Comments on: Garmin Nuvi 250

By: Anne Johnson

Anne Johnson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:11:53 +0000

How do i update my Garmin nuvi 250 using a mini USB cable

By: sean

sean — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:33:17 +0000

Is there an option to turn on the current speed limit in the area you are driving? I know you can see your speed, but can you display the speed limit?

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:16:06 +0000

The first map update is not necessarily free. It depends on the date the device was first used, the model itself, and the version of the map installed. If you register the device at my.garmin.com it will tell you if your device qualifies for a free map update, or how to obtain a paid map update.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:12:30 +0000

I wanted to download the 2009 map to my 250 but was unable to do. I was under the impression the first download was free. How do I get a free download?

By: Gene

Gene — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:50:23 +0000

I just got the 250W and mine says POWERED BY SIRF. It seems to lock quickly and while the lack of WAAS may be missing it indicates accuracy mode of less than 20 feet. When I drive it to the front of the house it indicates my position within the width of the garage door. It also quickly knows when I missed my turn within a couple of seconds. I keep mine down at the bottom of the windshield so it has the clearest view of the sky. The only thing I have to gripe about is the poor quality of the manual. All the necessary stuff is indicated but there are so many more ways to use the features not mentioned in the manual that I have found in these blogs and just playing with the screen. THe cost performance of this unit is outstanding. Now if they would make a cheap bean bag mount.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:36:00 +0000

Connie, check out this article for some tips.

By: connie

connie — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:09:35 +0000

I bought my husband one for christmas and it is very slow to locate satellites. We leave our house and can make it to the highway which is approx. 3-5 miles befor it locates a satelite. I want to purchase a gps for my self but will look at other units.

By: mike

mike — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:23:58 +0000

Funny enough about the gps chipset…The Garmin 250 lost lock inside my house, at ground level while my bluetooth I-Blue 737 kept sat lock & has a faster cold start lock than the Garmin…

By: Alek

Alek — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:51:30 +0000

Dan, they state: high sensitivity receiver (?!) on all the nuvis, 250, 350, even the latest 760, (in the specs tab, Garmin site). So how can we know which chipset is on each model?
Alek

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 15:06:47 +0000

To be honest, the Nuvi 250 works OK.
And if this is your firs Garmin, you will probably be very happy with it.
It is compact; it has all the good features of a Garmin: clear screen, intuitive operation, good routing engine and it is very well built.
The Nuvi 250 is actually very similar to the Street Pilot C530 that was stolen from my car last August.
And by the way stolen: always remove the GPS from the windshield BFORE you arrive to your designated parking spot.
Mine was hidden in the car, but somebody saw when I removed it and where I put it. So they broke the window and went directly for the GPS.
But letâ€™s go back to the Nuvi.
As I said it works fine. But after owning the C530, you can see a BIG difference.
The 250 has no SiRf chipset for receiver and no WAAS capability (SiRF=the highest receiving sensitivity available on the market; WAAS=a system enhancing the positioning resolution from 10 to 2 meters).
So the 250 is slower to react when you miss your turn, it may â€œthinkâ€ you are on the service road when you really are on the highway and much worst, there are locations where the C530 had no problem to lock on satellites at 3-4 green lines and where the nuvi 250 will NEVER lock whatever you do. And this, in my opinion is BAD.
It means Garmin cut the price but they also cut badly on performance and went back to the pre-SiRf era of low performance GPS receivers (like the Street Pilot C330).
I believe Garmin can do whatever they want, but what I do not like is the fact that they are deceiving us by not stating this reality. On the 250 they state: high sensitivity receiver (?!). It is like saying: This car has a very big engine. Wow, very convincing!
I think we should be the ones deciding how much we want to spend and for what level of performance. They should state that the 250 is an entry level GPS with an acceptable chipset that is less performing than the SiRf, and as such the lower price. This is a simple and fair statement.
Personally, I bought the nuvi 350 for comparison and I found that for 100$ more, it is by far a better GPS, even if I donâ€™t like too much the flip antenna feature; so I am returning the nuvi 250.
I hope this helps.