Editorial Review:Product Description:Bring the ultra-cool Nvi 260 along for the ride, and arrive on time and in style. Similar to Nvi 250, Nvi 260 is attractively priced and simple to use. Plus, this sleek, slim navigator comes with turn-by-turn voice directions that announce the name of streets as you navigate, so you can keep your eyes on the road. With Nvi 260 you're just a few screen taps away from anywhere.
Amazon.com Product Description:Garmin's nüvi 260 combines the thin profile and attractive price point of other nüvi 200-series GPS with directions in real street names. As with all nüvis, you get Garmin reliability, the fast satellite lock of a high-sensitivity integrated receiver, a slim, pocket-sized navigator with a gorgeous display, detailed NAVTEQ maps that lets you search by name for more than 6 million points of interest like stores, restaurants or hospitals, and an easy, intuitive interface.
Which nüvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators.
The nüvi 260 comes preloaded with maps for U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and features an ultra-slim design. |
Text-To-Speech The text-to-speech feature of the nüvi 260 means that device automatically calls out street names (saying 'turn right on Main Street' instead of 'turn right in 200 feet.'). This feature lets drivers keep their eyes on the road while navigating through busy traffic and tricky roadways.
Smart, Powerful Design The nüvi 260W is built with a high-sensitivity GPS receiver for extreme accuracy, as well as an SD card slot for storing your media and additional navigation tools, and a USB interface for loading data. All this is wrapped up in a package that measures 4.8 x 2.9 x 0.8 inches (W x H x D) and weighs just 6.6 ounces. The nüvi display is touchscreen-enabled, making it a cinch to control the device with your fingertips. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to five hours of battery life depending on use.
Garmin Lock Garmin's patent pending theft prevention system that disables the unit from performing any functions until the user types in a specific 4-digit PIN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location
Navigate with Ease The nüvi 260 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty POI database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. In addition, the nüvi 260 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs.
Important note about map updates: Due to our high volume of sales, almost every Garmin portable GPS navigator sold by Amazon.com will come with the most recent map version. If you ever do need a map update, you can purchase one from Amazon.com at our Garmin Store.
Easy To Use Interface
Garmin's interface is a key to their success and one of the things that makes their devices such a pleasure to use. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip.
Beyond Navigation 
Browse your stored pictures with an easy-to-use JPEG viewer. |  nüvi 260W accepts custom points of interest (POIs). View larger. |
Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 260 features travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. It also comes with Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and configurable vehicle icons that let you select car-shaped graphics to show your location on the map.
This device is compatible with optional content plug-ins available via SD card, such as the Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide provide detailed data for attractions and information on nearby merchants offering discounts, so you can customize nüvi for your travel needs.
Garmin has also added the ability for customers to add custom points of interest (POI’s) from third parties such as school zones and safety cameras.
Trick Your GPS Ride Like all nüvis, the 260 supports configurable vehicle icons. These fun, customized car-shaped icons come in a variety of colors to add a personal touch to your vehicle's position on the map.
With this GPS system on board you'll be prepared to steer clear of traffic with the integrated FM TMC traffic receiver. The nüvi 260W is designed to receive alerts about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you'll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you're forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nüvi's sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time.
What's in the Box nüvi 260, preloaded City Navigator NT for the continental U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, Alaska, and Canada, vehicle suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, dashboard disk, and set up and go guide.
Note: Like most USB Mass Storage Devices, the nüvi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.
Which nüvi is Best for You?
Note: All nüvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.
| Screen
Size
inches
(w x h)
| Included Maps
| Text-to-Speech
(Directions in
Real Street
Names)
| Traffic
| Bluetooth
| Media
| FM Transmitter
(audio through
car stereo
system) | Multi-
Point
Routing
| Battery
life
(hours)
|
Cont. U.S.,
Hawaii, and
Puerto Rico
| AK and
Canada
| Europe
|
| nüvi 200 | 2.8 x 2.1
|  |
|
|
|
|
| Photos
|
|
| up to 5
|
| nüvi 200w | 3.81 x 2.25
| |
|
|
|
|
| Photos
|
|
| up to 5 |
| nüvi 250 | 2.8 x 2.1
| | |
|
|
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 |
| nüvi 250w | 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
|
|
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 |
| nüvi 260 | 2.8 x 2.1
| | |
| |
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 |
| nüvi 260w | 3.81 x 2.25 | | |
| |
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 |
| nüvi 270 | 2.8 x 2.1
| | | |
|
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 |
| nüvi 350 | 2.8 x 2.1
| |
|
| | FM (with opt.
receiver) |
| Photos, MP3s
|
|
| up to 8
|
| nüvi 360 | 2.8 x 2.1
| | |
| | FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s |
|
| up to 8 |
| nüvi 370 | 2.8 x 2.1 | | | | | FM (receiver
included)
| | Photos, MP3s |
|
| up to 8 |
| nüvi 650 | 3.81 x 2.25
| |
|
| | FM (with opt.
receiver) |
| Photos, MP3s |
|
| up to 7
|
nüvi 660
| 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
| | FM (receiver
included)
| | Photos, MP3s | |
| up to 7 |
nüvi 670
| 3.81 x 2.25
| | | | | FM (receiver
included) | | Photos, MP3s | |
| up to 7 |
| nüvi 680 | 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
| | MSN (receiver
included;
1-year free);
FM (with opt.
receiver)
| | Photos, MP3s | |
| up to 7 |
nüvi 750
| 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
| | MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver)
|
| Photos, MP3s | | | up to 5
|
| nüvi 760 | 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
| | MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s | | | up to 5 |
| nüvi 770 | 3.81 x 2.25
| | | | | MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s | | | up to 5 |
| nüvi 780 | 3.81 x 2.25 | | |
|
| MSN-enhanced
(receiver inc.;
3 months free)
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s | | | up to 5 |
| nüvi 850 | 3.81 x 2.25 | | |
|
| MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) |
| Photos, MP3s | | | up to 4 |
nüvi 880
| 3.81 x 2.25 | | | |
| MSN-enhanced
(receiver inc.;
3 months free);
FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s | | | up to 4 |
nüvi 5000
| 4.5 x 2.7 | | |
| | MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) |
|
| | | external
battery
only |
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
-
Excellent GPS
I was so impressed with it that I bought one for my sisters birthday. She loves it too.
Rating: -
garmin GPS reveiw
* I love this product. It give me streets names and exact times for arrival. Very very nice!! ...
Rating: -
Very pleased
Well since it was for my wife it had to be easy to use or I'd get complaints. The menus system never leaves you uncertain of where to go next...no getting lost on the screens. Almost bot a TomTom but didn't think the menu was quite as good while trying it in stores. I could be wrong. The audio is plenty loud and usually clear. I only tried one voice. Maybe there are more? Found it does two thing well. Navigates to locations AND if you just display the map without inputing where to go...it provides a fantastic situational awareness of where you are, showing the upcoming streets, side streets etc. While actually navigating, if you miss a turn or opt for a different way, it simply recalculates the remaining trip. Takes about 5 seconds. Never suggested a u turn. At first start up it took maybe 5 minutes to find itself. Every other time it locks on in just seconds. Keyboard is not qwery due to the size. 4.5 inch model has the optional keyboard. That's my only not complaint but a request to Garmin...even if the keyboard had to be smaller to fit the 3.5 in screen. Letters displayed as abcdefg are harder to find than a typewriter type display. If it is plugged into the car and you pull the power or turn off the car it will auto shut off when it detects the power loss. It gives you a choice to allow the shut down or overide and continue ON using battery power. A lot of write ups said the 260 didn't have this feature but mine does. Bought it from Amazon Oct 2008. I paid $200. The best price anywhere Best Buy wanted [...] with a rebate. As everybody says, units that anounce the street names is the only way to go. You might not even look at the unit, just listen. Wife wouldn't take the 5 minutes to learn the unit. After two weeks finaly did. Now loves it.
Rating: -
This is a great investment!
* My Garmin Nüvi 260 was a great investment! Its preloaded maps, voice prompts, and rechargeable and long-life battery are just a few of its characteristics which every driver needs. If you run into traffic or a closed road, its detour option comes in extremely helpful. The Nüvi 260 also gives users the option of various routes. Because time is an issue for many people, users may chose to take the quickest route. However, others may opt to take the route with the shortest distance, which may end up taking a little longer but helps to conserves gas.
Its turn-by-turn voice prompts and street names are so helpful. Many GPS devices simply highlight the directions on the screen. However, with the Nüvi 260 users can keep their eyes on the road as it verbally relays directions. This is not only a convenience for the driver, but is also beneficial in preventing vehicle accidents.
The Garmin Nüvi 260 includes a rechargeable, long-life battery. It comes with a power cable that plugs into the smoke thing.
Also on the list of pros, is the device's ability to save locations as favorites. When the driver travels somewhere often, but maybe not often enough to remember exactly how to get there each time option keeps the user from reentering the location each time. Its ability to save a home location is also helpful. Wherever you are, just touch on home and it will get you there without having to enter the address or find it in your list of favorites.
Although I have not had the need to use it, this Garmin also has a SD card slot. This allows users to upload pictures for viewing or a slide show.
These are just some of my favorite characteristics offered by the Garmin Nüvi 260. I have never had any complaints with the device and recommend it to anyone looking for a GPS device.
...
Rating: 
-
Great Product, some minor flaws
We just finished a 5 day driving trip (using side roads and the scenic/long route) from L.A. to S.F. and back using the Garmin, and it was great. My wife also uses it for work. Overall, great unit, very easy to use, nice features, I'll never use a paper map again. Good audio clarity, nice flexibility when you upgrade the firmware online for additional voices, good direction timing. It was really great to be able to find restaurants, gas, landmarks, etc. on the fly, and it also has a pedestrian mode. It also is very flexible if you ignore the instructions about suggesting some pretty good alternate driving instructions on the fly. Lots of nice stats available too, and it's very easy to use, both my wife and I can use it with ease now.
Cons: Weak signal, sometimes it takes a few minutes when you start it up to locate the satellites, and won't work at all inside my apartment, while a cheaper competitor will. Also, some of the directions try too much to optimize, and will take you off of what is in fact the fastest route, like a small stretch of a city street between a bend in the highway, taking you off, then on again, when clearly you should have just been kept on the freeway. Once again, a cheaper competitor's unit seems to work better on this (whichever one Costco sells regularly). If they can fix this, the unit would be perfect, but meanwhile, you end up having to second-guess the instructions a lot and know where it is you want to go and how.
