"Just bought the garmin 200w and now wouldn't be without it. First time for me to have one but its so simple and easy to use.
We loved the product so much we've bought another one the same for some friends. Thoroughly recommend this purchase.
Great extra features like, nearest shops, petrol stations, hotels, banks and atm's parking etc.
Fab little gadget!!!
One other reviewer mentioned about not having a home charger included, but to be honest all you need to do is plug the sat nav into your cigarette lighter socket and away you go."
***
"I've had this for several months now and am very pleased with it. It was my first Sat Nav and after a lot of research I went for the 200W as I didn't need all the top-end features or Europe maps but I was keen on a widescreen and this seemed a good price (now at less than a ton it's even better)
Nuvi 200W Cheapest Prices
BEST PRICE! £76.49
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 £83.00
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 £86.05
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 £94.99
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 £94.99
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 £99.99
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 £99.99
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 £129.99
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£139.99
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£146.81
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£146.81
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£146.81
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A multi-stop flat-hunting trip in SE London for my girlfriend was a very relaxed affair. The Garmin took us door to door without a hitch and avoided the usual page turning arguments. It's taken me to numerous remote Kent villages and towns and door-to-door to villages in South Wales easily too. It was excellent on a recent UK holiday, taking us to various tourist locations without a hitch, making the travelling much less stressful. Missed turns or deviations from the route are re-calculated promptly and safely. It works well if you're in town on foot, though remember to change to pedestrian mode first for the quickest route.
Out of the box it took a few minutes to locate a satellite but response time after power on now is just a matter of seconds, depending where you are. It really is a smart looking device, I particularly like the impressive "speedo" screen (see photo) which shows your speed, journey time, average speed and more - though this is definitely more for the male of the species! The 3D map is generally pretty easy to read with voice prompts offering able assistance. You can change the view to 2D easily if you prefer. Safety cameras are well prompted in advance though you have to pay for updates but it has pin-pointed every one so far, including temporary ones. Map updates are free (but infrequent) and you can also download different vehicles if you so desire. I quite like the American cop car....
The manual is pretty spartan but as the Nuvi is easy to use, this has not been a problem for me. It does not come with a mains charger or USB cable but these are available cheaply on auction sites. Your digital camera USB cable could quite easily be the right size (USB A to mini B) and it will charge quite quickly from the PC.
I now also always take it when I go walking in the country, obviously it doesn't show footpaths etc but it has been invaluable on a couple of "where am I" occasions when I'm on or near a road, and it shows the all-important direction of travel too. Runners could find it useful to log their overall speed and distance.
What I like :
- Excellent display - apart from in the brightest sunlight it is easy to read
- Screen lock - handy when you're on a journey break and you put the unit in your pocket
- PIN security
- Speedo page - all the numbers you could ever want! (journey time, average speed, stopped time etc etc)
- 7 digit postcode entry
- Quality (and discreet) fixing - I use the "dashboard disc" rather than the windscreen and it sits there rock solid all day. It does not have one of those long arms that looks like it fell of a dalek
- Very robust build quality (it has been drop tested more than once!)
- Memory card slot - if you don't have a USB cable you can use it to upload photos to view if you want - quite handy if you're visiting relatives.
- Good battery life of 4-5 hours on a full charge
- Nice touches like the chequered flag at your destination and the change to night display at sunset
- Locates places of interest (with phone numbers) and utilties like ATMs and petrol stations easily - very useful
What I would like :
- One-touch sound on/sound off button to make it easier to quickly mute the voice when you're nearing home. Having said that I rarely use the voice instructions, preferring the sound off
- Road colours to follow map standard i.e. motorways blue, A roads red etc
- Mains charger - but so far I've not really needed one as it charges quickly in-car
- Better instruction manual
- More user-friendly website - it's not easy to navigate (even once you have registered your device) and map updates are not at all regular. I haven't had any since I bought it.
I would not recommend a Sat Nav for new drivers as they can be a distraction when they need to be concentrating on the road.
***
Overall it's been a very good buy - I use it a lot more than I thought I would but I haven't thrown out my A-Z's yet!"
"There are already many, many positive reviews in these pages about this excellent little gadget, so instead of adding one more, I would like to comment on the quality of service provided by Garmin.
It's an old adage that anyone can shine when everything is going well, but that the true test of an organisation is how well it responds when something goes wrong.
I had almost a year's service from my nuvi when it suddenly developed a fault (probably caused by the bitterly cold weather). I spoke to Garmin Support who advised me to return the unit to them. This I did on Monday 2nd Feb. 2009.
I was utterly bowled over when, on Thursday 5th Feb, a courier arrived at my door with a replacement unit.
Now that's what I call SERVICE !!
Well done, Garmin !!"
***
"Having just returned to Amazon a brand new Sony NU-53 unit as it was near impossible tom set up with a c**p web site and instructions - this Garmin W200 is much much easier. Again like the Sony it's really disapointing to find NO AC adaptor in the box when these non-OEM are 99p on ebay! Penny pinching like Sony, but NOT like Sony this one found my home address, the maps are great and importantly there is a limited number of menu options so much easier to set up (via the cigar lighter in your car). The bracket works well even if it doesn't win any design awards as it's just plain ugly! My main criticism is the time it takes to 'warm up' each journey and it's not as good as the Tom Tom range showing the route ahead clearly but matches Tom Tom on useability and the map you're on. Overall recommend and I think Sony should keep making the best tv's!"
***
"I bought this for my wife, who wouldn't mind me saying she isn't technically minded. She soon loses patience with gadgets that don't work, so I needed something reliable and easy to use. This device fits the bill perfectly - my wife got the hang of it in minutes, and it gets a fix promptly even when it has not been used for a while so as far as she is concerned it just gets on with the job. If you want more bells and whistles like traffic updates and Bluetooth then you'll have to go up-market, but for a basic workmanlike SatNav this one is just fine."
***
"I ordered my Nuvi 200W on 7th January, (Super Saver),and it was delivered on 10th January by Royal Mail - Great delivery service from Amazon as usual.
I plugged the unit into my car lighter socket and it located a satellite fix in less than two minutes.
It now gets a satellite fix almost instantly once the maps have loaded and the password is entered.
For me The Garmin Nuvi 200W is ane excellent product in every respect and very easy to use, many other reviews on this site go into the necessary detail and so I won't digress further about its virtues.
One tip that may be of some use - when downloading your own POI's they all appear in a folder labelled "Custom POI's"
This means that each POI update, including speed cameras, wipes out the previously downloaded data.
To get round this I have downloaded Speed Camera POI's to the fixed memory in the Garmin, and downloaded all my additional POI's to the SD card.
Now when I carry out a monthly speed camera update I just overwrite the speed camera data in the Garmin, leaving my other POI's untouched.
Hope this helps someone!"
***
"Purchsed the 200 after checking numerous reviews and very pleased with the result. Fitting is easy with the windscreen mount and pleased to find sufficient cable to reach the lighter socket which is on the console at the driver's side on my vehicle. System was up and running in minutes and a quick trial showed very good results and quick re-calculating of new route when the suggested route is ignored. Lots of features including shops, hotels, restaurants etc and the speed camera database which can be updated on-line for a free trial period. Overall, highly recommended for those wanting a simple but very effective sat-nav for the UK."
***
"I won't be long - enough reviews are available here, so let me just add a couple of things: you'll definitely need a USB (mini) cable with your Garmin Sat Nav, because
1) with a USB (mini) cable, you CAN recharge your Garmin Sat Nav with your PC/Mac, which is not clearly mentioned in the user's manual. Remember, your Sat Nav doesn't come with this cable or an AC adapter (you need to buy them separately!), so you can't recharge the battery until you connect it with the vehicle power cable.
2) with this cable, you can also download the latest map, update the software, and configure the Sat Nav via Garmin's website. You'll need to do all this (and it's simple) if you want draw out the maximum performance from your Sat Nav!
Hope this helps!"
***
"I've not had my Nuvi 200W for very long but would love to share some impressions and observations with those who might be interested. First of all, the unit sold by Amazon has some functions not supposed to be available on the 200W (according to the Garmin specification). The differences I've discovered are, this unit does have the option to use the qwerty keyboard layout and it does have the "Where Am I?" function that helps locate nearby services such as hospitals, police stations, fuel stations, etc. Also the screen layout differs to the one usually shown for the 200W. The screen appearance is actually just like that of the Nuvi 255W or 215W, with the distance to the next turn shown in the top left corner and current road speed and ETA shown to either side of the menu button - but these indicators are not in the bottom corners as shown on the usual pictures of the 200W display, such as the ones here on Amazon.
Looking at other user reviews there seems to be some confusion as to whether the Nuvi 200W can be charged by connecting it to a computer via the USB interface. I can confirm that charging does take place when you connect the unit to a computer. You will need to get a cable to make the connection because, as many others have pointed out, Garmin fail to provide the necessary cable with the unit. Seems like a penny-pinching decision by Garmin not to include the cable as part of the kit. However, if you own a digital camera it is very probable that you already have a cable that will do the job.
In use, the screen is bright and clear and the spoken directions are easily understood, with adequate volume. Initial satellite acquisition takes a few minutes, as is to be expected with any GPS receiver. Starting up after this has been done takes just a few seconds in good conditions (ie no obstructions to the satellite signals). On the move the unit performs very well with visual and audio directions clear and given in good time. There are some odd directions given occasionally, such as being told to bear left when a turn left direction would be more appropriate, being told to continue ahead when a right turn would be more accurate and I was once told to make a U-turn when in fact a right turn at a junction was required. The thing is, with any device such as this, use common sense, watch the map indications, and don't take the direction instructions too literally on all occasions!
The Nuvi 200W does make some "interesting" route choices and it seems to favour back roads on many occasions. There are, of course, no warnings about such things as narrowness of a road or its gradient and some drivers might be unhappy with some of the roads they find themselves on. For instance, ask for a route from Lancashire to Ravenglass on the west Cumbrian coast and the Nuvi will take you through the heart of the Lake District and over the Hardknott Pass to Eskdale. This is certainly a nice drive but inexperienced drivers could find it far from relaxing! Larger vehicles would want to steer well clear of this route. By the time you saw the warning signs at the start of the Pass it would be too late to take an easy detour. The good thing about the Nuvi though is that you can easily add "via" points to the route so if you know you would prefer to avoid specific roads you can easily route yourself around them.
If you do decide to ignore a particular turn instruction when on the move or accidentally go off track the Nuvi very quickly recalculates the way to your destination and promptly redirects you. This really lets you relax and not worry too much about getting confused at potentially complex junctions.
The 220W contains lots of "Points of Interest" and this is actually pretty useful. However, the list is far from comprehensive and some of the entries are hopelessly out of date. For instance, it gives the location of two petrol stations in my part of the world that have been gone for several years. Just hope you aren't running on fumes and using the Garmin to help you find the nearest fuel stop in unfamiliar territory. This is a minor complaint however and you have to remind yourself just how impressive this device is and at the price Amazon are asking (£79.99 at this moment in time) it would be churlish to give it less than top marks.
The nuvi 200W from Amazon comes with the latest maps of the UK and Ireland. When you attempt to register the product with Garmin you are informed that the unit software needs to be updated before it can be registered. This is a minor update and it is easily peformed via a browser plugin that can be installed when trying to register with Garmin. Be aware that you will need the USB connector with you when you attempt to register (the fact that this is necessary is another reason why Garmin's failure to provide the cable as standard seems to be a poor decision on their part).
So, in brief, it works well, it looks very cool, it's easy to use, and it's available at a super bargain price from Amazon. If you have ever been tempted to get a satnav for your car but not yet taken the plunge then I recommend you to go ahead and buy this device. If you don't need European mapping and bluetooth and live traffic updates then this unit should serve you well and you'll wonder why you waited so long to get one."
***
You may also be interested in reading our write up of the Garmin Nuvi 200W.
Reviews Source - Amazon.co.uk
Tags: 200w, Garmin, gps, nav, navigation, nuvi, reviews, satellite, specifications, widescreen sat
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