Sunday, March 18, 2012

Garmin nuvi 250W review

Garmin_nuvi_250w

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide.

The Garmin nuvi 250W is a 4.3″ wide-screen version of the Garmin nuvi 250. Depending upon which side of the pond you live on, the nuvi 250W comes with pre-loaded maps of North America or Europe. This is a basic navigation device – no MP3 player, no Bluetooth, no text-to-speech. The one frill is the extra  wide touch-screen. Yet even without the bells and whistles, it’s Garmin nuvi quality through and through. Like all nuvis, it comes with nearly six million points of interest (POIs).

UPDATE: A new model, the nuvi 255W, offers these features and more.

If you don’t need maps of Alaska, you might want to consider the Garmin nuvi 200W. And if these units don’t suit your needs, check out our Garmin nuvi comparison chart for one that does.

Compare prices on the Garmin nuvi 250W

GPS Magazine has posted the first hands-on Garmin nuvi 250W review. Here’s an excerpt from their conclusion:


“Despite being billed as an entry-level nuvi, the 250W actually improves
upon some critical features, such as the updated map screen, address
input interface, new mapping data, and more solid construction.”

More Garmin nuvi 250W reviews

I’ll be posting more hands on GPS reviews as they appear, but in the meantime, here are some…


Other Garmin nuvi 250W resources


Compare prices on the Garmin nuvi 250W at these merchants:

 

About Rich Owings

Rich is the owner, editor and chief bottle-washer for GPS Tracklog. Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus.

Comments

  1. Damien Hart says:

    Hi,
    Just wondering why Garmin doesn’t have text-to-speech with the nuvi 2XX range? It’s only software right? And these units already have voice prompts?
    I realise they want to have different ends of the market covered, but the lack of an external antenna is a killer feature IMO. What do you think?
    Cheers,
    Damien.

  2. Damien,
    You’re right. It’s probably only software, though perhaps the unit would need more RAM and a slightly better processor too.
    I guess its one of the few features Garmin could pull out to make a truly entry level nuvi. We’ll probably see an updated 300 series line at some point, with the new internal antenna, though I don’t know if they are in any hurry to do that. After all, the 350 and 360 are the top selling nuvis, by far.

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