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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
Buy New: £122.99
New (13) Used (1) from £117.99
Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 684
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 6.4 x 3.4
MPN: 010-00656-02
Model: 010-00656-02
UPC: 753759072186
EAN: 0753759072186
ASIN: B000SDWGF6
Release Date: July 17, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 26-30 of 63
Pretty much does what it says on the tin... May 24, 2008
J. Story (Cambridge, UK)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Yes, generally pleased with the 250W choice. We used it in anger yesterday on the way to Alton Towers, when there were serious traffic problems, so it had a good workout. (See cons below!) I couldn't say whether any better/worse than any other sat-nav as this is the only one I've every used in anger. Reading the reviews there are lots of people who hate both the Garmin and TomTom models...so its hard to say which is worse/better. It came with 2008 NT maps (I was worried old stock, therefore old maps). Also although I think it was claimed the 250W was not software updatable, I was able to update the firmware using the Garmin update thingy. NT maps are supposed to be better than the maps used in the rival Tom Tom.... br / br /Pro's: br /- excellent screen, and we have good mounting option in our car in a cubby-hole on the dash, so no suction cup marks for thieves to spot :-) br /- 3D view is v. good. I didn't think I would use the 3D view, but I use it all the time now. I set it to reasonably zoomed out, so you can see a long way ahead and when you approach a junction or roundabount, it automatically zooms in to allow you a closer look. Works well. br /- Spoken directions are clear and accurate. br /- locks onto satellites v. quickly. (except very first time you use...takes about 10mins) br /- UI simple and easy. br /- Its got lots of little pointless features like a photoframe mode, currency convertor, blah blah that I've just not bothered with. br / br /Cons: br /- no case, had to order separately. br /- no USB cable for PC, but I had one anyway. br /- Tends to lag your position on the road a little bit, but this is easy to get used to. br /- A friend reckons it is expensive to buy additional maps (he wanted to buy European maps for his Garmin) so make sure you buy one with the maps you need. br /- Minor con: Icon on the main screen shows arrival time, pressing it gives you a "dashboard" which shows all sorts of stuff like journey stats and current speed, I would like to be able to have the icon show current speed on the main screen. This does not seem configurable :-/ br /- Speed camera database: pointless feature. It complains about every bridge or straight road as having a mobile camera. There are third party databases you can use though. br /- Route plotting ability: There are 3 route plotting modes: fastest, shortest or "off the map" (which I've not used...as always had the roads). I have it set to "fastest". Yesterday we had a traffic problem: we heard on the radio about a problem on the M1, from the junction we wanted, back to the previous junction. So we took the earlier junction off the M1 and headed in the general direction we wanted to go. The 250W insisted on trying to re-direct us back to the M1, until I set it to "shortest route possible". But this _appeared_ poor as it took us down narrow country lanes. So we pointed the car towards the road we knew we needed to be on, until it worked out this was now the "fastest" route. So you need to use your head, and we had to switch between the two configurations to work out the best route from where we were, whilst avoiding the M1. So whilst its behaviour seemed fair enough, given the 2 simple configuration options, it could have used a "fastest, direct route from here without going backwards" option. In hindsight, you can tell it you want to go "via somewhere", but this is porbably not safe to setup while driving.... br / br /In all - good product, slim, easy to use and I thought good value for money. br /
Although good! not quite so much as expected. May 23, 2008
JBN (UK - South Lincs)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
I bought this as an update to my Garmin C510T which doesnt have European mapping, with the rather high cost of the additional maps not really being a sensible option compared to purchasing a new 250W from Amazon. br / br /However as a technical person common sense should have warned me that a slimline device has to have sacrifices somewhere in its performance, that is when compared to the more beefy C510 ranges, and it wasn't long before I found them. br / br /Garmin doesnt have any external antenna socket on this slimline model, with the reason I have heard for this missing facility being the (alleged anyway!) higher sensitivity of the receiver making this unnecessary, this unfortunately was not in evidence during some comprehensive tests I carried out on the 250W using the C510T sitting side by side as a comparison to it, tests being made in various static (for accuracy!) situations where "slight" elements of sky screening existed, the result being the 250W always coming in a poor second to the C510, the C510 of course "not" using its external antenna facility. br / br /The other annoying thing was that when the 250W was again given a completely unobstructed view of the sky it sometimes took forever to re-capture the satellites, so anyone driving in town where an element of high building screening existed causing signal drop out could make this deficiency really annoying. br / br /I also found that no matter what the spec states that when used without its power lead the battery showed signs of going down much faster that on the C510, possibly due to the slimline case having a space saving lower capacity battery, but with this also being coupled to a wide screen LCD which requires larger and higher current consuming back-lights, a bad combination for non-power lead operational time-span. br / br /Another lesser niggle was the audio not being so good as on the C510, this of course was expected due to the the smaller case / speaker combination resulting in a lower acoustic efficiency compared to the twin speaker, larger case, used on the "C" ranges. br / br /Regards to the programming, I have always been annoyed with my C510 by it "not" having my local (2 miles away) hospital listed, the hospital concerned having been in existence for over 40 years and also having an AE department,(albeit not 24 hours) alas I was disappointed to find that its still not listed in the 250W, and as with the C510 shows one 14 miles away as being the nearest. (Garmin now notified about this error) br / br /The 250W is quite a good unit with the usual Garmin reliability, and an excellent choice as a first sat nav, that is taking into account the reservations mentioned. br / br /Regarding a mains charger being used, one thing was very convenient, that being the mini USB socket mains charger used on the C510 ranges can also be used with the Nuvi's, making it unnecessary to purchase a new one for the 250W. (the sat nav should be switched off whilst charging, as the mains power unit could get overloaded, this applies to any brand of mains charger!) br / br / br /Further to :- br /I have just noticed that the ball ended suction cup holder as supplied with my "new" Garmin 250W has a hairline crack running through it, this starting from the elongated slot where the release lever pivot runs through. br / br /On checking other holders of the same type from my families two C510 models I found that they also have the same hairline crack in exactly the same place, this making me suspect that this is a manufacturing problem as the holders have not been rough treated in any way, but now wonder if there has been any instances of the actual arm having sheered off, or is it one of these things that doesnt really get any worse? however I would advise everyone with this type of bracket to check for this fault.
 Lovely little unit May 20, 2008
Knight (London)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Works well right out of the box. Be sure to visit the Garmin update site to update the unit. br / br /Postcode search works great with or without a house number. Doesnt have a speed or compass display when on a route. Sometimes the turn command is a little premature. Pleasant voice commands. Lovely screen. br / br /Simple no frills unit. It has no extra facilities whatsoever but sometimes simple is great. It gives the appearance it works anywhere even inside building but it's pretty much a bluff with lots of second guessing. Outside it works as well as any other GPS unit and has the Garmin name. Give it a go. br / br /Puts my Streetpilot 2610 to shame for ease of use anyway.. br /
Stress Buster May 17, 2008
A. B. Paine (Lincolnshire, England)
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
Bought this, my first Satnav, 10 weeks ago after being impressed by a friend's Tom Tom. Spent hours agonising through the mixed reviews of most brands. In the end was guided by average star ratings of Amazon reviewers and haven't regretted that at all! Overall very very happy with it. No problems getting satellite signal (longest wait about 3 mins, but usually pretty much immediate - 30 seconds). After a very short while got used to its foibles like sometimes saying to turn right when it's no more than a right hand bend, and voice instructions sometimes being a little premature (though confusion is avoided by the clear graphics) and the voice and graphics directions overall are excellent and easy on the ears and eyes, especially on wide-screen and its night/day autosetting. It recalculates routes very quickly if you do miss an instruction. The E.T.A. function is also very useful for keeping stress levels down. Even my technophobic wife loves it, especially the clues about which lanes to get into when approaching large junctions. Also ran desparately low on fuel in the countryside and got navigated to nearest forecourt reassurred by the distance indicated being less miles than those left in the tank! Yes, it can on rare occasions take a slightly odd route when one knows a better one, if you really want to test it (but who needs satnav in those circumstances anyway?). Main thing is that it's very reliable. This kit is great value for money with all its features such as finding car parks, hotels, restaurants, food outlets, fuel, hospitals, theatres and ATM machines etc etc. Don't buy a satnav without this! I've yet to use it in Europe, but after last year's stressful escapade around Paris, I can't wait.
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