The Garmin Nuvi 225w: An Entry-level GPS Navigator for Uncompromising Navigation Help

The term "entry-level" in the world of modern electronics does not carry any of the connotations it used to have in the past when choosing a product with such a badge would mean sacrificing on essential features or quality. The fashionable slim-profile Nuvi 225w from U.S.based Garmin is a segment-defining GPS navigator that is entry-level in the modern sense: it is feature-packed, makes only a few sacrifices, and is thoroughly usable.

To begin with the Nuvi 225w comes out-of-the-box with a massive database of detailed road maps for most motorable roads in North America and Europe with information on important landmarks and sights of interest coded in. The unit is designed to lock up pretty quickly with a GPS satellite. City maps on board this model are the City Navigator NT kind, the well-known digital maps known for the way in which useful information local to each urban area is coded into them. The maps on this model include local information such as the locations of transportation depots, hospitals, restaurants, gas stations, and so on. The user interface is an attractive touch screen, and when destination information is fed in, instructions are delivered in real time by a synthesized voice. The cities and areas you find you need most often are remembered in a user-programmable My Data favorites list. The voice instructions are amplified well enough to be audible over traffic noise, and they keep up with your current position to the second via GPS link.

The directions deliver accurate up-to-the-second instructions on turns to take, and landmarks and street names to look out for. The on-screen map is updated by the second too as you drive along. The maps only offer 2-D mode elevation though, which could be a little difficult to read. Should you need to know the name of the place you are in at any given moment, there is a prominently-labeled function named "Where am I?" That should give you current information on the location you occupy at the moment. A winning feature here is the HotFix satellite function that is able to perform location pinpointing at high speed. The Nuvi 225w, while it is designed to use in the car, is diminutive enough to be convenient to just slip into a pocket or into a purse.

Not many navigators at this price point come off as this well thought-out. Its popularity today is quite understandable.