Garmin Nuvi 255W 4 3 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

MSN Direct Enhanced Traffic and Content

With an optional receiver, you can access enhanced dynamic content from the MSN Direct service. Check the weather, avoid traffic backups, compare local gas prices, get enhanced movie listings, stock information, news and local events when you travel with your unit. Even plan trips from the convenience of your computer, via Windows Live Local, and wirelessly send custom to your nuvi. Check out a full description of MSN Direct content features, or a coverage map for MSN Direct services. A 3-month subscription to MSN Direct is included with the receiver. After that, subscription fees are $49.95 per year, or $129.95 for a lifetime subscription.

FM Traffic

With an optional receiver, you can get alerts from TMC Clear Channel about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you’ll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you’re forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nuvi’s sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time. In most areas, TMC Clear Channel traffic broadcasts are continuous — there’s no waiting for scheduled traffic news updates or random alerts. Because traffic broadcasts are received via a “silent” FM data channel, you can still listen to music or news programming on your car radio without interference from incoming FM traffic data transmissions. A 3-month subscription to TMC Clear Channel’s Total Traffic Network is included with the receiver. For more information on subscription fees, coverage in individual cities, and traffic data networks in the United Kingdom and Europe, check the Garmin website.

The super-bright, 4.3-inch (diagonal) touchscreen display gives is anti-glare for ease of viewing during the day and automatically changes its color profile for easy viewing at night or in dim light. It offers 2d or 3D perspective views. The widescreen format gives you 70% more actual screen area than a 3.5-inch screen. Primarily this translates into a better view of the area through which you are driving. This is especially useful in showing you what parks, restaurants, ATM, gas stations, etc. are nearby, or in letting you know whether a detour is a good idea. Also, the device itself is larger, meaning controls on the screen are more widely spaced and somewhat easier to push.

Wider screen lets you see more of what’s around. Compare these actual size views of a 3-inch (diagonal) screen

and a 4.3-inch diagonal widescreen

Where Am I?

On any nuvi (including this one), you can just tap “Where Am I?” to find the closest hospitals, police stations, fuel stations, nearest address and intersection. Also see your exact latitude and longitude coordinates.

Garmin’s patent pending theft prevention system that disables the unit from performing any functions until the user types in a specific 4-digit PIN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location

Custom vehicle icons let you ride in style, at least inside your GPS. See more icon option

All Garmin nuvis support configurable vehicle icons. These fun, customized car-shaped icons come in a variety of colors to add a personal touch to your vehicle’s position on the map.

Notes

• Optional software for language translation, detailed travel guides, and savings programs allow you to customize your nuvi to fit your travel needs
• Like most USB Mass Storage Devices, the nuvi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.

Note: All nuvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.

Screen Size inches (w x h)

Included Maps

Text-to-Speech (Directions in Real Street Names)

Traffic

Bluetooth

Media

3D Terrain Maps

Photo Navigation

FM Transmitter (audio through car stereo system)

Multi- Point Routing

Battery life (hours)

Cont. U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico

AK and Canada

Europe

nuvi 200

2.8 x 2.1

Photos

up to 5

nuvi 200w

3.81 x 2.25

Photos

up to 5

nuvi 250

2.8 x 2.1

Photos

up to 5

nuvi 250w

3.81 x 2.25

Photos

up to 5

nuvi 260

2.8 x 2.1

Photos

up to 5

nuvi 260w

3.81 x 2.25

Photos

up to 5

nuvi 270

2.8 x 2.1

Photos

up to 5

nuvi 205

2.8 x 2.1

MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos

up to 4

nuvi 205W

3.81 x 2.25

MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos

up to 4

nuvi 255

2.8 x 2.1

MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos

up to 4

nuvi 255W

3.81 x 2.25

MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos

up to 4

nuvi 350

2.8 x 2.1

FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 8

nuvi 360

2.8 x 2.1

FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 8

nuvi 370

2.8 x 2.1

FM (receiver included)

Photos, MP3s

up to 8

nuvi 650

3.81 x 2.25

FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 7

nuvi 660

3.81 x 2.25

FM (receiver included)

Photos, MP3s

up to 7

nuvi 670

3.81 x 2.25

FM (receiver included)

Photos, MP3s

up to 7

nuvi 680

3.81 x 2.25

MSN (receiver included; 1-year free); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 7

nuvi 750

3.81 x 2.25

MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 5

nuvi 760

3.81 x 2.25

MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 5

nuvi 770

3.81 x 2.25

MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 5

nuvi 780

3.81 x 2.25

MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free) receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 5

nuvi 850

3.81 x 2.25

MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 4

nuvi 880

3.81 x 2.25

MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free); FM (with opt. receiver)

Photos, MP3s

up to 4

nuvi 5000

4.5 x 2.7

MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)

external battery only

Basic MSN Direct Content Features
	Traffic Reports Find the best route through traffic. Your GPS device uses MSN Direct traffic data to select the best route for you to avoid traffic congestion. Check traffic flow. Know at a glance where to expect slowdowns in traffic. Get accident warnings. Receive warnings about accidents, road closures, and construction in the area that may affect you.
	Gas Prices Compare local gas prices. See a list of recent gas prices in your area and an indication of how recently the prices were reported. Find your way to the savings. Once you find the best price in your area, use your navigation system to guide you to the gas station.
	Weather Reports Stay on top of current conditions. View the current weather conditions in your area, including today’s high and low temperatures, chances of precipitation, and more. View the three-day forecast, Plan ahead by checking the three-day weather forecast for your area. Check weather in other cities. See current weather conditions in major cities across the country.
	Movie Times Search for a movie. Find the theaters in your coverage area that are showing the movie you want to see. See which movies are playing. View which movies are playing in your coverage area or at your favorite theater. See show times and get directions. Once you find a show you want to see, check the show times and use your GPS device to guide you to the theater.
Enhanced MSN Direct Content
	Web Favorites (Send custom destinations to your GPS with Live Search Maps) Powerful trip planning: Use Live Search Maps on your computer to look up an address, search for a business, or plan a trip Choose your favorite location, and then MSN Direct delivers the address, phone number, and more straight to your navigation system. Visit Live Search Maps at http://maps.live.com.
	Local Events See what’s happening near you. Find nearby events to see what’s happening in your area. Find the events that interest you. Browse events sorted by category. Search for an event. Get details about a particular event.
	Stock Quotes Watch the stocks that interest you. Select stocks that you want to keep an eye on, and then see regularly updated stock prices and daily changes. Get a little more detail. Touch a stock in your list to see daily highs, lows, and trading volume.
	News Headlines Browse the headlines at a glance. See breaking news and other major news stories of the day. Read more details. Select a headline to read all the details about the news story on your navigation system.
MSN Direct Coverage Map
Get detailed info for your Zip Code at the MSN Direct website.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Great GPS unit
I have never owned any GPS prior to this unit, so my opinion is more about owning a GPS than owning a Garmin 255w.

I did some research and finally decided to buy this unit, and after using it for a couple of weeks, I am really happy with my purchase. Although sometimes it gives weird instruction, (Like it always wants me to go all the way around at the beginning of the trip even if there is a shorter route when I leave from my house.) but it always takes me to the right place eventually.

It is such a relief that I don’t need to think about how to get to places anymore.

Garmin 255W is fast, and I haven’t had situation where I lost signal. I also love that it speaks the street names. It also can display and speak many languages. I am thinking about buying another one of these for my parents because their native language is Chinese and Garmin 255W speaks and display it!

Note: It doesn’t come with wall power outlet. The only way you can charge it is by using the car charger. If you plan on using it outside of the car a lot, you might want to consider getting the optional wall power charger.

3 Stars disappointed with major mapping error and solution
Item contains serious mapping error that Garmin will not stand behind. I have to wait one year and pay for new download if available. Dealer will also do nothing.

Please help.

5 Stars Best In Its Class – Great For Travelling
If you spend much time driving in unfamiliar territory, especially if you rent cars in big cities, a good portable GPS makes an amazing difference. And the Garmin 255W is the best one I could find in the $250 – $350 range.

First this thing just plain works. I haven’t had any issues with mine. It was easy to set up and figure out right out of the box, and it’s easy to use. It never has had trouble getting sufficient signal unlike earlier and cheaper models.

I chose the 255W for several reasons: It uses some of the newest and best maps available. It has one of the more usable touch screens for entering destinations. It’s fast to acquire satellites. And Garmin almost always comes out on top in reviews–especially in routing.

Ultimately, you buy a car GPS to get you from Point A to Point B as easily and efficiently as possible. And that’s what the 255W does best. If you’ve ever had a “Brand X” GPS take you on some strange route that adds 20 minutes to your trip, has you turn the wrong way down a one way road, tell you to turn AFTER you’ve passed the street, frequently loses the satellite signal, or has old maps missing streets, you know how important this stuff is.

The 255W has a really clear display that’s easy to see in any light. It’s small enough to use on foot. The windshield mount works great and it’s easy to toss in the glovebox when you park. It even tells you the speed limit on most roads. The “points of interest” feature works very well to find places to eat by type of cuisine, gas stations, etc.

The difference between the 255W and 205W is the 255 speaks street names and includes Alaska and Canada. The 205 and 205W will tell you to “turn right in 500 feet” which isn’t as helpful or obvious as “turn right on Ivy Street in 500 feet”. The “W” models are widescreen which makes entering destinations easier due to having a bigger “keyboard” and also lets you see more map area while driving.

All in all this isn’t the cheapest GPS in its class but it’s one of the best. My only gripe is you need an expensive add-on to get live traffic data–something that’s included with the Magellan Roadmate 1430 which is close to the same price. But the Garmin 255W is a better GPS in every other way.

4 Stars Great unit with significant bugs
Overall the Nuvi 255W is a great GPS unit. The unit takes very quickly locks on to satellite signals, tracks very well and when you miss a turn or do something unexpected, recalculates a new route very quickly. I recently took it on a trip from Michigan to Washington, DC and it proved to be extremely useful. There are some quirks that I elaborate on below.

Good points: Hotfix (TM) to lock on to satellite signals works well. Tracking is excellent and without noticable lag. Likewise, it quickly notices that you’re off track and recalculates a route quickly. Display is excellent – the layout of information on the screen is very good showing upcoming turns at the top, your speed, the local speed limit and the estimated time of arrival at the bottom. The automatic zoom in and out of the map works well too. I never came across a situation where I felt that the map showed too little (zoomed in too close). On I-76 in PA, I travelled through a mile long tunnel and it tracked me perfectly even though it obviously could not get satellite signals inside the tunnel. There is a sharp turn left just out of the tunnel (going east) and it had no trouble locating me at the turn so soon after I got out. Very commendable.

Not so good points: The quality of the voice (for announcing street names) leaves a bit to be desired. It is robotic as many people have commented and the pronunciation isn’t great. It took me a while to recognize the word “ramp”. I first assumed it was some Australian term! (I used the Aussie gal to do the announcements – I found her voice the least annoying). But as I got used to it, it ceased to bother me and I could recognize all she said.

I noticed several mistakes in the POI list – for example it did not list the Mobil station nearest my house but listed a party store as being a gas station (about 1/2 mile from the Mobil). I could not locate any of the Smithsonian Institution Museums in the list – a very glaring omission. In fact when I tried to locate museums near Washington, DC, it would not identify Washington, DC at all. It listed several Washingtons all around the country but not in the District of Columbia. I could not even locate the District of Columbia when doing this. It was annoying. Strangely it found a Smithsonian Institution somewhere inuvirginia (No, not the Udvar- Hazy center though it located that as well) – I did not follow up.

It would not let me locate a commuter store in Herndon/Reston, Virginia that was closest to my hotel. When I tried to use the street adress it would not accept the Building # (12530 Sunrise Valley Drive, Herndon, VA 20171 ). It was listed in the POI database but at the wrong address.

When I tried to go to Safeway located at 413 Elden Street, Herndon from the Vienna station parking lot, it chose a route that while direct had me make a U-turn to get into the store parking lot. That would have been OK except that the road did not have a left-turn lane at that point and so making a U-turn would have been dangerous. Even stranger, when it asked me to make a U-turn, the symbol indicated a U-turn to the right! but the store was on the left side (as it knew). That confused the heck out of me the first time. I traveled the route again the next day just to make sure that I wasn’t reading it wrong and it did it again. However on other occasions, it did correctly show a U-turn as being a turn to the left (all those were legal U-turns). All of this was a little disconcerting.

The 255w does feature a compass – but not a good one. In the map view, if you touch the display button to the left of the “Menu” button (bottom center), it brings up a display that features some stats about your trip and includes a compass of sorts. It gives your heading not in terms of degres but only in terms of one of eight directions (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW). This is not as useful as the heading in degrees.So it you’re into Geocacheing as I am, this might be a bit irritating but it is usable.

5 Stars I have not read the instrutions yet I’ve travelled 2,000 miles with it!
So I finally got the Nuvi 255w after months of analizing and comparing wit other brands, adding 3 days of looking arownd in Circuit City and Best Buy stores displays.

I have not read the instructions that came with this unit, yet I and my 11 years old son were able to operate the unit like pros out of the box.

I just arrived from a trip that took me from New York to New Jersey, then Bostn, then MAine, then Niagara Falls, then Corning (upstate NY), then to Harrisburg, PA, Hershey Park PA, Washington DC, Philladelphia and back to New Jersey (We live actually in the Dominican Republic, but were on a two week family trip).

Of course,and being our native language, we programmed the GPS in Latin American Spanish, and of course, the pronunciation of some street names was a little akward, but nothing you can’t manage. One of the main bugs is that when it mentioned a south route or high way it said, for example, to take I-95 seconds instead of south, since S is the abreviation of seconds in spanish and not south. We overcame that and the rest was easy.

Maps issue: this unit is not up to date on actual maps in the DC and Alexandria VA area. We were trough streets that seem to have been there for a while and it showed that we were travelling trough grass, of course recalculating, but we got used to this fast and as soon as we arrived to the part of the road it had on the map it recalculated again.

Crazy Issue: in NY city or if surrounded by tall buildings, it went a little crazy. I guess it was because during the traffic jams we encountered I guess it loss contact with the satellites due to interferrence by the tall buildings arroung. I recomend that if travelling in a city, try to remenber the first route it displyed and follow it even when it redirects you because after a while it realculates and send you on the right track again.

Overall, I give this unit a 4.75, because of:

1- Ease of use

2- Fast satellite adquisition

3- Fast perfonmance

4- 96% relliability

5- Excellent form factor

6- Good battery life

7- Excellent for pedestrian use (It even guides you through internal walking roads like in the National Mall, Arlington Cementery, Central Park, Niagara Falls Park, Manhattan, etc.

8- It took me and my familly in a two week 2000 mile trip with exellent ease of use and only very minor gltches

Finally, be carefull around Washington DC, because this unit has not updated the actual and latest detours arownd monuments and buildings, therefore taking you to dead ends. Don’t trust it to take you to the White House, Capitol, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, because it will guide you to direct streets that are now blocked. Also beware with the sides when you are arriving somewhere.. it sometimes says the finish will be on the opposite side of the street to where it really is.