Electronics Review: Garmin Nuvi 205 GPS

Directionally challenged drivers of the word unite! And take heart. GPS technology development corporation Garmin Ltd. is here to meet all of your directional needs. With a host of affordable and portable GPS devices, finding your way anywhere in the world is as easy as touching a screen. As a proud owner of the Garmin Nuvi 205 series portable GPS device, I can personally testify to Garmin's unparalleled ability to create products that inform, guide and navigate within a user friendly context.

Lightweight and small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, the Nuvi 205 weighs in at just over five ounces, standing 2.9 inches high with a 3.9 inch width, according to Garmin's official website: www.garmin.com. And if you're worried about the need to constantly replace batteries, fear not. You can charge your Nuvi 205 while in the car, as it is outfitted with a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Upon purchase, the device will come standard with an in-car charger designed to feed on power directly from your vehicle's cigarette lighter. Unplugged, the Nuvi 205 is capable of operating independently for roughly up to four hours.

Additionally, the Nuvi 205 package will typically include a plastic dashboard/windshield suction cup mount. This is a particularly handy accessory, as it will allow you to position the device in the most convenient location within the interior of the vehicle in order to retain optimal viewing. Furthermore, it will ensure your ability to charge the device from your cigarette lighter while the vehicle is in motion. This will prove useful during longer road trips, during which the device may drop in battery power after a period of over four hours.

I was personally impressed with the device's screen color resolution. The Garmin Nuvi 205 boasts a QVGA color antiglare touch screen, which includes an embedded white backlight, allowing for further visual clarity in the dark.

And now for the best part about the Nuvi 205: it is your personal travel assistant! According to Garmin's official website, the Nuvi 205 comes standard with "preloaded City Navigator® NT map data for contiguous U.S. or one European region or country." I personally find the turn-by-turn voice directions to be the greatest help when navigating from one determined location to the next, particularly if you are able to enter the street address of the desired location.

Once you have entered the address and/or coordinates, the Nuvi will display a prepared path laid down on a 2-D or 3-D map. The path, map and turn-by-turn directions will adjust and compensate accordingly as you navigate. In the bottom right corner will be a display of the estimated arrival time, adjusted for possible time changes along the way. In the bottom left corner of the screen, you will find a speed sensor. This will display your current speed and the speed limit of the particular road or highway you are currently navigating.

An additionally useful feature is the "Where Am I?" emergency locater. By simply tapping this option, the user will instantly discover his/her exact coordinates and location, including latitude and longitude, anywhere on the globe. This feature is used by a vast majority of fishermen for boating compass purposes. It will also allow the user to find the closest locations of hospitals, gas stations and police stations.

And besides providing great directional assistance, the Nuvi 205 can be synchronized to a desktop or laptop computer via its USB cable, similar to features on Palm Pilots and Blackberries. This will allow the user to upload photos into the Nuvi 205's Picture Viewer. If you plan on doing some sightseeing while on your road trip or to visit a national landmark, you can't go wrong with using this feature. On-the-go picture uploads to your GPS device is just plain cool.

As an avid user of multiple electronics and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices, I am always thinking about the security and confidentiality of my devices: password protection, etc. With the Garmin Nuvi 205, this is a no-brainer. The Garmin Lock™ anti-theft feature will allow you to assign your device a security Personal Identification Number (PIN). Upon turning the device on, you will be required to enter the number and then agree to the Garmin Safety Use Warning.

For more information on the Nuvi 205 and other Garmin GPS productions, you can visit their official website at: www.garmin.com.