Garmin nüvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Manufacturer: Garmin
Customer Rating:
 
List Price: $249.99
Sale Price: $94.04
Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours
Free Shipping Available
This is cool.

Product Description
Garmin's nüvi 255 improves upon its 200-series predecessors by adding top-of-the-line features such as FM traffic updates or MSN Direct content to an entry-level line. But Garmin is also introducing some significant improvements with this new series, like a predictive technology that provides faster satellite lock, a redesigned screen with more information, terrain maps, and an exciting new photo navigation feature. The 255 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").


he nüvi 2x5 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 2x5 and 7x5 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 2x5 Series Navigators


* New -- HotFix (Long Term Ephemeris Prediction) finds satellites faster (Learn more)
* New -- Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Basemap shows 3D shaded terrain features (Learn more)
* New -- Faster 333 Mhz processor offers faster, smoother map drawing and vehicle icon motion through turns
* New -- Redesigned user interface offers more information (Learn more)
* New -- Photo Navigation lets you upload geo-coded photos from a phone, geo-coding camera or photo site and navigate to them. (Learn more)
* New -- Add Enhanced MSN Traffic and Content with the optional GDB 55 antenna and charger (Learn more)
* New -- Send addresses directly to your Garmin from Google Maps or Mapquest (Learn more)
* New -- Automatic Time Zone Transition
* Text-to-Speech gives directions with real street names
* 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 (Learn More)


New -- Improved Interface One of Garmin's key product philosophies is to make extremely complex technology easy to use for anyone right out of the box, and perhaps nowhere is that better exemplified than in the user interface for Garmin's portable navigation devices.


Garmin's interface is a key to their success part of what 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. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with turn-by-turn voice directions, 2-D or 3-D maps and smooth map updates as you navigate.


This year, Garmin has redesigned its interface to include much more useful information.


New -- HotFix™ – aka: Satellite Ephemeris Data Prediction Your GPS device locks onto transmissions from a dedicated network of Satellites in order to determine its position. Until the device gets a "lock" on three satellites, it can't effectively navigate, so decreasing the time it takes for your device to get "satellite lock" is always a goal of GPS manufacturers. With Garmin's new HotFix technology, your Garmin GPS remembers the position of all satellites it is tracking when you turn it off, and calculates their movements in order to predict where they should be the next time you turn it on. This gives the device an idea of where it should look for satellites, and dramatically decreases the time it takes for your Garmin to get its position and start navigating. HotFix can predict satellite positions for up to 3 days after the device was last turned off.


Using Garmin’s unique Web site — Garmin Connect Photos — users can choose from millions of geo-located photos provided by Google’s Panoramio photo sharing community and download them to the nüvi for a richer navigation experience using pictures as a guide.


New -- Navigate by Photo Using Garmin’s unique Web site — Garmin Connect Photos — users can choose from millions of geo-located photos provided by Google’s Panoramio photo sharing community and download them to the nüvi for a richer navigation experience using pictures as a guide.


* Choose from Panoramio's collection of photos from around the world.
* Easy to use interface displays photos on Google Maps.
* Search for photos by location name or map area boundary.
* Transfer photos directly from Garmin Connect to device with the Garmin Communicator.
* View photos in Google Earth.
* Supports Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox 2+, Safari 3+ on Windows and Mac.


New -- 3D Terrain Maps Shaded relief terrain maps show you when to expect hills, mountains, forests and other natural features. Topographic terrain maps are viewable when using the 2D "birds-eye" view.


New -- Send Addresses Directly from Google Maps or Mapquest tching to try out a new restaurant, or setting off on a road trip to locate the best toffee apples on the east coast? Now, it's easy to search for locations on Google Maps or Mapquest, then transfer the addresses directly to your Garmin GPS navigator.


1. Hook up your Garmin to the computer via it's USB port
2. Search for the location you want
3. Click the Send link in the info window for the address. That will bring up a popup "Send to" form.
4. Pick GPS, then pick Garmin and hit the "Send" button.


The address will instantly transfer to your Garmin device, The point will be saved as one of your favorites, and you can navigate to it or view it on a map just like with any other favorite.


The process does require a small plugin, which you can get at Garmin's website at http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=3739. You can send business addresses to your Garmin device from these countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.


Traffic-Capable for Either FM Traffic or Enhanced MSN Direct Content MSN Direct Enhanced Traffic and Content With an optional receiver, you can access enhanced dynamic content from the MSN Direct service. Check the weather, avoid traffic backups, compare local gas prices, get enhanced movie listings, stock information, news and local events when you travel with your unit. Even plan trips from the convenience of your computer, via Windows Live Local, and wirelessly send custom to your nüvi.


Check out a full description of MSN Direct content features, or a coverage map for MSN Direct services.


A 3-month subscription to MSN Direct is included with the receiver. After that, subscription fees are $49.95 per year, or $129.95 for a lifetime subscription.


FM Traffic With an optional receiver, you can get alerts from TMC Clear Channel about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you'll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you're forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nüvi's sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time.


In most areas, TMC Clear Channel traffic broadcasts are continuous — there's no waiting for scheduled traffic news updates or random alerts. Because traffic broadcasts are received via a "silent" FM data channel, you can still listen to music or news programming on your car radio without interference from incoming FM traffic data transmissions.


A 3-month subscription to TMC Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network is included with the receiver. For more information on subscription fees, coverage in individual cities, and traffic data networks in the United Kingdom and Europe, check the Garmin website.


Where Am I? On any nüvi (including this one), you can just tap "Where Am I?" to find the closest hospitals, police stations, fuel stations, nearest address and intersection. Also see your exact latitude and longitude coordinates.


First-Rate Map Data The nüvi comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps for all of North America, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, including a hefty POI database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. Garmin gets its map data from NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.


In addition, nüvi 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 Important note about map updates: Due to our high volume of sales, almost every Garmin portable GPS navigator sold by Amazon.com will come with the most recent map version. If you ever do need a map update, you can purchase one from Amazon.com at our Garmin Store.


Garmin Lock Garmin's patent pending theft prevention system that disables the unit from performing any functions until the user types in a specific 4-digit PIN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location


Beyond Navigation Navigation is just the beginning. The nüvi 2x5 models features travel tools including a JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more.


This device is compatible with optional content plug-ins available via microSD card, such as the Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide provide detailed data for attractions and information on nearby merchants offering discounts, so you can customize nüvi for your travel needs. For Accessory Map Cards and Travel Guides the Units Feature: a MicroSD Card Slot on the 3.5 inch Units, and an SD Card Slot on the 4.3 inch Units.


Garmin has also added the ability for customers to add custom points of interest (POI’s) from third parties such as school zones and safety cameras.


Trick Your GPS Ride All Garmin nüvis support configurable vehicle icons. These fun, customized car-shaped icons come in a variety of colors to add a personal touch to your vehicle's position on the map.

Product Details
  • 3.5-inch Touch Screen Navigation with Turn by Turn spoken Directions
  • Pre-loaded Maps for all North America, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico with 6.5 million searchable points of interest
  • FM Traffic or MSN Direct Traffic/Content compatible (with optional GDB 55 receiver)
  • Easy to Use Interface; slim, pocket-sized form factor; 4-hour rechargeable battery; Vehicle power cable included;
  • Automatically Adjusts Your Time Zone While Navigating

Video Reviews
No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews
Don't pay more, this has everything you need
 
Review Date: October 2, 2008
Reviewer: George Rausch, Los Angeles, CA USA
Let me set the scene for you: I arrive in Los Angeles at the airport, turn on my GPS system and instantly am ready to navigate. I then spend two days driving around Los Angeles not knowing where anything is located and haven't gotten lost once...

The nuvi 255, as in my review title, is everything you need. Don't spend more because you think you'll need to talk for navigation or that you want to connect to some navigation service or whatever else they're selling. This is a small, FAST, device that you can easily carry with you when it isn't in your car. And folks, that's part of a portable GPS system: you can take it with you so it doesn't get stolen.

I will give the following heads-up. The first time you calibrate the GPS system, it may take up to 10 MINUTES. Be patient, stand in a large open field, and don't move the device. Just let it sit. After that initial setup, you'll be walking on sunshine. Second, charging the device is easy. All you need is a standard USB cable that is used for most electronics. The downside, it doesn't show a progress bar on the screen as to when a charge is complete. Third, when you turn it on, make sure you have clear views of the sky from all directions. Otherwise, the system may not initialize properly. Plus, if you're in a city with tall buildings, you may be out of luck for getting signal (i.e. NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago). Normally, the difficultly comes from initially turning it on. After that, it's great.

This device is FAST in recalculating routes. Mere seconds and boom, you're back on track. No downtime whatsoever. This is really amazing.

You are given the option of navigation as a pedestrian or in a car. That is really great if you're on foot. You can easily switch between the two.

NOW... my word of advice. SPEND THE MONEY to get the 255 with the "text-to-speech." When you're driving in traffic in an unfamiliar place, you don't want to have to constantly look over to read the street names on the device then find them on the street. It is worth the extra cash.

All-in-all, I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. As I said to a friend today, it isn't often that I buy a piece of electronics equipment and have my expectations met and surpassed. As I continue to use it, new things continue to amaze me.
Job Well Done
 
Review Date: September 15, 2008
Reviewer: AC, Illinois 60142
I purchased the Nuvi 255 as a replacement for my Nuvi 350. There is nothing wrong with the 350Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech. The 255Garmin Nuvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator has safety features I want which include "Where Am I" that gives your location by street address, city, state, zip code, nearest intersection and coordinates. This is important in an emergency in a strange and/or unfamiliar location. Another safety feature is the display of the posted speed limit directly above your actual speed. This helps to avoid tickets and reminds one about safe driving.

Other improvements include a brighter clearer display, revised touch screen graphics, an arrow indicating direction of next turn and a TTS voice that sounds like a real person instead of an elocution professor.

The 255 also has a world clock, unit converter, calculator and photo
display.

In closing, I saved the best feature for last--the GPS function is fast, flawless and exact.
Worthy successor to the 260
 
Review Date: September 27, 2008
Reviewer: d-18v, USA
My son, who does not drive, wanted a GPS because most of his friends, who DO drive, don't have one. He thinks of it, along with some gas money, as his contribution to the trip. Since it was dad's money paying for it, I decided to give him my nuvi 260 so that I could get a 255 with its ability to make use of traffic information. (I've just ordered the receiver and will report on that aspect later.)

I'm not quite sure how to review a GPS. The 255 makes the fourth GPS in out family. The others are the Garmin nuvi 200, 260, 260w. Since there are so many makes and models on the market and few people will own multiple GPSs, the most helpful information would be areas in which a particular unit was found to be lacking. I've never found any of these units to be lacking. Other than the well reported difficulties they sometimes have locating satellites (the 255 seems a bit better in this regard), there's nothing about the Garmins that would make me want to try a different brand.

People debate about the 255's voices. Many prefer the 260's voices. My wife is one of them. I find the 255's voices similar to the 260's, except that I miss Emily. She and I have grown close over the months we've been together, but, alas, she was unable to make the jump to the 255. The format of the voice files must have changed. The .vpm files on the 260 are 10+kb, where those on the 255 are about 2kb and Emily was not offered as a download. So, Emily is no more. She was not included on the 255 and I could not get the voice file from the 260 to work on the 255.

I find pluses and minuses to the new interface. I'm not fond of the speed function because it takes up a lot of real estate and isn't reliable. I traveled Route 119 from Route 2 in Acton, MA, to Route 495 in Littleton, a main drag. The speed limit varies from a high of 50 to a low of 25, but the 255 showed a constant 45, so I would not rely on the 255 to warn me of speed traps.

I DO like the new distance and direction of turn indicator. It's convenient seeing the arrow indicating the direction of the turn right next to the distance indicator.

I do NOT like the new way the keypad changes from upper to lower case after the first character of a name is entered.

I WISH there were an option for a QWERTY keyboard layout.

I WISH Garmin would allow zip code entry in addition to City and State.

About 30 seconds after the 260's on/off switch is placed in the lock position, the screen dims and the voice goes silent. This is a very convenient way to silence the unit when traveling a well known road and bringing it back with a minimum of fuss when needed. On the 255, the screen goes dim, but the voice is no longer silent. It's necessary to go through menus to make the unit quiet. This means that there is no longer an easy way to silence the 255 since pressing menus is too dangerous to attempt when the car is moving.

But the quibbles are minor. They're not enough to make me remove a star.

Garmin makes a fine, accurate unit. I've stopped all but the most cursory glances at maps prior to making trips. I'm happy to let the unit send me on its merry way. (There's a movie here where someone figures out how to reprogram GPSs, luring victims into out of the way places. "Dear, are you sure the way to the mall is through the cemetary?") Just last night it showed me a new way to a place I'd been visiting for years and never used the GPS to guide me because I knew the way there. (Ah, so *that's* where that road goes!)

Now, if only I could figure a way to get Emily back...

Added in edit: Another thing I REALLY LIKE about the 255 over the 260...
When you're driving down the road, the title bar of the 260 will often say something like "Continuing on Route nnn". On that same stretch of road, the title bar of the 255 will have the name of the next turn/exit/route. That is, once you're where you're supposed to be, the 255 immediately displays the name of the next road.
Everything you need in a GPS
 
Review Date: October 3, 2008
Reviewer: George Varghese, Chicago, IL United States
This is the fourth GPS that I have tried. Initially I had the VZ Navigator system from verizon. It's a phone GPS and works very well. However, I had to discard that after I moved from Verizon.

Then I got the top rated Nuvi Garmin 350. Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech When I started using it, I realized that its navigation features where inferior to VZ navigator. I was surprised that a dedicated GPS had less features than a phone GPS. Few things that annoyed me with nuvi 350.
1) It wouldn't show the distance or direction of next turn. I had to press the turn list, everytime I needed to check the distance to next turn. Also, since the direction of turn is not shown in advance, you could endup on the wrong lane before the turn.
2) The arrival time shown on the display would not take into account the time zone. If you travel a lot between time zones, you are always forced to calculate the actual arrival time using the time shown on the display.
3) It wouldn't remember the last entered city. You have to re-enter the city, everytime you enter an address.

The only thing 350 had better than the phone gps was the bigger display. Anyway, my 350 got stolen recently. I was half happy that I could get a new GPS. I researched a little bit and figured that the Tomtom One 130S TomTom ONE 130S 3.5-Inch Touchscreen Portable GPS Navigator did not have any of the annoyances of nuvi 350. It would always display the direction and distance to the next turn. I liked the compact mounting setup of Tomtom very much. Also, the voice instructions were very clear although many reviewers had complained about voice quality. However, I was forced to return the GPS due to one major flaw. The voice instructions and the directions were not correct!!! When I had to go westbound, the GPS would instruct me to take the ramp to Eastbound direction. This happened on two instances and I decided enough is enough.

Doing some further research, I figured that garmin has introduced a new model that fixes all of the shortcomings of nuvi 350. I have used it for about 2 weeks and I am very happy with the purchase. Although some reviewers have complained about the voice quality, I havn't had any difficulty in understanding the voice instructions. Apart from fixing the annoyances mentioned above, it also has some nice additional features.
1) Faster GPS lock
2) Speed limit display
3) Internal antenna and slimmer profile; so easy to store in pocket.

Overall nuvi 255 is the ideal GPS, atleast for now :-)
Great entry level GPS
 
Review Date: November 21, 2009
Reviewer: Eve G., Upstate New York
My love affair with GPSes.
I owned a nuvi 200 3.5" GPS, which worked perfectly well. My GPS mainly functions as a paper map substitute. I don't use any of the other features, like Points of Interest, traffic reports, photos, currency converter.

A new series!
I considered upgrading when I found out Garmin redesigned some of the screens on the 2x5 units. I was tossed between the nüvi 205 or nüvi 255. The 255 has spoken street names. I didn't want the Wide versions, because I heard those don't show more map area; they're just the same amount of map stretched on a larger screen. The 3.5 screen is plenty big for me, and small enough to be conveniently portable in a bag or a pocket.

Reconditioned snobbery.
I bought a factory reconditioned nuvi 255 for the price of a new 205. If it weren't for the white box (the new units come in a black box), I could not tell the reconditioned unit apart from a new one. It was pristine and worked perfectly, and came with the normal accessories. Based on this experience, I would not hesitate to buy another Garmin reconditioned item.

The new screen interfaces are a nice improvement over the old one. Go to Youtube and check out some side by side comparisons, if you're interested.

Things that seemed to improve from the 2x0 to the 2x5 models:
- 255 fixed on satellites much easier indoors. The 200 used to not find satellites when I turned it on inside the house.
- 255 satellite acquisition time is much faster, within 10 seconds. The 200 used to take upwards of a few minutes.

Features I like:
- I thought I wouldn't need it, but having spoken street names is nice.
- "where am I" feature shows me my long/lat and nearest emergency services.
- Garmin Garage. Free download from Garmin. It's a stupid cutesy thing, but I can modify the little vehicle to one that suits my mood.

Features I don't care for:
- There is no quick mute button. It takes at least three taps to mute sound.
- I can modify a path, by adding a waypoint, but I can't easily force it to take the road I want.
- On the 200 it was "Where To" - "Favorites". On the 255, Favorites got demoted to the next screen, and needs an extra tap. It would be nice if I could change the order of my frequently used functions.

Features I don't use/don't need:
- music
- bluetooth
- traffic reports
- maps outside of North America. I'm not a jetsetter.
- currency calculator
- Ecoroute

Feature I would like, if I won the lottery:
- Lane assist, it's in the spendy nuvi models.

One free map update.
I bought this reconditioned unit in 10/2009. It came with map version North America NT 2010.10. I downloaded their program then loaded the unit with the new map. My update to the latest version NT 2010.20 took about 1.5 hours total, and not several overnight hours I've read about. Maybe mileage varies with internet connection speed.

Neoprene case.
This isn't a review of the unit, but I thought I'd throw this in to help anyone looking for a suitable case. Ever since my first nuvi, I've searched for a proper fitting neoprene case. Garmin's official case is leather, open on one side, and spendy. This camera case fits just right.

Dolica SM-98305BK sold at the big O for $4.99 plus shipping. Internal dimensions are 4.1"x3"x0.8". External dimensions are 4.6" x 3.3" x 1.45". This will fit all of the 3.5" 2xx and 3xx series nuvis.

Mount.
I don't know anyone who owns a Garmin, use the sticky disk supplied in the package. Sticking the disk permanently to my dash is out of the question. I recommend the HandStands Sticky Pad GPS Dash Mount. Sleek, low profile and moveable.

External Links

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • YahooMyWeb
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • TwitThis
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • Pownce
  • MySpace

Related posts:

  1. Garmin nüvi 260 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
  2. Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
  3. Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
  4. Garmin nüvi 500 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
  5. Garmin nüvi 1250 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • •

Filed under: Garmin Nuvi

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!