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| Garmin nüvi 250W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator | 
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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $589.27
Buy New: $209.99
You Save: $379.28 (64%)
New (43) Used (4) Refurbished (2)
Avg. Customer Rating:  128 reviews
Sales Rank: 233
Platform: Not Machine Specific
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Native Resolution: 480 x 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 4.8 x 0.8 x 2.9
nv:Type: Receiver
Waypoints: 500
Display: TFT
Touch Screen: Yes
Voice: Yes
Expansion Slots: SD Card
Battery Type: Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery
Battery Life: 5 hours
MPN: Nuvi 250W
Model: Nuvi 250W
UPC: 053759072163
EAN: 0053759072163
ASIN: B000REECKS
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Purchased as a Gift - Very Happy with it. December 27, 2007
I own the Nuvi 660 which comes with a bunch of bells and whistles that I don't use or need and I consequently selected the 250W when looking for another Garmin to give as a gift (also what I would purchase for myself with hindsight). The 250W is half the price of the 660 and it contains all the major features I wanted / needed (and, in particular, was wide screen format which I really like). I do, however, wish Garmin sold a 300 series in wide screen format - this would be even more ideal since the 300 series has text to speech, which is the only "nice to have" from my 660 that I would have liked to see on the 250W. The other 660 perks (bluetooth, mp3 player, traffic receiver, etc.) are not worth paying twice as much (in my opinion) as what you pay for the 250W. Most importantly, my gift was extremely well received and I have created yet another Garmin lover that doesn't know how they previously lived without.
Nuvi best GPS interface December 23, 2007
I own a Garmin 650, recently purchased the 250W for a work associate and as a graduation gift for our son. The 250W is smaller and as functional as the 650. We have evaluated the TomTom, the Magellan and other GPS's, right now the Garmin Nuvi series has the easiest and most functional touch screen interface. I won't travel without it.
A Superb Basic Personal Navigation (GPS) Device December 15, 2007
174 out of 176 found this review helpful
This Garmin nüvi 250W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator is my first GPS unit. Having now owned it for several days, and with my wife and me putting it through its paces, I can definitely and honestly say that it is an excellent unit, one of which Garmin should be proud.
It is considered to be a "basic" GPS device.
This unit does the job, does it very well, and does it very simply.
It gets you there and it gets you back! You won't ever be lost when you use this device.
That is the reason for which you purchase an item such as this. This particular unit functions much like its competition except that, from what I have read, it really works much better than most of them. And from my own experience with it I can say that I could not be more satisfied.
The nüvi 250W (as well as the nüvi 250) come pre-loaded with maps of all of North America, including Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The nüvi 200W (and the nüvi 200) have maps only for the "lower 48" states including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. While that may be sufficient for many (probably most) people, I think the 250W offers much more for a relatively small difference in price.
To add Canada and Alaska maps to the 200/200W costs more than the price difference between the 250/250W and the 200/200W. The choice of which device to buy, of course, depends on where you plan or may plan to travel. Otherwise, the 250/250W and the 200/200W function identically.
The wide screen of the "W" units is, in my opinion, not a frill but rather an extremely useful upgrade in terms of visibility and usefulness. You can see much more of the surrounding area and this can be of great help when you're in an unfamiliar place.
Its wide screen is very bright in daylight, does not wash out, and can be set to automatically dim at night. This auto-adjust feature works very well indeed and is really welcome. Once set, you need not adjust the brightness any further. The sound volume control is fully and easily adjustable; I personally have found that the best setting for me is 70%. This level can be heard clearly over my radio/CD that I may have playing without "blasting," so I have left it at that level.
Obviously, in only a few days of ownership, I have not been able to explore all its capabilities, but I have found the Garmin web site to be of great help. (If you don't already know the URL of Garmin's site, just do a search. For some reason Amazon does not allow the URL to be posted here.) There is a wealth of information there. I was even able to update my firmware from version 2.60 (supplied) to the latest version 2.90. This was quite easy to do. (Of course, to do this you need a 6ft USBa/mini B Device USBa To Mini B 2.0 Compatible (#27005) or similar which, incredibly and disappointingly, Garmin does not include in the package. This particular cable, at Amazon's very low price, is well-worth buying, even if only as a spare. However, you may have one or more of these cables from other applications lying about your house, as I do.)
Garmin's site supports Apple Macintosh computers as well as Windows computers.
Entering addresses, saving them to if desired, and actually driving to a selected location is straightforward. I found the directions selected to be quite accurate. So far, I have tested the unit only locally and on locations known to me. But in every case it took me the same way that I would have gone myself. Distances tested have been up to about 20 miles. This unit also features a bicycle mode and a pedestrian mode, but I have tried neither as yet. (I understand that if you are parked in a crowded parking lot, you can switch to the pedestrian mode, mark the location of your automobile, and, after you are finished shopping or whatever, the unit will walk you right back to your car!)
I tried the function a couple of times, just for testing, and it worked flawlessly. The function also worked flawlessly.
If you miss an indicated turn, which I did deliberately, the device recalculates extremely rapidly. I am amazed as to how well it works in this regard.
Of course, NO GPS device is a substitute for local knowledge. None of them can know of, for example, closed roads, seasonally affected roads, or roads under construction. None can know that a "back road route" to a place which, even though slightly longer in mileage, avoids heavy local traffic, during local rush hour, for example, and so is actually much shorter in time.
Sometimes you may still have to ask!
But, in general, these devices, and this one in particular with its superb detouring ability, function very well indeed. Note that there is no limit on the number of times you can press . If you feel that the unit is taking you a way on which you do not want to travel, merely press the button again.
The number and extent of the pre-loaded "Points of Interest" is just staggering! There are 6,000,000(!) of them! I just can't imagine anyone not being able to find just what he is looking for! AND, additional customized points of interest can be added quickly and easily and mostly for free (see Garmin's site for information). This is amazing!
If you are moving to a new town, or are visiting an unfamiliar place, this "Points of Interest" function will show you just about every store, business, or place of entertainment you could desire. The unit can even indicate when you are near a "Point of Interest" which is contained within or programmed into its memory.
This unit also points out "speed zones" - both visually and audibly. The usefulness of this particular feature in unfamiliar locations goes without saying!
Unfortunately, the low price currently being charged precludes Garmin from supplying as standard certain items, in addition to the USB cable mentioned above, which, in my opinion, are necessary. While this may seem as though it's annoying "nickel-and-diming" (and it is!) the additional necessary items are, fortunately, not very expensive.
These are the several optional accessories that I should recommend (I purchased them all): the first two are the Garmin Portable Friction Mount for Nuvi, StreetPilot I Series & C530, C550 (010-10908-00) (it is much, much better than the included window-mount suction cup - believe me, this "bean-bag" is a superb item - and it is mandatory in certain states), and the Garmin Carrying Case for Nuvi 660 (010-10823-01) (which I really wish were supplied as standard).
Amazon carries both of these items as well as the unit itself and this season I have found their prices to be better than that of any other retailer. Their shipping service is top-notch as well.
There are two other accessories I recommend: 1) do NOT buy an AC Adapter for this unit; it is very expensive. Instead, buy an "AC Travel Charger with 12V Accessory Outlet" (formerly available from Amazon but now only available from PartsExpresscom); this alone will be all you need to allow the DC Power Adapter that comes with the unit to be used from any AC source. Merely navigate to PartsExpress' web site and enter the above description (in quotes) into the search box (without the quotation marks, of course). It is far less expensive (only $6.78) than an AC Adapter, and, of course, can be used with other DC-powered items as well. And 2) buy a soft side (padded) lunch box or fishing tackle box (I bought a cheap one at Wal-Mart) of suitable size to store the various accessories. This can be left in the trunk of your car out of sight when the GPS is not in use.
Obviously, you should NEVER - NEVER! -leave the unit itself anywhere in your car, at ANY time when the car is parked and you're not there, even if it's hidden away.
And you should NEVER - NEVER! - leave ANY of the attachments or accessories visible in your car when it is is parked.
In fact, you should NEVER leave any clue whatsoever that you have one of these devices. Thieves can be very clever! ALWAYS take the unit with you when you leave your car - every time!
It is probably safe to leave just the accessories as long as they are all carefully hidden away in the trunk or otherwise camouflaged (and no one has seen you hide them or place the items in your trunk! Be VERY careful!). I have heard that thieves even look for suction-cup marks on the windshield and, if they see one, they break into your car, figuring that you have a GPS device hidden in your glove box! GPS units are today's "hot" item to steal and sell.
You must employ common sense when using one of these devices, at least at the present time. You also want to make your car less "inviting" to thieves.
As a further aid in making theft somewhat less attractive, this Garmin unit has a feature that I really like - a security feature. One sets a 4-digit PIN AND sets this up at any particular desired location (generally your home). When you start up the unit, if you are at your starting point, the unit comes on automatically. If you are at any other location, you must enter the PIN. (DON'T let anyone see what you enter.) This security feature, once enabled, cannot be defeated (though you yourself can disable it). If it were operational and you were to forget (or a thief did not know) your PIN or your starting location, the only way to get the unit to work again requires sending it back to Garmin! (If a thief were foolish enough to send the unit back to Garmin and you had registered it with them - HIGHLY recommended - Garmin would know to whom the unit truly belonged.) You yourself can change the security location and/or the PIN at any time (for example, if you were away on vacation and staying at a particular hotel, that hotel could be your new starting point. Touch from within the menu, and, from wherever you happen to be, you will be taken right back to your hotel).
This particular Garmin GPS device, positioned as a "basic" or "entry-level" unit, does not feature text-to-speech (though it does speak turning instructions such as "turn right" and/or "turn left" - it repeats these instructions at least twice - and the direction of entrances and exits, so you know the side of the road on which you need to be well in advance, and it does so with excellent volume and clarity), does not have an FM transmitter, an MP3 player, or Bluetooth capability and does not include a few other features available on much-more-expensive GPS devices, but, in my opinion, those additional features which are not present on this particular model are mere frills. Functions such as those just mentioned, or even speaking the actual name of the street on which you are to turn - this last is very easy to read on this unit and the price differential from those GPS units that do offer that function is considerable - are, again in my opinion, unnecessary. They do nothing to enhance the actual performance of a GPS device in doing the job for which it was purchased.
Of course, the Garmin nüvi 250W, in common with most current electronic devices, does come with a few useful additional features which are in addition to its main function. There is a calculator (quite useful in, for example, a restaurant), a clock (which can be set to automatically switch between standard and daylight-savings time as well as show various time zones around the world), a picture viewer (to be used in conjunction with an SD card), a currency converter (that can be manually updated), and a units converter. (Even a so-called basic GPS such as this one would have been undreamed of just a few years ago!)
This GPS unit is VERY sensitive. I have routinely locked onto the satellites from within my house, even on the first floor. The very first time I turned it on, it took about three minutes to find the satellites (this was outdoors) but since then it takes but a few seconds before getting the signal no matter where I am.
I carefully researched GPS units for some time before deciding to buy this one. Frankly, I was particularly interested in Magellan's units because of their association with AAA (I have been a member for over 40 years), but, after reading on Amazon's sites and a few others about the very poor telephone support given to owners of Magellan GPS units (from India, no less), and, after researching TomTom units and reading the various user complaints about them (mostly about odd directions and poor map support), I bought this Garmin nüvi 250W and, so far, I'm glad I did. (I did call Garmin's support center with a couple of minor questions and I found the experience to be totally satisfactory. Their support is excellent.)
I think this Garmin nüvi 250W would be a safe recommendation for anyone wanting a basic Personal Navigation Device which is priced fairly, is well-made, and does its job very well. The wide 4.3-inch screen on this "W" unit, which allows much more information to be seen, is well-worth the small extra cost over the "plain" 3.5-inch Garmin nüvi 250, which, as indicated previously, is otherwise the same.
In short, I think this particular unit is a superb performer and offers excellent value for money.
And buy it from Amazon. You just won't go wrong with them!
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Update - February 24, 2008:
I like this unit so much that I bought one as a gift for my son. I also bought all of my recommended accessories for him as well. I ordered everything on February 18, "President's Day."
Though Amazon had stated that their shipping estimate was not until approximately the middle of March, one item arrived at his house a couple of days ago (February 21) and the balance all arrived yesterday (February 23). Five days! That's great service!
He telephoned me this morning to thank me for the gift. He was using it as he was speaking to me. He is as pleased with it as I am.
And again I recommend that anyone contemplating purchasing this Garmin nüvi 250W STRONGLY consider buying it from Amazon. Not only are their GPS prices better than any I have seen elsewhere, their service is first class as well.
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Update - March 11, 2008
We have friends who live about 35 miles away. We have always followed direction supplied by both MapQuest and Rand McNally and we used these (both were just about the same) to direct us to our friends' house. The trip has generally taken us from 50 minutes to an hour (depending on traffic).
Yesterday, we went our usual way to their house but we decided to let the Garmin "take us home." It took us an entirely different way than we had ever gone before - and the trip took less than 40 minutes! (It was late and there was little traffic, but even so - this "new" way is much, much better.)
The most amazing thing was that, when we started, the nüvi 250W showed an "estimated" time of arrival home as 11:00 PM. Guess what time we got home! Exactly 11:00 PM!!
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Update - June 30, 2008
Wow! What a price! $216.58! I haven't checked this item in some time and I am astounded at Amazon's price for this unit. When I bought mine in December, the price was $264.99. Who would have ever thought that the price would come down so far so fast?
I see some people complaining about slow satellite connection. I have found that if you're running the unit on its internal battery, sometimes - only sometimes - it takes a few minutes - sometimes quite a few minutes - to lock onto the satellites, especially if you have not used the unit for a while. But, if you use the unit in your car connected to the car's battery (or you have your unit outdoors plugged into an outdoor AC wall socket), the connection time is minimal even if you haven't used the unit in a long time.
For those having this problem, try using the unit as I suggest above and see if this is a good remedy. If, after trying it as I suggest, you're still having the problem, contact Amazon for an exchange. I believe that, overall, and especially at its extremely low current price, this is still one of the very best buys in a portable GPS unit.
Also - FYI: After reading the reviews on Amazon of the new 2009 updated maps, I am NOT going to buy them. (Newly purchased units may already come pre-loaded with the 2009 maps.) Even CONSUMER REPORTS magazine states that owners need only update their maps every few years and, according to many reviews, Garmin has not added some roads and stops even though they've existed for several years. And, with the prices falling the way they have been, it will probably be cheaper to just buy a new updated version of this GPS model several years from now. Who knows what they will be offering at that time and at what price?
Awesome Value December 14, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have been a GPS user for years and I don't think you can beat the NUVI 250 for value. Personally I use a Garmin Street Pilot 2620 which is much more expensive, but when I wanted to buy units for my two college age children and the Garmin NUVI 250s were a perfect fit. Most of the great ammenities of my unit, but very compact in size and less than half the price of mine. Not only is this unit pre-loaded with tons of POIs, but the audio system is very clear too. I did my homework and I am glad I decided to by this units for my kids. Oh yeah, my kids think that I am pretty awesome too!
Wonderful unit, not flawless but still 4.5 stars December 13, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
I've used this product for a couple of months and love it. Gives good directions and have been most impressed at how quickly it re-routes.
I drive to drilling rigs for a living and these locations are almost always off the beaten track. The mapping quality surprised me in the level of detail. County Roads are all here and even some 'lease roads' - though they're simply described as 'road' which is more than I'd expected.
My two criticisms are (1) the dubious build quality. I drive quite a bit 'off road' and on poorly maintained roads and have noticed the sound quality degraded already from the bumping. Turning the volume level down to 50% helps a lot but I don't want to have the sound degrade so much as to be unusable. For 99% of users this is unlikely to be a significant issue.
My other point is that this unit will regularly take me in different routes for an identical trip at the same time of day. Why this is, I don't know. I'm not sure that the different ways are a lot different in terms of distance and time but it's still something I'm curious about.
Overall I'm very happy with this unit although I ought to have saved
$40 by getting the 200W since I could live without the 'extra' mapping.
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