Garmin 255 GPS Navigator
The Garmin Nuvi devices were popular for its solid interface, compact size, and good set of maps for US and EU users. Garmin now expands on that success and unveils the Garmin 255, one of the newest of the 200 series.
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Design
The Garmin nuvi 255 sports a thin and compact profile allowing it to fit pockets and small purses for taking it on the go. It has a viewable 3.5-inch antiglare display that’s full color and comes equipped with a white backlight that allows visibility in any angle. Those wanting a widescreen version can simply pickup the 255W instead. The antenna is built in as well so the overall design looks great.
Look and Feel
For starters or people completely new to GPS devices, the Garmin Nuvi 255 is very easy to pick up thanks to its full touchscreen interface, simple controls, and various onscreen icons that house their functions.
When navigating, the map looks very vivid in the 3-D interface and is very easy to see where your next destination is. All the needed onscreen functions are present - complete with zoom controls, estimated time of arrival, current speed, and speed limits if available. The zoom controls are also on one side making it possible to operate the device with one thumb. It is also easy to tell at a glance when to make that next turn and how far it is away since both of the indicators are found conveniently on the upper left of the screen. Many of the options can be accessed with little tapping necessary.
Performance
The Garmin 255 features a faster processor than its 200 series predecessors, which in turn makes map drawing functions faster and increased speed in routing. The battery life is all right also letting people use the device for up to four hours without any power source dependence. It is of course rechargeable and the usage depends on the functions used.
Faster routing utilizes the new performance enhancements by planning the route in the background as soon as you select your destination. There are minimal load times involved in performing calculations such as the distance and time needed whenever route planning is necessary. Even if you miss a turn, recalculations are quick and the voice commands are processed right away.
Navigation
You will not be lost at all with the Garmin Nuvi 255 because of the inclusion of over 6 million places of interest that are in 14 categories. You’ll be seeing labels of various stores, businesses, and other landmarks all over the map. It also supports searching of locations by closest proximity or your current location relative to other known locations. Owners of the Garmin Nuvi 255 that live in Canada and Alaska will be also happy to know that the map coverage is available for those locations.
There is a very nice “Where am I?” feature that serves as a locator where the map can quickly pinpoint your current location and show on the map all of the nearby intersections and other places of interests like hospitals, gas stations, and police stations.
Extra Features
One of the features that takes the spotlight is the text to speech capabilities. This allows the device to announce street names and upcoming exits rather than the prerecorded phrases that tell generic directions. This is a highly welcoming feature and can greatly make the navigational experience easier to follow during situations where many streets are around. Now next time you are driving around, you can just listen for the next street name rather than focusing on the map for the correct street. As a result, your eyes will be more focused on the road when driving.
It also comes with some pretty nifty tools like a world time clock with all the accurate time zones, a touchscreen calculator, a picture viewer supporting JPEG files, and some various unit converters including currency.
Conclusion
To sum things up, the Garmin Nuvi 255 is a great choice for GPS newbies and four of the biggest reasons to get this device is because of the useful text to speech engine for better navigation, surprisingly simple user interface, solid performance, and wide map coverage. These four features are needed for GPS devices to be highly efficient and while it may not have good networking support, it still can suit the basic needs of anyone looking to buy a Garmin GPS.
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