Garmin nüvi 265W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (without Traffic) Review

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(More customer reviews)The last GPS I got I couldn't even figure out how to turn on...they have really come a long way as far as ease-of-use. This one...opened the box, easily assembled it onto the base with no directions, plugged it in, turned it on (okay, I had to go to directions for that, but they are very clear), followed all the steps (very intuitive - it walks you through it) and there I was - it had me pinpointed to my exact position in the parking lot - wow. So I plugged in an address, and yes, I'm old-school - I was shocked with this relatively inexpensive machine started TAlKING to me, nice voice too - very clear directions, tells you exactly how far to go before turning. This is the new model, which is why I got it, but it seems to have all the best features discussed in reviews of older models (I read a lot of reviews). Again, I'm not proficient in technology (my 11 year old niece has to help me with my phone and forget an I-Pod) but from my point of view this has all that a typical driver would need - I even think my even less-technically proficient parents would like it and I plan to try it out on them.
Update after a week: The screen shows several things I hadn't noticed, like your speed, the speed limit for the road you are on (some roads, not all roads), the expected time that you will get to the destination, the direction (North, South, East, West) and how far it is in miles. It's not distracting, as these notations are on the perimeter. The voice directions are very good, a warning prior to coming to a turn and then a 'turn left on ____ St.' when you get there and how far it is, as in 'turn left in point-three miles'. And it tells you which side of the street (left or right) your final destination is on, which is very helpful on a busy street.
Also nice is the 'Map' feature: It's simply a map of where you are, showing an automobile icon that moves as you go along...it shows landmarks, street names along with the speed limit and your speed so you don't have to look down at the speedometer and guess if you're going the speed limit and what it is. This can be used even when you don't have a destination plugged in. Plus, the machine saves addresses so you just have to tap on an address from a list of places you've been, instead of retyping it. It also saves the cities, so you can pull it down from a menu instead of typing it in...so I would consider it generally 'user-friendly'.
I got the portable Garmin Friction Mount to hold it in place (it's a beanbag type thing) which is really great, as you can easily stow it on the floor so no one decides to 'borrow it' if they see it on the dashboard. Overall, couldn't be more pleased...this one doesn't have 'traffic alerts', so if you want 'traffic' there is another Garmin model that would be more suitable.

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Get the big picture and big features for a small price with nuvi 265W. This widescreen navigator takes you there with preloaded maps and turn-by-turn directions that call out streets by name. It adds a crisp, widescreen display and comes with lifetime traffic and hands-free calling to simplify life on the go. Like the rest of the nuvi 205-series, this portable navigator is priced right and ultra-easy to use.
Its sunlight-readable, 4.3" display is easy to read, from any direction.

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Garmin nüvi 265W/265WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic Review

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(More customer reviews)Spent a weekend reviewing various GPS devices to replace my less than 1 year old Mio C320 (avoid these like the plague) that had its battery die about 4 months after purchase. Went back and forth along the entire line of Garmin devices, and finally settled on this one for the blue tooth and traffic, neither of which I'll probably hardly ever use, but nice to have when I want them.
I was disappointed with the map, the "new" 2009 one, because I have some streets in my neighborhood that have been around for over four years and they're not to be found on this unit. Even the piece of junk cheap Mio had these streets.
But that's about the only downside there is to it, the only reason I haven't given it 5 stars.
Having been used to the MIO, and the horrible refresh rate, it is a pleasant change to see smooth scrolling as my vehicle moves. The ability to change the car icon is nice, especially with the plethora of icons available on the garmin website.
Accuracy is very good as well, and even in turns the unit isn't so laggy that it becomes annoying. And also unlike what I was used to with the MIO, when I come to a stop at the intersection, the map doesn't start rotating randomly on me.
Speaker is about as I expected, won't hear much over a loud stereo but crank it up enough you can at least hear it if you keep the music down a bit.
The option to easily download voices is also appreciated.
It did well with my testing of going point to point, following the instructions, and for the most part you're given the instructions in plenty of time. only once or twice did it not tell me "turn right on such and such" until I was about 20 feet from the street, but that was when I was coming up on stop signs and had slowed down, so it may be compensating for the speed factor.
Recalculation notice is a bit annoying, my MIO would say it once, sometimes this says it three times before it starts to display the alternate route.
Still has about 900MB free on the internal memory for additional voices, icons, maps, and such, and with the SD slot there's plenty of room to grow.
I have a Verizon XV6900 phone with Windows Mobile 6.1, and while the bluetooth paired well and it can see the phone status, battery power, signal, even dialed and missed call lists, it never does get the phonebook. it gets a random entry and that's it - so whenever I turn it on, I have just one user to select from, and it's different each time. Still haven't tracked that one down yet. But every other bluetooth option worked just fine.
I'm not a fan of the very thick double power cable for it though, and it would be doubly annoying (no pun intended) if I were mounting this somewhere higher up on the window to have that double cable dangling down.
I can see how the ads would get annoying sometimes (the free traffic is because it is advertising driven) but you don't get them at all if you turn off the traffic feature, and since most of my driving isn't around times that traffic is a concern, i can just leave it for when I really have a use for it.
Good response to finger input, and while the unit is overall much better quality than the MIO, I really do miss the MIO's ability to have an info pane down the last third of the screen and the map on the first two thirds of it when desired. But there's some of that info available in the data bubbles on the bottom and top so I'll survive.
Overall happy with the unit, it works well and was worth the cost.

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Garmin nüvi 1390/1390T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic & Lifetime Map Updates Review

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(More customer reviews)This is my second GPS from Garmin. Both have been for automobile use. The first was a Garmin StreetPilot 2610, which I have had for about 8 years. While not completely dead yet, after roasting under 8 summer suns and freezing through 8 cold winters, it has finally started to present intermittent screen display problems. Not wanting to get caught without a working GPS, I purchased this unit. I originally was leaning toward the 1350T, but opted for the 1390T instead because the price included 4 map upgrades per year for the life of the unit, and since I tend to really get my money's worth of use from these things, the price difference for me was a great deal over spending money for each upgrade separately.
I've had the 1390T Nuvi for a little over a month now. In that time, most of my traveling about has been in my local area, with only a couple of trips out of the area. During the time I have had the 1390T, I have identified several positive and negative observations about it. These are presented in no particular order of importance.
Positive Comments:
1. After initial acquisition, satellite reacquisition is very, very fast.
2. The intersection view showing the highway signs and the proper lanes to be in is very useful when traveling on highways you are not familiar with. Just be aware that you won't see this screen unless the highway has multiple lanes that fork in different directions. This view is not displayed for standard cloverleaf exists.
3. Screen resolution on the Nuvi is great. It is bright, clean, crisp, and easily viewed in full daylight. Button functions, for the most part, are obvious and operate smoothly. Audio quality is excellent with good volume control.
4. The map can be displayed as a standard 2-D map or as a 3-D map, and you can switch between them at will. Which you use as your primary map display will depend on your preferences after experimenting with each.
5. I like the fact that the USB connector port is on the back of the unit, rather than on the mount.
While the general functioning of the Nuvi appears to be excellent, I do have a few
Negative Comments:
1. When indoors and plugged into a wall outlet with no satellite reception, the 1390T will not allow me access to its functions EVEN when the correct password is entered.
2. Documentation for my toaster oven is better than that which is available for the Nuvi. To put it plainly, the Nuvi documentation, which has to be downloaded separately from Garmin's web site, is almost worthless. I somehow made a change to the display that wasn't in the owner's manual and could not reverse that accidental change without doing a system restore to factory settings. That really pissed me off.
3. When I touch the top of the screen to display the intersection where I am to turn, the display only remains visible for between 3 and 4 seconds. That is not enough time to really be certain you have seen what you wanted to see. It should be displayed automatically when I approach the intersection and should remain visible until I press a return button of some kind, or until after I have executed the turn or the cloverleaf exit.
4. No map scale is displayed continuously. Some times it is displayed, and sometimes it isn't displayed, and when it is displayed, the font size is too small to be of much use. Since I often refer to the map scale, I would like to see it continuously displayed in a font size to make it easily recognizable.
5. When following a route, the 3-D map has a habit of zooming in on every intersection I travel through, even though no turn is indicated. I find this annoying. If I want to zoom in on those areas, I would prefer to do it manually.
6. When I go off route, this unit will recompute a new route. But - if I have moved to a road that is not on the current map, the unit will simply tell me to return to the marked route. It gives no indication of where that marked route might be or what direction I should drive in to get back to it. That's not so bad in an area I know something about, or if I am not too far off the route, but outside of my area and way off route, it could be a bit problem.
I have not tried to use the geocaching capability of this unit, so I can't comment on the internal compass or on the accuracy of the altimeter. Neither have I tried to use the bluetooth capability. I would also be remiss if I did not point out that the unit I have shut itself off once while it was calculating a new route and would not restart for 30 minutes. It may have been caused my the fact that the software was interrupted by sunrise initiated screen display change just as the computation was being initiated. The only way I could get the unit back up was to hold down the power button for about 15-20 seconds before releasing it, a solution that I could not find in the owner's manual, but it seemed to me that there had to be a reboot capability. The unit also refused on one occassion to display the roads on the map until I did a reboot. That really sucks.
While the 1390T is more attractive than my StreetPilot 2610, I think the 2610 was more stable and had functions that behaved a little bit better than the corresponding functions in this new 1390T. I like the Nuvi 1390T, but for all the reasons stated here, I can only give this unit a 3-star rating.

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The Garmin 1390T bundle includes lifetime map updates and features a widescreen, ultra-slim design (approximately 25% thinner than previous models), enhanced user interface, ecoRoute, public transit mode, and text-to-speech on all models. The nuvi 1300 series are the first nuvi devices to offer pedestrian navigation capability enabled through optional CityXplorer maps, which are available for select tourist destinations in North America and Europe and can easily be downloaded directly to the nuvi. The nuvi's enhanced user interface features improved graphics and a new slide control for menu operation, while ecoRoute suggests fuel-efficient routes to save drivers money and fuel. Also, Garmin's new public transit mode allows you to navigate using buses, tramway, metro, and suburban rail systems. Pre-loaded with City Navigator North America NT.


Thin New Design The nuvi units are just over a half-inch thick and weigh only 5.7 ounces, which means they'll fit easily into your pocket and can be taken just about anywhere.

Bluetooth Wireless Technology The 1390T enables calling with a compatible phone, giving you a completely hands-free mobile phone experience. Broadcasts navigation and phone calls through your car stereo.

NAVTEQ Traffic Receiver Included The included traffic receiver provides North America traffic information to your 1390T. Using this data, your device alerts you to local traffic tie-ups and displays current traffic levels. The receiver also acts as an in-vehicle power charger. Traffic provided by NAVTEQ Traffic. Watch informational video

Comprehensive, reliable nationwide coverage
Accurate traffic flow speeds
Unplanned incidents such as accidents and stalled vehicles
Planned incidents such as road construction and closures
Information about special and sports events and holidays that may affect traffic


See More With nuvi 1390T's widescreen display, you'll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos, and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3-inch display is easy to read--from any direction.

Easy-to-Use Touchscreen Interface One of Garmin's core beliefs is to continually enhance the simplicity of the user experience. The nuvi on-screen menus are logically arranged, with clearly labeled, colorful icons, making it easy to enter data and get to the information you need quickly.

Navigate with Ease nuvi 1390T comes ready to go right out of the box, with pre-loaded City Navigator North America NT street maps and millions of points of interest (POIs), such as hotels, restaurants, fuel stations, ATMs, and more, with map data provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Enter a destination on the touchscreen, and nuvi takes you there with 2-D or 3-D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. Text to speech enhances standard sat-nav voice guidance by speaking the names of places and roads. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. In addition, nuvi 1390T accepts custom points of interest, such as school zones and safety cameras, and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs.

Travel North America With nearly 6 million points of interest and detailed road coverage for the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, City Navigator North America NT delivers all the data you need to navigate North America.

Displays nearly 6 million points of interest--hotels, restaurants, parking, entertainment, fuel, shopping, and more.
Includes highways, interstates, business, and residential roads in metropolitan and rural areas.
Includes such detailed information as turn restrictions, roundabout guidance, speed categories, and other navigation features.
Gives turn-by-turn directions on your compatible Garmin device.
Includes postal code support for Canada.
Contains traffic data for compatible Garmin devices that use traffic receivers.
Enhances pronunciation data for compatible Garmin devices that speak street names (example: "Turn right on Main Street").

Know the Lane Before It's Too Late No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.

Junction View takes it a step further, giving you a photo-realistic screen that shows you both the road detail as well as the signs as you will see them on the road.

Pedestrian Navigation With the Public Transit feature, you can navigate using buses, tramway, metro, and suburban rail systems with optional CityXplorer content. Downloadable CityXplorer data and city guides are available for purchase and download from garmin.com for many cities.

Where Am I? Keep track of yourself and your car with nuvi 1390T. Just tap "Where Am I?" to find the closest hospitals, police stations, fuel stations, nearest address, and intersection. Also see your exact latitude and longitude coordinates. The nuvi 1390T even remembers where you parked. It automatically marks your position when you remove it from the windshield mount, so you can navigate with nuvi on foot and find your way back to your vehicle. Perfect for unfamiliar spots and crowded lots, such as amusement parks, stadiums, and malls.

HotFix Satellite Prediction Garmin's HotFix capability automatically calculates and stores satellite locations, greatly reducing satellite acquisition time so that you can turn the unit on and get going. With HotFix, your nuvi remembers the position of all satellites it is tracking when you turn it off, and calculates their movements in order to predict where they should be the next time you turn it on. HotFix can predict satellite positions for up to three days after the device was last turned off.
MSN Direct Compatible Add the GDB 55 receiver for MSN Direct. With dynamic content from MSN Direct, you can avoid traffic backups when you travel with your compatible Garmin device. MSN Direct broadcasts traffic data to your GPS navigator so you can find the best route through traffic, check traffic flow, and receive accident warnings.


What's in the Box nuvi 1390T preloaded with City Navigator North America NT, lifetime map update card, vehicle suction cup mount, FM traffic receiver/vehicle power cable, dashboard disc, and quick start manual

Which nuvi is Best for You? Note: All nuvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.
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