I used the Garmin nüvi 1370t to navigate in Italy for 3 weeks, and it worked flawlessly. The nüvi 255W is similar, but has the North American map. I was amazed at its advanced ability to navigate on a per lane basis on major highways. Furthermore, it is alerts you of traffic cameras (but not police radar). The unit has been reviewed by over 1100 users with a rating of 4+ stars out of 5 on Amazon. On Sale Now at Amazon for over 40% off.
The 255W features predictive technology that provides faster satellite lock, a redesigned screen with more information, terrain maps, and an exciting new photo navigation feature. The 255W adds complete maps for North America and Text-to-Speech, so you get turn by turn spoken directions with the real names of streets (e.g. “turn left in 50 feet at Nebraska Way”, rather than merely “turn left in 50 feet”). The 255W also offers a wide 4.3-inch (diagonal) screen that displays 70% more of the road around you.
The nüvi 2×5 models all sport the slim design that Garmin introduced with the 200-series last year, so they all fit comfortably in your pocket or purse, and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that makes them convenient for navigation by car or foot.All of the models include useful travel tools like a JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more.
Important Product Information: This device features a “screen lock” feature. This is a standard feature on all nüvi 2×5 and 7×5 Garmin units. If you slide the “Power” key to the right, it will lock the screen and prevent any accidental touches. Once the screen lock feature is engaged, the screen will go black/gray after about 15 seconds to save power on the device. To unlock the screen, just slide the “Power” key to the center position. This feature is really targeted for “Pedestrian” mode so that a user can put the device in his or her pocket/purse and quickly unlock the screen instead of powering on/off continuously. For more information, see page 5 of the product manual.
Key Features/Benefits for all 2×5 Series Navigators
- HotFix (Long Term Ephemeris Prediction) finds satellites faster (Learn more)
- Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Basemap shows 3D shaded terrain features (Learn more)
- Faster 333 Mhz processor offers faster, smoother map drawing and vehicle icon motion through turns
- Redesigned user interface offers more information (Learn more)
- Photo Navigation lets you upload geo-coded photos from a phone, geo-coding camera or photo site and navigate to them. (Learn more)
- Send addresses directly to your Garmin from Google Maps or Mapquest (Learn more)
- Automatic Time Zone Transition
- Text-to-Speech gives directions with real street names
- 4.3-inch Widescreen shows you more of what’s around you as you drive (Learn more)
- Memory Card Slots so you can add maps and travel guides, or store photos (MicroSD card slot on 3.5-inch units; SD card slot on 4.3-inch units)
- Preloaded Maps with Navteq data of North America + Hawaii + Puerto Rico, including 6.5 million searchable points of interest (Learn more)
- Rechargeable lithium-ion battery for easy portability (up to 4 hours per charge)
- Custom Vehicle Icons let you personalize your navigator (Learn more)
- Integrated Antenna for a slim form factor
- Where Am I? — instantly shows you all of the emergency services nearby
What’s in the Box
nüvi 255W, Preloaded City Navigator NT for North America or Europe (full coverage), Vehicle suction cup mount, Vehicle power cable, Dashboard disc, Quick start manual
