wxradar's Full Review: Garmin nuvi 200W Car GPS Receiver
Positives: huge 4.3 inch screen, superbright, easy to read in direct Alabama summer sunlight while wearing sunglasses, very pleasing night color scheme, fast initial fix (except one mysterious evening when I was leaving the Atlanta airport to get on I-85 to head home, and the GPS decided to take a full ten minutes to get a fix, very odd, and it's a good thing I knew the roads), very sensitive receiver can be placed anywhere in front seat area and get good reception, good database, easy search and find functions. Good voice directions. This GPS actually directed me out of a parking lot at the start of a trip. Contains rechargable battery. Voice is loud and clear.
Negatives: There are several things this GPS does not have that my old trusty Garmin GPS V did. Next freeway exit is written across the top, but not the distance to it. There is no distance scale on the display, so you never really know what the distances are on the map, which is especially disturbing because this GPS does automatic zoom changes which you cannot control. Irritating how this GPS always zooms in to freeway exits so that the ramp fills the entire screen. If you need to make a decision at the end of the off-ramp, you will have to manually (tap tap tap) zoom out to view the neighborhood. Find your favorite map zoom level, and bam! the zoom changes and you will have to manually tap tap tap back to the level you wanted. Even when screen detail is set to max, I had half of Alabama displayed on the map, with only one city label on the display, everything else is just road numbers. The "max detail" is definitely sparse. The real estate on this display is poorly managed. With the top band being the writing about the next exit or cross road, and the bottom having a large constant "MENU" button, there is a lot less screen left than you think. When your GPS is set to travel direction always up, you are always heading in the direction of the display that is the shortest. There is no changing the orientation from landscape to portrait (something my old Garmin V did). Normal display does not show the time of day which is a shame because GPS has such an accurate clock. You have to page through menus to get to the time of day.
More negatives: The disk to which the suction cup attaches has two-way mounting tape on it, but the tape is so thin (not foamy like it should be to conform to dashboard curviture or texture) that it is worthless. I attached the disk on the clear plastic that covers the tachometer in my instrument well of my Chevy Suburban. A couple of hot days in the sun, and the disk fell off. I had to put my own 3M double-sided mounting tape on the disk, and it has not fallen off since. Coincidentally, I found that a plain smooth electric outlet cover (four outlets that are not used) with two small screws can be bought in several colors and can be mounted anywhere as long as you don't overtighten the screws. The suction cup adheres to them just as it does to the supplied disk.
Some general comments: there are neighborhoods ( I live in one) where google maps and this GPS have all the streets wrong. These are mostly suburban developments. But then I can drive into Andalusia, Alabama, from the northwest, and all the cross street names are completely wrong. Confirm your cross streets and house location with anyone you visit.
Conclusion: Perhaps a bit too stripped down, but good for basic car navigation.
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