Garmin nuvi 250
Written by Zoe Hellar Tuesday, 26 August 2008 02:17
The Garmin nuvi 200 series is the latest offering in the highly successful nuvi product line, and is targeted at the budget conscious consumer who is looking for basic navigation without all the bells and whistles of the higher end nuvi's. The nuvi 250 ships with pre-loaded NAVTEQ maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, has a 3.5-inch color touch screen display, turn-by-turn guidance, 6 million Points of Interest (POI) database, photo viewer, calculator, currency converter, unit converter, and a world clock.
The map screen is arguably the most important screen of any GPS, as it's the screen that communicates the GPS' most essential feature: telling you where to go. The map screen has been updated slightly on the nuvi 200-series. Figure 21 shows a side-by-side comparison between the nuvi 200 and 300 series map screens (note that the 600 series nuvi's use the same screen as the 300, just in wide-screen format).
Compared to previous nuvi map screens, the 200-series screen is slightly more refined; the anti-aliasing has been improved, creating smoother lines along the map; icons have received a slight 3D bevel-effect treatment; zoom icons have been made slightly bigger, and the color scheme has been updated.
Perhaps the most significant change to the map screen is the use of a different font in the text bar across the top of the screen. The new font more closely mirrors the font used on actual street signs, and is easier to see from the driver's seat than the font used on previous nuvi's
nuvi 250's updated map screen is an improvement over previous nuvi. Those familiar with Garmin's map screen will find everything where they expect (everything still functions the same way and is in the same position as it was on previous nuvi's/SteetPilots), but the visual presentation has been enhanced slightly. Let's hope the rest of the Garmin nuvi product line gets the new, updated map screen in the next firmware update.
Garmin nuvi 200 Reviews
GPSmagazine has written a comprehansive review and states;
"Pros
- Unparalleled ease of use
- New internal antenna makes for an overall slimmer GPS, and no longer requires the fold-out style antenna used on previous nuvi units (there's also fewer moving parts to break)
- Garmin is a mature company and everything here just works the way it's supposed to. No unpleasant surprises, or buggy code. Software feels well tested and thoughtfully implemented
- Improved 3D angle on map screen over previous nuvi's - easier to see where to turn
- High performance GPS receiver
- Excellent windshield mount
- Hardware feels more rugged than previous Garmin nuvi's
- Slightly updated map screen maintains nuvi's ease of use, but adds some nice refinements (i.e. slight bevel effect on the arrival time and next turn indicators)
- Same large POI database as more expensive nuvi 300/600 series units
- Same NAVTEQ powered mapping data as more expensive nuvi 300/600 series units
- Same excellent routing engine as other Garmin nuvi/StreetPilot units
- Ability to see a list of all maneuvers (Turn List) before you start driving
- Updated documentation is less verbose, easier to understand than previous Garmin manuals
- Mapping data is stored in memory rather than a hard disk, making the unit very lightweight and less susceptible to hard disk failure or damage from dropping
- Fast boot/shutdown times
- Overall zippy and responsive to use
- Respectable battery life (5 hours)
- Ability to route to lat/long coordinates
Cons
- Expensive
- No text-to-speech
- Garmin's maps are getting long in the tooth; the current shipping maps (although still better than TomTom's maps) are several years old, and in need of an update. Garmin will release updated maps soon, but there won't be a free upgrade for customers who buy now. Expect to pay around $100 for the updated maps
- Sometimes the nuvi waits too long to reroute if you miss a turn - this is especially annoying at complex intersections
- Route simulation mode only operates at 1x speed; no way to accelerate the simulator
- POI's not as complete as Magellan's POI database
- Only supports a single waypoint, or stop, along a route. No real multi-destination support
- Screen slightly less bright compared to other nuvi's
- Same price as the nuvi 350, but the 250 lacks text-to-speech, and cannot use a traffic receiver
Take a good long look at any of Garmin's recent products and it's no surprise why Garmin is the number one GPS manufacturer in the world (by a significant margin).
The nuvi 250 is another home run for Garmin, as the company continues to deliver highly refined, easy to use products that consumers love. Garmin's combination of hardware design, routing logic, and user interface is as good as I've seen, and so far proven unbeatable by the competition.
Despite being billed as an entry-level nuvi, the 250 actually improves upon some critical features, such as the updated map screen, address input interface., and more solid construction. The nuvi 250 combines the StreetPilot c550's ease of use with nuvi's elegant styling, coming together to form an outstanding GPS that's highly effective, easy to use, and stylish all in one slick package. Garmin's windshield mounting hardware is excellent, as is the routing engine. The nuvi 200 is easier to use than previous nuvi's (mostly because the non-essential features have been stripped away from the interface); this is a GPS you could loan your parents, or a first-time GPS user and they would be able to use it without reading the instructions.
Unlike the nuvi 300 and 600-series nuvi's, the 200 series lacks Bluetooth, text-to-speech, traffic data, an mp3 player, travel guide features, or headphone jack. The nuvi 200's are geared purely at navigation, and don't include travel guides or extra features found on the higher end nuvi's.
The biggest problem with the nuvi 250 is the price. With an average street price of around $300, the 250 is just $70 less than the much more feature-rich nuvi 350, which sells for around $370. The higher-end nuvi 350 has a brighter screen, text-to-speech, is traffic upgradeable, and includes the various travel-related nuvi features (conversion utility, language guides, etc.).
Another price issue is that the Garmin nuvi 250W, the widescreen version of the 250 sells for just $20 more than the 250. You'd be hard pressed convincing me that the wider screen isn't worth $20 more.
If you're in the market for an easy-to-use GPS and don't need text-to-speech (TTS is a feature that lets the GPS speak actual street names instead of general turn instructions like "Turn Left") or Bluetooth, and don't want a wide-screen unit, then the 250 fits the bill. My own recommendation is to spend the extra $70 or so, and pickup the Garmin nuvi 350 instead. Or at least get the 250W for $20 more."
GPSlodge.com writes "I enjoyed using the Garmin Nuvi 250 and think that it’s a well-designed unit, with a design aesthetic that invites rolling it around in your hands. The list prices are fairly steep at this point, but I think (hope) that they will drop quickly in the market. I like the Nuvi 200 unit at the $300+ range for the summer. We will see the Nuvi 200 selling for $200 - $250 by the Holidays; it will be a door-buster special somewhere. This will certainly bring hesitant shoppers to the GPS market in droves.
The Garmin Nuvi 200/250/270 series is a good line-up that should set the bar high for performance at the value end of the market. I thought it was solid through and through, and am looking forward to seeing it on the market and people enjoying a trusted GPS device from a company like Garmin.