Up for Review: Garmin nüvi 260W GPS
Garmin carries on its tradition of producing the best GPS in the market with the nüvi 260W. This is an attractive looking GPS with user-friendly features. It is optimally priced with a widescreen to read the directions clearly. It does away with unnecessary add-ons and includes the best navigation features, which is the hallmark of a good GPS. You can navigate your way from one point to another without any hitches. It has a high-sensitivity integrated receiver with a descriptive display. The Garmin nüvi 260W includes more than 6 million points of interest (POI). Most of the well-known stores, restaurants and hospitals are listed in its database.
The text-to-speech feature is very helpful in busy traffic. It gives voice instructions a few meters in advance about the turning or intersection along the road. The street names can be heard with good clarity. This allows the user to keep his eyes on the road instead of always peering into the GPS screen for instructions.
The Garmin nüvi 260W has a 4.3” backlit, widescreen touchscreen, which gives a much better view than the 3.5” screen on other GPS. You can clearly see the park, restaurant, ATM or gas station you are approaching. Being a comparatively bigger device, it affords easier and convenient screen control. The controls are widely spaced and easy to use.
The Garmin nüvi 260W has an extremely accurate receiver as well as an SD card slot for storing media. It also has an USB interface for loading data. Since it has a touchscreen, just a touch of your fingers can produce the desired action. 5 hours of battery life is enough to take you from one place to another.
Garmin has integrated a theft prevention system which disables the unit until a particular PIN number is entered, or it is taken to a predetermined safe location. When it is in working condition, you can see the countryside with the help of preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, with a good database of POIs. You can enter the destination with a touch on the screen and voice directions will take you there. The Garmin nüvi 260W also gives proximity alerts when you come close to a school zone or safety cameras.
Garmin nüvi 260W Features and Specifications Review:
- No. of waypoints – 500
- Portability – Yes
- Text-to-speech – Yes
- Download capability – Yes
- Built-in base maps – Yes
- Mapping software – Yes
- PC connectivity – Yes
- Voice prompts – Yes
- Backlit display – Yes
- Color display – Yes
- Battery life – up to 5 hours
- Battery included – Yes
- AC adapter – optional
- DC adapter – Yes
- Screen size – 4.3”
- 3D map view – Yes
- Accepts data cards – Yes
- Antenna – Yes
- Auto sort multiple destinations – Yes
- Avoid highways/tolls mode – Yes
- Calculator – Yes
- Choice of route set-up – Yes
- Map provider – Navteq
- Touchscreen – Yes
- World travel clock – Yes
- Warranty terms (parts) – 1 year
- Warranty terms (labor) – 1 year
The Garmin interface is very intuitive and user-friendly. There are very simple controls and sub-screens. The travel tools included in the Garmin nüvi 260W are the JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and many more. The Garmin nüvi 260W supports vehicle icons, which add interest while navigating.
The GPS is compatible with content plug-ins like Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide. They offer information about discounted offers you might be interested in. You can thus customize the Garmin nüvi 260W to suit your needs. The GPS is available for a price of $249.99 MSRP which is very nominal considering the beautiful features on offer. The device will suit your everyday navigation needs quite well.