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: - * eggnott ...
Garmin nüvi 200W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
I purchased this unit to replace a Garmin 530C that was stolen from my vehicle. This unit is an upgrade and does exactly what I need it to do. I also purchased the portable mount to be able to move the unit to a more favorable location. The female voice sounds a bit too "all business" for my taste but oh well. The unit did not come with a modem cable or case. For the price I was pleased and have become dependent on its use.

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Buyer's feedback: - GARMIN IS GOOD BUT PLAN AHEAD WITH A MAP
We purchased a Garmin 260W just prior to a trip to Brooklyn and it came in very handy. What we didn't do enough of however is read all the directions. We noticed a freeway we wanted to avoid because of traffic buildup so we enabled the 'avoid major highways' feature. This worked well but unfortunately we forgot to reset and this cost us later on the way back to Ohio. The final destination at times appears on the opposite side of the street. The version we were shipped had maps that appear to be a couple years or so out of date. Best advice is to map it out before hand to some degree so you get an idea of the lay of the land in case of highway problems and road blocks that force you to take alternate routes. Street names voiced by Garmin are not always the same as the route names posted. Occasionally Garmin will map out a shortest route but this may actually be a longer route by the time it takes you to wind thru the streets to get to where you are going. (Found this out when checking to see how it would it route me to the nearest grocery store. Instead of 2 roads and 2 turns, it routed me 'as the crow flies' thru the neighborhood between my house and the store - about 9 turns.) All in all a good choice but it doesn't replace common sense and it is always a good idea to do a google maps or other map service (or paper version) beforehand.

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Buyer's feedback: - * Does a great job for what I need it for ...
Glad that we went the the wide screen. The extra real estate is nice. Very easy to set up and use. Nice selection of voices, and being able to upload custom points of interest was a nice feature. Only complaint was that a couple of the maps for roads (Interstate interchages) that have been complete for at least 2 years is accurate on the map, but it gets weird and tries to tell you directions for the old way...

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Buyer's feedback: - Solid GPS w/o the extras
If you simply want a GPS w/o music, live traffic, bluetooth blah blah blah then I would def recommend the 260W. It's really easy to use, pretty quick cold start(for me), & the friction mount is great if you're planning on using it in multiple cars. Only gripe is that sometimes it gives you the long way around and you can't automatically go back to the main screen if you've started something already. I still gave it five stars though, because w/o it I would be lost and as a human being nothing is ever perfect for us and we have to gripe about it. blah.

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Buyer's feedback: - * Just tested it so far ...
Will be handy on trips that I don't know the route to. However I would like it to pick the routes differently. When I want to go west, it starts the route by sending me east about a mile to the more used highway. If I know where I'm going it quickly recalculates when I go the way I want, but then I don't need it anyway. Voice is clear and easy to understand, and has nice sized screen. Like that it has maps of Canada on this model where others didn't but had maps of Puerto Rico, I don't think most people in U.S. drive there.