Aftermarket GPS

[Chris C]

I'd like to have a GPS unit, but am not familiar with the aftermarket units available. Does anyone have any experience with the Garmin Nuvi 260W? I think it might meet my needs but I don't know all it's pros and cons.

[MyronW]

I had a Garmin Nuvi 5000 that was really nice, but I returned it and bought the Dash Express from Amazon. Internet connectivity, live traffic, really cool.

[k757]

I look at the wide units and think they missed the boat entirely. When I am using my nuvi 350, I keep wishing the screen was taller so I could see farther up the road. So what do they do? make the screen wider I suppose so I can see places I won't be driving by.

Go to the Garmin site, you can compare multiple models. Also check out C/NET.com review
Garmin nuvi 260W Widescreen GPS Receiver Car GPS (Navigation) reviews - CNET Reviews

[steveberger]

Love my NUVI 260. Works great, right out of the box. It's very intuitive so reading the directions is some what optional. Only draw back, is that it is really designed for car use, on road only. The small size allows them to be backpacked or bicycled, but when you are away from a road it behaves oddly, not providing much direction, and saying only "drive to highlighted route". If you are using it 99% in a car they are great. Will get you anywheres without error!

[zjennings]

I have a Tomtom 720. Works great. Bluetooth speaker phone, live traffic (with $60/year + uses cellphone data connection via bluetooth or FM traffic receiver), downloadable voices, User Corrections (one of the reasons why I bought this, all 720 and 920 users can make map corrections, add POI, put in road work notifications, and you can have your Tomtom download them and upload yours when you put it in the usb cradle that it comes with connected to your computer), downloadable POI, iPod controll, Photo Viewer, ebook reader, and more.

I do my research. For the price, reviews, and features, the 720 was the way to go. Voice recognition would be cool. Not sure if any portable GPS units have that.

Zach

[Pizza Man]

Originally Posted by zjennings

User Corrections (one of the reasons why I bought this, all 720 and 920 users can make map corrections.

I wish my Nuvi 350 would do that. Other than that it's a fine unit.

[Chris C]

Thanks for the comments, guys, but I'm only interested in information about the Nuvi 260W. I need to ask a few questions of someone who uses one before I buy it.

[rakapur]

i dont have that but i do have a garmin i3 (old) i want to buy a new one im just waiting for a good garmin to come on sale but garmin is the best, i used tons of gps's and none of them come close to garmin

[McRidgeline]

I bought the Garmin Nuvi 250W a couple of months ago. I believe it has all the same features as the 260W EXCEPT the text-to-speech feature. Thus, the 250W just says "in 100 feet turn right" (and leaves off the street name). But, the street name is shown on the green bar at the top of the screen.

If I can answer any questions for you, just let me know; either here or PM.

Have fun.

[VOLinGA]

Originally Posted by Chris C

Thanks for the comments, guys, but I'm only interested in information about the Nuvi 260W. I need to ask a few questions of someone who uses one before I buy it.

Chris, I bought the 260 for my stepdad. It is a great unit. Similiar to the NUVI 350 except it does not have the audio book, language guide and all the other crap that should not be on a GPS. It does text to speech. IMHO, the best GPS out there.

Do not go with the widescreen versions. You are paying more just because they are trying to pick up revenue on the HDTV wave. As a previous poster mentioned, it would be good to have a longer screen, but wider helps nothing. Also, the wider the screen, the more difficult it is to transport it in a briefcase or pocket.

PM me if you have any questions.