving in New York City", where tall buildings put both these models into a constant "lost of satellite signals" state.
After much research, I decided to give this model a trial run, based on this review from one user "...I can leave the unit in the storage compartment under the armrest in the car, and follow the audio directions..." I theorized that if this unit worked in a "storage compartment under the armrest in the car", it will work under my windshield though surrounded by tall buildings in NYC (!)
Here is my initial report after a 4-day trip in Orange County, CA, where I unfortunately did not have any chances to test the "tall buildings" syndrome, however there were many circumstances that it worked well where my previous 2 Garmin's didn't work. So here it goes:
1) Pricing: My previous SPIII and SP2610, each costs almost 3 times as much back then. Much lower price for many more features. 5-star
2) Form: Love the compact, thin size, and its light weight. The unit didn't come with a case. I have a case that came with my Bose in-ear headphones, and it fits perfectly into this otherwise wasted case :-) The glass suction cup works solidly. The unit can be adjusted smoothly once attached, yet is held firmly in place. The power cord also houses the traffic receiver and its length is generous. 5-star
3) Functions:
....a) Pluses: 3D-map; like it for the most part, but have found on very few occasions where multi-level highways are intersected, its 3D image was confused. I could have been taking the wrong highway. 4-star
....b) Text-to-voice: great in the city where street signs are readable, or on highways. 5-star
....c) GPS signals acquisition: Much faster and more effective than my previous 2 models. It showed more than 3 green signals bars even when I was in my hotel room, or in the ... bathroom (playing with the new gadget ;) I experimented with putting it off the windshield, out of line of sight of the sky, and it worked just as well. This is a good indication how it will perform on my next trip to New York City. I'll report back on the real experience then. 5-star
....d) Battery: It turns out that I love this feature, as I never had this on SPIII and SP2610. I realized that I had left the power cord when I returned my rental car in LAX (luckily, Hertz lost-and-found dept was able to ship UPS back to me in a few days.) I was able turn it on, and used the Garmin 265WT w/o this cord. The SPIII and SP2610 would be dead! 5-star
....e) Points-of-interest: By all indications, it's as good as I expected, though there were times that I could not locate some local restaurants. It's just a matter of how updated the information is. 4-star
....f) Favorites: Aka "waypoints" in older SPIII and SP2610 models. This is markedly improved. In the older models, it stored the coordinates and lost the original address that you entered. I love how to pull up a saved "favorite", not only being able to command it to route there, but also recognizing the address, and as a bonus, I can actually call an associated phone number directly from this favorite destination (imaging a situation like "let me call first to see if s/he is at home, then ... ;) A very practical and brilliant approach! Now that I'm used to this feature, I'm greedy to ask to have the ability to store more than one phone number ;) 5-star
....g) Lifetime free Live-Traffic: It appears to be a great feature, but at this point I haven't really had much exposure to report in a meaningful way. I saw the signs of green, yellow, etc... But those didn't turn into any real actions for my driving. Btw, the power cord is doubled as the traffic receiver, so don't lose it! 5-star
....h) Bluetooth: This is my first experience with bluetooth in a unit other than my bluetooth headset. Though I'm very pleased overall, this is the one area that has shown the most problems. I relied on this feature entirely since California requires its drivers to use hand-free equipments. Here is what I found with this feature:
.......70% chance of failing to make outgoing calls using my phone - So disappointed!
.......98% chance of success to make outgoing calls using the 265WT. I either dialed the numbers using the dial pad on the 265WT screen, or dial by pressing the phone number of saved favorites.
.......98% chance of success when receiving in coming calls. I used both methods: hit the "SEND" key from my phone, or press the "ANSWER" from the 265WT screen.
.......The speaker quality though is very clear for GPS text-to-voice operation, sounded as it came from an old and cheap speaker when used with the cell phone. However, not once, anyone on the other end of the phone complains of sound quality, even on long conversations. No one asked if I used speaker phone! Apparently the microphone works well, but the speaker works badly for the phone. Nevertheless the speaker works well for GPS text-to-voice operation. 3-star
4) Wishes: a case included in the package would be nice. 4-star
I rated it overall a 4-star, despite of the bluetooth issue.
pdn
Digital camera Review: A wonderful Product
Summary: 5 Stars
I charged up the unit over night and then downloaded the updated software and maps. I tried it out going to work and on my way home from work. It displayed the exact speed I was traveling and did give the best directions on going to my work place. On the way home it tried to take me through city traffic, but after lookig at the setup. I noticed it was set for shortest route. When I changed that setting it gave me a longer route but all highway and low traffic that I usually take. I believe this to be a great buy and totally satisfied with its performance. I see many years use with it. I do recommend this GPS. Easy to follow, easy to read screen. crystal clear voice that can be heard over the radio depending on volume setting.Digital camera Review: AVOID AVOID AVOID UNLESS YOU WANT TO LOOK AT ADVERTs
Summary: 1 Stars
This item is a piece of crap.
My girlfriend has this unit. Careful research indicated it had the best features. For myself I bought two Garmin 255 units which are far superior and only cost $[...] on sale.
First, do you want to pay this much money to look at advertisements? Screw Garmin. This is their worst product. I hate ads. I use a DVR to avoid them at home. I use an iPod so I don't have to hear them driving in the car. This unit displays ads. That is what you get with the advanced features. Garmin is selling ads and pushing them on you.
What else. It is several levels to pull up a favorite location. The narrow display is the reason.
On the plus side. My girlfriend uses the bluetooth with her phone. I've never been able to get it to work with my phone however and I'm more technically skilled than she is. So the bluetooth works with some phones. She has a Blackberry World. I use a KRZR.
If you want a Garmin, buy the 255 with the wide screen. I bought two and would like to get a third for my motorcycle and bike.
Digital camera Review: AWESOME
Summary: 5 Stars
Ten times better then the built-in Nav system in our Mercedes...which reguires upgrades every few years which cost more then the Garmin does!!!!!