Two years ago, I had to purchase a GPS because of some extensive traveling I'd be doing in the Los Angeles region. Since I don't know the area and am basically directionally challenged (I get lost), a GPS was the way to go. I initially picked up a Magellan unit because all my friends had one and I have regretted this move ever since. The Magellan was hard to use, maps were inaccurate, and it was often incorrect in giving instructions.
Enter the Nuvi 260. It's amazing what you get in this GPS. What would have cost easily $800 and up only a couple of years ago is now available at under $300. The Nuvi is a breeze to use and the voice-to-text feature is really cool. Instead of the "right turn in 2.1 miles" sort of thing, it actually speaks the upcoming freeway exits/streets out loud. It also has a truck load of points of interest in the little box and you can pre-plan your trip by selecting which places you want to go before hand and enter them as your favorites.
Its got a nice lock out feature that you can use by entering a four number code. The device automatically unlocks if you set an "unlock" location. Go to this point, and it unlocks for you in case you forget your code. This is also a nice feature to protect your data and your home location if the unit ever gets lost or stolen.
The GPS is pretty bright in the daytime but washes out, just like other GPS units, in direct sunlight. It's got an automatic night time feature in which the LCD display switches over to a different color scheme and brightness level to accommodate for night driving. Added to this, you can load photos as start up screens and swap out the little car icon on your map for other downloadable ones. I picked the moose for mine.
The LCD map screen can be seen in 3D or 2D mode and is easy to navigate around. The display gives you various info such as time traveled, average speed, time to arrival and a host of other features at just the touch of the screen.
The unit is portable, which means you can disconnect it from the car AC adapter and carry it around with you for walking around town. I was going to buy the AC wall adapter to charge the unit up when it wasn't in the car, but what they don't tell you is that you can just charge up the Nuvi via a USB cable. Just plug it into your computer while you're working, and your Nuvi will be fully charged in a few hours. You'll save yourself the $20 or so in buying that AC wall adapter.
The big negative of this unit, which doesn't even have anything really to do with the GPS device, is the horrible manual and Garmin website. If you're not computer savvy or don't understand electronic device very well, you'll miss out on a lot of what this GPS can do for you. If it weren't for the laughably poor Garmin website and the very sparse manual, the Nuvi 260 would have gotten a five star rating.
But seeing that not everyone is computer knowledgeable, Garmin has done a great disservice to its customers by not providing adequate instructions on their units and a website that barely passes in being helpful.
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