Garmin Nuvi 205W
Jan
1
2008
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| Store | Rating | Best Prices |
|---|---|---|
Compare all prices on the Garmin Nuvi 205W Auto / Road GPS ranging from $129.99 to $297.43. | ||
 | In stock at Mwave.com | $172.99 |
 |  In stock at MemorySuppliers.com | $257.00 |
 |  In stock at The GPS Store, Inc. | $139.95 |
 | In stock at OfficeMax | $189.99 |
 | In stock at Dell.com | $189.99 |
 | In stock at PC Richard & Son | $139.97 |
 | In stock at Meijer.com | $169.88 |
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Took a trip as a 1st time user of any GPS.. This baby had 2x were it did not announce a turn inroute….Other than that it was a real help & start up was quick w/nowaiting time…. Scale 1 to 10, I give it a 10..Your sight is very helpful..
Hi,
I have a nuvi 200 and it is ok but I do not want to look at the screen all the time to see what street to turn onto so I would like for the unit to speak the streets, etc… Also I have a 2008 Toyota Avalon with blue tooth in the car that pairs up now with my Verizon Venus LG phone. What I don’t understand about the blue tooth GPS features, is would this work if my phone pairs to my car too? I would not want this to interfere with my phone so I think it looks like I should get the 255w but would like your suggestion. Of all the ones Garmin has which one do you think would be best for my needs?
Bluetooth would just duplicate what it sounds like you already have in your car and since the sound quality would not be as good, I’d agree, you don’t need Bluetooth in your GPS. So yes, the Garmin Nuvi 255w has Text-to-Speech and would probably be the best match for you.
Tim – I recently purchased the nuvi 660 and you recommended to me that I buy the nuvi 255w. Since price is a consideration, and I don’t believe the additional features are that important, would you recommend this unit to someone in my situation?
I’ll be using the unit for two trips coming up during the holidays, so I want to ensure I make the right purchasing decision.
Thanks in advance.
Bill, I like the 255w because it has Text To Speech which is perhaps the most useful upgrade over a bare bones GPS.
What is the difference between the 205w and the 205wbl? Is the 205wbl better?
Frank, I haven’t heard of that model suffix before. Often with strange suffixes like that the difference is simply a difference in the packaging style. The GPS and contents of the box are often exactly the same but sometimes it is a plastic box and sometimes a cardboard box.
Tim,
You were right. The BL is to do with packaging, in this case it is for the color “BLACK”. Thank you for responding.
Frank
I need a GPS for a trip from Texas to Michigan where I am traveling alone. No one to read the map in traffic of big cities along the way. I need something that “talks” to me telling me when and where to turn. We bought a nuvi 205 for a great price. I’m reading the specs and I’m not sure this meets my needs. What is right for me?
Sorry, it is a Garmin nuvi 205W (widescreen) if that makes a difference. Also I read some have bluetooth, I don’t have that in my car so that might be something I would like based on the cost of a unit with that included. Help, what is it I should have bought his not this one? Thanks
Joaine – On the top left corner of our homepage is a box that says ‘Find A GPS’ There are a few popular features listed you can use to help find a list of devices. Hover your mouse over the feature to get a quick overview of that feature, or click on the link to see a more detailed description. Then you can build a list of devices that match what you are looking for, see current prices, user ratings, and compare the devices side by side. Clicking on the name of the GPS will give you user reviews and current store prices to find the best deal.
We are first time buyers of a gps device and I am getting very confused. We will be basic users. I want to hear where I am going and see where I am going. We have looked at the 205W, 255W, and the 750. We have found good prices for each of these at reliable stores. Which one would your recommend for easy, basic use. We don’t want to under buy but we don’t need all the bells and whistles.
Helen, I had posted a result that I had made With use of the 205w on Sept. 10,2008. You really must research the features on Garmin’s website or this site which is very,very informitive. For simple operation I still reccomend the 205w. My wife has a hard time reading instructions, was able to master this unit. Research your needed wants in a unit…..
I’ve had a Nuvi 205W for about two weeks now after selling a Nuvi 200 (my first ever GPS) that I had for about a week. I knew absolutely nothing about GPS when I bought the Nuvi 200 and just really liked the widescreen models much better after seeing them. I thought about a Nuvi 255W but found the text to speech feature kinda silly when I can just look at the top of the screen for the road names. That was the only difference I could really find between the two? Neither had the 3D buildings which I confess would be kinda cool to have. Big $$$ for that feature though. This thing has a few cool features that my Nuvi 200 didn’t have though. It shows the actual speed limit on many roads I travel. A pretty neat little feature I think. It will also accept MSN Direct, which I use. It also seems a little faster and not as choppy. Maybe a better/newer processor? Both my Nuvi 200 and this newer Nuvi 205W do very well at what they’re made to do though. Get you from point A to point B. As far as construction goes I couldn’t help but notice how rugged these little Garmins are made. Granted I’ve never had another brand before, so they might all be like this, but that’s some pretty tough plastic they use on these things. I’ve already dropped mine twice and it didn’t even get so much as a nick or anything. In closing if I’d of known that these things were as cool and cheap as they are I would’ve gotten one a long time ago. Maybe, just maybe, one day I’ll even get those 3D buildings.
I’ve been doing some research on the nuvi 205w and the nuvi 260w. I’ve noticed that the 205w model seems to be the favorite of the two. I’m not sure why. They both appear to be very similar except for a few minor details. Are these minor details pushing the 205w ahead of the 260w? Personally, these differences aren’t that big of a deal to me when choosing one to buy over the other.
When I got my nuvi 205W I went to the Garmin website and downloaded the maps as recommended. It took 10 hours to
download. Now my question is what do you do with these maps?
The unit comes with pre-loaded maps, what are these other
maps used for?
The maps you downloaded are newer than the ones you had installed. So the provide the same coverage area, just newer updates.
where will i get an usb to fit my garmin 205w as need to download updated maps have only had it two weeks bought in uk i found it was helpful getting me from a to b
also how do i register my new garmin 205w
Just purchased the Nuvi205W. I haven’t been able to test it out yet. It’s currently charging. I got it from Walmart because best buy was trying to charge me double because of the bundle pkg. I will write more once I get on the road and try it out. So far, everything looks good. By the way, thanks to this site I was able to make my mind up. Very helpful.
Ok, I’m back and the Nuvi205W was not what I wanted. It did not have name of streets I was turning to or about to turn into. In the search area it was way too slow. It just seemed generic for a Garmin. But I got what I paid for. So, I exchanged it for the Nuvi265T and I hope this is what I’m looking for.
After much research on your site, I recently purchased a 255W for a trip from Texas to Chicago. As a first-time user, it was a great GPS. However, there are a few features that I wished that it had. Maybe you can help me.
I would like to retain all of the features of the 255W, plus
1. I would like it to show me the lane that I should be in. Many times I missed my exit because I was not in the correct lane.
2. I would also like to be able to plan my trip on my computer and download it to my GPS.
3. I need a multi-destinational unit. We’re retired and we want to plan a trip with many stops.
4. Blue Tooth capability.
I know that this will cost me more, but I’m willing to upgrade monetarily.
Thank you so much for your site it has been very helpful.
Rose, then you will want to step up to the Garmin Nuvi 755T or the Garmin Nuvi 755T.
Does the nuvi205W have the capability to show where you are going all the time, without a destination input? Can that be set up to be on all the time when your just driving around town? I just bought one and havent installed it yet.
The only problem we had with the new Garmin 205W was at the Indianapolis airport. Apparently, they have recently redone the roads in and out of the airport and the new configuration wasn’t in our unit’s memory. It was actually kind of funny because the screen showed us 4-wheeling in the grass when we were actually driving toward the parking building. We even experimented with the different languages! The voice sounds so disappointed when we don’t do what she wants us to do. It was a running gag during our vacation, every time we got lost or turned around we would look at each other and imitate the Garmin lady … “recalculating.”
My wife has a nuvi 200 and bought me a nuvi 255wt for my birthday. When I hooked it up and used it the first time just on map view it dont tell you the next road your coming to like the 200 does. Is there any of the newer models that still tells the roads on the top bar as your in map view?
We currently have the garmin e-trex legend and I want to buy a newer model for my husband for Christmas. I am looking at the 205W and the 255W. As far as I can tell, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between the two. I would like one that “talks” to alert upcoming turns, etc. Can you offer any suggestions?