Can't the people at Garmin figure out that they are ruining their nuvi line with crappy speakers?

Quick note: In the section on using the bluetooth handsfree feature, the review states:

"The 265WT's internal speaker isn't loud enough to hear phone calls when driving in the car, so if you plan on making regular use of the Bluetooth hands-free calling capabilities, I'd highly recommend connecting a cassette tape adapter (like the kind made for using portable MP3 players in a car) to the nüvi's headphone jack, or buying a 3rd party FM transmitter."

Good suggestion, but of course... there's no headphone jack on the 265WT to use with a cassette adapter or FM transmitter. You're stuck with the standard audio output from the speakers.

....and Garmin continues to milk the nuvi line and their customers.

Since Garmin keep taking away features that once existed and then add some on slowly to some newer models while calling them "new innovations," and since Garmin lag behind other manufactures who offer more features for less money (road excludes, etc.) can we start calling the nuvi line, "oldi?"

Folks, considering that Garmin has 432 nuvis to choose from (OK I exaggerate a bit, but not much), I'll make simple for you.

Get yourself a nuvi 350 or 360 (if you want bluetooth). They can be had for $150-$200. No, they don't have features like road exclude like the older Streetpilot 26xx, 27xx, 7200 and 7500, but it's the sane basic routing software. If anything, my tests have shown that they actually have a better routing algorithm than the "newer" nuvi, at least on the east coast.

If you really, really, really need poor rendering of 3D buildings and lane assist that may not work on some highways, by all means go for the 785T for about $600 bucks. But, remember, it's the same basic routing software and IMO, poorer a poorer routing algorithm.

Also remember, that with the nuvi 350 and 360, you will be getting the superior SiRF III chipset and that many tests have shown that you get better satellite acquisition and fixes with the fold-up antenna, which provides a larger antenna and better positioning.

Either that, or wait for Garmin to actually bring us new and useful routing technology as they did a few years ago before the laughable nuvi line came out. But, don't hold your breath, because as long as there are suckers born every minute, Garmin will keep pumping out "new" nuvis, that actually aren't very new, while padding their profits.

RobGPS, I don't know if you own one othe the newer nuvi's without the fold-up antenna, but if so I'm sure you've noticed that the TTF is MUCH quicker than the older 300 series you mentioned. Also much less likely to lose fix. As for price, the 700 series can be had for around $275, so little reason that I see for going with the older and less capable 300's. Yes Garmin has a lot of nuvi models, 27 to be exact. But 7 of those (the older 2x0's) will soon join the 300's and 600's as discontinued models. By late spring I also expect the 7x0's to join them. If you look as the state of the market/industry right now, the days of the $500-plus dedicated gps are ending. Consumers as a rule are no longer willing to spend much in excess of $300 for a pnd, with the low-end sub-$250 range being the fastest sellers. When you can buy the most desired features (traffic, bluetooth, TTS) for under $200, the manufacturers recognize that there is a very small market for heavily-featured, latest tech devices. Garmin's market-vision for the nuvi line turned out to be nearly ideal for the masses, with Garmin the only one of the big players gaining share. TomTom's finances are going south fast with not even one high-end new pnd is well over a year, Magellan may be in it's last days, Navigon and Mio are treading water, DASH has given up the hardware side and HP looks to be abandoning the gps market. The only real forward movement is coming from Garmin. And they know the willingness of the consumer to pay much over $400 for the latest device is fading fast. Your old street-pilot was several hundred dollars (around a $1000) when introduced. Now the latest 755T can be purchased for less than $400. Where do you think the market is?

To clarify my above comment, TomTom has not released any truly new NORTH AMERICAN high-end pnd since late summer of 2007, 15 months ago. The suckers Rob should refer to are the ones who bought the TomTom930 for $500 only to find they were only a 920 with a software upgrade. You could buy the 920 for under $350 and have the exact same device after a map update.

The market is in phones like iPhone, NuviFone,smartphones. The PND market as we once know it is dead, get use to it.
We will be force to watch ads and pay a monthly service fee to use navigation on our cell phones and we will like it because there will be little offering by PND companies in the near future. I think the market is saying they will pay $99 to $149 for a PND and the GPS manufacturers can't really offer to much at this price range and show a profit.
We ask for lower pricing and we got what we asked for, junk! We need to have a few great products at a higher price and Garmin is trying to accomplish this with the Nuvi 880 etc and it shows that there is no appetite from the consumer at the $800 price point no matter how much features it offers.

We pretty much agree on the future of pnds GPS4ME. Except for a brief flurry of activity with live services (connected) PND's, I don't see much of a future for dedicated highway-use gps's, especially 5 years out. The hand-held, marine and aviation markets may continue to prosper for a few years, but for those companies without a presence in those markets (TomTom, Navigon, Mio), hardware sales will pretty much disappear in the near future IMHO. Software sales will be their only hope.

Gps4me and gatorguy,

You guys sound really down on the future of the PND market. I hope you are wrong. I own an ipod touch which has the same screen size as the iphone, and I would not like using it verses a dedicated PND. Some people like using dedicated devices becuase they usually work better for their intended purpose, and I guess I am one of those people. I don't think that what we are seeing is the beginning of the end of the PND, but the begginning of a scaleback. Only the strong companies will survive. I believe there will always (for the forseeable future) be a market for PNDs, there just won't be as many players as there are now. Long term, the companies who survive will be the ones who inovate, combining both hardware and software products (non phone) into their navigation devices to help get buyers from other markets interested in PNDS. One of the reasons that Apple does so well besides having inovative products is that they know how to market them. Owning an Apple product is cool and PND manufacturers need to figure out Apple's recipe for marketing.

GARMIN 765T Bluetooth Review:

Bottom Line: It stinks!!!!!!!!!! and is vastly inferior to the Previous Parrot Bluetooth.

Fletch, your review completely missed the mark on this very important sub system to the Garmin Nuvi 7x5 Line and because of your lack of thorough testing it cost me a 15% restocking fee at Best Buy.

What the heck were you doing for 20 plus days to review this unit!!!!!!!!!!

Full Review:

Here is some background info

I have been long term Garmin customer going from 660 to 680 to Current 780. Prior to a Garmin PND I was a log term Pocket PC/Bluetooth user: Pharos, Navman, PocketMap, TomTOM and Intellinav.

Main reason I went to dedicated unit was the for the Display on the Garmin and for Traffic Service. I have a convertable and a Pocket PC Screen is impossible to see in Sunlight.

Becuase i have a Convertible, I have been trying to find a way to better hear the Nuvi 780's Tiny-Distorted Speaker in my Car.

1) The FM Transmitter Sucks

2)I have an 3.5 mm Aux in, but if i use it Ican't also hear my radio/cd/or use my MP3 player( Rhapsody Subscription DRM)

3)Also don't want an audio cable sticking out the left side while I also have the poer sticking out the right side(6x0 had the audio jack on the right side and power cable came strait down)

4)I looked into the Garnmin VIB 11 but not compatible with MSN only TMC and Garmin discontinued it, nor have I found an install shop that has done one nor wants to use my BMW Z4 as a Guinea Pig and splice up my speaker wiring.

5)So when I learned that the 7x5 had A2DP, I came up with the perfect solution: I would upgrade from the 780 and Use a Dedicated Powerful BT Stereo Speaker for the Garmin 7X5 so that I could replace/supplement the internal speaker without any wires and be able to hear Commands and Phone conversations in my car while still having the factory radio playing in the background.

So here is my 1 hour experience with a 765T unit that I purchased on Saturday at 3pm and return at 4pm with a 15% restocking fee.

1)Outgoing Calls: As others have reported the Nuvi does not allow your to hear the phone ringing.

2)Call Logs: Missed/Last Dialed/last Received are listed in no apparent order. 780 they are listed in Historical order.

3)Phone book Sync: only a single number shows for each person.
If Jack Oehff has Home/Office/Cell/Fax/ The 780 will show jack and then list each phone number with an icon depicting the type. The 765T only shows a single number. This is pure garbage!!!!!!!!!!

4)A2DP to BT Stereo Speaker: It took over 10 attempts to get it paired and then it would keep disconnected. I was able to stream the Audio player, but once a call was made- The Sound would mute for both the Audio Player and the call. And the Nuvi would Lock up. I would have to turn it off/ drop the device pair and try to re pair and then retest and get same experience.

5)The Quality of the Physical Unit also felt cheaper than my 780. The Screen refresh was noticeably faster and the new graphics are nice but the quality of the display also looked inferior to 780 and the Keyboard appear smaller.

6)With the Experience I ahd with Bluetooth, I determined that the Lane Guidance/3 D Buildings were not worth replacing my 780 when the Bluetooth is so poorly implemented and I returned the unit by 4PM that same day.

Fletch, I will be sending you a Bill for $75( 15% of $500). I can only hope that you will be more thorough next time, especially when you take so long to publish a review and your were requested ahead of time on numerous occasions to thoroughly test the Bluetooth.

How could Garmin destroy the Previous best Bluetooth Implementation on any PND and you to not catch it in your review?

Both You and Garmin should be ashamed of yourselves!!!!!!!!!

I don't think you could attempt syncing your phone with the gps 10 times is less than an hour. That by itself would require close to 1/2 an hour, plus you indicate drive-time and use of the bluetooth functions, long enough to get a disconnect. Perhaps a bit of exaggeration or maybe based on reports from other users other than yourself? The new bluetooth services may or may not have some intial growing pains, but difficult to see how you could determine this in less than an hour after purchase.

LOL, $75!!!

I drive a 2000 Ford Explorer Sport with over 140,000 miles and you drive a BMW Z4 and have 32 cell phones (Blah, Blah, Blah).

Look, if I send you a check to cover the $75 you're pissing and moaning about will you shut up and go away?

I came here to read a review about the 265WT and you're complaining about a completely different model.

BMW Hater,

Please send $75 made out to:
Jack Ohff
69 Ford Sux Rd.
Troy Michigan

Much Appreciated

The King

King Bluetooth:
Fletch doesn't owe you anything. He doesn't needs to send our any amount of money. You read his review and went out and STILL bought the GPS. So you're at fault for the restocking fee. Not Fletch. Plus, even if Fletch did a bad review (which I don't think so), you still bought the GPS so it was your choice to buy it. Nobody forced you. The review only informed the general public about the device. I didn't see anywhere that it said: "If you read this review, you will HAVE to go out and buy this GPS."

Stefan C,

This is straight from the WebSite:

" GPSmagazine is an e-zine that publishes the most in-depth GPS reviews available. GPSmagazine.com has quickly become the Internet's most recognized and trusted source of GPS reviews, news, and product recommendations. Independent review site ConsumerSearch said it best:

This e-zine publishes a plethora of incredibly comprehensive reviews. Every feature is tested. Reviews conclude with long lists of pros and cons. The reviews are lavishly illustrated with photographs, screen shots and additional documentation. Testing methodology is fully explained. Each product test is headed with a subjective verdict that makes comparisons easy, and verdicts range from wonderful to useless. Products are also scored and ranked. Each product is assigned a ranking in six subcategories, and a chart compares and ranks features. By a wide margin, this is the best review source for auto GPS we found.

Our reviews are designed to give you the same level of knowledge of a given product as if you had purchased it yourself.

Choosing the right GPS is becoming more complex and GPSmagazine.com is here to help, providing objective and accurate information. All our reviews are painstakingly researched and free of any advertising influence. We accept no free samples. If a manufacturer sends us a free product, we return it. GPSmagazine has no agenda other than the interests of consumers.

GPSmagazine.com is visited by approximately 400,000 visitors per month, and is experiencing phenomenal growth as word of this site's high-quality content spreads."

Please Pay attention to the following Words:

1)"Every feature is tested":

Not True he did not test the A2DP Streaming

2)"Our reviews are designed to give you the same level of knowledge of a given product as if you had purchased it yourself.":

Not true he gave no knowledge of the A2DP feature

3)"GPSmagazine.com is here to help, providing objective and accurate information. All our reviews are painstakingly researched and free of any advertising influence.""

Not true he did give accurate info on the Phone Book Sync and Call Logs issue that Garmin is reporting nor did he test or research A2DP feature.

So Fletch did not accurately or fully test the 785T as he describes as the Service that the Website provides. I also see no disclaimer on his website about not being responsible about the accuracy of the information and not being liable for consequential damages.

So Based on the evidence the Rule of Law will render a verdict in favor of me and against Fletch.

But Fletch doesn't need to pay me because BMW Hater has already offered to pay me the $75 for him.

Bow to the King

Hmmm. . . So I guess he didn't report on one feature. Wow, hard to believe he could make such a huge mistake. LOL!

Stuff happens.

Right. But there's no disclaimer saying that he will pay you. Also, BMW Hater won't pay you. I mean, why would he? It's not like he made a "mistake". He's joking.

I take people's words at face value.
If BMW Hater said he/she will pay me the $75 then he/she will pay up to the King.

I trust that he/she is an honest person just like I trusted Fletch to report an honest review.

Now back to work- My Loyal Subjects

You didn't give him/her your address. Fletch is an honest guy. You're just taking it hard on him. He made a mistake. Oh well!!! If you want, I'll pay you $75. Oh look. I lied. See what I mean? Don't be cheap.

gatorguy,

You are honestly one of the few people that I'd go to for advice on any gps unit, but I have to respectfully disagree with you on a couple of points regarding the 300 vs. the "newer" nuvis i.e. 700 series.

First, I have to tell you that I own the SP 2820 (as you know) and my wife the 350. For portability, I bought the 260. In addition, at my recommendation to buy a Garmin 360, my sister instead bought the 760 (she got a great deal).

Here's where we disagree: In my experience, the TTF of the 350 is much quicker than the 260 and 760, and that's with all the latest upgrades and fixes. As a matter of fact, the StreetPilot is quicker than the latter two.

Also, I've had both the 260 and 350 running side by side and on the lower level of the GW Bridge, the 260 loses its fix about halfway (as does my StreetPilot) while the 350 makes it all the way through. On Boston's Big Dig, the 260 and sisters 760 (we drove together) lose sats considerably before the 350 did.

I can live with this more than I can the routing algorithm of the 260 and 760. After the 300 and 600 series, Garmin most definitely changed it, and for the worse. I'm sure you've read my accounts (and others) at gpspassion. My 260 consistently takes poorer routes than the 350 with the same maps and identical settings. It'll take me miles through conjested streets to get to a highway entrance when there is one closer by, plus it takes me off of major highways to drive through busy streets. Not the 350 or StreetPilot.

So yes, in my opinion, a 350 at $145 is a FAR better value than a 700 series for $240. It's not only cheaper, but a far better routing unit. This applies to all nuvi. If you can do without bells and whistles like mp3 and picture viewers, and are OK with one via point, by all means buy the cheapest nuvi available, because the routing software is identical. That, plus, as I said, the older nuvi's (300 and 600 series) have a much better routing algorithm and quicker and more stable satellite fixes. That's the key when narrowing down the extensive nuvi units - buy the cheapest possible.

Now the StreetPilot is a different animal. Like you say, Garmin realizes that not many people will spend the money that I would on a great GPS and that the market is on lower end GPS's. BUT, in the process they have severely dumbed down their units, hence the introduction of the nuvi line.

What troubles me, is when Garmin "re-introduces" features that were on the SP onto nuvis as the "latest and greatest" innovation and technology. Nuh uh, these features already existed LONG ago, but in Garmin's quest to milk the nuvi line, they add them slowly to different units, one by one, but NEVER add them to any upgrades. It's a travesty that Garmin took away road excludes (other than the new high end 5000) when you can buy $100 units from all other manufacturers that have this feature. Then they take away something simple like the alert chime? Why? Did they do a survey and find out that 99% hate this feature, even though you can turn this option off?

Rob, appreciate the good word. Since you have access to both the 3x0 and 7xo nuvi's, I'll have to defer to your observation for now. I'll try to "borrow" a 3x0 sometime in the next couple of weeks to do a side-by-side drive comparison. But I can state that my 760 has had satlock within 20 seconds consistently since firmware 2.5. Perhaps the 760 you observed was allowed to go thru it's "legal" screen timeout of about 15 seconds before showing the device had lock. Perhaps not. But I can't imagine the 350 TTF being less, since hotfix isn't available for it. The
only other cause could be occasional 7x0 use, as the quickfix data is not longer valid after a few days and will need to refresh. In that case, you may notice about 30 seconds TTF. As far as routing, I think that changed with the 27xx series, then again with the 6x0 series, then again very recently. Yes, they have tweaked it at least twice that I know of and reportedly three times in the past 5 years. Whether for better or worse, I don't know, again deferring to your observations. I can comment that the most recent minor adjustment with 4.x firmware seems to be an incremental improvement with more emphasis on major rather than secondary highways.

IF you guys had to choose between the 760 and this unit (265 wt) which would it be? I don't know if I want a higher end but older model (760) or a most recent model (265wt)? I cant find any info comparing these two.

I just got my 265WT (which I picked over the 760 model BTW) and I see that the 12V power adapter -- that is also is the traffic tuner -- has a small hole in the FM antenna "lump". It looks like it could be a 2.5mm jack. Does anyone know what this is or what it can be used for?

Hi , my name is Maureen , feel kind of dum posting on this but i have been shopping for a GPS for myself , i originally wanted the 760 but when i saw the 265W i thought the maps looked more updated with the turn signal on the upper left & speed & speed limit , now i have been using it all day & i have seen WALLGREES pop up like 4 times BP wells fargo , i have have seen at least 10 adds today , it has worked flawlessly especially if u count the adds , i also DONT like windshield mount u really have to check every detail , i wanted the 760 it has a powered mount , no cable to unhook , also didn't realize u cant use your head set with bluetooth on dam, now it gets satlelight quickly , no problem there , i am thinking of returning it for the 255w save 60 bucks , or go for the 760 ? M in Ft Lauderdale

I am new at GPS and looking for an hour. I came to see the Garmin was the best so to pick a model is frustrating. I want the best for maps do not need bluetooth or mp3 etc. I want to easily put in a request for directions and get the best route.
I see not to go to the 700 series. Should I buy the 265wt. If not can someone just tell a novice what model to get. $$ 200 or less up to 300.

Thanks. I will look into the 255. Question they say lifetime maps then they say you have to pay every 15 months to upgrade the maps. Is this a scam. I know it may be putting you on the spot which one would you pick the 755 or 255 and a quick why.
Thanks so much.

Stuart

My apologies - I am new to GPSs. I am trying to figure out what to buy and am stuck on the 265(W)T (especially at $249), 255 or if 255s aren't in stock, 250 or 260. I don't understand what the bluetooth fuss is all about. Can't you just wear your bluetooth headset, connect it to your phone and use it normally, while operating a GPS?
(I am concerned about the ads on the 265(W)T and just how intrusive they are). It sounds as if you can turn OFF the traffic but you can't turn OFF the ads (even when the traffic is turned off). Is this true?

Fletch,

Under PROS (page 11, bullet 11), it says:

"Ability to connect a phone and a headset at the same time via Bluetooth"

yet under CONS (page 11, second bullet from the bottom), it says:

"Cannot connect to both a Bluetooth headset/earpiece and a cell phone at the same time"

aren't you contradicting yourself? Which is correct?

Thanks.

I was hoping to find info about the Nuvi 265wt. I was able to find it for $229.00 on amazon.com. Seems like a pretty good deal for what you get but, was hoping to get some feed back from users of this GPS unit before I buy.

The bluetooth function is not as important to me as being able to hear and understand the text to speech directions and have traffic info. Any feed back would be appreciated (on the 265wt).

I'm looking for a GPS unit. I do not want anything too fancy, but I do want widescreen and text to speech. I was looking at the 260w, 255w, or 265wt. I'm leaning towards the 265wt because of the free traffic. Is the traffic feature on the 265wt worth the extra money? What's the difference between the 260w and 255w? Which unit would be the best buy?

I'm between this, the Garmin 265WT and the previous Garmin 680.

Do I gain enough in the 265 to warrant the 25% price increase?

I'm thinking the display is better as far as information shown, and the hotfix sounds great to.

I like the idea of traffic, but I'm not in a metro area so it's probably a mute point...maybe when I travel long distance it could be helpful.

Anyone have experience with both? Would love your opinion.

i am long time fan of garmin nuvi line, replaced my stolen 360 with 265wt. over the last 3 months every thing else looks ok apart from the horrible speakers. voice craks over 80% volume.
and volume is barely audible over the passenger chat , let alone the radio/music.

moreover the bluetooth looks downgraded compared to nuvi 360 with this model not importing any of the phone contacts.

otherwise ok in line with the legendary nuvi line.

I seem to be repeating te same "what should I buy" stuff - but maybe by specifying what's important to me it'll help get an accurate answer.
First off - I bought my wife a 760 six months ago - we are pretty happy with it.
I can buy a 360 for $180, a 265WT or another 760 for about $250

What's important?

1) GPS locking and sensitivity of course
2) Hands free phone use (the 760 works ok with our samsung phones)
3) POIs - Must know where the nearest Peets coffee is.....
4) Widescreen & text to speech (all have them I believe)
5) price.

Never used the MP3 or the multi point routing on the 760 so they are don't cares.
We use a bean bag mount for the 760 and I do like the no power cord to the unit deal on the 760 but could live without it I guess.
The 360 is cheapest.
The 265WT is newest.

TIA

We used to have a Magellan Maetro 4050 but returned it because the battery only lasted 20 minutes and I thought it was dumb that when I typed in a city, it didn't put the state I was in as the first choice.

With our 1 day of owning the 265WT, we have some concerns.
- we don't see the road exclude feature
- it doesn't "ding" when it is time to turn (is that called the alarm chime?)
- the map looks different

Can anyone advise? Should we go back to Maestro? We boughts ours for $250 from Amazon on Jan 5, 2009

Anybody know how the Nuvi 265WT's satellite reception screen (under number 16 in the review) was accessed for the screenshot? Thanks!

I have a 265wt. The advertising on the box, web sites etc. says that the FM traffic works in Canada. Buyers beware. the last I looked, Toronto ON is the only city that the fm traffic works in and Toronto Ontario Canada is not Canada

Come on Garmin, time to step up to the plate, update your maps in these units for all provinces/cities in Canada!! Not just Toronto

Which should I buy, a 360 for $160 or a 265WT for $204? The features appear similar other than screen size and traffic info.

I have the 265WT it is nice but why does it not work with my bluetooth phone?
a friend has an older garmin i am not sure what one and his worked with my phone. anyone know what they could have changed?

I was reading your review of the Nuvi 265wt.

I noticed the portion of the review which compares the sensitivity of the receiver to that of the 765t.

I was wondering how you were able to get to the screen which shows the satellites and associated spatial accuracy for any unit.

Also, is it possible to improve accuracy by doing a "hard reset" several times until it locks the best satellites, or is that faulty logic?

Thank you for any time and help on this.

What should I purchase; the 760,Garmin or nuvi 265wt?

hi all

i have this nuvi265wt for over 3 months now, replaced my 4 years old magellan roadmate 360, was confused before, between nuvi 780 and 265wt at same price that time $ 269.
finally i choosed nuvi 265wt, i live in salt lake city, ut.
FM traffic work superb, poi almost all i got, worked with all my cellphone, engine route worked fast and accurate ( faster time or shortest distance), waypoint works like multi destination with little adjustment, i got all important informations in the screen, time, speed, distance , remaining time, remaining distance, arrival time, elevations, compass.
Satellite work best, even in bad snow weather, the system still got 12 - 13 foot accuracy. the it got was 11 foot accuracy. proximity, custom POI, google panoramio, eco route was fun to play.
and yes the sound of speaker is kinda so-so, but it's allright.
love it so far.

Hi from Northern California:

I was ready to buy the 265 WT until I heard all the advertising spam posts...THANK YOU to all who have posted this most important piece of information that Garmin neglected to mention. Who wants to die in a car crash while watching a Walgreens ad?

Garmin can shove all their GPS units until there is a definite ad opt out available. I will continue to use paper maps and Google and Mapquest (which can also suck).

The best plan is to get geographically educated. My job is finding places, and I continue to successfully muddle through without Garmin and their ads. Thanks...Gary; wildwestmail-boat1@yahoo.com

Bought the 265WT from circuit city as they were closing for $175. So I have used it for a cross country trip, back roads, and city. Here is what I have found. On the cross country trip it gave me bad directions in southern california between barstow and bakersfield not once but several times. In colorado in the city it was unable to find 2 addresses of residences that have been there for over 5 years. The traffic rerouting in las vegas got us miles out of the way when staying on the highway would of probably worked better.. Okay so would I get rid of it.. no.. but I certainly would not throw out my map. I would always keep a map as a backup. The good points.. The big screen is nice.. The hands free feature for the cell phone is nice.. The noise mentioned before really seems to have to do with placement of the unit compared to who is speaking and how noisy your car is. Our different vehicles had different results.. but it did work for the trip very successfully. The POI to me is the most valuable tool in the GPS.. finding lodging, food, and gas was extremely helpful!! This prevented us from driving around a town trying to find a place to stay or calling the hotels toll free numbers to find the closest hotel. As I use the unit more the POIs for different types of locations is great. What is frustrating about garmin is how many models they have and each one has something either turned on or off. It would be great if someone would come out with a competing product that did not have all the manipulation that garmin puts in their devices.. For instance the 550 will see the cardo head set I have and the 265WT will not though both have the latest software and bluetooth. Garmin did not want the cardo to work with anything other than their 500 and 550 so they can charge $600-$800 instead of $300 for almost the exact device minus the waterproofing which can be had with an aquatech box for $75.

After extensive research throughout the past 4 days straight, I've decided on purchasing this gps. Not because it's the best, but it's alright. The interface is very helpful, and the even though I don't really need the blue tooth and traffic, they might be nice to have when I go out to Cali.

I just want to let Fletch know that even though it was mere chance that brought me across this site, this is definitely the most helpful site I've seen.

I just wish that this had multi-point routing available. That's the only reason I wish there was a cheaper Garmin with all these features and multi-point routing. That's my only complaint I suppose.

This unit not good for me. Do not have commode finder in POI

This is the best review I have seen on this unit and I spent quite some time in reading other reviews before I purchased. Even down to the tinny distortion at higher volumes. It just saved me a trip back to Costco to swap the unit because of this.

As with any review, opinion will vary, but I found this was a very good reporting balance between technical and user levels.

Thanks for the nice job and for sharing Fletch.

Just bought this gps,loved my magellan but it broke :( Paid 250 for it at costco, dont want it for the blue touth as in So Cal I already bought a blue tooth to talk legally. I originally bought a different model from Costco bc it was 100 after 50 instant rebate but I live in Los Angeles and decided FREE lifetime trafic is worth it (catch of course is advertisements appear)

I have had the 265WT for a couple of days and am please with it. I have always had Magellan's in the past starting with a SportTrac up to the 2600T until my Magellan was stolen from my vehicle. I have found the Garmin to much easier to use. Could be I have just gotten used to how most GPS operate. I did discover that Garmin 265WT to be as inaccurate as the Magellan, giving incorrect directions sometimes. However, the 265WT has everything I wanted. The Bluetooth is really great and synced with my Blackberry with no problem. The wide screen is so much easier to read and the unit is so much lighter than my old Magellan that I am able to mount it up high on the windscreen. The Magellan had to rest on the dash and I had to buy a gooseneck mount. However, the 265WT power cord is much to short and does not give me the ability to route it out of my line of sight when mounted where I like it. I don't live in an area that gets the traffic info so I can't comment but hope to see how it works soon.
In summary I would recommend the Garmin 265WT.
PS one arrest made in the theft of my Magallen and warrant on the other.

Have a 265WT on the way...will report my first impressions soon.

Awesome review.
Found this through a google search.
GPS Magazine added to my RSS feeds, keep up the great work!

I have a Garmin IQue3600. The mount is great; the speaker is loud; the map, though simple is crisp and accurate on the road all over the US. I also placed it up to the window on long airplane flights so I know where I am. I've uploaded basic Europe on an SD card and also followed my location during Baltic and Med cruises. Highly recommend.

What I find puzzling is that the reviewer gives this unit a 3.5 rating when owners from the Amazon site (over 1000) give it a score of 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I am ordering a 255w based on the Amazon customer reviews. Other than the voice not being perfect, I find no bad comments about this unit. Am I missing something?

I must repeat what my father told me MANY years ago. KISS.. ¨Keep It Simple Stupid¨

IMHO a PND should be just that, a NAVIGATION device, NOT a picture layer, MP3 player, blue tooth phone ect. BUILD A DEVICE DESIGNED TO NAVAGATE, PERIOD!

IF GARMIN would bet back to the basics, they could incorporate everything needed for a SOLID PND and people would buy it. Instead, buying a PND is like buying a laptop computer, option after option after option and in the end, none of the features work 100% because the system is loaded with JUNK. That´s what seemed to happen to the 800 series, it was loaded up with so much junk that adding voice commands broke the proverbial ¨Camel´s back¨, making the unit sluggish when compared to less expensive units, like the 255W.

So in the end, until Garmin get´s their head of the sand, drops the JUNK and adds what SHOULD be in every PND, FULL features designed to NAVIGATE, we will all continue to have these discussions.

As for the new 1300 series, they should have added the pedestrian feature to the 2008 7X5 series and left out the blue tooth. Now THAT would have been worth paying for.

I bought a 265WT from Costco two weeks ago; paid $229. Wish I'd have gone to Circuit City before they folded! Read lots of reviews (including Fletch's) and decided there wasn't anything out there that did everything perfectly, and considering price, this one seemed like the best deal. Or maybe the least worst.

One issue I never read about anywhere - when I got home with the unit, instead of it saying "265WT" on the unit, it only said "265W." The box said "WT" but with my unit, someone had already unwrapped everything (disappointing), and I suspected it had happened to someone else, and they had returned it for the same reason I was about to. In addition, the little instruction pamphlet said it was for the 205, and only when I read the fine print, found that it covered several models.

Went back to Costco, and talked to their 12-year-old electronics expert. (I'm old, and everyone that knows about electronics seems about 12 to me...) He checked the serial numbers both on the box and on my Nuvi, and they were the same. He said the difference was the software, and that's what made mine a "WT." Feeling a little stupid, and wishing that had somehow been made clear somewhere, I went back home with my tail between my legs. Maybe I missed that little feature in the reviews I read. Dunno. I'm still not 100% sure I have a WT.

One more disappointment. One selling point on this model was free traffic for life. I live in Albuquerque, and, for New Mexico, we have more traffic than any other burg in the state. But I can't get any traffic info. I emailed Garmin, thinking there was a magic way to turn traffic on, and the response was that we probably didn't have enough traffic to warrant a report. So I'll have to wait until I go to a big city somewhere. Still curious if it works. The Bluetooth function works fine.

The day after I got my 265WT, I drove across the state to a destination I've been many times - didn't need any help finding it, but just wanted to see what the Nuvi would tell me. I found it to be very precise, very easy to understand - no problem with the volume - and a couple of recalculations when I veered off the Interstate for a soft drink or a rest stop were handled effortlessly. I came back a different route, however, and the Nuvi complained...kept wanting me to do a U-turn and go back the way I came. I put in a waypoint that forced it to do my bidding, and I didn't have any more problems.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my purchase.

If you really want a GPS that is not going to leave you guessing, try looking at the Garmin 496. A bit pricey, but hey, you get what you pay for, right! I got the 496 for my husband, and he has not complained yet. On the contrary, I hear him always saying good things about it (oh sorry, LOLA as he has already named the 496). The 496 has XM radio along with real time weather, and is a tri-mode GPS (automotive, aviation, and marine) which is perfect for him. Anyhow, consider the Garmin 496.

Owners Manual is incomplete/wrong. The owners manual is really for a Nuvi 205, not 265. Box says "265WT", GPS unit says "265W". Had to call customer support 3 times to find out the 12V car cable (Traffic receiver) makes a 265W into a 265WT - so they are the same but the owners manual never explains that.

On the road instructions are OK in places but horrible in other important ways. While traveling on the Southwest freeway in Houston, I am approaching my desired exit, the unit tells me to exit on the SW freeway - that's the freeway I am already on! It does not tell me the name or number of the exit or the name of the cross street. If I pass the unnamed exit, the unit tells me to "turn left on SW freeway". I am on the SW freeway and it tells me to turn left on the SW freeway! The spoken direction algorithm in my old Navigon was better.

Got one at Costco yesterday for $220 (yes it is the WT with traffic). The display and map information is fine - it is nice to see the next turn information diagram and text at the top.

Traffic only covers the main highways in the SF Bay Area (eg 85, 101, 237) but none of the side roads or expressways. So basically you get to find out they are stationary each day and it won't reroute you on the other roads like Lawrence Expressway or De Anza Blvd.

The default volume is 8 out of 10 which is too quiet in a car doing 65mph, unless you have a very quiet car. If you set it any louder then there is nasty distortion.

The Bluetooth is practically useless. You will have difficulty hearing the other party unless driving slowly on smooth roads even at full volume, there is no noise cancellation so they hear all the road noise and I even had the entire unit lockup requiring a hard reboot. It also doesn't do SMS text messages which my earlier C550 shows.

Do not buy this GPS if you do more than a trivial amount of Bluetooth!

Some more on traffic and ads. Note that it is possible for there to be coverage of traffic on highways but no broadcast of the data in the same area. For example Highway 17 and 1 in Santa Cruz County (CA) have traffic coverage but there is no broadcast of traffic information in Santa Cruz county so you only find out about the traffic when you go somewhere else!

Secondly the ads are a lot more annoying than stated in this review. Maybe it is the more recent firmware. When searching for a POI often an ad and hourglass is shown for while before a whole bunch of listings appear. With previous GPS the listings appear as they are found. They are not contextual unless you consider Best Western hotels to be appropriate for searches for Costco or Mexican restaurants.

Also after navigating somewhere the ads appear when you stop. For example they appeared after going to a friends house, going home, going to a company etc. They appear after you arrive and your speed is zero and are in the top right quadrant of the map display. This too is highly annoying since you are typically not exactly where you need to be and have to figure out where to park while an ad is covering a quarter of the screen. To dismiss the ad you have to exit the map display and then come back again. Using the Best Western example I think it displays the ad if there is one within 5 miles. That is the case almost everywhere around here!

Some more on traffic and ads. Note that it is possible for there to be coverage of traffic on highways but no broadcast of the data in the same area. For example Highway 17 and 1 in Santa Cruz County (CA) have traffic coverage but there is no broadcast of traffic information in Santa Cruz county so you only find out about the traffic when you go somewhere else!

Secondly the ads are a lot more annoying than stated in this review. Maybe it is the more recent firmware. When searching for a POI often an ad and hourglass is shown for while before a whole bunch of listings appear. With previous GPS the listings appear as they are found. They are not contextual unless you consider Best Western hotels to be appropriate for searches for Costco or Mexican restaurants.

Also after navigating somewhere the ads appear when you stop. For example they appeared after going to a friends house, going home, going to a company etc. They appear after you arrive and your speed is zero and are in the top right quadrant of the map display. This too is highly annoying since you are typically not exactly where you need to be and have to figure out where to park while an ad is covering a quarter of the screen. To dismiss the ad you have to exit the map display and then come back again. Using the Best Western example I think it displays the ad if there is one within 5 miles. That is the case almost everywhere around here!

HELP...I have used my Garmin 265W maybe 10 times. Suddenly it sounded lik someone talking,was strange and then NOTHING....
I can not get it to work, I am sooooooooo technically challenged. Of course I didnt save reciept...I am old, techinically challenged and park in the handicap zone of the internet.IF anyone has anyidea how to help me,sure would appreciate it.

I bought this GPS in May knowing we would be doing a lot of Summer travel. This has been a great device to have, especially when we have made the wrong turn, not paying attention. Time is accurate and so is the directions. We love it.

Where do I start? Take a left down a one way street that's been one way for 25 years? Get off the highway 11 miles before the known exit and it's called the fastest route? Told to take a left 3 times on a 25 mile canyon road with the river on the left. Hit the detour feature when a road is closed and it re-routes you back to the closed road 3 times before you have to turn it off. An amazing piece of junk. Going back to Magellan. This was all part of the features with a brand new, updated map and firmware Garmin 265wt. It should be 265wtf!

@Wayne: Those are all symptoms of bad maps (except detour). Garmin doesn't make the maps. There are two providers of maps for the US - Navteq and Tele Atlas. No matter whose GPS you buy, the maps come from one of those two and any unit from any manufacturer will give "bad" directions based on bad maps. You can usually find ways of telling the GPS manufacturer about map errors. Tom Tom even lets you do it in unit.

The detour issue is a little different. Other brands of GPS let you say how long you want the detour to be - eg you can say detour off this road for the next 2 miles or next 20. Garmin's software only has one "setting" - get you back on the road in the least distance possible.

Hi

I have just started using the 265W. All seems good, except while the car icon moves along the map, the map itself does not move to match my location. So I end up looking at an old section of the route, while the car icon has moved off the screen. The only way I can see where I am is to use the touch screen to scroll down to the next section of map, where the car has moved to. Any ideas as to how you get the 265W to do this automatically?

Thanks

Crazy question: There is no reference in the review about planning routes with several stops.
I need to enter 4 to 10 addresses, then have the GPS take me from one to the next.
Is this possible with the Garmin 265WT?

While the 200 series does not support true route building, you can set up a destination with several intermediate "waypoints". While Garmin until recently limited the additional stops/waypoints to only one, earlier this year they quietly added the ability to use multiple ones. The drawback is the route cannot then be saved for later use but must be driven after building it. For true multistop routing, with the added benefit of automatic route optimization, you'll have to step up to the 700, 800, 5000 or 500 series.

After reading just about every review on all the nuvi models, I'm more confused than ever LOL. I have narrowed it down to these:

265WT, 785T, 5000,

I don't need BT, but do like/want, good sound, multi point, lane assist. 3d buildings is no big deal for me.

which of those 3 would be best for the money spent? seems the 5000 has the least quirks, but isn't portable which is OK for me. seems a toss up between the 265WT & 785T. I do also like free traffic. I also considered the 885T but just don't know. They all have their own quirks of some sort, so I know to expect that.

so which one?
Scott

LS. Does anybody know if blackberry bold is compatible with the nuvi 265??
I just received it with my new mini, btw fantastic holder by mini. But it would be nice if i could use the bluetooth handsfree...... Did get no good response at garmin helpdesk.

I have owned the Garmin 265WT for about 6 months and am very pleased with its functionality and how much easier traveling is since I have owned the unit. This is my first GPS unit so I have nothing to compare its performance to. It is not perfect but once a user learns about the limitations of the unit and use the unit where its strengths are, the unit can be very beneficial. I higthly recommend this unit for all those needing the feature it offers.
Last week and part of this week I had an opportunity to travel up the and down the east coast and using the Garmin made the trip much easier than without it. On my way home traveling through Georgia, going south on I95, I was looking for a gas statiion to go to using the Point of interest feature of the Garmin. While doing that the Garmin locked up. My bluetooth was not enabled, so that had nothing to do with the lockup. I could not turn off the unit. An image of the map where I was located just remained in the screen. I disconnected the unit from the power cord to allow the battery to drain. About an hour after the lockup, I decided to try to slide the off button all the way to the left and hold it there, to see if that would turn off th unit. When I did that the unit did turn off after several seconds. Then I turned on the unit like I normally do and the unit turned on again like it normally does and has worked as expected ever since. So if anyone has a similiar lockup with their GPS try holding the on/off button all the way to the left until the unit turns off and the lockup should clear.

I've had my eye on this unit for quite a while. I finally bought it on clearance a week ago from Target for $135. What can I say other than I am completely thrilled with the purchase? Yes, the Bluetooth functionality of the unit leaves something to be desired, but I bought this unit largely for the widescreen navigation and the lifetime traffic. Traffic reporting seems to work well in Phoenix so far. The POI database is large and seems to contain everything I have searched for so far. I mainly bought it for my wife who can never seem to find her way around town. It's so easy to use that she has not asked me a single time "How do I ...?". Navigation is perfect. Looking forward to stress-testing this on a trip to Cali in December.

I've given the 265wt 3 chances. First one had a dead pixel (annoying) The second had errors with the touch screen and the third worked well until today. No power on the third unit. Luckily I still have a return policy for this at Future Shop. Will be returning this unit.

My 265WT seems to lose its position often especially on turns and ramp entry to highways; it then goes into a recalculate mode! Very annoying and distracting, and, very surprised from a GARMIN.

Though this issues has reduced with the latest firmware upgrade, the problem still persists.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

I has asked a question about setting up routes on the 265WT, and ended up buying the unit even though told it does not have this function.
It has a workaround though- just entering all the addresses into Favorites and punching them up in order, not hard at all.

I have noticed that it does get confused, sometimes badly, at the beginning of trips if you make a U-turn and on some offramps it keeps telling you to get off when you already have. It also loses satellite reception quite often, with no obvious relation to weather or other factors.
Last complaint: the [power cord is a foot to 18 inches too short, makes it hard to mount on the left side of the windshield.
Other than that, I have enjoyed using it.