World Famous Comics: Garmin nüvi 270 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with US, Canada & European Maps
Garmin nüvi 270 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with US, Canada & European Maps
From: Garmin Average Rating: Batteries Included: 1 Binding: Electronics Display Size: 3.5 inches Includes Mp3 Player: 1 Label: Garmin Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product. Model: Nuvi 270 Native Resolution: 320 x 240 Platform: Not Machine Specific
Features:
Preloaded with maps for United States, Canada, and Europe
Easy-to-use colorful touchscreen and ultra-slim design
Amazon.com Product Description: Navigate both North America and Europe without loading more maps with the affordable nüvi 270. This entry-level Personal Travel Assistant makes traveling so simple. For even more mapping options, nüvi 250 and nüvi 200 offer less map coverage at a lower price. Like all nüvi 200-series members, the 270 features an easy-to-use colorful touchscreen and ultra-slim design--perfect for everyday navigation.
The nüvi 270 comes preloaded with maps for North America and Europe, and features an easy-to-use touchscreen and ultra-slim design.
Configurable vehicle icons let you select car-shaped graphics.
nüvi 270 accepts custom points of interest (POIs).
Smart, Powerful Design The nüvi 270 is built with a high-sensitivity WAAS-enabled 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 3.8 x 2.8 x .8 inches (W x H x D) and weighs just 5.2 ounces. The nüvi 270's 3.5-inch (diagonal) 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.
Navigate with Ease nüvi 270 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) 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, nüvi 270 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.
Go Beyond Navigation Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 270 features many 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. Optional plug-in SD cards for our line of 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.
Note: Like most USB Mass Storage Devices, the nüvi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.
What's in the Box nüvi 270, preloaded City Navigator NT for North America and Europe (full coverage), vehicle suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, dashboard disk, and set up and go guide.
Nuvi 270 I have had this unit for about a month now and it seems to work very well except I have noticed that some of the maps are out of date. I am still trying to figure out if there is a way to freely update the map set but, the instruction manual is very poor. Once in a while it will burp as I call it and be totally lost but it recovers rather quickly so it doesn't seem to be much of a problem. Over all it is a good little unit and hopefully the Europe maps will do the trick when we visit Italy this year.
Nuvi 270, an excellent buy I purchased the Garmin Nuvi 270 to have a portable unit which I can use in multiple vehicles and while a pedestrian and which I can also use in Europe. For its price of less than $230 at Amazon.com, I have found it to be an excellent buy and about what I needed. It is a very convenient size for portable use and its display is comfortable to view and manage. I have owned a number of GPS units since they became available on the commercial market and I find the performance improvements, over what this technology was capable of 15 years ago, to be remarkable. The receiver sensitivity improvements particularly allow the unit to lock to the satellite signals and operate in environments (under trees, in canyons, near tall buildings) far beyond the capability of previous receivers. The speed of acquiring and locking is typical of competitive units.
The display is fine. The user is offered a choice of several map displays and details to suit preferences and conditions. I keep the brightness set at 50% which is adequate for most usage, but the display will wash out in bright sunlight. Setting at 100% improves bright sunlight use, but some shading is still necessary for sunlight viewing. The major power consumption in these instruments is usually the display, so I prefer to reduce the brightness when not required, important when operating away from charging sources. My fully charged unit seems to operate somewhat less than the five hours advertised by Garmin. Perhaps more like 3 to 4 hours. I purchased the AC charger and would recommend that accessory for anyone expecting to use the unit away from the car.
A feature I miss is the ability to view satellite positions as the GPS searches and locks. When having difficulty acquiring, it is of interest to notice the required satellites are with respect to the horizon and mountains and buildings which may obstruct reception.
The points of interest included in the memory are adequate and acceptable for most travels. Adding points is quite simple and convenient by simply touching the screen and saving. The touch screen works very well, but is tactilely very sensitive and the locking feature is very useful when in situations where the unit is being handled a lot. However, the lock button is contained in the on/off switch, small, and on the side of the unit, not easy to find and to operate by feel, particularly while walking, or in the dark!
The data base, including the maps, is a few years old and no update is available at this time. I mention some of this as an advisory, not a complaint. I understand the challenge in keeping databases up to date; I just remind myself that I got all of the US and all of Europe for less than $230. The enunciator voice is quite pleasant and the volume can be adjusted or muted to suit conditions. Street names are not called out, only the distance to turns and points, and she can do this in 40 different languages, a few of which I have not even heard of.
The navigation features work fine when traveling simple paths. For driving in cities, such as Los Angeles, consider the navigation help a suggestion and certainly not a recommendation. The algorithms generally direct travel over major thoroughfares, interstates and freeways which can often be the worst choice for many trips. The Nuvi offers a menu of avoidance selections (no U-turns, Carpool lanes, Toll Roads, Highways, etc.) but these really don't help. Suggest depending on pre-trip planning and common sense.
In summary, I give the Nuvi 270 all around good marks.
Nuvi 270 I bought this nuvi mainly because my wife is from Germany and I always have a terrible time navigating around these towns. I didn't want a unit that I would only use for a few weeks a year when we are in Europe so I sought out something with a database in the USA as well.
This is a simple unit. It doesn't upload traffic or current construction delays. It doesn't play music. It doesn't bluetooth. It doesn't play videos. It doesn't wash your socks. It just navigates and it does it very well.
We travelled all over Germany, over to a small town in Poland, back to northern Germany, over to Norway (and all over the country), and then back to Germany. It found everything without a hitch. It even found these obscure little dirt roads in the wilds of Norway. Took us directly to airport terminals and ferry terminals. I am hugely impressed by this little unit. Nothing but good to say so far...
Great device! Works wonderfully except in tight places where the traffic is awful- no fault of the navigator though. We loved it in England and Ireland. It even backroaded with only a few mistakes which could have been our fault in programming. Very helpful on roundabouts!
Absolutely great in Germany I used my Garmen in centeral and northern germany this summer and could not have asked for anything better it found all locations I asked for and listed all roads. It found places to eat and gas stations and hotels. Absolutely fantastic
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