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Garmin have long enabled the general driver to plan their routes without hassle, and the Garmin nüvi 265W GPS Navigator is another step in this direction. This unobtrusive and portable device comes packed with a assortment of features, including a wider screen and better onboard maps than it is predecessors. The Garmin 265W and the 265WT is fundamentally the same product, with the addition in the 265WT of a Traffic Message Channel that updates the route using live FM radio messages and notifications. In all other respects, the gadgets are equal. The portability of these devices, coupled with the capacity to link to Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, makes them a handy tool for the driver with multiple vehicles, and the capacity to add to their route database makes them invaluable.
The Garmin 265W is well-priced, being lowcost while containing sufficient features to satisfy the majority of customers. Depending on where one purchases the device, the intermediate price range makes it an eminently practical addition to one's driving experience. The 4.3-inch widescreen comes with a white backlight, and is effortlessly viewed from the driver's seat in all vehicles. The screen has a high luminance threshold, and is totally color-enabled, which, combined with the fact that it is based on TFT engineering science and incorporates anti-glare measures, means that the device is highly visible while being unobtrusive. When added to it is text-to-speech and vocal direction system, this handy little device becomes a godsend to it is target audience, which is the busy driver with multiple vehicles who wants a portable GPS device that does not compromise on features.
Like most GPS devices, the Garmin 265W works right out of the box, taking 1-2 minutes to obtain a satellite fix. It requires no connection to the Internet, or in truth any other information, since it carries an extensive map library around inside it is 1 GB memory. In most countries, the device likewise carries 572 MB of internal free space for customization and preferences, which is a big step up from closely all appliances in a similar price range. The customizable memory space may be applied to store info in regards to customized routes, and one's driving history. The device uses this internal memory to store a utile little feature called Text-to-Speech, which converts the street name shown on the map into a voice message.
This means that the old "Turn right in 400 meters" is substituted by the street name, which is a great little navigational tool. The device has another feature related to voice. Drivers who use their cell phones, or who rely on their hands-free functions for the duration of long journeys, will find the Bluetooth Phone syncing available on the Garmin 265W very useful. The use of a hand to operate a mobile phone while driving is getting illegal in most countries, a point which Garmin have addressed with this new Navigator. The device may link to one's phone, and read through it is directory, by way of Bluetooth, meaning that one's phone may be employed as a hands-free unit without laying out capital in a distinguished device for that purpose.
The device connects to Nokia and Apple Smartphone's without any hitch, and has clear sound that may be heard over the vehicle's ambient noise. It likewise has a microphone scheme sensible to sound within 1-1.5m of itself, making it easy to initiate and carry out a phone speech without distracting the driver from the road. The Garmin 265W holds route-measurement and calculation features that concede one to choose the quickest routes, as well as for choosing off-road paths. This is combined with data when it comes to tolls, congestion, and bottlenecks, and is applied all over the board, whether one is using a car, motorcycle, or even a bicycle. In short, this is a handy little device that is more than worth the lowpriced price it carries.
Get the big picture and big features for a little price with nüvi 265WT. This widescreen navigator takes you there with preloaded maps and turn-by-turn directions that call out streets by name. It adds a crisp, widescreen display to the nüvi 265T and comes with lifetime traffic and hands-free calling to simplify life on the go. Like the rest of the nüvi 205-series, this portable navigator is priced right and ultra-easy to use.
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Its sunlight-readable, 4.3" display is easy to read, from any direction.
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Garmin Nuvi 265wt Accessory Bundle Pic
Garmin Nuvi 265wt Accessory Bundle Photo
Garmin Nuvi 265wt Accessory Bundle Photo
Garmin Nuvi 265wt Accessory Bundle Picture
Garmin Nuvi 265wt Accessory Bundle Photo
Garmin Nuvi 265wt Accessory Bundle Image
Good unit for the price
Spent a weekend reviewing respective GPS gadgets to replace my less than 1 year old Mio C320 (avoid these like the plague) that had it is battery die when it comes to 4 months after purchase. Went back and forth along the entire line of Garmin devices, and ultimately settled on this one for the blue tooth and traffic, neither of which I'll in all probability scarcely ever use, but nice to have when I want them.
Map database leaves something to be desired.
I got this unit for Christmas, 2008. Although this is the original GPS that I've owned, I've been passenger on numerous trips with a friend who has Nuvi 350 so I was already intimate with Garmin. The unit I purchased had the 2009 maps, and the firmware was somewhat recent. Firmware, etc has since been modified to most recent version(s).
My choice came down to the nuvi 265WT, 765T or 760. The 760 is a premium unit for a bargain price due it's being last years model, while the 765T had the features I wanted but is still pricey since it's a new model. In the end I opted for 265WT since it had the updated/new features that the 760 didn't have and was at the price that I was more than willing to spend. I did not in truth consider other brands, altho my impression is that other brands offer more "bells and whistles" but suffer in the areas of ease of use and reliability.
The unit has worked fine, no difficultnesses to speak of, though my actual time spend driving with it has been fixed so far (spent lots of time just "playing" with it, though).
[update 9/11/09]
I've now used for a week of commuting to work and running errands. I use for commute because of the traffic reporting.
traffic -- haven't came upon a backup that it didn't warn me about, but have driven through a couple of non-existent backups. I've also found that it may take assorted minutes for the traffic status to be displayed after power-on, on occasion *after* it has picked a route.
routing -- the route it gives me to work is rather strange. It routes me off of the freeway onto an expressway that has various lights. I tried it once, and sure sufficient it took longer than predicted, even with light traffic.
reliability -- The unit has "glitched" 3 times in the last week. Once it just turned itself off, another time it jumped from the map to the speedometer screen (by itself) while the voice became very distorted, and another time the backlight setting was not as I had left it.
[end of 9/1/09 update]
My biggest complaint has to do with the POI database. For example, I searched for local cinema's... it did not have the 20 screen cineplex that is nearest to me. When I searched for local Staples Office Supply locatings the nearest it found was 50 miles away, even altho there are at least 4 within 15 miles. I didn't show a nearby Britannia Arms. A big territorial buying goods center is still called by a name that was dropped 5 years ago. etc...
The POI management software (such as it is) could use more flexibility. For example, when searching for Staples, the unit was "busy" rather galore time searching. There appears to be no way to put a limit the search distance.
I think the map update policy is in need of revising. A two month "grace period" is not actually reasonable to the buyers. Most of these are sold in Nov & Dec, and the maps are quintessentially altered in the Spring, beyond the 60 day cutoff. Garmin will have to be guaranteeing map updates for at least 6 months, if not a year. Or, one free update within 2 years or something similar. Another gripe is the Garmin request for an "account" to register the unit. Yet another user name and password to forget.
[update 1/9/09]
At 2009 CES, Garmin declared a new map update policy. For $120 you get lifetime updates ("up to" 4 times a year) while a single update will be $69, which (I think) is less than before.
[end of 1/9/09 update]
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