Nuvi 255W

 

Just purchased Nuvi 255W. Seems great so far. Worth the money in my opinion. Would like to get some discussion going on this particular model. I'll post my observations & issues as well.

So far so good here.

So far so good here. Received it thursday. Nice unit, nice features. Map tried to route me through one dead end, so I reported it.

Upgraded? to the 255W

I have had GPS units for many years. I was spoiled by features that the low end Nuvi's don't have.

I bought a Nuvi 200W and found it frustrating because options I could turn off and on on previous units weren't available. Then I sat down and tried to decide what was important. The Nuvi 200W as it turns out is great for a techno-challenged friend.

I travel some (though not so much recently). I have a crosstown commute so traffic info would be nice (I thought the 255W came with FM Traffic, mine didn't). Allegedly I will be able to buy a traffic capability. I live about 25 miles from the Canadian border so Canada maps are important.

I have a lead foot and have used cruise control to fight my need for speed. Having speed zone POIs helps. "Ding" you've just got a ticket.

I didn't think I'd need to talk to my GPS. Though I guess I do anyway. I don't need it to listen. Certainly not worth spending an extra $500. I didn't need an MP3 player. I didn't need a book reader. I hate when people drive while using this feature. I guess "Slow down you're movin' too fast." would be fun for the first couple of times.

POIs are, of course, nice to have. I had a GPS that didn't have them Argh!

I've used the 255W for a few days now and generally find it better than the 200W. It's still a little dumbed down, but more tolerable.

I'd really like to be able to turn off/on Garmin's POIs by category. It might help me see through the clutter. I've used my own POIs and those found here to get around that to a certain degree.

So far the 255W is worth the money. So far my friend is enjoying her 'gently used' 200W.

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Nuvi 255W, Ham radio, MacBook Pro

Just got mine

Mine is about 4 hours old. So far, quite nice. Took longer than i would have liked for first acquisition of satellites, but this is Manhattan, so not trivial. I had a 370 (lost by dear wife); the European maps on SD are now cheap enough that the 70 series seems obsolete. I do miss a customizable splash screen but I do not miss all the mp3 players and such. The screen seems nice and bright.

I am trying to bring in an old 370 voice I customized. Anyone know what the small sum files do on voices.

Also it would nice to see an online manual rather than just help on the box. I never would have found things like the satellite page if I had not had the 370 before.

But does what I want quite nicely. It does have traffic, but another $100 or so. Don't need that for my usage.

Neal

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Nuvi 255W/European SD card

Satellte Page - 255W

Please tell me about the Satellite Page -- I've gone throught the unit pretty thouroughly & haven't come across this. I presume it is a page showing which satellites have been acquired, etc?

SAT page

I may be dreaming, and I am indoors now, but what seems to be the case is when your bars are red you do not see the page, but if tap on the bars when they are green, you get the sat page. I may have imagined this yesterday, but I do not think so. Is not documented in the onbox help. I have complained about the lack of a pdf manual.
Any other cute tricks anyone has found?

neal

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Nuvi 255W/European SD card

satellite page

If you press on the bars left upper corner for a few seconds, you will possible get the satallite page.

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Claude using Garmin c330,Nuvi 250W and a Etrex venture Cx. Member #2602

Another feature

This one is in help, but I didn't notice it at first. Holding down back gets you to top menu (should have remembered this from 370). I was getting annoyed hitting back 5 times.

BTW the antenna seems to locate sats better. Using in my apt, which has a huge window on 27th floor, so unblocked, i get acquisition within about 10 feet of window, and lock keeps on in whole room. With my old 370, I had to prop in the window for about 3 minutes to get acquisition. No idea if this is luck of the sats or a real improvement in the 255W.

Neal

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Nuvi 255W/European SD card

New Nuvi 255W

I just got a Nuvi 255W. It is my first standalone GPS, as opposed to the puck I use with my BlackBerry.

Based on ideas from here I pushed and held the following:
Satellite bars = satellite information.

Time = time setup screen

Battery = diagnostic screens, then it needs to do a 'satellite find' again.

Back button = as you said, takes you all the way back to the start page (damn useful too, thank you!).

So far I like the unit, but as I have had no other real GPS units to compare with, it is hard to make any actual comparisons. It will definitely come in useful on a cross-country drive later this month.

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I am glad my mom named me Aaron, that is what everyone calls me!

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How is the text-to-speech? There are reports that it's not as clear as the other nuvi models.

Text to Speech

I read few blogs about the 255W as compared to previous Nuvi's. This is the first Nuvi I've owned, but I don't see an issue. Again, I can't compare to the other Nuvi's -- although the 255W's speech may not be as good, I don't see an issue.

Battery Screen

Tried the bttery screen diagnostic -- nothing happened for me when I pressed the battery status icon.

Battery Screen

I just tried it a little while ago; touch and hold for about 5 or 6 seconds, it should go to diagnostics while you are still touching.

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I am glad my mom named me Aaron, that is what everyone calls me!

Text to Speech

Just did a trip to Boston. Using Karen (but also US English voices), TTS is very clearly not as clear as on my dear departed 370. It sounds to me like the speaker is cheaper, which is no suprise in a low end unit. The TTS works fine, is just a bit fuzzy.

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Nuvi 255W/European SD card

Diagnostics- Battery Icon

Tried it again, holding down a lot longer as you suggested. All diagnostics are there. Thanks.

255W - Route Choices

I like my Nuvi 255W so far, but several times, it has chosen a longer route despite a shorter (& faster) more obvious path using less traveled roads. These other less traveled roads are NOT small, uncharted backroads - they are legitimate state roads. It just went out of its way to stay on a MAJOR highway (not the route most people choose). I double checked to make sure there are NO avoidances checked off and my route preference is set to "Faster Time". I'll try again using 'Shorter Distance" preferences and see what happens.

Nuvi 255W

I drove about 1500 miles with the Nuvi 255W last week between Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, & Louisiana. The 255W got a very thorough workout.
One of the things I noticed is that sometimes it seemed to lag behind a bit on small side streets (telling me to turn ahead when in fact I had already just turned.)
Also, it doesn't seem to work as well as say a Hertz NeverLost when you pull off of a street into a parking lot. It's confusing as to which way you are pointed & how best to get out & turn. I know that's probably not a fair apples to apples comparison since the Hertz NeverLost costs a lot more & is probably a different type of system, but that's just my observation anyway.
And finally, while traveling through one of the cities, it actually sent us off an exit ramp , down a side street & back on to the interstate-- not sure why it did that?!
Some of this might be due to my own inexperience w/ the Nuvi since I've only had it about a month, so I will do some more checking.
Other than that, it was GREAT -- well worth the money. Couldn't go on a trip without it.