0ur opinion:

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Go wide with the ultra-cool nuvi 260W that speaks street names. This widescreen navigator is simple to use. nuvi 260W comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (P0ls) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. lt even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nuvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. nuvi 260W sports a sleek, slim design and fits comfortably in your pocket or purse. lts rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient for navigation by car or foot. Navigation is just the beginning. nuvi 260W includes many 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. The optional SD cards slot lets you add additional features. High-sensitivity receiver RoHS version available Built-in memory - lnternal solid state with SD Card slot Waypoints/favorites/locations - 500 Voice prompts Speaks street names 3D map view Auto re-route (fast off-route and detour recalculation) Choice of route setup (faster time, shorter distance, off road) Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.) Custom P0ls (ability to add additional points of interest) Configurable vehicle icons (select car-shaped icons for map navigation) World travel clock, currency & measurement converter, and calculator Unit Dimensions - Width 4.8 x Height 2.9 x Depth 0.8 (12.2x7.4x2.0cm) Weight - 6.1 ounces (172.93 grams)

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Garmin's nüvi 260W combines the thin profile and attractive price point of other nüvi 200-series GPS with directions in real street names and a wide screen that lets you see more of what's around you as you drive. Garmin's line on the device is that, 'the nüvi 260W gives consumers the most sought-after navigation features, while eliminating many of the premium add-ons. The result is a PND that simply gets you from point A to point B – reliably, efficiently, and with style.' 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.

Text-To-Speech
The text-to-speech feature of the nüvi 260W 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.

See More of What's Around
The 4.3-inch backlit widescreen touchscreen on the nüvi 260W 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
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



First Rate Map Data
The nüvi 260W 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. Garmin gets its map data from NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.




ln addition, the nüvi 260W 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 260W 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 260W 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.

What's in the Box
nüvi 260W, 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

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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating:

Buyer's feedback: - * East to use ...
I had a TOM TOM and returned it, too many different unnecissary options. Garmin is much easier to use. I bought 2 of them.

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Buyer's feedback: - Awesome Product
Throw away the map and tell the wife to watch the
scenery! If you get lost with one of these stay home! Easy to use and does not distract you from driving.

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Buyer's feedback: - * Buy with confidence ...
This thing is great, while it's not perfect it works amazingly well, has a great database of hotels, gas, restuarants, shopping, tourist sites of interest, hospitals, police stations etc. even providing phone numbers, it also had features not listed in garmins own description as apparently they added the same software upgrades as higher models, for instance it has the selectible keyboard type (ABC or QWERTY) and the "where am I" features which are not listed in it's description, on the odd day (only once in a month of use) it may take several minutes to aquire satellites as some have complained, but seems to find them faster if one can wait a minute or two (standing still) until it locks on instead of while moving which seems to take longer, once locked I have never lost connection, I use it daily and have to find the addresses of clients, the routes are pretty good but in the local streets dont always offer the best option, I sometimes use "fastest route" setting to get close then switch to "shortest route" in the side streets if the route offered is not the best, the detour function is great and has already saved my butt from an huge accident caused traffic jam in an area where I didn't know the streets at all, buy all means buy a mini usb cord (wal mart 7 bucks if you dont buy the garmin branded one) and get the free software upgrade from garmins web site, this cord will also charge the battery in the house, don't believe the naysayers, I am picky and like to buy good quality toys, this is a solid unit and you can buy with confidence, makes driving fun!

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Buyer's feedback: - Great GPS
Excellent unit that give very good directions. They may differ slightly from one you may take, but it's close and it will get you there

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Buyer's feedback: - * 4.5 stars rounded to 5 ...
This is my first GPS I have ever purchased, and I was basically well pleased with all the features. It's not a perfect product....the garmin had to be turned off and on because it became strangely confused in the midst of a 500 mile drive between Casper, WY, and Bozeman, MT. Otherwise the unit performed almost flawlessly.

The million points of interest is very useful on long drives in unfamiliar territory to determine if you need to exit for gas, or food. Another surprise, and very useful feature: the unit provides phone numbers as well as address/direction information. I made dinner reservations while on the road by looking up a restaurant, and viewing its phone number.

The database and maps are almost up-to-date. The garmin can't find addresses that are less than 2 years old (new housing developments and street addresses that previously never existed). However, it is up-to-date otherwise, and maps track every back woods area I have driven.

There is no subscription fee you have to pay for using this particular device, so it won't give you up to the minute traffic reports.

Otherwise, the product met all my expectations, and then some....4.5 stars!! The garmin is a road warrior's best friend.