Additional Benefits include:

• Text To Speech.
• Hotfix – quick satellite lock.
• 6 million Ponts of Interest.
• Optional Traffic avoidance.
• SD card for extra maps/guides.
• Touch screen.
• Speed indication.
• Road speed limit shown.
• Send addresses from Google maps or Mapquest.

Text to Speech

The 255W includes text to speech which is usually found in far more expensive units.  Text to speech (TTS) means that the unit will speak out street names instead of just announcing the left of or right to turn in so many yards. For example TTS will say “turn left main street in 500 ft” whereas older units will say “turn left in 500 ft”.  TTS makes It easier to confirm that you are driving down the correct street and will save you from missing a turn.

HotFix

The Garmin 255W GPS has the Hotfix(tm) feature.  It’s the way to get ultra fast satellite lock and it does this by remembering the previous position of satellites which were detected the last time you powered up the unit.  It calculates their new positions so it can find them easily again which means the unit quickly locks onto a GPS signal. This means you don’t wait around at all (some other units make you wait for ages while they try and detect satelites).

6.5 million POI (Points of Interest)

The POI database contains tons of local information to let you easily find Hotels ATMs restaurants and more.  When you connect to a PC you can also add your own POI and pictures so it makes holiday planning very easy as you can decide where to go and what to see before you even get in the car.

Optional MSN Direct or FM Traffic reception

To use these services you’ll need an antenna but they give a lot of extra information – most importantly for commuting they will give the 255W up to the minute traffic informaion and the 255W will use MSN Direct to automatically avoid traffic congestion.  MSN Direct will also give you other information such as Weather, Gas prices and movie times and the enhanced version gives you route planning, local events, news headlines and stock quotes.

Other features of the Garmin Nuvi 255 W:

• Built in maps for of North America, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Canada and Alaska.
• 3D shaded terrain maps.
• MSN Direct / FM Traffic compatible (optional receiver and charger required)
• Send addresses from Googlemaps or mapquest to create your own POIs.
• SD card slot to add maps and travel guides.
• Photo navigation.
• Touch screen.
• JPEG picture viewer.
• World travel clock.
• Currency converter.
• Calculator.

The main difference between the Garmin nuvi255W and 205 units is that the 255W uses text to speech. The other units like the nuvi 250 and nuvi 200 devices have less features and are good for basic A-B route navigation – there’s no TTS or options for MSN direct/FM Traffic.

Pros

• Solid design and ease of use make this an ideal sat nav system.
• Excellent value for money.
• Rapid satellite detection with hotfix i.e. Fast Startup.
• Text To Speech enabled,
• Wide screen
  +Map locations via Google Maps and PC

Cons

• Won’t let you plan routes (single destination only) – not a problem for most users.
• Does not have MSN direct/FM traffic built in (it is an optional extra).

The Garmin nuvi 255 W is a very good solid product that won’t let you down.  It has advanced features and is ideal for easy navigation .