- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 15 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Compact, accurate, and easy to use."
Pros: Ready to go, out of the box. Loaded with points of interests, very intuitive to use.
Cons: Hard to see in bright sun if you wear polarized sunglasses.
Summary: I live in Canada, and the Nuvi 250 I purchased came loaded with both Canada and U.S. maps.
I had this unit working minutes after I bought it. I was in the store parking lot and was plotting routes very quickly with its intuitive interface.
The search interface is easy. While I was in the store parking lot I asked it: "Find me Chinese Food restaurants closest to my location." It starts spilling out restaurants closest to farthest, and lets you set any one of those as your destination. Amazing.
The voice is loud and clear (I had it set to 8 out of 10 on the volume scale.). It doesn't read out the actual street names -- you would need to pay more $$$ for that for an upgraded model. But it does tell you of upcoming turns (left or right) and how far ahead that turn is on your current route. The unit will display the upcoming turn-street name at the top of the display though if you really want to know that street name.
I did notice that some local points of interest that are less than approximately 3 years established aren't in the current database. But I assume that there will be upgraded maps available at some point (I haven't figured that part out yet.)
Garmin also has a "POI - Point of Interest" Loader utility that allows custom points to be downloaded to the unit via a PC. I've looked on the web and have seen some user data files available. This includes "Red Light" cameras and "Radar Trap" hot spots. The unit will notify you if you approach one of these points of "interest".
You can set the map to be 3d, or 2d overhead view -- your preference.
The map automatically adjusts the LCD colors and contract (favorably) at night when it's dark, so that the map isn't shining bright in the car cabin. That was a nice touch. (You can also disable this option.)
The touch screen interface is responsive. The unit can disengage from the mount and slips easily into your pocket (comes with a leather case.)
The one con I noticed is that in bright daylight -- if you're wearing polarized sunglasses -- it will be hard to see the display. But if you take the sunglasses off, you can see it OK. I don't think think this is unique to this unit. Those people who regularly wear polarized sunglasses probably notice weird optical effects with any type of LCD display (car display, your digital watch, etc.) My wife doesn't wear polarized shades, and had no problems seeing the unit with her sunglasses. I don't think this is a big deal.
At this point, the unit will do everything I need it to. My wife was surprisingly impressed, as she sees this as a gadget that she can easily use by herself. I have absolutely no regrets, and I'm eager to go on long road trips now that I have this unit.
Where to buy
Garmin Nuvi 250 (silver):
$119.95 - $175.00
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon.com Marketplace
|
$175.00 | Yes |
|
|
$119.95 | Yes |
|
%20user%20review%20and%20rating%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-navigation/garmin-nuvi-250-silver/4864-3430_7-32370613-2.html){kind=small}