Garmin - 4.3 Automotive GPS

I'm really writing this review for first time GPS users, as I myself am a first time GPS user. I''d been thinking about getting one for a long time and finally decided on this one. For starters... you can't go wrong with a Garmin. Everyone I know who has a Garmin absolutely loves it. This system has anything you really need in my opinion. Sure there are systems that have more features that are kind of cool.. but nothing that you would really need or use a lot, unless maybe you are using it for a business and travel A LOT. The points of interest are endless. I can go anywhere and just click on points of interest. They are divided into categories such as fuel, auto, food, hospitals etc. Everything is divided by distance which makes it easy to see the closest places to eat or gas when you are not familiar with the area. This would esp come in handy if you needed to find a hospital, luckily I haven't found myself in that situation. On top of that you can also look up individual business by name under search, and will list all the closest stores of that business. Something to keep in mind when using this feature, if a store has been moved... ore gone out of business, it might not always be correct... esp if you don't have the most up to date maps on your system. Navigating is easy as well. You can chose a variety of voices and languages to tell you the directions. I personally like changing them from time to time to keep it interesting (American English, British English etc). Every choice has a man and womans voice as well. When it tells you directions it speaks the actual street names so you know what to look for. Also you can look at the system any time and it will tell you the name of the next street you are going to turn on, and an arrow showing you which way you will turn. It will also on the left hand side, show you what the speed limit is, and in the bottom tells you what your speed is. This is really cool but don't let it replace your odometer; I have definitely noticed a slight delay in the speed it reads so when you go over hills it's not going to tell you the exact speed at the exact time.... but it is a nice way to know that your odometer isn't way off. You can also go in and change it to Pedestrian mode to get walking directions if you so desire.The free traffic is amazing too... this model is pretty much the same as the 285WT, only the 285WT uses the MSN direct. MSN direct seems to have some extra features, but it is subscription based, and it is also getting cancelled in Jan 2012. At first I was looking at the 285WT because it was cheaper, but even if they weren't cancelling MSN direct, I would end up spending more on the 285 after a year than I would have invested in this system... and it has free lifetime traffic. Another thing I love is the Bluetooth. I live in a state that has made it illegal to talk on the phone while driving, and this gives me the ability to answer short phone calls on the way home if need be. Even if it weren't illegal to talk on the phone the bluetooth is awesome... no more looking for your phone when it rings, or having to put it on speaker and set it on your lap. Another great thing is the lock mode, which makes it pretty much useless to anyone who steals it. You can also get a memory card for this system, hook it up to your computer using the USB cord, and put pictures and other content on it. Though I haven't tried out this feature much, it seems like it might come in handy. Overall I think it has everything you need in a GPS system, and not a lot of extra stuff that you don't need. If you do not want the Bluetooth, and traffic is not offered in your area I would go with the 255 or 260 instead (Both still speak street names). Also keep in mind that gps is not a replacement for common sense. It is not going to help you navigating around parking lots much, and it's no replacement for a route you may know to be a short cut. If you know a better route than it gives you, take it. It will automatically reroute you along the way, and give you traffic info as well. This is going to be the case no matter what gps system you get. This isn't really a big deal considering you do not need the gps to tell you where you already know how to get. It is pretty much going to give you the same routes you would get off of googlemaps, or anything equivalent. Great buy, great price, and well worth the money.

I like this product very much. I had a TOMTOM GPS and it was old. One of the 1st GPS's. Now that I have changed to Garmin, I really like this one since it is more updated. Traffic is good. Sound is good and my wife hears me pretty good on her end. The screen is Large which is good for my eyes, Phone is good but takes awhile to get the phone book up when u first turn on the system. Now hearing the Streets to make the turns on is a Big Plus. Now instead of hearing make the next left, now is says make a left on Main street. That is great. Overall this is a Great Product. Glad that I purchased it for the price, and i would recommend on purchasing it.

I can't compare this product to any other GPS, because it is my first one. That being said, I really am pleased with my purchase. Locally, it knows all of the streets and takes me to the route I want to go. I say that because I first programmed it to take me to a store; it told me to take the shortest way which happens to be through town; I took the interstate instead; on the way home it told me to take the interstate. I don't know if that is because it knew it was my preferred route or not, but it has always told me to go that way from that point on. We just got back from a road trip to the Smokies (about a 7 hour drive one way). It did awesome. At one point I turned at the exit 1/4 of a mile before the one I was supposed to exit at, but it recalculated extremely fast (about 3 seconds) and got me back on track without a glitch. Once we got into the mountains, it was nice to have. It didn't lose it's signal at all (even deep in the mountains). It was also nice to know how sharp the turns ahead were, so I didn't have to use up my breaks as much. The only negatives are the traffic device and having to stop directly on a spot. The traffic report would tell me there was traffic when there wasn't and vice versa. If you program a via point, you have to drive directly on the spot programmed into the GPS or when you leave it will keep redirecting you back to the via point. For instance, we programmed in a restaurant stop on the way down. We parked in the parking lot, but that was not the precise spot on the GPS map, so we had to exit the trip and start over to the destination point. Not a big deal, but it is a nuisance.

OK now that I have owned this GPS for over a year (sorry I cant stand the reviews yup had the box open 30 seconds its great) and have used it on trips for both work & personal. I can say it is a very good GPS, the voice is clear, easy to understand & loud enough even with the radio/music on. Directions are good too. Yes there are better units out there but I dont have $900 to spend, it is the best unit outthere for the price ($99). You have to remember people that GPS's are not exact directional units, sometimes it maybe off a few house numbers & may not take you the way you know or like sometimes (same as getting directions off the net on google or mapquest). It wont know the shortcut thru Ralfs pizza lot. However if you are in unfamiliar territory and need to get to a business meeting, hotel, or restaurant itll get you there. Traffic feature works well WHERE SERVICE IS AVAILABLE! I have seen other reviews of service not working well service has to be available for it to work& where it is it works well although there is a lag time of traffic & updates. Just like when you listen to traffic reports on the radio. Bought one for sister-in-law for Christmas this year who is directionally challenged & have recomended it to several friends

I probably paid more than I wanted to, but I'm glad I did. This Garmin has the latest mapping and the screen is very clear and a bit larger than a less expensive one and worth it. It had my address! My development is 3.5 years old and still some Fedex drivers can't find it. I have to give some of my friends the old address for my property, so they can find my home with their GPS. I like the voice options--In addition to American English, I can listen to an Australian or English accent. It's fun. I love hitting the GO HOME icon. No more getting lost in unfamiliar territory and spending an extra half hour or more to get home. I was able to mount it on my dashboard. And it's easy to remove and replace on the dock for security purposes. If you've been thinking of buying a GPS for the first time--this is a very good one.

I owned an older model Garmin, but decided to upgrade to a newer model to include Bluetooth capability do to the changing "Hands Free" cell phone laws. I have found the Bluetooth to be extremely reliable and works well. The Garmin mapping is fantastic! I can't see how anyone can be without a Garmin GPS in todays time..... Well worth every cent!

I just purchased this unit and have found it to be one of the best GPS units I have ever used. Out of the box, from a full cold start, it found its location accurately within 20 seconds or so (most units I have seen before take a few minutes). Garmin's new HotFix feature actually works as advertised. Whenever I emerge from a signal dead zone (like a parking garage) the unit finds itself almost immediately. My old Magellan would take at least a minute, if not several to do so. Also this unit has amazingly fast route recalculation response time. I purposefully drove against its directions and it realized and had a new route with a new direction within 5 seconds or less. Again my old Magellan would take about 30 seconds to a minute to recalculate (taking about 10 seconds just to realize I had gone the wrong way). The user interface is also very intuitive and easy to navigate. The features are great. EcoRoute actually gives me usual information, providing estimates of my fuel consumption and and even costs incurred, all based on my vehicle type, fuel type, gas mileage, and its tracking data. The only issue I have had so far is that the Bluetooth Speakerphone on this unit has so far been only satisfactory. Most calls have been intelligible, but I often get told that I can just barely be understood. I am working on finding a better placement in my car to mitigate this issue. For the money, this is probably one of your best bets for GPS at the moment.

I bought this 265WT a few weeks ago. I am one of those people that ALWAYS gets lost. I have found a couple of places with this GPS I would not have a chance of finding without it. It is so easy to use and so accurate I find it "PRICELESS". I called my brother and let him know about it because he has the same direction disabillity I do. Would recomend it to everyone.