Customer Ratings & Reviews

Very simple to use and I was amazed at how fast it will access satellites vs older models. Great screen, long battery life, ease of use, all the info you need: current speed, speed limits, turn by turn distance, total distance, top speed, etc. Cannot be beat at $179.

This is my first GPS and I am so far very happy with this purchase. When I took it out of the box I literally had it up and running within 1 minute. Just plug in and go! I also had my first destination address entered and set in less then 10 seconds. I love how it starts searching for the names of cities and streets as you start entering letters, so it will usually find the name long before you have to enter the whole thing. The touch screen works great as well, the buttons are nice and big, so you aren't accidently hitting the wrong thing as you are typing. The display is really nice too, easy to read even in the bright sunlight. The sound is loud and very clear, I actually have my sound set to 50% and it's still loud enough for me. There are lots of other great features that I wasn't expecting to come included, like calculator, it shows the speed limit, "Where Am I?" feature, World Clock, the TONS of points of interest.. anything from chinese restaurants to casinos, skiing, police stations, hospitals... tons of stuff! I am extremely happy with this purchase and don't know why I waited so long to buy it!

This little guy is brand new. I had a Garmin 200W, but couldnt stand it because of the severe update/refresh rate of the maps while navigating, you are watching a very bad slide show. Do yourself a favor and skip over the 200 and 200w... they are a waste of time. Garmin upgraded the processor in these to 333mhz, and I have to say they did a GREAT job with it, the map update/refresh rates are smooth and fast! The routing and re routing its MUCH faster than the nuvi 200 or 200w. As always, Navteq and Garmin have excellent accuracy and routing. The Speaker is very loud and easily heard at highway speeds with your radio going, or even with the windows down. You cannot go wrong with these little units. Although a little expensive, you do get what you pay for with Garmins, I am more impressed with this model than I am with the TomTom 930 I had previously.

It was very easy to use. I didn't need to resort to the instruction manual. I bought it because my friends and I were going to Iowa to visit UI and to check for our housing for college. It was awesome. it took us to the hotel we were staying. It told us how to get to a party we were going to. We used it to find the bars around campus. I live in Chicago and I know i won't have a problem founding my way around Iowa with the gps. When we were leaving sunday we stopped at a bowling alley that we found on the point of interest. It a joke how easy it is to use. I had no clue how to get to Iowa from Chicago. I got to Iowa with no problem. I got back to Chicago with no problem. The best part it only cost a couple hundred and you don't even have to pay a monthly fee for the satellite access. The only problem is you have to buy an adapter for traffic and weather reports. I highly recommend this product.

This GPS is not bad for its price. Fast routing and easy to use. Need to make sure the navigator menu setting is correct. I put it in Fast time. I checked several avoidance boxes for navigator to work the way I want. I check U-turn, traffic and carpool lanes. I hate stuck in Traffic but this GPS doesn't really do anything about it. still stucking in Traffic all the time. However, it works great to anywhere I want to go. Moreover, the detour works great. If I want to take different route, all I need is press Detour. It will calculate a new route in just secs. It tells you the what the speed limit is and give you the estimated time of arrival which changes according to your driving speed. At least, after owning this GPS, I don't get lost anymore.

GPS user (rental cars) from 2-3 users and also own a Non-portable Magellan 760 (no touch screen and bulky) from 2 years. I brought this 205 on Black Friday 2008 and compared with my friend's Magellan 1212. This Nuvi 205 did not detect the satellites / position in my apartment whereas the 1212 did :| This 205 may be great for very low end simple usage since it does not announce the street names and did not show on ramp entry point the way other GPS's show (I have seen magellans and Hertz neverlost only) =>Later on road, the position on city streets was not correctly displayed on time (it showed me 300 ft from intersection even though I was on it) =>The speed of the vehicle was also shown 2-3 miles above what was shown on the car speedometer (with 2 cars). =>When driving using directions, the nuvi shows only the 'arrival time at destination'' whereas the 1212 toggles between 'arrival time at destination/ time remaining/ miles remaining on screen tap). =>The main reason for me not liking this was the not announcing street names and on ramp point not shown features that made me return this GPS after using it for 3-4 hours. Positive points are: It looks slick than the 1212. JPEG viewer for users who want it. Battery life one hour extra than 1212. Anyway I purchased the 1212 and I feel it's way better than the Nuvi 205 for the features and price value. Thanks.

This Nuvi is great for someone who wants a "good" deal on a quality GPS. ( be sure to print off the 50 off coupon from Best Buy for Garmin ) It is easy to use and plots your way very quickly. The screen is a perfect size to read while not detracting from your driving. You also can create a account at Garmin and download various add ons for the GPS, including new characters. ( don't spend 30 dollars on a usb plug, take a look at your camera usb cords, guarantee one will fit like mine did. ) All in all very happy with purchase, so far no complaints and already had a co-worker buy one.

My husband got me this GPS as a christmas gift and i love it is great easy to use, sleek and shine i got it in black the screen is fantastic and the letters in the keyboard are very useful and big you don't need to write the whole city name it does it for you, the points of interest uufff many i wont get lost anymore just have a few months in USA and i will know exactly where i am with my new fantastic GPS

Recently purchased this unit a few weeks ago, and to say the least, I am not dissapointed. It is very user friendly, and you can customize you vehicles. The accuracy is amazing. My favorite feature is the Where am I feature. Hit this button, and it tells you where you are exactly at, and what is the closest gas station, hospital or police station. Definitely an amazing value for the price!

This is the greatest thing i have ever had. My first GPS, I was focused on getting the nuvi 780...... but i compared these two, and the 250 blew it out of the water. I searched for Lake Havasu, AZ as well as Yosemite Natl. Park, at the same time on both, and the 205 found it immediately while the 780 struggled and took at least a minute. I know this unit does not have all the bells and whistles, but i am COMPLETELY satisfied with it. the voice is very very loud at 80%, and i am very hard at hearing. i had a car packed with 5 people, the radio on, and i could hear it completely clear. yes it does not speak street names, but how hard is it to peep at the top of the screen to see what street you are turning on?? it is very easy to navigate through too. i thought it was going to be hard because this unit does not allow you to choose a qwerty keyboard, but you get used to it. i would reccommend this to anyone!! if you had high expectations, and think this unit will not live up to them, you are wrong!!! you won't be disappointed with the nuvi 205!!! it's only been 3 days since i've had it, and i can't go anywhere without it!!! =]

Very pleased with this GPS. My girlfriend and I spent a week in California. We needed a GPS so we could get lost and "explore" - so instead of renting a GSP unit from the car rental agency at $7 a day, I opted to buy my own GPS. I did some research on the Garmin vs. the TomTom - comparing both in the same low price point. After reading a lot of reviews on the poor signal quality on the TomTom, I decided to buy the Garmin nuvi 205. Iit works great and VERY easy to use. My girlfriend, who isn't that tech savvy, found it intuitive as well. We never had an issue picking up a signal. Some of the features are cool as well - - like the "find it" locator for food, gas, hotels, etc. We were looking for a local burger joint and it was able to get us to the closest location without any issues. Even though this unit doesn't speak the street names, it's still a great unit for the money. The GPS does give you a verbal heads up when there's an upcoming turn. I definitely recommend this GPS to anyone looking to buy a good unit without spending too much money.

I first of all want to thank all of you on this site who have written reviews on this product. I have owned it for a few days now. I bought it because I get so nervous driving in the big cities, trying to look at my mapquest maps while I'm driving and wondering if I'm going the right way. We'll be going to Chicago in a week or so and plan to go to Ikea and the Auto Show. And now I feel totally comfortable driving there, because I don't have to worry about getting lost with my Garmin. I looked at the other brands, such as Sony & TomTom, etc. And I've been hearing so much about the TomTom not being accurate like the Garmin is. I haven't tried the Sony, only compared options, so I can't say anything about the Sony. I was going to try it out, but I was so extremely happy with the Garmin, so I decided to just keep the Garmin. I gaurantee you; you'll be 100% happy with it!

I am so happy with my new Garmin Nuvi 205. I can't imagine why anyone would spend more money on any other model. It does exactly what it needs to do, and it is very easy to use. It took about 5 minutes to set up and it was practically ready to use right out of the box. I purchased a few of the accessories for it, which are almost necessary. In order to download different vehicles and map updates from the Garmin website, you need to buy the USB cable. Also, I have found the wall charger and the travel case to be a good investment. I wish that these 3 accessories had been included with my Nuvi. Make sure you check out the free vehicle downloads on the website. There are tons of options and they are a great way to customize and have fun with your GPS. I personally love the "Princess" pink sports car :)

Love everything about it. Very easy to use. Just type in where you want to go and your there. Love that it tell you what gas stations and restaurants are near by. It tell you detours and all. So easy a child could operate.

I just received this Garmin GPS! I love the screen size. I did have a little trouble navigating through the steps to add my address for the Set Home Location. As I am still learning on how to operate all the functions, I would say that it would be helpful to have a tool icon available no matter what screen view you are at in order to have quicker access to certain key functions. But then again, I am still learning and am sure after time I will be a pro! Other than that for the price, you cannot bet the quality of this Garmin 205. I wish that they would come with some kind of carrying case (even a cheap case would be nice) but I am going to purchase the leather Garmin case. Enjoy!

Love the turn by turn directions, so that it's not necessary to look at the screen while driving. Also like the speed limit zones shown on the screen. Appears to be pretty accurate, even in remote areas.

We fled for Hurricane Gustav and mapquest doesn't update itself if you make a mistake. This little GPS navi or nuvi works for every little need there, where is finding an atm, food, gas station, hotel, or anything entertaining. I bought it for $195 with 12% discount coupon. For those who want an entry-level GPS, this is the one from Garmin. It perfect for those road trips with your family. It shows speed limits, roadside stops, street names and exit numbers. Although small, it packs a wallop for almost anything you need it for. It comes with a windshield stand, instruction manual, and power cord for a cigarette lighter. For 200 bucks, this is all you need for your travels to come.

Just plug in to charge and aquire the satalites in about a minute and your good to go. Dont forget if you have 60 days to register it at garmin and get the latest map update for free. Takes bout an hour to do if you have highspeed internet then ur good to go back on the road. All you need to do so is the garmin usb cable which is sold seprately. Only down side is after your free download and if you feel the need to update it again a year from now you have to pay. Ocasionally might take you a few minutes out of the way but still gets you ther quick. Over all its worth to have this product if you like to drive and find new places.

This is the second Garmin GPS Unit that I have purchased. I did some research with Consumer Reports.com and found that the Garmins had good ratings and offered just what I needed. I have had one in my Ford Taurus since the summer of 2008 and Love its ease of use and how well it works. Today February the 8th I decided to buy another one because of the awesome price offered by Best Buy. The second Unit will be used in my Mustang. I can hardly wait to open the package and try it out. I have been very pleased with Garmin and would recommend this product to anyone looking for a good GPS Unit at an affordable price.

The NUVI 205 is my first GPS. I spent a couple of hours researching them. The NUVI 205 had great reviews and the value for the price seemed to be unbeatable. It was very easy to set up, basically plug and go. I was impressed with the color and clarity of the screen - even during bright daylight hours. The only negative is the cost to hardwire into my car. It cost over $ 75.00 with tax to install. However, the installation was well done and the Best Buy Tech was great. So overall, I am very happy with the entire experience.