Garmin nvi 200W Automobile Navigator - 010-00656-10
Garmin Nuvi 200W Personal Travel Assistant

This is the widescreen version of the nuvi 200. The device is very user friendly, if the user was born after 1974. I can't review the manual, because I never opened it. It lasts about 5 hours on a charge, which can be done using your computer, if you have a USB connection, or using car charger cable (which is very long). It does not come with a USB cable, but I found that the one that came with my camera fit. It is quick to recalculate if you miss a turn or decide to take a side trip for a road snack or drinks. It is small enough that you can take it from your car and walk around with it. It is okay about food and shopping locations around. If it is a major chain, or if it has been there a while, most likely it will show up. It doesn't have bluetooth (which I didn't require) and it is sometimes slow to acquire satellites. I have used it around the Dallas area and the greater Boston area and it has served me well.
 
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I wanted a GPS without all the bells and whistles and the 200W delivered. However, the satellite aquisition has been spotty at times. My biggest complaint is with the invalid Points of Interest! I'm constantly updating my maps and being taken to places that don't exist!!!
 
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Great GPS with big clear screen and very accurate directions. Only 'con' is not announcing actual street names; for the price you can't beat this GPS
 
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The divice is not very user friendly. Small screen for ' Touch-Screen ' operation Hooking up with Satellite for signal is time consuming, particularly in parking lots A carrying case and PLASTICIZED quick set-up card should be integral part of packet Needs charging-up quite so frequently. I may not reccommend to others to go for it
 
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The divice is not very user friendly. Small screen for ' Touch-Screen ' operation Hooking up with Satellite for signal is time consuming, particularly in parking lots A carrying case and PLASTICIZED quick set-up card should be integral part of packet Needs charging-up quite so frequently. I may not reccommend to others to go for it
 
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The unit tends to take some time "Acquiring Satellites" at startup. Not ultra fancy, but the size is a plus. The unit tends to have the driver make loops instead of just one turn. This can be easily avoided by understanding the general direction that the unit wants you to go. The unit won't turn off or go into a power save mode after being on for so long. This would be helpful when in park and forgetting to turn off the unit. I have returned to my car several times with the battery dead because I forgot to turn it off.
 
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I was looking fo a GPS that was easy to use with a big screen and not hiked in price for a bundle of extras that would not be used. The Nuvi 200W was a perfect choice. Set-up took less than a minute, the POIs were extensive and adding favorites a breeze. Entering addresses or searching for locations by category and/or proximity is quite fast. Screen displays and directions are very clear. If you are looking for a basic model with a big screen then this is a sound choice. Of course you can always pay a couple of hundred more for live traffic, bluetooth, and text to speach but this GPS will get you to your destination with ease.
 
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I skip all merits, I want to say a defect. it hard to find satellite sometimes. Overall, it is a excellent GPS.s
 
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The 200W does a good job of getting to a place you are not familiar with. However, if you live in the area you can probably get to your destination easier than the route the GPS wants to take you. It has major roads and streets it wants you to use VS. the shortest distance using roads it does not consider major. But in an unfamiliar area going by major roads or streets is probably better for you anyway. I have been satisfied with the unit and it was easy to use right out of the box.
 
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I now have 2 of these Garmins. One for me and one for the wife. Very easy to use. Display is clear and directions are spot-on. You can adjust almost every detail to your own liking. You can also add your own custom points, like geocaches or other poi's (points of interest) using a firewire cable from your computer (Garmin uses a tool called poi-loader from garmin.com to accomplish this). Sites like poifriend.com can be used (free) to add custom points to the gps. Would highly recommend getting this and not the regular sized screen model (without the "w"--for widescreen) as this one is 4x3 and very easy to see day or night with plenty of room to see what's up ahead. You can also update the gps software with free downloads from Garmin which you should do when you get it (maps could be almost a year old and an update will address that). If you want good gps without bluetooth or actual street names spoken to you than this is the one for you. Spend less on another brand (like I did previously) and suffer or get the best one now for a little more.
 
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The Nuvi is awesome. I fly out of town about twice per quarter and never bother with printing maps anymore. Nuvi has been very effective and even finds my favorite chain restaurants around my hotels. The ONLY thing that could make it better is if you could set road type preferences. BUT, just take the highway (you can see it on the nuvi screen) and it will recalculate your route based on the road you took by "mistake". Just a wonderful tool to have.
 
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I have been wanting one of these for a few years now but never got around to buy it. I finally bought one and have to say it's very easy to use and I no longer get lost.
 
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Bought the Nuvi 200w for my wife, who struggles a bit with maps. I have used other Garmin GPS models, and although this one does not have all the bells and whistles of the higher dollar models, I found this one to works quite well and a good value. I liked that it was very compact and still had a wide viewable screen. I just used it for a week in San Diego, and it worked great. I did not find it too slow to start up or acquire satellites. Sound is good, and the absence of the announcing streets by name was not a big deal. My only real compliant was that the documentation is very limited, so it took a bit of trial and error to figure out some of the functions.
 
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I have a GPS in a 5 y/o Infiniti that was a $2000 option back then. This little GPS is far easier to use right out of the box. I gave it a 4 because it is slow to locate satellites sometimes and directions are not always the most direct, but overall this is a strong performer and a best buy in my opinion. I didn't need bluetooth or MP3 capability--so this little Garmin fits the bill.
 
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