4. nuvi 250's New, Internal Antenna

Figure 13: nuvi 250's Internal Antenna vs nuvi 300/600's Fold-Out Antenna

It's worth mentioning that the test unit Garmin provided me used SiRF's high performance StarIII receiver. Garmin has stated that the initial rollout of nuvi 200-series devices will use SiRF, but that Garmin *might* switch to another vendor, or use its own in-house receiver in future nuvi 200 models.

Garmin assures me that whatever chip they use, it will perform at least as well as SiRF's StarIII chip, and that we should assume performance will remain at least as good or better -- otherwise Garmin won't change chips. Let's hope that remains true, because the outstanding performance of SiRF's StarIII chip has been a major improvement to GPS navigation, and I'd hate see a move backwards just to cut costs.

5. Screen Brightness

Figure 14: nuvi 200-Series Display vs. 300/600 Series

Screen brightness on the new nuvi 200-series units is acceptable, though not quite as bright as the displays on the 300 and 600-series nuvi's

6. Mounting the nuvi 250 in the Car

Like other Garmin nuvi's, mounting the nuvi 250 in the car is a simple matter that doesn't require any professional installation. Simply attach the windshield mount to the glass, dock the GPS, and connect the power to the cigarette lighter.

Figure 15: nuvi's Suction Mount, Attached to the Windshield

The secret to Garmin's highly effective mount is its simplicity: simple, lightweight construction with very few moving parts makes for a reliable, solid connection that will stand up well to normal wear and tear.

Locate the area on the windshield where you want to mount the GPS, then press the suction cup mount against the glass and lower the locking lever into place to secure the mount to the windshield.

Note that some States prohibit you from sticking anything to the windshield. If you happen to live in such a state, you can use the permanent adhesive mounting disc (included) to attach the mount to the dashboard instead of the windshield glass. I strongly prefer using the windshield - it's much easer to remove, and when it comes time to upgrade to a new GPS, there's nothing "permanent" to remove.

Figure 16: Connecting the 12v Power Adapter to the Cigarette Lighter

The included 12v cigarette lighter power adapter widens slightly at the base, so I had to insert it on its side in order to clear the ash tray on my car. Nevertheless, the adapter is relatively small and feels solid. A red LED indicator on the base of the adapter shows whether the adapter is getting power -- a nice touch.

Figure 17: Connecting the 12v Power to the nuvi 250

The nuvi 250 uses the same mini-USB connector for both power and data transfer. This reduces the number of connectors on the unit, and simplifies things from a user perspective. The only down side is that the mini-USB connector needs to be inserted the "right" way up, making it slightly more difficult to connect than a standard round connector.

I prefer having the single USB connector for both power and data connections rather than separate jacks, but I did find it slightly difficult to connect while driving (something you really shouldn't be doing anyway...).

Figure 18: Attaching the Bracket Clip to the Windshield Mount

The bracket snaps onto the ball of the windshield mount simply by applying pressure to it. You'll hear (and feel) the socket "snap" onto the mount, creating a ball-and-socket type joint.

To remote the bracket, twist it all the way to the right or left until it "breaks" off the windshield mount.

The beauty of this mount is that there's very little to go wrong. There are no knobs to tighten, or levers to adjust; the mount holds the GPS firmly enough in place that there is no vibration while driving, yet can be re-positioned simply by moving the GPS with your hand. Excellent mount design by Garmin!

Figure 19: Garmin nuvi 250, Powered and Mounted in the Car

The mounting hardware is inconspicuous and barely noticeable when looking at the GPS head-on.

With so much that's right about the mount, it hardly seems fair to complain; but after using the nuvi 250 for a few weeks, I did find myself wishing that the 12v USB power cable attached to the mount rather than the GPS itself. It's a small gripe, but fishing around for the cable and connecting it to the unit each time has a (small) inconvenience that would have been avoided if power cable connect to the mount rather than the unit itself.

7. The Map Page

Figure 21: nuvi 250's Map Screen vs. nuvi 300's Map Screen

The map screen is arguably the most important screen of any GPS, as it's the screen that communicates the GPS' most essential feature: telling you where to go. The map screen has been updated slightly on the nuvi 200-series. Figure 21 shows a side-by-side comparison between the nuvi 200 and 300 series map screens (note that the 600 series nuvi's use the same screen as the 300, just in wide-screen format).

Compared to previous nuvi map screens, the 200-series screen is slightly more refined; the anti-aliasing has been improved, creating smoother lines along the map; icons have received a slight 3D bevel-effect treatment; zoom icons have been made slightly bigger, and the color scheme has been updated.

Perhaps the most significant change to the map screen is the use of a different font in the text bar across the top of the screen. The new font more closely mirrors the font used on actual street signs, and is easier to see from the driver's seat than the font used on previous nuvi's

nuvi 250's updated map screen is an improvement over previous nuvi. Those familiar with Garmin's map screen will find everything where they expect (everything still functions the same way and is in the same position as it was on previous nuvi's/SteetPilots), but the visual presentation has been enhanced slightly. Let's hope the rest of the Garmin nuvi product line gets the new, updated map screen in the next firmware update.

Figure 22: nuvi 250's Map Screen

The map screen is displayed automatically when navigating to an address, with your route marked with a magenta line, as shown in figure 22 above. The map screen can also be manually invoked by tapping on "View Map" from the Main Menu.

Figure 23: Using the Map Screen

1. Text Bar - This text bar displays the current navigation instruction. Tapping on this bar opens the turn list (a list of all up-coming turns)
2. Zoom Out - Zoom out the map display
3. Highlighted Route - The highlighted route is "painted" in magenta
4. Vehicle icon - This customizable icon represents your vehicle on the map. Tapping on the vehicle icons allows you to save your current location (even if there's not a valid street address at your location)
5. Arrival Time - Displays your estimated arrival time. When not en route to a destination, your current speed is displayed here. Tapping this icon opens the Trip Information page
6. Menu - Tap the Menu icon to return to the Menu page
7. Turn In - Displays the distance to the next turn. Tapping this icon displays the Next Turn page (a detailed view of the upcoming turn) and repeats the last voice instruction
8. Zoom In - Zooms in on the map display

Figure 24: Trip Information

The trip information page displays a running counter of various statistics about the "trip", or since it was last reset.