Garmin Nuvi 260W - 4.4 in. Car GPS Receiver

I received the Garmin 260W GPS unit as a gift upon moving to a new city with which I was relatively unfamiliar. I had avoided buying a GPS in the past, because up to that point the devices had been bulky, complicated, and targets for theft. So, it was with mixed emotions that I plugged in my new 260W into my car for a trip around town.

Boy, was I surprised. The Nuvi was sleek and compact, fitting easily into the pocket or glove box/console. Previous versions resembled your grandfather's vacuum-tube television. This was an LCD bigscreen. The screen was large, with intelligent day/night background light adjustment. The interface was simple to use, with large graphics representing the various options.

After clicking 'OK' on the warning screen that notified me that a swift and sudden death at the hands of an oncoming semi could occur if I was to use the device while driving, I was on my way. I entered in my destination by typing in the state, city, and address of where I wanted to go. (Alternately, I could have searched by keyword, or by category in the Garmin menu). A calm female voice instructed me upon which road to turn on, in what direction, and in how long, with reminders as I came closer to the turn (this information was also listed on the screen with a miniature car representing my location, and a highlighted route representing the roads). The female voice was only mildly irritated when i overshot the best road to turn on, at which point she declared that she was "recalculating," and proceeded to direct me to the nearest turn that would put me back on the right track. Thus, with minimal troublee, I arrived to my destination in an unfamiliar city, which would have probably taken twice as long with a map and my best guesses on where to go.

That was over a year ago. Since then, I have used my Nuvi countless times. Even now, when I know the regular routes quite well, I will often leave the GPS unit on just to see the names of the roads I am passing in order to get more familiar with the area, or to wander outside of the city and keep an idea of the direction that I am heading to make my return easier. I have also grown fond of the ability to switch from the mini-map with the car and higlighted route to a step-by-step listing of the directions to take, so that I can look ahead a few steps at what is coming, or to a birds-eye view of my entire route laid out on a map.

My complaints with the Garmin are few and far-between. The stored destinations are sometimes not up-to-date. I am not wild about the fact that Garmin charges a substantial fee to download new maps to the unit. The former complaint can be avoided to some extent by the ability of the user to click on the screen and assign the GPS coordinates a title. This can then be added to favorites, or just searched as normal. I do this when I find an interesting location that I would like to take a picture of, but you can use it however you want. The flexibility is part of the beauty of the machine.

Battery life is good, although I keep mine plugged in most of the time while in the car. The included suction-assisted mounting device works well most of the time, although it should be cleaned periodically. I would recommend buying a thin-profile case to protect the screen of the unit; I have not had any scratches as a result.

All in all, I am very please with the Nuvi. I would certainly buy a replacement today if mine was lost or went kaput. It is a very useful, and fun, tool.