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"This is the Best" on by JO3L
Pros: wide sunlight readable screen, UI, very user friendly, TTS
Cons: does not come with AC charger, USB cable and case
Summary: I had a nuvi 350 and sold it to get this Nuvi 260W. I don't need the other features the 350 had over this and the 350's screen washes out in sunlight. This 260W is great. It picked up signals even inside my home better than my old 350. The display is absolutely fantastic. If you just need a plain gps without the other fancy features like MP3 and bluetooth, this is the unit to get. Very slim size and no antenna to flip up.
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"Poor reception, strange routing, slow customer response" on by larney0
Pros: Nothing!!!
Cons: Slow to no satellite acquistion
Odd trip routing
Poor customer responseSummary: My wife travels alot and needs a good, reliable GPS when she is on the road. We have had 2 Nuvi 260's before this 260w. We liked the 260's. (Somebody else also likes the 260 because they keep getting stolen.) I assumed the 260w would be just a wide screen version of the 260, but it wasn't. It takes a long time to find the satellites. I took it on a 2 hour hike; it never found the satellites. I have placed the GPS in my house window facing SW and the battery will go from full to dead without finding a satellite. The GPS also makes strange routing decisions such as taking side streets parallel to a main street or sending me on backroads that will never be faster than the highway. (We kept checking to see if we had set it on shortest distance or pedistrian mode or some other bazaar setting.)
I have waited 2 days for support to get back to me. Customer service is obviously too backed up, so I'm trying to help them out by keeping new customers from buying their product. It is quite possible that we have gotten a bad GPS, but customer service should be able to help me out in a reasonable time or at least tell me how long I should wait. -
"Not great but better than nothing" on by ichor
Pros: Great screen clarity, touchscreen sensitivity, voice sound quality, This unit is perfect if you want to be guided home, but aren't too concerned that it takes longer than it should.
Cons: Routing algorithm is still sub-optimal, route preview is not available, route choice not available. It's not good for you if you're a pizza delivery guy or anyone else for whom time is money.
Summary: This unit is better than nothing. I'd rather have this at $250 than the higher end nuvi series that sell for hundreds more. Garmin is awesome in screen quality and touchscreen sensitivity. Entry interface is very simple, but it's too simple. City and street parsing based on the characters first entered is the fastest parsing I've ever seen in an nav system. However... this unit is fine if you recognize that it's not intended to be used by people who need accurate, spot-on directions or routing flexibility (i.e. local roads, highway routes, etc.). It's for tourists who don't mind 30 minute timesinks due to inferior routing. It also does not provide you with a choice of routes, with miles and time to destination. It selects one route for you and that's it. Too bad for you if you know that another general direction is superior. Also, on the main map screen, only the estimated time of arrival is shown. It should show distance to destination or allow the user to choose distance to destination as the default datapoint. I would not recommend this for people who really really need a serious car nav system. If you do and you're on a budget, buy a Honda next time you're in the market and get the onboard NAV system. Two years after I first reviewed the nuvi 650, I'm rather disappointed by the pace of Garmin's progress. They would do so much better if they focused on getting routing and user interface right. If anyone from Garmin is reading this, please stop wasting resources on bluetooth, mp3 capability, and all the other cr*p you're loading into these devices. Be like Google and get your basic act together. Don't be like Yahoo and try to do everything in a half-as*ed way. Garmin really needs a new product design team. It's sad that Magellan and TomTom don't seem to have their act together either. I said two years ago that the nuvi 650 priced at $200 would be a fair deal. The 260w achieves that very easy bogey. This unit is perfect if you want to be guided home, but aren't too concerned if it takes longer than it should.
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"Nothing Impressive Here Keep Looking" on by iceman721
Pros: Nice size screen. Clear speaking voice. Thin unit.
Cons: Very hard to get a new route when a reroute is needed. No option to preview a route. Too often chooses a route that is out of the way and doesn't make sense. POI database leaves a lot to be desired.
Summary: There are too many other choices out there that offer more features for the same money or less. I paid 250.00 for this and that is overpriced for what this unit offers. I just ordered a Navigon 7200t with free lifetime traffic updates for 50.00 less than what I paid for this. This is a rather basic entry level unit. The POI database is rather small IMO it should be a lot better. I do like the size (its nice & thin). It also has a nice screen. I am selling mine for 160.00 and losing 90.00 to pick up the Navigon. I travel too much for something this spartan. If you can get one for 150.00 or less and only need basic navigation features occasionally this may be the unit for you. If you are a heavy user or would like features like entering addresses by voice or bluetooth then keep shopping. There are better units out there for about the same amount of money.
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"Our first GPS" on by MamasToys
Pros: easy to use, large screen
Cons: Can't find my office!
Summary: I just bought this for my Husband to use on out of town business. Out of the box, this GPS is very easy to use. I liked the size of the screen and text to speech. HOWEVER, upon entering my office address, this fantastic little machine could not locate it in our metro Altanta location. POI's did not list the grocery and fast food less than 5 miles from our home. Maybe it will take a little tweeking to get it right?
For our first GPS, it is a unique gadget that I am sure we will love.
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