My New Garmin Nuvi 255W!

After researching Garmin GPS models (as well as many other types like TomTom, etc) I finally decided to go for it and replace my old gps.

For the past few years I have been using a GPS made by Harman Kardon (yes, the speaker maker). At the time it was a great model but seriously overpriced. I paid over $600 (other GPS manufacturers were charging around $350) for it but it was worth it because it played music and videos, and this was back when the iPad/iPod/etc. weren’t around so small mobile video players were almost impossible to find. Eventually it stopped working correctly because the power plug in the side broke and I couldn’t use it anymore. It’s been a tough few months using my iPhone as a GPS.

So, after doing a lot of research for this website I finally found a GPS that I love… the Garmin Nuvi 255w.

I was extremely impressed right out of the box.  I plugged it in, powered it up and almost right away it calculated my current position.  The bright screen with brilliant colors was very nice and easy to read, even in direct sunlight.  Even my wife commented on the colors and she was looking at it from an angle.  I know this reads like a sales pitch but I was so impressed I felt I had to make a post about it.

We tested the Garmin Nuvi 255w by taking a short trip across a few nearby cities so we could go hiking (which we love to do).  After using an older GPS for so many years it was great to see all the improvements that have been made.  Most notably for us was the turn by turn verbal directions.  Hearing the Garmin Nuvi 255w call out the upcoming streets and turns made is a lot easier to travel and we barely had to look away from the road the entire time.

While the Garmin Nuvi 255w is made strictly for road travel, we unplugged it and brought it on the trails and were amazed how easily it tracked our every step.  We also brought it a few days later on a trip to Canada and it was a life saver!  Both by car and by foot it was fantastic having it in Toronto while we navigated through numerous streets, and the rechargeable lithium-ion battery kept it going long after we were finished.

You don’t have to take my word for it. Over 3000 Amazon customer reviews.

My final thoughts.. the Garmin Nuvi 255w is an affordable GPS with an amazing bright color widescreen that is a pleasure to use.  With millions of destinations and maps covering North America AND Europe, you can’t go wrong with this model.