Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic see short title
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User Reviews
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Review Date: 2009-11-24
I bought this unit from a different location. I owned it for less than a week. Of note, I owned a TOMTOM before.
I am not sure why this unit keeps getting rave reviews, but I am sure that those rating it are going by the available features and not actually USING the unit.
1. It will NOT recognize left turns. Let's say your destination is a shopping area on the right. There are plenty of stop lights to turn left to get you to your destination. But for some reason, the unit will have you turn right into a completely different shopping area, then cross a busy intersection to get to your destination. At first I thought it because I had "AVOID U TURNS" selected (even though it wasn't a U turn) but even after disabling that feature, it continued to do it. And at 3 different destinations!! I don't know if that is true for every destination (since I only had it for a week and some destinations were on the right) but it did it for EVERY LEFT TURN... even after I upgraded the maps.
2. I wasn't happy with the lack of customizable features for the map or even the settings in general. Perhaps the worst was the fact that on the map it showed estimated ARRIVAL TIME (which was always wrong but would correct it self as the minutes would pass). There is no way to get useful information on the screen like miles remaining in trip.
3. The traffic was useless. It never detected serious traffic until you were sitting bumper-to-bumper in it and it would frequently say there was traffic when there was none. No wonder its free.
Those are deal breakers for me.
The things I did like
1. TTS (but that's not unique to Garmin)
2. Automatic power on and off if connected to car via cord (I think that is unique to Garmin)
3. Auto option for day and night maps (again, I think that is unique to Garmin).
4. They (Garmin and TomTom) both allow for map updates, but Garmin is cheaper (lifetime is $120 - which is 4 maps per year vs. TomTom's $80 per year).
Never used the bluetooth, so I can't comment. I have a centro which can't do voice dialing via BT anyway so it was no biggie for me.
Overall, I hated the unit. It was lacking in everything that I found necessary for function.
User: JH
Rating:
Summary: Awful, horrible unit...why is it getting such great reviews?
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
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Review Date: 2009-11-23
I held out on buying a new GPS as much as I could once my StreetPilot 340 started sputtering. I found this one on sale and the price was reasonable for what you got: my big requirement was that there be spoken street names and plus the traffic transmitter was included. It does connect to the satellites much faster than my old unit and I don't have to stay put in one place waiting for it to get a signal.
It also is quicker to perform a simulated route in case you are indoors or don't have a signal.
A few cons: the volume level is on the home screen, so instead of having something tactile like a wheel to turn the volume down or off, you have to go through the screens making it very dangerous while driving.
Also, the instruction manual is not good. I am pretty good at figuring out technology, but it should come with a manual that spells out things like: the transmitter is not in the unit, it's in the power cord. The only way to get traffic information is if it's mounted on the dash or windshield and plugged in. This I had to find out after prodding. Also, to register and upload maps onto the unit you need a mini-USB cord. If you're like me, who keeps that kind of stuff around, then you're in luck, but otherwise, you might have to go out and purchase one...and I can't remember right now, but it wasn't on the box. If the guy who sold me the unit hadn't told me, I would not have known.
I think the NAVTEQ (traffic transmitter) is pretty useless. I upgraded to a unit with traffic information because I now live in an area with pretty unpredictable traffic patterns. This is just not "real-time" information and the way the information is presented does not serve much help either. Today I stood in traffic for 1hr and 50 mins to get to work in what usually is a 25 mins commute. The NAVTEQ had me going right through the back up and claimed it was the best route even as I could see the traffic building up. After I was "in it" it claimed that the back up was just 2 mins, then it went up to 21 mins, then down to five. To know where the traffic is going to be (to then determine whether to request a detour) you need to go through the screens...and once again, that's dangerous if you are moving.
I am not any more pleased with Google traffic information from an iPhone. There's still a lag from an accident happening to the information showing, plus, you have to look at your phone, which is dangerous if you are in a moving car.
I signed up for traffic alerts in the form of text messages from News12. Hopefully that can solve my issue and I can put that unsightly traffic transmitter away.
User: lettuce
Rating:
Summary: Not what I had hoped for
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
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Review Date: 2009-11-22
After reading the reviews for the 265WT I purchased a refurbished unit from Amazon. As always Amazon delivered on time and in great condition! But the unit was not exactly what I expected.
Traffic: Horrible! Often I am stopped in traffic and the silly unit is reporting 'Green'. Then there are those few times when the unit reports 'Red' but I am flying along on the highway. Upon investigating the traffic coverage in more detail it appears as though coverage in southern New England where I do most of my driving is very limited. Recommendation: Check the coverage map before you spend the extra money for the traffic feature.
Quality of Directions: Wonderful! The unit links with Satellites quickly and so far the routes provided by the unit have been accurate and efficient. I also have learned to love setting up via points for various rest stops.
Clarity of Directions: Excellent! The arrows at the top of the screen provide clear direction on how far before the next turn off so I can figure out which lane to be in. Many times the clear information on the unit have made up for no street signs on a dark night.
Screen Readability: Fair. The unit would be much nicer if it were possible to increase the font size for those of us who need glasses.
User: Mark F. Johnson
Rating:
Summary: GPS is great but Traffic is over rated
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
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Review Date: 2009-11-21
I have been looking for a GPS for about two years now. The combination of falling prices and feature stabilization in the market finally got me hooked. I paid about $200 for this item.
The whole concept of the device is built around the premise that you do not know where you're going. If you know where you're going and are looking for better ways to get there, this device does very little to help you out.
I have about a one hour drive to and from work that takes me from my home in Northwest Indiana to downtown Chicago. I have three basic choices on my route -
the Bishop Ford (free but under construction),
the Chicago Skyway ($3.50 each way but faster and more direct), and
Lake Shore Drive (free, direct, but lots of local traffic to get there).
The GPS gets traffic updates so it should be able to tell me which way is the best way to go and my route has about ten minutes of driving to start with that are always the same so it has some time to make up its mind. This device has no functionality to meet that need which is profoundly disappointing given the inputs that the device has at its disposal.
Also, the free traffic functionality is marginal at best. I have driven into traffic jams it didn't anticipate or woefully underestimated and I have sailed through areas that the device said would be a half hour delay. Also, if you want to avoid traffic, the device doesn't do a very good job of figuring out time savings. On one occasion, the device took me a mile off the Bishop Ford through half a dozen traffic lights before I started going the same direction as I wanted again, then it inserted me back onto the Bishop Ford with another mile of bumper to bumper traffic still to go before things cleared up. Translation : this thing isn't real bright.
The POI's are well populated but again, the device is not very intelligent. I'm on the expressway, I need to get gas. I choose the nearest gas station but miss the exit and go the wrong way. The gas station I chose is now behind me but there is another one right in front of me. The device doesn't know that I don't care WHICH gas station I go to so it takes me on a one mile detour to get me turned around. Again, just not all that intelligent.
On the plus side, the screen is very good, the phone functionality is very serviceable (I had none of the issues other reviewers mentioned and I have a tracfone which is hardly top of the line), and the window mount is very secure. The turn by turn directions are clearly audible and give good context for tight situations - "Turn right on this street then turn left" so you know you need to change lanes quickly.
Overall, it's a good unit but it just falls flat in so many ways on the navigation front that I just can't give it higher than 3 stars.
User: Jason C. Williams
Rating:
Summary: Not For Commuters
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
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Review Date: 2009-11-20
I like gadgets, but I don't jump early for new technology - I wait till the technology matures and prices come down. I never saw the need to spend $100's to do what a $10 atlas could do. Then I took a trip with a friend who had a Nuvi 205. I immediately had to have a gps! I love this thing and should have gotten one years ago! I don't have to fish for my reading glasses, dig out the atlas, and find the map is not detailed enough to see what I wanted. Navigation is so much easier now! I went with Garmin because of market share, features, and price. The widescreen is definitely the way to go, as is the calling out of street names for the next turn. The points of interest is great - I can look up restaurants, gas stations, etc in unfamilier places. I can take that backroad to do some recon and know how to get back to civilization.
I tried a vent mount which positioned the Nuvi below the top of the dash. It worked for a week or so, then started losing the sat signal. It is now mounted on the dash with the provided stick on plastic piece and hasn't lost the signal since. I have a Ram Mount for both motorcycles which work great, and will be installing direct wire power supplies in my vehicles. GPS has fully matured, and anyone who leaves the 5 mile radius where they grew up should have one!
User: Douglas W. Freeman
Rating:
Summary: Sorry I Put It Off For Years!
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
Product Details
- Bright 4.3-inch diagonal color touchscreen; 480 x 272 pixels, WQVGA TFT display with white backlight
- Sleek, ultra-thin design fits easily in pocket
- Preloaded with City Navigator North America NT
- Supports Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling when paired with Bluetooth-enabled cell phones
- NOTE: Model number on the box is 265WT because the traffic receiver is included; however, the model number on the device itself is 265W as the "T" in 265WT refers to the additional component
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