Garmin nuvi 250 Car GPS Receiver

I purchased this GPS after moving to a new city, to help me navigate around until I learned where everything is located.

The Nuvi250 is a small unit, fitting easily in one hand. It has only 1 sliding button, that turns the unit on or can put it into screen-lock mode if slid the opposite way. The screen is well-lit, with simply colourful graphics that are easy to read while driving. The audio voice prompts are very clear, even at half volume in a moving car at highway speeds.

Operating the GPS is done through the touchscreen menu, which initially offers either a 'Where to?' button or a 'View Map' button. Choosing 'Where to?' brings up icons for Points of Interest, a Favourites List( that you can save locations to ), and other intuitive functions. If you are looking to go shopping, you can search by categories such as furniture, apparel, etc. Restaurants are similarly categorized, as are government facilities, tourist destinations and the like.

Once you've chosen a destination type, the GPS will display a list of the nearest locations to you that match your search criteria. Or, if you want to search by name within a category, it will display a shorter list. In either case, once you find a destination, a simple 'Go' button launches the GPS into navigation mode, where it truly shines.

The Nuvi 250 has several options for the display while navigating you to your destination. It can display a diagonal 3-D view centered on your moving car icon, with the route and turns highlighted. An overhead map view is also available, as well as a turn-by-turn 2-D map that makes each change of direction quite clear as you approach them. You always have the option of zooming in or out on the various maps, as well as dragging the focus around with a fingertip from the overhead view - quite useful to get a look at the area you're in.

Other features include the expected travel stats such as average speed, distance, and time. It also comes with a JPEG picture viewer( and can view pics from an SD card ), currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and world clock. You can even customize the vehicle icon with free downloads from Garmin's website, with such things as a tank or an RV. Updating the GPS is done through the mini-USB port on the back, which also doubles as the battery charger.

Battery life for the unit is average, about six hours of continuous use before the juice runs low. The unit maintains a nice lock on satellites, with no 'extra' search times that might run down the battery. The battery life is displayed clearly on the main screen, along with the satellite signal strength.

I've been using it for several months now, and yet to have it steer me wrong. The city I live in is on the west coast of Canada, and has plenty of hilly, winding roads with heavy tree cover; bad news for a GPS in some cases. The Nuvi 250 has handled all of these streets with finesse, managing to steer me out of some bad navigational errors on my part when I thought I'd just 'take a shortcut' and found myself lost.

In general, it has taken me to within 5 meters of my destinations, with only a few instances where the 'expected' driveway entrance was not exactly where the GPS thought it should be. In no case was the Nuvi 250 wrong about the actual destination, just be warned that as with all GPS units, you have to ensure you look before you make that last turn on arrival.

One problem I did have is that the GPS tends to wait a touch too long to mention turns, especially if you are traveling at inconsistent speeds, such as slowing and speeding up around curves. I found I would like another second or two of warning about upcoming turns verbally, but this is a nitpick. Also, I've found the unit likes to be stationary when initially locking onto satellites, as it doesn't do well in a moving vehicle when first locking on.

In the end, I am quite pleased with the Nuvi 250, despite some minor problems. I am quite glad I purchased it, as it has allowed me to easily explore my new city without fear of not being able to find my way home again.