0ur opinion:

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Garmin's nüvi 200W combines the thin profile and attractive price point of other nüvi 200-series GPS with and a beautiful 4.3-inch (diagonally) wide touchscreen that lets you see more of what's around you as you drive. As with all nüvis, you get Garmin reliability, the fast satellite lock of a high-sensitivity integrated receiver, a slim, pocket-sized navigator with a gorgeous display, detailed NAVTEQ maps that lets  you search by name for more than 6 million points of interest like stores, restaurants or hospitals, and an easy, intuitive interface.

Which nüvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators.

Wider screen lets you see more of what's around. Compare these actual size views of a 3-inch (diagonal) screen and a 4.3-inch diagonal widescreen

The nüvi 260W comes preloaded with maps for U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and features an  ultra-slim design.

See More of What's Around
The 4.3-inch backlit widescreen touchscreen 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
nüvi is built with a high-sensitivity 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 nüvi 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.



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 PlN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location



First Rate Map Data
nüvi comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps for the continental United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, including a hefty database of more than 6 milliong points of interest (P0ls), such as hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more, that are searchable by name or category. 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. ln addition, the nüvi accepts custom (P0ls), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming P0ls




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







Easy To Use lnterface
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.





Beyond Navigation

Browse your stored pictures with an easy-to-use JPEG viewer.

nüvi 260W accepts custom points of interest (P0ls). View larger.

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




This device is compatible with optional content plug-ins available via SD 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.




Garmin has also added the ability for customers to add custom points of interest (P0l’s) from third parties such as school zones and safety cameras.








Trick Your GPS Ride

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

All 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.

What's in the Box
nüvi 200W, preloaded City Navigator NT for the continental U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (no Alaska or Canada detail), vehicle suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, dashboard disk, and set up and go guide


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

Which nüvi is Best for You?


Note: All nüvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.

	Screen Size inches (w x h)	lncluded Maps			Text-to-Speech (Directions in Real Street Names)	Traffic	Bluetooth	Media	FM Transmitter (audio through car stereo system)	Multi- Point Routing	Battery life (hours)
		Cont. U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico	AK and Canada	Europe
nüvi 200	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 200w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 250	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 250w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 260	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 260w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 270	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 350	2.8 x 2.1					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 360	2.8 x 2.1					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 370	2.8 x 2.1					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 650	3.81 x 2.25					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 660	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 670	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 680	3.81 x 2.25					MSN (receiver included; 1-year free); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 750	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 760	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 770	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 780	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free) receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 850	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 880	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 5000	4.5 x 2.7					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)					external battery only

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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating:

Buyer's feedback: - * great value for the price ...
Great value for the price. Right at $203 with shipping. Works great. I don't need the extra options of the more expensive models. Don't need the suction cup for my windsheild, just let it set on my cup holder.

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Buyer's feedback: - worthwhile when I'm lost
First of all, I should tell you that I've never owned or used any other GPS units before, so I have no real frame of reference for comparison. Also I've only been using it for about a week, so I can't claim that this is an expert review. Anyway, I picked the Garmin nuvi 200W based mostly on the nice wide screen and relatively low price. The setup was very easy, and it is not difficult to use the basic features. The manual is not very helpful beyond learning the basics however, and I've been a bit disappointed with the support available on the Garmin website. I've found the Garmin great for going places when I have no clue how to get there. Often I've tried it when I think I have a pretty good idea as to the best route though, and I often end up disagreeing with the Garmin in these instances. "Exit right," it says..."I don't think so," says I, as I keep going straight, "recalculating...exit right in 1.2 miles," it tells me. It can go on like this for for quite a while, with me ignoring the advice and getting a little annoyed with the repetetive voice. Most times I don't doubt that it is giving me a valid route from A to B, but when I'm in a hurry to get 12 miles north of Atlanta and it's telling me to get off the expressway (which I know will take me straight to my destination) while I'm still downtown, I can't help but doubt the logic. Maybe when I have more time to explore I'll check out some of the seemingly peculiar local routes it suggests, or learn to make it give me alternate routes based on my preferences (I'm pretty sure this can be done, but haven't learned how...the manual doesn't help much in this respect). I haven't experienced too many of the problems mentioned by other reviewers, such as it listing destinations on the wrong side of the road, but there is at least one point on the expressway where I know I need to be in one of the left 4 lanes, and it tells me to keep right. Despite these complaints, I really do enjoy using this GPS unit and think it has a lot of value in cases where I really have no idea how to get where I am going. It wasn't hard to figure out how to use it to find nearby stores, hotels, banks, etc., and for the most part I've found it fun to use. Although I have my doubts on the wisdom in some of its suggested routes, I beleive that it is reliable for the most part. I will post an update to this review later if further experience should change my opinion.

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Buyer's feedback: - * 4.3\" Nuvi Touch-Screen ...
Great product! I use it almost every time I get into my SUV now. The preloaded maps are "fairly" accurate. It doesn't have an MP3 play, nor can you watch TV while driving ;) lol. It's just a good wide touch screen GPS without all the extra and pointless craptaculur features, at a fairly inexpensive price. Excellent Product!

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Buyer's feedback: - Very good GPS unit. Worth every penny.
I use my Garman nuvi 200W every day and love it. I have had it for about 2 months now. It works great and the price is right. Garman makes some real good GPS units and this is one of them.

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Buyer's feedback: - * TomTom 4.3 Clearly Superior to Garmin Nuvi 200 XL 4.3 ...
I just took a 1800 mile trip in late April 2008 with my son using his TomTom 4.3 and have just returned from a 1400 mile May 2008 trip using the Nuvi 2000 4.3 XL. I do not know anyone with either company and do not have any financial or other stake in either company. The entry level TomTom does EVERYTHING the entry level Garmin 200 does, but much better. The comparison:

1. Garmin does not notify about turns early enough. TomTom's notification comes early enough to allow you to make the needed lane changes or turns.
2. Voice quality and visual quality on screen is very good in both.
3. TomTom's search for hotels, restaurants, gas stations, other services is easier and more accurate. Several of the restaurants in Garvin's database have been closed for 5 years or longer. TomTom will list hotels/restaurants/ gas stations by exit or location. Garvin only says how many miles away from the restaurant. Garvin does allow you to search for a specific type of restaurant (Mexican, Japanese, etc., but it actually listed restaurants from 43 to 2010 miles away on one search and did not list any of several restaurants that were nearby. Both list a limited number of restaurants even though many more are nearby.
4. The Garmin will kill your car battery quickly if you run it without the engine running. TomTom does not cause the same problem.
5. The TomTom will give very accurate speed, mileage and time to destination. The Garmin only gives the miles to destination.
6. Both units do okay in city or on the highway. However, the Garmin does not know about a lot of roads and exits that have been built in the last 4-5 years.
7. I could go on, but you get the picture. I read lots of reviews on the Internet all saying the Garmin was better. No way - those folks apparently looked only at the claims made by the companies because they couldn't have said those good things about the Garmin if they had tried both units out on a real road trip.