Customer Ratings & Reviews

This GPS unit is perfect for what I was looking for. I wanted something simple that would get me where I need to go while on the road for business. This unit gets a GPS fix very quickly, window mount is easy to use and so far very secure. Battery life so far is excellent! The price I paid at Best Buy only last week was $189, NOT on sale. I'm not sure why it's now $229. (Not a good value at $229 IMO) I love the fact that this unit charges via a Mini-USB port. Don't listen to anyone complaining about having to fork out money to Garmin so they can register their unit, whiners and complainers all. USB is a standard, so there's probably a good chance you have a cell phone, camera, camcorder, etc... that uses a mnin USB cable. Use the cable that came with that device. I used the cable that came with my 6 year olds Barbie MP3 player to sync with my computer, and the wall charger that came with my wife's cell phone to charge my Nuvi inside. On the off chance you don't have a USB cable, generic ones are readily available. If you are like me, and want a GPS unit that is small, simple to use, reliable, and reasonably priced, I'd definitely go with the Nuvi 205W, or 205 if the $229 price isn't an error.

I had bought another GPS unit at Best buy several days ago, returned it (hated the lack of features) and bought this unit. I have to say, this Garmin 205W is really great! As soon as I purchased the unit, I opened it up in the Best Buy parking lot. I turned it on, and within a few seconds, I was up and running. I entered my home address to navigate to, and I was on my way! I purposely made a wrong turn from the route that the GPS had calculated for me, and within a few seconds, it had recalculated the route, and I was back on track. The custom POI feature is great also! Hooking up the unit to my computer (used a cord from my cell phone that I had laying around) I was able to add my own POI (points of interest) to the unit. One thing you have to remember is that when you try to find the custom POI when driving, it is listed in the "Extras" and not the regular POI menus. Overall I am enjoying this unit. Great unit for anyone.

Not sure how anyone could complain about this product, it is by far one of the easiest Nav units to use. Menu Navigation is straight forward and easy to thumb through and is pretty darn accurate. Would've been nice to have included a USB cable with this device, but as one customers review stated most people with a camcorder, cell phone or digital camera already have this cable at the ready for convenient charging and and computor hook up. Would be nice to actually hear an audible announcement of the road, interstate or exit but you get what you pay for. Overall I give this unit a 4 out of 5, it really is a good buy, but all gadgets like this one have room for improvements. PS not sure whats up with the listed price but I paid 189.00 for mine at Best Buy just last week!

I looked at a lot of GPS units and this one for the money had the most features, has a nice crisp wide screen and good reception . I compared to other brands in the same price range and nothing comes close to the $200 price i paid for this. It has a Jpeg viewer, currency converter, calculator, downloadable points of interest, also a speedometer and a few more that i never use.

Wonderful GPS with the necessary features. Easy to use and great screen. Low on features but it does the basics well.

If you want a very good acurate GPS that is very easy to use, this is the one. At first I was going for the garmin 255 because it called street names. This unit does not- you do not need to hear them- it will tell you when to turn and direction 300 feet or so before your turn. Your next turn street name is written on top of screen and can be easly seen. You can also for example be home press ware am I, and save it in favorates. Then after you go to another location, say it was your college Morgan State you can save it too. so when you are ready you can press home and it will take you home. You can also track your speed and gas milage. Personaly I drive a wrecker, when I get a road call this unit gets me there no problem. You can even ask the unit to show you house numbers as you drive around town . OUTSTANDING - You do not need a super exspensive unit - This unit will get you there even if you missed your turn.It will run on its internal battery for 3.5-4 hours or you can power it through your cigarett lighter, usb port, or ac plug

This is my second GPS, but my first Garmin. For the money it was a good buy (99.00). Its user friendly for the most part, but cant seem to add midway points if you were on a vacation and want to take a detour. Over all the unit has functioned well. I plan on upgrading to a more powerful unit that has live weather etc... The Garmin is a very good brand and plan to buy another.

I would have never gotten to where I need to go had it not been for this GPS. First time I put 100% trust in the GPS. The GPS had no problem in miami figuring my current position but after my trip ended in Tampa i was ready to go home and was looking for a button just to reverse the directions to get back home. It didnt have one but i dont think any of them do. They really need to add that feature. Anyways, i was ready to go, entered my address and waited and waited for this thing to calculate where i was. I had to drive about 2 miles oblivious to where i was going hoping it would figure it out where it was. It eventually did after about 10 minutes wandering aimlessly. It eventually got me exactly where i needed to be to get home but after further review and 20 mins on google maps i found out the GPS actually had taken my about 20-30 mins out of the way. It got me where i needed to go albeit not the fastest way. Maybe it was avoiding something i dont know about but never the less im home and safe.

Easy to use, big screen, very fast, good features, good priece, this is my first GPS and is very easy to use.

I purchased one for my son for Christmas because he is away at college and it is very helpfull for him. I then decided that I would like one too. It is amazing how it knows all the things it does. I like how it recalculates your directions if you have to make an unexpected turn. Great product for a very reasonable price. I would recomend the Garmin 205W for anyone that wants a GPS. It has a large easy to view screen.

i love this thing so far, it is my first nav unit and i am very pleased, so simple to set up and to use, just type in where i want to go and i instantly know where to go, the touch screen is very responsive and the suction cup mount stick to the windshield very nicely. Also comes with a disc that you can stick on your dash(doesnt come off easily though, its required to have in some states though)

Its a great deal and not worth passing up if your looking for an entry level GPS. I love it. I wish it pronounced the street names like my previous street pilot. The size is incredible, and battery life is decent. Button sensitivity is not very responsive. Dont try to type in an address on the go(Which your not suppose to anyway). At the price offered, I bought 2.

Overall this product is pretty good. I like the widescreen display and it has alot of points of interest. Some of the cons.......you have to pay to upgrade the map on the garmin website.....it has tried to take me the wrong way on one way streets a few times........the block that i live on is backwards...it thinks my address is at the opposite end of the block...but all in all this is a good gps unit and i would recommend it to anyone!

Nice unit for the price. I bought this for my wife because she has to travel every once in a while for her job. This unit is so easy to use that even a tech deprived person such as my wife has no problems with it. The wide screen makes it easy to read and see.

We used the Garmin to find a particular store in a strange town and on forest roads when in the woods. It worked great. It even has a setting for bicycle or walking routes that don't take you on freeways.

I got the unit at Best Buy for $149 and purchased the AC adapter for it,that way I can make sure it is fully charged before I leave. I purchased a USB cord from Garmin website with it you can download waypoints from Mapquest and Google Maps. The website also has different fun vehicles and voices you can get for free. The screen is definitly bright and able to been seen even in the daylight and is also a great travel feature when traveling at night. The directions are spoken very load and clearly even when listening to the radio. You can adjust both the volume and screen brightness to save on the battery. Touch screen very responsive and can locate gas hotels ,restaraunts ,ect in the area very quickly. If you decide to venture off or make a detour it reroutes you automatically very quickly.

Garmin's reputation for ease of use is well-deserved. The unit is very easy to use, not only for me, but for my wife who is not technologically gifted. The main problem is that the unit simply does terribly at tracking satellites. It can sometimes take 5-10 minutes on a clear day, let alone overcast or rain. And it must be on the dashboard of the car; hold it in your hand and it will never track. This means you either sit still and wait for it to track, or you start driving and have the unit sliding around someplace distracting. We thought it was our unit and swapped it out with Garmin, but the replacement is no better. And the bracket that holds the unit onto the support stand has broken after 1.5 years of use. I haven't shopped other brands since, but I certainly would before I got another Garmin.

Very happy with my purchase so far. Nice size screen. Clear easy to read display. Since my job takes me on the road often, having a GPS that has a slim design makes it easy to transport (Slim enough to fit in pocket).

Sometimes have to play with streets like State Roads, SR, M-xx, Hwy-xx, etc. to find accurate address. Once it finds it you're golden. Redirects very quickly if you miss your turn. Love the larger screen, would never buy a small screen again.

I received this unit for Christmas from my fiance, because he knows I get lost easily in areas I am not familiar with. It is very easy to program. I like being able to add my favorite locations so that if I am leaving from an unusual starting point, it looks for the fastest route. Another feature I really enjoy is the "avoidances" feature- I can tell it to look for routes that will avoid highways, so if I am stuck in traffic on the highway in an unfamiliar area, it sends me on the fastest route via surface streets. The only thing I think would improve this unit would be if it came with a case, rather than having to buy it separately.