0ur opinion:

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Bring the ultra-cool Nvi 260 along for the ride, and arrive on time and in style. Similar to Nvi 250, Nvi 260 is attractively priced and simple to use. Plus, this sleek, slim navigator comes with turn-by-turn voice directions that announce the name of streets as you navigate, so you can keep your eyes on the road. With Nvi 260 you're just a few screen taps away from anywhere.

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Garmin's nüvi 260 combines the thin profile and attractive price point of other nüvi 200-series GPS with directions in real street names. 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.

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

Text-To-Speech
The text-to-speech feature of the nüvi 260 means that device automatically calls out street names (saying 'turn right on Main Street' instead of 'turn right in 200 feet.'). This feature lets drivers keep their eyes on the road while navigating through busy traffic and tricky roadways.

Smart, Powerful Design
The nüvi 260W 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



Navigate with Ease
The nüvi 260 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty P0l 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. ln addition, the nüvi 260 accepts custom points of interest (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. nüvi 260 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

Like all nüvis, the 260 supports 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.



With this GPS system on board you'll be prepared to steer clear of traffic with the integrated FM TMC traffic receiver. The nüvi 260W is designed to receive alerts 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.














What's in the Box
nüvi 260, 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.




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

Piece Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating:

Buyer's feedback: - * GREAT GPS!! ...
This is by far the best GPS I ever had! Besides the text to speech function, which is great, it works flawlessly.
Doesn't have any problem locking on to a signal, as a matter of fact it took a few seconds, it has SO many points of interest, dinning, recreation, shopping, travel, just to name a few, this puts my previous GPS to shame.
For $199 you can't go wrong with the Garmin Nuvi 260. I didn't have any problems with the suction cup not sticking to the windshield, like other reviewers, and it doesn't leave a circle either on the windshield.
It also comes with a dash mount which I think I will use so my vision is 100% clear, sometimes having a device on your windshield can obstruct your view slightly.

The one and only negative thing I will say about this GPS is it doesn't come with a home charger, you must buy that separately, but it does come with a car adapter, but who wants to charge it in their car.
But since this only costs $199, I'm not complaining.

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Buyer's feedback: - Not quite perfect, but a great navigation aid
My first GPS, purchased for a 2-week vacation trip to an unfamiliar area. Found this to be extremely helpful, interface in general well developed and easy to use, 3 1/2 inch display was plenty, though if the wider display provides some of the additional controls discussed below, would be better. Plenty large map display for use, easy to read most of the time, clear voice instructions.

Greatest aid - instructions like "in one half mile take exit 130, on left, to U.S. route 28, then turn right." Giving detailed instructions for how to get through complex unfamiliar interchanges avoids lots of u-turns and 10-to-30-minute delays doubling back to get in the right place, and provides instant notice that you've taken the wrong turn if you do happen to.

Very useful to have the big database of points of interest - could find an ATM or place to eat, buy groceries easily near current location or destination.

I recommend the friction mount Garmin Portable Friction Dashboard Mount for Nüvi Series and StreetPilot C5XX Series GPS Navigators (C530, C550 and C580). This mount worked very well, easiest way to remove the unit and mount when you want to.

Recommended, in spite of the shortcomings listed below.

Missing:
(1) Can't program multiple waypoints for trips where you're visiting lots of places not in a quickest route to the end point, so doesn't estimate trip time accurately until the last waypoint is entered, 3/4 of the way through the trip. Workaround is to select each new waypoint one a time after you have reached the last one. This is easy if you've already set up the points in your favorites, BUT not having your travel time estimate right is a pain.
(2) Takes 5 clicks to mute the voice and get back to the map - needs a mute toggle for when you are off the route it wants you to take and you know and intend it.
(3) Some addresses aren't placed right, such as when a highway is also a named road and then splits off from the named road - addresses on the named road were bunched up at the join point.
(4) Need a zoom to trip, zoom to destination.
(5) Can't seem to understand addresses unless it's in an incorporated city - have to enter city name first. Had lots of trouble trying to enter addresses, had to go to a map to find the location then enter it as a location rather than by address.
(6) I can't find a way to exclude a link from a route or the data base. Can exclude all ferries and toll roads for example, but not specific ones, so have to get around this by programming a way point, but that's limited as discussed above.
(7) Search ignores spaces in its database, so makes some things hard to find (search for "REI," for example, turned up things that had a word ending in "RE" and the next word started with "I")

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Buyer's feedback: - * neat little gadget ...
This is a cool gadget. Shows upcomming side streets as you hit them. Screen turns black when it gets dark to show night navigation. How cool is that. It is off with directions though. You'll get there but not always the most direct route. It did have me turning onto a one way street.....from the wrong end. The trip I took today, I knew where I was going but had it map it for fun. It send me a route that would have traken me 20 mins longer and kept redirecting me back to that route when I turned where I was supposed to, untill I passed the last side street I could hit to go the way it wanted me to. Then it rediredted me the way I intened..except for the wrong way on the one way street (a short street, cut off from 2 main rds.) So a few glitches but I like it.

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Buyer's feedback: - Garmin 260
Many times when I miss my turn, Garmin is very slow in telling which is the next turn to take. Yesterday, there was a u-turn i had to make but the system didn't tell me whether the u-turn was on the left or right which made it a lot more difficult for me to get to my destination without making the drivers behind me exasperated.

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Buyer's feedback: - * Great, simple to use. ...
This Garmin Nuvi is a great little unit. Here are my pluses and minuses:

+ size
+ battery life (you don't have to have it plugged in all the time!)
+ intuitive interface (you won't get lost in the menus)
+ bright, clear, display
+ good "text to speech" (calling of street names)

- no ability to specify a route or have more than one way-point (but at this price, you've got to give up something!)
- dimming is based on time of day, not ambient light - so for example it doesn't dim in a tunnel
- no "TURN NOW" ding like the Magellan

All in all, I just love this unit and don't think you can get a better, easier-to-use unit for the money. I highly recommend it.