Garmin nüvi 260

Excellent – A fantastic value unit that does exactly what it's designed to do with very little fuss. The widescreen version was about $70 more but I wanted a unit as compact as possible as I prefer to listen to the instructions rather than be looking at the screen. I like the simple yet strong mounting system. Clicking the unit into or out of it's bracket is positive and literally takes seconds. Once switched on, it will lock onto satellites very quickly. No droppouts/freezing due to poor reception has been experienced. The receiver is very sensative and accurate. I've even had it working indoors at ground level about 10 feet from a window covered in aluminiun fly screen. It's so user friendly, even my directionaly/technicaly challenged wife has fallen in love with it. I've owned a number of Garmin handheld and marine GPS units in the past that have never let me down and I am loyal to products/brands that serve me well. Having said that, I doubt you will find a navigator as good as this one from any of the other manufacturers for around the same $.

Highly recommended. Clear easy to view graphics, excellent voice clarity, very user friendly, easy mounting/dismounting, fantastic value. Battery life is fair to good. No preloaded warnings. It is free, but downloading POI's (speed cameras, school zones etc.) and getting them loaded onto the unit is a little confusing initialy but once you work it out... no problem. Getting technical support was hard as they seemed under staffed and over worked but this will vary in different localities. Takes around 10-15 seconds to recalculate the route if you miss a turn.

Under normal conditions, this is not a real drama unless you have streets very close to each other and/or travelling at high speed.

Excellent – I researched the net for weeks, needing a car gps that spoke street names and was reliable but not too pricey. Very happy choice in the nuvi 260 (the 260w is the widescreen version but honestly, you dont need it....should be looking out the window anyway!). We bought it for a Tasmania trip (live in NW Vic) and couldn't fault it. Garmin also specialise in aviation GPS so you cant go wrong! Easy to use, clear and precise, superquick to recalculate route (around 5 secs was typical), good visuals, comes with australia map covering nearly all streets in all states. Plenty of warning when approaching to turn. Easy to clip in and out and fits easily into your pocket.Great value! Sometimes turned you into a one way street, but we found that no problem due to fast recalculation to next street. Also a little annoying that it makes you round the block in order to regain the route when a quicker method is to do a u-turn on the street or at next roundabout, but this rarely happened due to its reliable two warnings when approaching to turn. Manual a little too simplistic considering the amount of options to play with.

Excellent – After reviewing many GPS entities, I have found Garmin Nuvi 260 as the most compact and easily functional product. Its easy to operate, without the need to look away from the road. Locates your position accurately. Easy to operate. Precise location. Compact. Would have been more advantageous to have red light camera options available on maps.