Garmin Nuvi 265W is perhaps one of the highest low-end models of Garmin GPS products. It is marked by the Bluetooth feature it has although it is sold with a very affordable price compared to the other models which has this feature. Other than the Bluetooth this is actually a pretty basic unit; it has no MP3 player, voice recognition and also no FM transmitter or any lineout that you can connect it to your cars stereo. However, there is another feature that set this unit apart from other budget models, that is the Traffic updates.
Garmin Nuvi 265W is pretty good as navigation assistant, it does its main function well, that is to get your from point A to point B. The HotFix feature might work a little slow in locking the satellites at the first time you take the unit out of its box, but after the satellites are locked, it will stay there that the next time you turn it on. You should experience no more waiting because your unit can find them more quickly.
How to Navigate Garmin Nuvi 265W
Press the Where To icon to make your device starts looking for destinations. Enter the address manually or simply search any of the numerous POI categories to find your way to get there. You can also search your destined place through searching by intersections. Your unit will save 50 recent destinations an up to 1000 favorites that the next time you wish to visit those place, your unit can simply tell you how to get there. The route calculation of this unit is also pretty fast, as easy as cancelling a destination. If you wish to cancel your destination you only need to press the menu and then the red stop button. Another interesting feature you can get is the detour feature which allows you to find alternative route to your destination. So whenever you wish to explore new routes to reach the place you often visit, you can simply use this feature and enjoy a longer or even faster tour. Actually you cannot enter multiple destinations with this unit, but you can add a single middle destination between your current location and the final destination you have previously entered. That way, you will be guided to the middle destination and eventually to the final one.
Garmin Nuvi 265W gives you an accurate route, even with parallel streets that are close in proximity that the device can tell accurately where you are. The screen adapts very quickly to your surrounding that you can look at your map easily and more pleasantly. The recalculation of the route is also very fast that within seconds the device will give you another numbers which represents your distance to your main destination. However, you may find it quite annoying as it keeps announcing recalculating over the speaker within a couple minutes. But other than the annoying announcement, the voice prompt that speaks the street names is actually pretty good. The pronunciation is very clear and with a good volume as well.
This unit also offers an option whether to display the turn-by-turn list of directions or the standard map view. The screen will view you an overall route map of the route currently programmed in your system. So, navigating with this unit will give you a very accurate and comprehensive direction.
There is nothing more pleasing than a nice widescreen display in terms of navigation. The screen of Garmin Nuvi 265W gives you bright view for most scenarios, and will automatically changes from daytime to night time color scheme depending on the time of day. It offers white background for daytime, and black for night time, which is very pleasant and functional. You can also adjust the brightness of the screen for day and night mode for a comfortable view.
The maps viewed on the screen are very well drawn that you can follow the directions easily. You can also change the detail level of the maps in order to display more or less streets at once there are 4 levels provided. There are several features you can customize or download from the internet, such as the current location icon which is represented by a little car. You can find another icon provided in Garmin website either the one which resembles your vehicle the most or simply the one with your favorite color or type. The display also offers 3 different map options, they are: 3D view, standard 2D or 2D track-up and 2D north-up.
The 3d view is more like birds eye view, while with the 2D track-up the direction you are facing will always be up. As for the 2D north-up the direction will always point the top of the screen. From those three options, 3D is the most popular one, but for some people, the 2D track up is probably easier to read. Especially for those who previously purchased a GPS system which did not provide 3D maps.
Other Garmin Nuvi 265W Features
Another interesting feature you can get from the display is the zoom. It automatically adjusts according to your speed. As when you are on the freeway, it zooms out automatically and shows you farther ahead, while when youre travelling slower or nearly stop, it will automatically zoom in and show you more details of your surroundings. Also, you can temporarily override the auto zoom by pressing the zoom button icons on the right side of the screen.
The traffic features of Garmin Nuvi 265W appear to be pretty need and should come in handy. But you must first have the unit plugged into the cigarette lighter to get the benefit of the FM traffic antenna as it is shared with the same cable as the cigarette lighter power cable. Just enter a destination and you can later show any traffic on your route. The service of this feature is free but it has random ads displayed on the screen when youre stopped.
The battery can stand for about 4 hours on a full charge. The power represents in a meter with 4 bars, and one bar will disappear every hour. Charging can be performed in the car with the cigarette lighter power cable, or by connecting it to any 5V USB outlet on your computer, and the last via AC/USB adapter. However, if you want to charge it at home you can purchase a special AC wall charger from the manufacturer.
Overall, Garmin Nuvi 265W is a good GPS device for a budget model and really recommended for those who are thinking about purchasing a GPS unit.
Vehicle GPS Units Articles
