Best Garmin GPS To Buy

1) Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Actual Price: $329.99
Amazon Price: $119 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
You Save: $210.00 (64%)

Technical Details

* 4.3 Inch Auto Navigator with Anti Theft Feature
* Voice Prompted Turn by Turn Directions
* With HotFix, It Calculates Your Position Faster to Get You There Quicker
* Compatible with Optional Enhanced MSN Direct Content
* JPEG Picture Viewer, World Travel Clock, Currency Converter, Calculator & More

Most Helpful User Review about this product

by: Schultzie (Northeast PA)

I actually could not decide between the Garmin Nuvi 255w or the 750 model, so I decided to buy them both for comparison. I mounted them both to my car windshield and gave them various addresses to find together. I found that both models took the same routes and announced upcoming turns and street names at practically the same time. One thing I noticed about the 255w was that it was updating my position on the road more often, I'd say about 3 times as often as the 750. This made for smoother graphics on the 255w of the vehicle moving along displayed roads, where the 750's display was more of a "jerky" movement.

I also found that the display on the 255w was a bit brighter, clearer, and more vivid than on the 750 in both daylight and at night. Another feature I like on the 255w is the graphic turn indicator in the upper left corner, which the 750 lacks. This is a small arrow which shows upcoming turns and the distance to that turn. It also show things like a fork in the road, (ie: a Y intersection), and which fork you will be taking. The 750 just displays text on the top line for upcoming turns without the arrow. It's just a little extra feature on the 255w which I happened to really like. The 255 also automatically adjusts the font size of displayed text so that even lengthy text will fit.

Another feature on the 255w is a display of the posted speed limit on the road which you are currently on right above your current displayed speed. I found myself not even looking at my car speedometer as I could easily see my current speed and the speed limit of my route at a glance. The 750 doesn't have this feature. I also like how they moved the zoom in (+) and zoom out (-) buttons on the 255w to the same side of the screen which makes it a bit easier. On the 750 the zoom buttons are on opposite sides of the screen.

Now there are some features on the 750 that the 255w does not have. The 750 can broadcast it's sound over your FM radio with the supplied cigarette lighter cable, and it has a headphone jack, which I found to be nice features. The 750 also has an MP3 player and an Audio-book player, which the 255w does not. Another really nice feature of the 750 is the car locater. This is a great feature if you are parking in a really big lot, such as at an amusement park or a fair. The 750 marks your location when you remove it from the car, then you take it with you and it remembers where you parked and takes you right back to your car. The 255w doesn't have the car locater.

I also thought the the voice prompts of the 750 where more pleasant sounding than the 255w's. The 750 sounds more like a real female voice, where the 255w sounds more robotic.

Another thing to consider was that I paid $50 less for the 750 and it came with the FM transmitter cable and a USB cord to connect it to your computer for updates and downloads.

My final decision was to keep the 255w and return the 750 because I really liked the graphic turn indicator and the posted speed limit and current speed indicators. I didn't find a need for the 750's MP3 player and Audio book player, but that is up to personal preference. Since the USB cable was not included with the 255w, I purchased it on this site for $10. I also intend to purchase the MSN direct cable when it is available in August 2008.

Learn More About: Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

2) Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Integrated Traffic Receiver

Actual Price: $349.99
Amazon Price: $198.64 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.

Technical Details

* Bright 4.3-inch diagonal color touchscreen; 480x272 pixels, WQVGA TFT display with white backlight
* Sleek, ultra-thin design fits easily in pocket
* Preloaded with City Navigator North America NT
* Supports Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling when paired with Bluetooth-enabled cell phones
* NOTE: Model number is 265WT; however, the model number on the product itself is 265W

Helpful Customer Review about this product
By: John S. Dean "jdthird"

Spent a weekend reviewing various GPS devices to replace my less than 1 year old Mio C320 (avoid these like the plague) that had its battery die about 4 months after purchase. Went back and forth along the entire line of Garmin devices, and finally settled on this one for the blue tooth and traffic, neither of which I'll probably hardly ever use, but nice to have when I want them.

I was disappointed with the map, the "new" 2009 one, because I have some streets in my neighborhood that have been around for over four years and they're not to be found on this unit. Even the piece of junk cheap Mio had these streets.

But that's about the only downside there is to it, the only reason I haven't given it 5 stars.

Having been used to the MIO, and the horrible refresh rate, it is a pleasant change to see smooth scrolling as my vehicle moves. The ability to change the car icon is nice, especially with the plethora of icons available on the garmin website.

Accuracy is very good as well, and even in turns the unit isn't so laggy that it becomes annoying. And also unlike what I was used to with the MIO, when I come to a stop at the intersection, the map doesn't start rotating randomly on me.

Speaker is about as I expected, won't hear much over a loud stereo but crank it up enough you can at least hear it if you keep the music down a bit.

The option to easily download voices is also appreciated.

It did well with my testing of going point to point, following the instructions, and for the most part you're given the instructions in plenty of time. only once or twice did it not tell me "turn right on such and such" until I was about 20 feet from the street, but that was when I was coming up on stop signs and had slowed down, so it may be compensating for the speed factor.

Recalculation notice is a bit annoying, my MIO would say it once, sometimes this says it three times before it starts to display the alternate route.

Still has about 900MB free on the internal memory for additional voices, icons, maps, and such, and with the SD slot there's plenty of room to grow.

I have a Verizon XV6900 phone with Windows Mobile 6.1, and while the bluetooth paired well and it can see the phone status, battery power, signal, even dialed and missed call lists, it never does get the phonebook. it gets a random entry and that's it - so whenever I turn it on, I have just one user to select from, and it's different each time. Still haven't tracked that one down yet. But every other bluetooth option worked just fine.

I'm not a fan of the very thick double power cable for it though, and it would be doubly annoying (no pun intended) if I were mounting this somewhere higher up on the window to have that double cable dangling down.

I can see how the ads would get annoying sometimes (the free traffic is because it is advertising driven) but you don't get them at all if you turn off the traffic feature, and since most of my driving isn't around times that traffic is a concern, i can just leave it for when I really have a use for it.

Good response to finger input, and while the unit is overall much better quality than the MIO, I really do miss the MIO's ability to have an info pane down the last third of the screen and the map on the first two thirds of it when desired. But there's some of that info available in the data bubbles on the bottom and top so I'll survive.

Overall happy with the unit, it works well and was worth the cost.

Learn More about: Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Integrated Traffic Receiver

3) Garmin nüvi 760 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Automobile Navigator

Actual Price: $399.99
Price: $179 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
You Save: $184.00 (46%)

Technical Details

* 4.3-Inch Diagonal Touch Screen Color Display
* 480 X 272 Pixels, Wqvga Display With White Backlight
* Preloaded With City Navigator(R) North America Nt Preloaded With City Navigator(R) North America Nt Maps
* Bluetooth(R) Wireless Technology For Hands-Free Calling
* Speed Limit Indicator Displays Speed Limits For Highways & Interstates

Most Helpful Reviews about this product
By: J. Yin

I own both the Nuvi 660 and the 760, I'm writing this review for people having trouble deciding between the two as the price difference between the two products at the time of this review is about 100 dollars. I'm not going to focus on the feature differences, as that information can be easily obtained from specifications and online reviews. The 660 was a fine product back in 2005-2006, but the new 760 outdoes the 660 in practically everything, but there are some key usability fixes that make the 760 a better buy for the frequent user.

1. 760 has much better fonts for street names than the 660. This may seem like a trivial update to some, but the 760's fonts greatly improve visibility. The 660 uses all capitalized text for street names on the map, and the font is incredibly cartoonish and unaligned, something like the scribbling Comic Sans font on the PC. The 760 uses your standard Verdana-like font with street names in capitalized and lowercase letters. The fonts on the 760 are smaller, cleaner and surprisingly much easier to read while driving. The maps end up looking professional, and not some cartoony children's video game.

2. 760 has better rendering in 3D map mode than the 660. In the 660 when you are zoomed in under 3D map mode, the roads close to your car are displayed incredibly large, so large that they run into other roads, making the zoom function essentially kind of useless for dense roads. The 760 does not oversize your roads just because you zoomed in to view smaller roads in detail. This fix is very nice for those who drive in places with dense roadways, like New York City.

3. No antenna on the 760 makes hooking up your Nuvi to the cradle one step easier. On the 660 you need to flip up the antenna before attaching the cradle. For people who park their cars on the street overnight, removing the GPS from the cradle for storage in the console or glove compartment is a must, and it's a lot easier hooking up the 760 to the cradle than the 660. It's hard to aim the 660 to its cradle in the dark as you have to align both the bottom edge and the charge port under the antenna. In the 760, the charge port is directly on the bottom of the unit; you can attach it to the cradle with one hand in the dark easily on the 760.

4. It takes the 660 a good 45 seconds on average (sometimes longer than 2 minutes) after boot up to locate the satellite on a cold start. If you have firmware 2.6 installed on the 760, the satellite acquisition time after boot up is between 10-20 seconds. After the firmware update, my 760 also holds a stronger lock to the satellites than my 660, I can get satellite lock inside my house with the 760, whereas I can't get a lock with my 660 (adjusting the antenna does very little).

5. The ability to set multiple ad hoc viapoints on the 760 means it's a lot easier creating alternate routes (very handy to avoid a specific interstate or a high traffic road). Whereas the 660 gives you just one viapoint.

Learn More about: Garmin nüvi 760 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Automobile Navigator

4) Garmin nüvi 780 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct Service

Actual Price: $699.99
Amazon Price: $199.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
You Save: $500.00 (71%)

Technical Details

* GPS Navigator Preloaded w/City Navigator North America NT
* 4.3 in Diagonal Touchscreen Display with 2D/3D Mapping Perspective
* Turn by Turn Directions with Voice Guidance/ Text to Speech Feature
* Includes MSN Direct Receiver with Version 2
* 1.8 Lbs (WxLxH) 0.8" x 4.8" x 2.8"

Most Helpful User review about this product
By Robert Mattes

This is my first automobile GPS, and I did a lot of research before settling on the Garmin 780. I live in the Washington DC Metro area, so all of the extra features work here. Upon its arrival, I downloaded and installed the latest Garmin WebUpdater v.2.41 and then updated my 780 from software version 2.50 to 2.90. I also updated the Bluetooth and other firmware, along with the languages that I use. This all worked flawlessly in a Windows XP virtual machine on a Linux host. FWIW, the 780 will charge off of the supplied USB cable.

The 780 acquired the necessary satellites in just a few minutes when first activated, and does so in less than a minute for subsequent activations. I found the screen brightness to be fine for both day and night. I'm using the 780 with the Garmin Portable Friction Mount. Smashing windows and stealing GPS devices is the sport of choice in the DC Metro area, so I wanted no evidence of a GPS extant when I left the car. The friction mount works perfectly on my Honda Accord dashboard and stores easily in the center console, leaving no trace of a GPS behind. Very cool. The 780 easily fits in a shirt pocket, so it's not necessary to leave it in the car.

I tested the 780 immediately by driving during rush hour to a residence across the river in a tangle of park roads off of the beaten track, then returning at night. The Garmin had no trouble creating a very fast route to the destination that bypassed most of the heavy traffic during rush hour. On my return, I bypassed a turn on its preferred routing. It recalculated a new route in less than a second which was the exact right answer. The new route wasn't a recapture of the original route, which wasn't possible from that location, but an entirely new route. The routes it picked were appropriate for the times of day traveled, which can be a daunting task here if you don't know which roads go which direction during the appropriate rush hour. DC is a notoriously difficult area to navigate, but so far the Garmin seems up to the challenge.

I found the volume of the internal speaker to be more than adequate even with the radio, air conditioning, and windshield wipers going. Voice notifications led upcoming turns by an adequate amount, and the voice prompts always helped me get into the correct lanes in plenty of time for upcoming turns. During a particularly tricky section where several major roads converge on a bridge, then diverge on the other side, the Garmin gave almost constant appropriate guidance to ensure that I took the correct forks and turns. I was quite impressed.

The Bluetooth paired quickly with my Motorola Razr V3. It even provided its PIN code at the appropriate time. The phone functions work great and it's easy to hear over the 780 speaker. The party on the other side of the phone said that I sounded like I was in a tunnel, which is typical for remote devices for autos. I have another BT hands-free device and it garnered the same comments. The Garmin's on-screen phone cues make hands-free easy.

Activation of the MSN Direct service was simple over the Net. On initial activation of your free 3 month trial, they offer a 6-month extension for $9.95 which gets you to 9 months of service total for less than $10--a very good deal. MSN Direct information took a while to load the initial information, but then it said that in the Quick Start pamphlet. Once loaded, the traffic, weather, and news worked great. Gas prices were behind by several days, which is an eternity these days. My favorite (and cheapest) station wasn't listed.

Overall, I'm very happy with the 780. I'll be working it out heavily in the coming weeks, including on a road trip to another city with MSN Direct service. I can't believe that I waited this long to take the plunge to a GPS device for my car. Even though I'm a master with maps, the Garmin suggested a clever routing that I did not previously discover on my own. From what I've seen so far, the 780 will be a highly valued addition to my road warrior kit bag. I can recommend the 780 without reservation.

Learn More About: Garmin nüvi 780 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct Service

6) Garmin nüvi 855 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Speech Recognition

List Price: $499.99
Amazon Price: $199.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save: $300.00 (60%)

Product Dimensions: 3.9 x 0.7 x 3.1 inches ; 6.1 ounces
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
ASIN: B001OMGVII
Item model number: 010-00577-31
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (90 customer reviews)

Customers Review
By: nuvifan

This is an unusually long product review, but I just couldn't help but brag about the Nuvi 855, as well as express several complaints about Garmin shortcomings.

Pros and Cons of the Garmin Nuvi 855
PROs: Custom routing; ease of setting unit options; responsiveness to my spoken commands; quick map scrolling via finger movement; Lane Assistance arrows are helpful; map detail is better than on the 755/765; place names appear on screen as you drive; extensive and easy use-to-use Points of Interest database, and POIs can be displayed on map if you choose.

CONs: Volume needs to be louder; warnings of upcoming turns should come sooner; inadequate online manual provides insufficient detail about unit operations;; cannot actually turn unit fully OFF; Lane Assistance displays are very limited; significant learning curve required to confidently program ANY Garmin to respond as the user intends.

Primary GPS Purpose and Recent Nuvi Ownership
I highly recommend the Nuvi 855, but my perspective is primarily based on three road trips, using its Custom Routing feature, plus recent experience with two other Nuvis. My main purpose was to create specific routes before trips, such as eight driving days averaging 500 miles each, on unfamiliar highways and city streets (and also finding McDonalds when we wanted). I have benefited tremendously from the unusual experience of using a Garmin 760 for a month last year, then recently driving 4,000 miles with a more advanced 755...but returned it to get this outstanding value in an 855. I have since used the 855 on a one week trip (and fully expect the bulk of its features to work as they have on the earlier 760 and 755).

We do not need Bluetooth (due to our pre-installed car option), nor the free Traffic alert service (found it mostly useless in 755), nor the 3-D buildings or Eco Route features in other Garmins. Perhaps commuters would enjoy the Traffic service in other Nuvis, but our limited highway trip experience found it alerted unnecessarily, and offered unhelpful detour advice: We thought it an interesting gimmick, but which Garmin may well improve over time.

Low Volume
Many reviewers complain the 855 volume is so low as to warrant returning their units. Actually, low volume may be the most common complaint seen online among all Nuvis. My wife and I agree that volume on the 760/755/855 is too low, but we have never missed a turn because of it: We usually anticipate when an important voice instruction is coming, and turn down the stereo and close windows to "listen harder." It's a slight inconvenience, but that main flaw is worth overlooking. Everyone should be certain to check both possible "Volume" settings: the main one should be at 100% volume, but also set "Mixer" to have all three volume adjustments at 100%. One other learned trick is that users can press the "Next Turn" arrows (upper left corner), and hear again the upcoming turn instruction, as well as have it display the upcoming intersection at the same time. [I almost always check the "next turn" instruction well before upcoming turns; I also find it helpful to press the green text line at the top of the map screen to display a summary of several upcoming turns on my route. This practice should prove useful with many other Nuvi models.]

Low volume is a distinct Garmin flaw, but we enjoyed the 755 for 4,000 miles despite it. We usually had some wind noise with the sunroof and rear windows open, but would close them (IF necessary) when we anticipated receiving an instruction, such as at the .8 mile mark before a turn; we frequently pressed the screen to re-hear an instruction, as well as to view the turn well beforehand. I urge others to work to overcome the volume issue...and move on to enjoy all the other benefits of an 855. We believe the 855 volume is just as usable as our previous units. However, I do intend to download a popular voice editor, which other Nuvi owners have bragged about, because it lets them increase the volume of spoken instructions.

Learn & Read More Reviews: Garmin nüvi 855 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Speech Recognition

7) Garmin nüvi 755/755T 4.3 Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic

List Price: $549.99
Amazon Price: $222.79
You Save: $327.20 (59%)

Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.8 x 3 inches ; 6.4 ounces
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.

Item model number: NUVI 755T
Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (166 customer reviews)

Product Reviews

Good job Garmin, By: Dan L. Nichols

I'll address what was my biggest apprehension in going for an ad based, free traffic program. No issue! The ads are small and not at all intrusive. My eyes never were pulled in a way that was a distraction. I can even envision the few occasions that it might even benefit both the advertiser and the user. If you think about it ... newspaper, radio, internet, TV ... advertising is very much a part of our culture and in this case very tastefully done.

Before further review, good grief ... now I sound like a sports caster; I should say that I've owned GPS units forever. Started with laptop programs then I started buying all of my vehicles with factory GPS. Acura, Toyota's (two of em) over the years have all been GPS equipped. I travel a lot for work and it was just more convenient to own stand alone portable units when I rent auto's. Magellan and Garmin were my last two portable units. I'm not a nerd or engineer so I'll give this my best shot and hope the average Jill and Joe will get something out of this.

Next, I'll talk about routing and traffic. Garmin (in my opinion) has always been rock solid in terms of routing. With this unit they have taken the art to a new level. I looked at the new TomTom with its smart routing and almost pulled the trigger on that unit but, with what happened today I am not one bit sorry with my choice. This morning I had to make deliveries to a number of Lowe's Home Improvement stores in the Metro Phoenix, AZ market. I went to the "Points of interest" icon typed in Lowe's and after a short wait was rewarded with all of the Lowes stores in the area. I touch on each one and saved it to a sub category I made (Lowes Metro Phoenix), gave each their appropriate store number (the search came complete with address and phone) and then scheduled my day. From home to the factory first, then to four stores, then back to the factory. During the day I had to insert another unscheduled stop. Fantastic! If I could have asked for any improvement here it would have been that each way point was somehow shown as I progressed. It did announce my arrival at each location complete with what side of the street it would be on; in the long run I am so happy with the result that I couldn't bring myself to diminish the 5 star rating. Also, at each stop when I turned the car off the unit powered down. When I got back in the car I needed to go to the "custom routes" icon, where I built my route, and touch the button to activate my named route. Garmin, if that could be automatic I would love it ... and maybe down the road I'll learn something that I don't yet know and this unit is capable. Honestly, it was so quick and easy and the routing picked up right where it left off so not a big deal to me. Traffic probably should have its own paragraph except it ties into the routing. I understand that this is dependent on how your town is covered. Even here in Phoenix only the major highways are covered. I submit that if you need to travel inner belts and outer belts as well as the highways in and out of your towns you will be very pleased. I watched the traffic icon turn from green to yellow to red and back again as road conditions changed. The icon showed how long the delay would be and if you touch it, it shows where and how far away! Garmin gave me the option to bypass each delay but when I answered yes with the touch of the button it reminded me that my route had been optimized including all other options ... with the delay it still had me on the quickest route. Because I had multiple destinations it kept me posted to the delays even in the opposite directions when my routing would require back tracking.

There was slow downs along the way and one accident and I was notified well in advance. With the accident, I passed the location about 15 minutes after notification. It was minor and had already been moved to the side of the highway yet I could see the remnants of broken head-lights in the lane it happened. I was prepared to be disappointed with the traffic because not all the traffic reviews are complimentary. Again, I tend to feel where you live and the roads you travel could affect your opinion. For me, I would add extra stars here if I could. It amazed me when it routed me a different way from the factory to my house (different from the one I took in the morning) because the road conditions were different. It was right on based on years of living and driving these roads.

The Voice and the timeliness of prompts were strong. I tried all the voices and ended up with Australian Karen. She is very understandable in "text to speech" and very pleasant. Even my wife likes her ... I'd like to meet Australian Karen someday but she wouldn't give me her phone number ... like my wife would like her if she did! With my Magellan I liked the way it would ding just before the turn. This Garmin announces the turn and the timing was very comparable to the Magellan and that is a good thing. Some of the previous Garmin models had problems in this area if you read the posts. Also, loudness with the unit on external speaker was OK to Good, I'd like to see it a touch louder for times when road noise or blasting AC is an issue. I have not tried piping it with FM to my radio and probably won't.

On my wish list to Garmin (you think they read these?), I'd like to see a little more information around the edges of the screen. You can program the "arrival time" button for things like altitude, time of day, direction of travel and many more, but you can't program the "speed button" for anything. I'd like to see my altitude ... just for giggles, and my ETA. Who needs the time with clocks in the car & on every cell phone? Who needs to know how fast you are going with a speedometer in every car? I would also like to know the street I'm currently on. Sometimes you can see it depending on how you are zoomed to the map but sometimes not. I'd also like to know what direction I'm traveling in without hitting another button or giving up my ETA or 3d view. The speed limit of each street is a fantastic thing to have especially when your in areas you don't know or rural roads that go for miles without a sign. I can tell you that when the speed limit changed as I entered different zones the changes were very accurate in their timing.

The last thing for today's review is lane guidance. I went thru some pretty major interchanges today and not once did I see the Navagon style or Garmin advertised type of full screen preview. Again, I'll see if there is a setting I missed or I will just have to live with what I've got for awhile. I understand that Garmin will be adding to their data base as they go along. What I did see though was plenty good. The "distance to turn" indicator in the upper left corner of the screen listed with arrows how many lanes to the interchange and which lanes you should be in. It also listed the lanes not to be in as you transitioned from one highway ramp onto another highway. It was good to have advance notice that the right lane would not continue and you needed to move left before it got crowded.

I'd say buy this unit and help me find Karen!

I have had no reset issues and use the unit 6 to 8 hours per day. This is not to say it hasn't been an issue with others though.

Learn More: Garmin nüvi 755/755T 4.3 Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic