I moved here to Ohio about 4 years ago from Pennsylvania. Every time I wanted to go somewhere, I had to get directions off the internet and take them with me. It was really frustrating to go looking for some place but run into road construction and have to just go home because I didn’t know where to go. This year, for my birthday, my parents got me a Garmin nuvi 265T.
When I got the GPS, it took me about 5 minutes from box to mounted on my dash. I turned it on and it automatically starts configuring where it’s at in the world. I programmed the Home feature with my home address. Now no matter where I’m at, I can just click the ‘Where to?’ button and then ‘Home’ and the GPS routes the way home.
You can click ‘Points of Interest’ and you have the option to find Food or Fuel and it will give you a list of everything around you sorted from nearest to farthest. You can even filter the Food menu to specific types of food places including American Fare, Chinese, Italian, and Pizza. That is so handy! I can’t even count the times I have been out somewhere around here and just wondering where the gas station was and the food places! You can also just type in the name of something you’re looking for and it will give you the list of matches. Once you decide on something, you just hit ‘Go’ and the GPS lady will tell you which way to go and you’ll be able to follow along on the map. You can also add a stop to your trip very easily. You just search for the new stop and touch Go! and ‘Add as Via Point.’
I was impressed with the speed limit posted on the GPS for most roads around here, even side roads. It has been very accurate, even when there wasn’t a sign posted for several miles! There is also a traffic indicator on the screen. You can touch the icon and it will show you delays on your route. If you want to miss the delays, simply click Avoid and it will route you around them. A few months ago, I was stuck on the turnpike by an exit here for seriously 2 hours but I had no idea where the exit ramp went so I just had to wait for my road to open up. I can only imagine how fast I could’ve got out of there and avoided all that traffic if I had this at that point.
The only inconvenience is having to take it off the mount when I’m leaving the car when it’s hot. The Battery Warnings say not to leave it in direct sun in an unattended vehicle. I’m forgetful sometimes but I’ve been trying to disconnect it and put it in the console as soon as I’m parked. The temperature range that is safe for extended storage is 32°- 77° F.
The GPS is Bluetooth compatible. You can receive or send calls through your GPS. I haven’t tried this feature out yet, so I’m not sure exactly how that works. If you are interested in the Garmin nuvi 265T, you can get it at Walmart for $216.00. I, personally, have been having way too much fun using mine!
