from Virginia

Wasn't sure if my hubby would get much use from a GPS but just using it he was very satisfied with it. It took us right to the front door of our Destination. It will definitely come in handy when we take our next trip.

What's great about it: Pretty accurate so far.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Good for the Money but not durable

on February 26, 2011

Posted by: Anonymous

from Loveland, OH

I received this GPS for Fathers Day 2010, and it has performed adequately up until this week, when it just quit and would not power up, either on battery or plugged into the car charger. Best Buy, as usual, stood behind the product, took it back and replaced it with a new one. When it comes to good service, Best Buy stands out. The unit works well when it worked, and is easy to input addresses. I used the "find a hotel" and "find a restaurant" feature many times and it also worked well. If there is one thing, beside breaking, that I don't like is the time it takes to locate satellites. It can take 5 minutes for the NUVI to locate itself and when you are leaving the airport and have to get to your destination, sitting on the side of the road waiting for the GPS to locate the satellites is very frustrating. I don't know if this is typical of all GPS units, and if you leave it in your car and use it all day long this would not be an issue, but if you travel by air, and use it in rental cars, in different states, the delay in finding the satellites should be a consideration if you want to buy this model.

What's great about it: Low Price for many features, Garman reputation

What's not so great: Broke after 7 months of light use, slow to find satellites when you start it up

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

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Customer Rating

Excellent GPS, excellent value

on May 10, 2009

Posted by: CustomerFromPA

from Philadelphia, PA

After doing some research, I decided on this model for the following reasons: wide screen, spoke street names and had real time, free traffic.

The colorful screen is very easy to read. Along the top, it shows you distance to next announcement, the street of the next announcement, and, what I think is invaluable, a picture of what the next turn will look like. This is very helpful when the official name of a street (what 255WT calls it) and the road sign is different. (See below for more info on this.)

The main map is very accurate (I downloaded the free 2010 map. Took 3 hours to download and 3 hours to install, unassisted.) Map page also has zoom in, zoom out, menu button, trip info button, estimated time and icon for traffic. What’s missing is a quick mute function. To mute or unmute the system takes 5-6 taps of the screen.

The system will reroute you when you’re about ½ block off the suggested map, unless you’re on a non-street, such as a parking lot. It does a good job giving you a reasonable route (for example, I’ve chosen different routes because I, personally, know the traffic lights are timed better than the one the 255WT suggests). One time, it didn’t recognize an existing street. If it’s surrounded by tall buildings, it can get a little confused, trying to get a satellite.

The system will speak the street name along with the next turn 2 or 3 times, as you get closer to your turn. Example: “in one mile, turn right onto Main Street; in 200 feet, turn right onto Main Street; turn right onto Main Street.” If the exit is local lanes for the road you’re on prior to the actual turn (what the exit sign might read), the system will tell you to exit, but will use the access road name before using the exit sign name. That’s where the picture of the exit is helpful (see above). It does a good job with pronunciation. Hearing street names is invaluable when you’re in an area that has streets close to each other and a plain “turn right” isn’t enough information.

The real time, free traffic is great is you’re in a covered area. The system icon shows green (no problems), yellow, or red, along with estimated delay. If you’re driving and icon changes to red, system announces “traffic ahead” and automatically changes to the traffic map. The traffic map, which you can get to at any time, is similar to the regular colorful map, but will mark your route and side of the street with green and yellow, rather than the standard colors.

Other traffic options are to see a list of current traffic instances and to see map of larger area with traffic instances. In the setup area, you can choose to have the system automatically reroute you around delays or you can choose this at will.

The cost of “free traffic” is that you get small advertisement notices. They are about 2 inches wide and ¼ inch high and appear either on top or on bottom of screen. I thought they’d annoy me, but they are innocuous. They come on when you’re stopped, but only sometimes, not every time.

What's great about it: Maps, directions, steet names

What's not so great: Getting around menu options

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Lifetime traffic was disappointing

on April 20, 2010

Posted by: IrvSwirve

from Washington, DC

I've owned this GPS since January 2010 and this GPS is merely adequate. It gets the job done, but for the price you pay for the lifetime traffic and the widescreen, you can get something better for cheaper.

This GPS has a pretty good battery life, it gets you from point A to point B and it seems pretty durable. However, I specifically chose this GPS for the lifetime traffic feature. So far, it's been horribly disappointing. You can be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and the traffic indicator won't show any traffic, even on some main interstates. Forget about secondary roads, you won't get any kind of feedback on those. When the traffic warning does come on, it gives you very inaccurate delay times like 1 or 2 minutes when in reality, you've been stuck in a backup for 20 minutes and counting. At times, the GPS can take a little long to detect satellites. Not always, but I think it's worth mentioning. Also, the touchscreen is off. If you want to press a button, you have to select some buttons by pressing below it and to the left. Otherwise, it won't register you pressing the button. Not usually a problem, but this can be a hassle when typing in an address or searching for a specific location by name.

Anyway, not a horrible product, but skip this one if you are interested in getting a GPS with traffic features.

What's great about it: Very durable, doesn't scratch easily, easy to use, good battery life.

What's not so great: Lifetime traffic is horrible, long sync times, inaccurate touch screen.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

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Customer Rating

So simple even a caveman can use it.

on September 12, 2010

Posted by: HISSER

from Northern California

Light, compact and easy to use icons. It gives mileage and approximate arrival time. Generally, it is very fast and accurate. Once in a great while, it will be off. I don't know why it does it, just a electronic glitch. It has a 4 hr battery, so you can use it while walking around in a new city. You can punch in, for example, "Starbucks" and it will list all the locations close to where you are. Will not route multiple addresses in order, only one address at a time. Will need another model, if you want to do that.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

GREAT NAV TOOL

on September 12, 2010

Posted by: Donkjay

from Idaho

I purchased this primarily because of a job change to a hospice nurse that requires home visits. Rural Idaho can be challenging and this unit has not let me down yet. The estimated time of arrival is useful so I can give my patients a accurate time and look professional in the process. I really put this to the test and used this in Southern California on vacation with my family, man did it work well. The traffic feature is awesome and it was easy to detour around those areas and actually drive like we knew where we were going. Great unit, cannot give it enough praise.

What's great about it: Traffic updates, Estimated time of arrival and ease of use.

What's not so great: Nothing to report.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Great GPS for Long-Distance Traveling!

on October 19, 2010

Posted by: UTLawGirl

from Knoxville, TN

My parents bought me this as a birthday present because I am a grad student living in another state. Every time I would come home, I would have to travel through several major cities on the interstate, and I got stopped up a time or two because of unknown traffic problems. With this GPS, I don't have that problem anymore. When it is on, it pops up a little icon that lets me know if there are traffic delays, and even helps me get around it. I've only traveled with it once so far, but I know for a fact that it saved me time because of the traffic features!

Also, for the technically-challenged like me, it's the easiest GPS I've used. The ease of use is particularly good because it does NOT come with many directions on how to use the features, so much my early experiences were simply trial and error. But, it was relatively easy to figure out.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this GPS, and I even plan to buy it for my little brother!

What's great about it: Great features, like traffic alerts and eco-friendly driving assessment

What's not so great: Doesn't come with many directions

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Solid enough, but there are some issues

on January 31, 2011

Posted by: BigKev2012

from Nashville, TN

I got some Best Buy gift cards for Christmas and had been shopping for an entry level GPS for a little while, so when I found this on sale, I decided to purchase it. Overall, I'm really satisfied with the unit as an entry-level. On occasion it has directed me via route that wouldn't be the most efficient, but it's only been slightly longer routes, nothing out of the way like I was going on a wild goose hunt. I have had a couple of firmware issues in which the device would continue to give route instructions even after it was powered down. I have also had the unit once stay lit up until the battery died, despite the fact that I had power cycled the unit a few times to try to get it to turn off. The voices aren't always clear enough. The maps have been great and accurate thus far. I haven't had any issues with any missing roads or anything like that, despite living a remote area of a very small town. For the price, I'm very satisfied. I would make the purchase again if granted a do-over.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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