Garmin 265WT - The Best-Valued GPS on the Market

Posted by The Popular News Today on Wednesday, May 9, 2012

By Kyle Walker


Nowadays, even midrange smartphones come with a competent GPS performance and turn-by-turn navigation. Many of these even posses voice course-plotting, support for downloading new maps on the fly, displaying community-added markers and in certain cases, 3D images of the buildings populating the landscape. With all these obtainable in a smartphone, why should anybody procure a devoted Gps navigation device, especially one that's primarily for in-car operation?

For one, the GPS transceiver in mobile phones is inevitably downscaled and thus has a way longer lock-on time than a dedicated GPS unit which is completely geared towards navigation. Additionally, the proximity of the smartphone's GSM transmitter to its GPS receiver can produce interference that could weaken satellite reception. Eventually, nearly all smartphones have Assisted GPS capability which only functions with a cellular signal.

Dedicated GPS devices have none of these weaknesses but frequently come priced like smartphones while offering only navigation skills. Are any of them strictly worth the price tag? Enter the Garmin 265WT, which comes at an excellent value price point while offering many features and superior reliability.

The Garmin 265WT is part of a relatively new family of GPS receivers that provides an excellent feature set at an affordable price. With its integrated Bluetooth, text-to-speech and the ability to function as a speakerphone by acting as a Bluetooth audio device. This means that one can use it to make or receive calls by pairing it with a Bluetooth-capable mobile phone, turning the GPS device's onboard speaker and microphone into the handset, while the large 480x272 touchscreen turns into a dialer. Definitely efficient.

Navigation features are also extensive. The device comes preloaded with City Navigator NT road maps for North America, and more than six million POIs or points of interest in categories like gas stations, restaurants by cuisine, and more. Its memory can also be extended using SD cards, and you will find a lot of maps accessible for download. It also has a lifetime membership to free traffic alerts, but these are ad-driven and so you'll infrequently see advertisements pop up while navigating. It isn't that big a deal, though.

The hardware is solidly built, with a sturdy plastic shell covering its seemingly small frame. The speaker is unfortunately too soft to be used over a loud stereo, but it's audible enough when the car is quiet. The 4.3" 480x272 screen is very bright and clear; if you have ever seen a PSP or Playstation Portable, the Garmin's LCD very much resembles its screen.

Ultimately, the Garmin 265WT is a must-buy navigation device that has a high-end feature set while having a budget price. It can easily outmatch a smartphone's GPS capabilities, and remains very reliable at any time.




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