GARMIN 010-00656-00 Nuvi 250W Widescreen Travel Assistant

Wider screen lets you see more of what's  around. View larger.

nuvi 250W accepts custom points of interest (POIs). View larger.

The nuvi 250W comes preloaded with maps for U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and features an  ultra-slim design.

The widescreen version of Garmin's nuvi 250 offers a large, easy-to-read screen (4.3 inches diagonally to the nuvi 250s 3.5 inches) at an attractive price point. Like its smaller sibling, the 250W comes with preloaded maps for the continental U.S., Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Canada and Alaska. If all you don't need Canada and Alaska, you can get the nuvi 200W at a lower pirce.  If you want maps for Europe, you'll need to go with the smaller nuvi 270, or you can purchase a set of European maps on SD Card or CD-Rom. While it doesn't have some of the more sophisticated features of higher-end nuvis, it does, like all nuvi 200-series members, offer a rock-solid navigation experience with an easy-to-use colorful touchscreen, 6 million points of interest (POI)s, and an ultra-slim design.

See More of What's Around
The widescreen format gives you 70% more actual screen area than a 3.5-inch screen. Primarily this translates into a better view of the area through which you are driving. This is especially useful in showing you what parks, restaurants, ATM, gas stations, etc. are nearby, or in letting you know whether a detour is a good idea. Also, the device itself is larger, meaning controls on the screen are more widely spaced and somewhat easier to push.

Smart, Powerful Design
The nuvi 250W is built with a high-sensitivity WAAS-enabled GPS receiver for extreme accuracy, as well as an SD card slot for storing your media and additional navigation tools, and a USB interface for loading data. All this is wrapped up in a package that measures 4.8 x 2.9 x 0.8 inches (W x H x D) and weighs just 6.6 ounces. The nuvi display is touchscreen-enabled, making it a cinch to control the device with your fingertips. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to five hours of battery life depending on use.

Navigate with Ease
nuvi 250W comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty POI database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nuvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. In addition, nuvi 250W accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs.

Garmin's interface is a key to their success and one of the things that makes their devices such a pleasure to use. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip.

Custom vehicle icons let you ride in style, at least inside your GPS. See more icon options.

Beyond Navigation
Navigation is just the beginning. nuvi 250W features travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. It also comes with Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and configurable vehicle icons that let you select car-shaped graphics to show your location on the map. Optional plug-in SD cards for our line of Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide provide detailed data for attractions and information on nearby merchants offering discounts, so you can customize nuvi for your travel needs.

Note: Like most USB Mass Storage Devices, the nuvi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.

What's in the Box
nuvi 250W, preloaded City Navigator NT for the continental U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, Alaska, and Canada, vehicle suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, dashboard disk, and set up and go guide.

Came in a box with no packing whatsoever. You knew instantly that this was a used item. Turned it on and there was a white spot on the screen. Used - and defective!! Sent it right on back.

Bought this product as a Christmas gift for my husband. It was a good price compared to local retailers, and the seller was highly rated. Product arrived packaged well, no shipment damage. On Christmas, my husband tried to use the GPS, and it says there are no maps. When he registered the item online, the website listed the map it is supposed to be loaded with, but the GPS only gives you an error message saying there are no maps. Wish I had bought it locally, so we could have exchanged it before our road trip to see relatives. Very disappointed in the product.

Garmin GPS. This was purchased as a Christmas gift. Checked it out and it seemed to be exactly what I wanted.

This is the second Garman Nuvi I have purchased through Amazon in the past 4 months. The first one was for my own use and I have no complaints with it. This recent purchase was for a Christmas gift. I tested the unit to be sure it was operable. Much to my surprise, the unit immediately warned me the maps are over a year old and require updating. Updated maps are $69 on the Garmin site. This update will put the unit far above its worth in cost. Needless to say, I am quite disapointed in the product.

Garmin has a policy of allowing free updates for 60 days only on this product, but there is nothing on the package to warn of this. So when I figured out that it needed updating, it was past the date. I AM REALLY MAJORLY TICKED OFF AT GARMIN! I sat on hold for 35 minutes, got cut off, sat on hold for another 15 minutes, got transferred, sat on hold for another hour and then was told there was nothing they couldn't fix it.

WARNING! LOOK FOR A DIFFERENT BRAND!