For peace of mind on the go, n?vi 255 leads the way with voice-prompted turn-by-turn and optional MSN Direct to get you there on time and keep you informed. It's packed with millions of destinations and maps for North America or Europe. Like the rest of the compact n?vi 2x5-series, this portable navigator is priced right and ultra-easy to use.n?vi 255 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. It 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 n?vi takes you there with turn-by-turn voice directions, 2-D or 3-D maps and and smooth map updates as you navigate. Its digital elevation maps show you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. In addition, n?vi 255 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs. With HotFix satellite prediction, n?vi calculates your position faster to get you there quicker.Like the rest of the n?vi 2x5-series, n?vi 255 sports a sleek, slim design and fits comfortably in your pocket or purse. Its rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient for navigation by car or foot. With its "Where Am I? " emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations.eft feature. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards such as Garmin Travel Guides for detailed data on attractions.

User Reviews about Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

I have been wanting a gps for a while now. Did some research and found that this model had everything I needed. I cannot tell you how happy I am with it!! -- Love it love it love it!!

I am not a technical person so "user friendly" was the most important consideration in selecting a GPS navigation unit. I throughly researched GPS units by visiting Best Buy, Bass Pro Shops and Cabella's. Also spent several hours on the internet reading reviews and comparing features. The 255W met all my criteria and the price was low enough that if the GPS and I didn't get along, I wouldn't get hurt too badly...so I bought it. The touch screen feature made set up really simple and overall, the 255W has exceeded expectations. Directions are clearly given and easily understood + given in plenty of time to locate the turns. Instead of "take exit 247" my girl tells me to "take exit 247A on the right and stay to the left"...might sound like a simple thing but saves having to make a quick lane change to avoid making a wrong turn. I first used the 255W to get from Kansas City to Green Valley, AZ...just plugged in the address in Green Valley and pushed "Go"...can't get a whole lot easier than that. I would recommend purchasing the gravity/bean bag mount (can find for $20 at Target) for the dash and the cable that connects the unit to your computer as it is not included with the GPS. After doing the research and using the unit several times, I would very strongly recommend the 255W. Great product at a very reasonable price... -- Outstanding Product

The 255W is a replacement for our Garmin nüvi 360, which was stolen from our car. We wanted something basic that fits our budget. It has a few improvements over our old Garmin:

- Wide screen
The main advantage of the wide screen is it's able to accomodate a Qwerty Keyboard. Data entry with the Qwerty keyboard on the 255W is much faster and easier. (On our 360, which doesn't have a wide screen, the data entry is done with a series of keys arranged in albetical order - a real pain!)

- Locates Satellites Quickly
The 205W finds satellites very quickly (usually under a minute) and locks on to them. The only time it's lost a signal is when we were in an underground parking garage. Otherwise, we don't have an issue with the device acquiring or locking on to satellite signals.

- Responsive Touch Screen
The touch screen is very responsive. It is more sensitive and accurate than the one on our old 360.

- Fast
The startup time is fast. It's ready to go after I start the car. The map redrawing after the map is dragged is a lot snappier.

The user interface is intuitive and user-friendly. The volume is loud enough, even on the Freeway. We hook it up to our FM transmitter so we can hear the directions over the speakers in our car.

The device has never failed to bring us to our destination. It is sleek and attractive and will fit in your pocket. If you need a basic but reliable GPS, the Garmin 255W is definitely worth consideration.
-- Basic But Very Reliable GPS Device

After having used this a few weeks, it developed a mind of its own as regards the magnification of the display. It always powers up at the 3-mile setting, meaning that it displays about five counties and no detail information at all. I have to punch the plus (+) indicator about nine times to enlarge the view enough to see individual streets. Moreover, it won't hold any setting I punch in and will capriciously reduce the magnification just when I want to see some detail! To be fair, it does sometimes switch to a higher magnification on a seeming whim (to anthromorphise the gadget.

Other than this, it seems to work well with pretty fast satellite acquisition and prompt updating. I like to have the display keep my direction of travel to the top, which it does fine, but I would like to have had a compass north pointer rather than the less-precise direction letter display.

I haven't used the direction-finder feature or voice feature, so I can't comment on these.

The map database doesn't seem recent as some years-old roads are not included, and the database they use continues to show an erroneous sharp curve in a street adjoining my home street. This error has been in whatever database this is for many years as shown in my very first clunky GPS unit. -- Frustrating beyond belief

The product came in a timely fashion and parts included were just as described. I like the large screen and, if the destination is entered in the GPS, directions are good. However, it seems that many destinations are not in the GPS' database, which is a pain. Also, even though I enter 'the shortest route', it has taken me around a much longer route. It seems to take a really long time to acquire satellites, but I have nothing to compare it. It came with a quick start guide, but no in-depth instructions. -- garmin nuvi 255 W