mashimaru's Full Review: Garmin nuvi 200W Car GPS Receiver
When I got the Garmin nuvi 200W, it was a revelation. I didn't have a GPS installed in the dash of my car, but my husband did. The GPS in my husband's car doesn't even have a touch screen so you have to scroll through the alphabet with a dial just to type out a street name. Lame. You basically have to play "Wheel of Fortune" every time you want to go to someplace new. Anyway, it is very difficult to use, so we barely ever use it.
So I never got a portable GPS, because I assumed that they were all like the lame one in my husband's car.
Then, I received a Garmin nuvi 200W as a gift. Now I can't imagine how I lived without it for so long.
Out of the Box
The Garmin nuvi 200W comes with the windshield mount, a vehicle charging cable ... and that's pretty much it. It also comes with a dashboard mount, which is a sticky permanent disk, and a quick-start "manual," which is a very simple pamphlet. But otherwise, it's a pretty bare-bones package.
The Garmin nuvi 200W needs some stuff to be downloaded when you first power it up. It can only download while it's receiving a satellite signal, and it's only got a little bit of battery power at first. So basically, I couldn't use it right away. I needed to drive for a while, so I could let it charge and download. This isn't a hardship, because you only need to do this once. (I once tried resetting my unit, and it didn't ask me to re-download anything.) But some other brands of GPS can be used right out of the box, and the Garmin nuvi 200W can't.
Mounting it onto the windshield was easy, and the suction was very secure. It's also easy to remove, if you need to. I haven't used the dashboard mount, because I have a compact car, and absolutely no space on my dashboard. I could stick it on the top of the dashboard, but that would also violate the same California vehicle code [Section 26708] that makes it illegal to have it mounted in the center of my windshield. (Tip: If you read the entire code, you'll see that you can put something on your windshield in the lower corners.)
Using the Garmin nuvi 200W
The Garmin nuvi 200W has a very intuitive interface, and you can navigate the menu very easily. As I said, the manual is very simple, and will not explain every function of your unit. But the Garmin nuvi 200W itself is a very user-friendly unit, and even a novice like me figured out how to do everything very easily. Entering addresses and names of "points of interests" is a piece of cake. The touch screen is very responsive, and has never given me any problems.
The routes it gives me are accurate, and very responsive. It also connects to the satellite very well when my car is outside.
I liked having a GPS unit so much that I bought another GPS unit for my husband, a Magellan Maestro 3225. I paid $199.99 for the Magellan Maestro 3225 at Costco. I received the Garmin nuvi 200W as a gift, but it's also available at Costco.com for $199.99. So I assume these are both GPS units in the same price bracket.
Having used two different types of GPS units in the same price range, I've noticed a few differences which affect my use that I thought would be useful to the reader.
Garmin nuvi 200W vs. Magellan Maestro 3225
I used the Garmin nuvi 200W for a few weeks, and the Magellan Maestro 3225 for a few weeks. Here's a list of comparisons I've made:
* SCREEN:
- Garmin nuvi 200W: (4.8" wide) A wider screen is nicer to look at.
- Magellan Maestro 3225: Well, it's smaller.
Winner - Garmin
* SOUND:
- Garmin nuvi 200W: Sounds nice and loud.
- Magellan Maestro 3225: Even at its loudest, sounds softer than the Garmin at 70% volume. You might have to turn your radio down.
Winner - Garmin (I think the reason why the Garmin may be loud is because the unit itself is bigger, and therefore the speaker is bigger.)
* ROUTE CALCULATION:
- Garmin nuvi 200W: When planning a route, or when you ignore the GPS directive, it calculates and re-calculates very quickly.
- Magellan Maestro 3225: Route calculation and re-calculation is slower compared to the Garmin nuvi 200W. It's not enough to be a huge hindrance, but it's definitely noticeable.
Winner - Garmin
* NAVIGATION EFFICIENCY:
- Garmin nuvi 200W: You can program the unit to avoid highways, and also if you want a faster, or closer (in distance) route. But you have to go into the settings and program this. One advantage of this feature is that you can program various "avoidances," not just freeways - e.g., U-Turns, unpaved roads, toll roads, etc.
- Magellan Maestro 3225: Every time you calculate a route, it asks you if you want to avoid highways, and also if you want a faster, or closer (in distance) route. I like this better, because these options are usually a variable that changes with circumstance, not a permanent preference.
Winner - Magellan
* POINTS OF INTERESTS (POI):
- Garmin nuvi 200W: Comes pre-loaded with 6 million POI's, which is the highest number you can currently get.
- Magellan Maestro 3225: Comes pre-loaded with only 1.3 million POI's. However, I was able to download a POI file for 6 million off the internet and was able to load it onto my Magellan. It was surprisingly easy, so this is no longer a problem for me. But having only 1.3 million POI's is definitely a drawback and something I found frustrating. For example, I did a search for "shopping," and it only gave me a list of large malls starting from 10 miles away.
Winner - Garmin
There are other little quirks in both units, such as:
- The Garmin nuvi 200W lists the saved "Favorite" locations in the order of what is nearest to you from where you are at that moment. The Magellan Maestro 3225 lists them in alphabetical order. After using both, I think I prefer the Magellan Maestro 3225 Address Book, because I don't always want to go somewhere in my saved locations just because it's nearer.
- On the other hand, once you find a POI location that you want to save, Garmin nuvi 200W makes it very easy to add that to your list of Favorites. But with the Magellan Maestro 3225, you have to actually make that a destination before you can add it to your Address Book, and that takes a few extra moves, too.
-The Magellan Maestro 3225 comes with more stuff than the Garmin nuvi 200W. It comes with an AC charger, a USB cable, and a POI editor software. However, I don't personally consider this necessarily superior to Garmin nuvi 200W, because I don't use the AC charger, since I use the GPS exclusively in the car. I also have no use for the POI editor software, because it only works with latitude and longitude.
And I've only used the USB cable to update the POI's from 1.3 million to 6 million, which I didn't need to do with the Garmin nuvi 200W. However, I've learned that you can use the USB cable to download custom POI lists, updated maps, and other neat things. You can also use an SD-card to transmit that stuff. But still, I'm going to have to say that it's a drawback that Garmin nuvi 200W doesn't come with a USB cable.
*TIP: The Garmin nuvi 200W is compatible with standard mini-USB data cables and chargers, if you happen to have another one from another device (e.g., USB card readers, MP3 players, etc.)
- Garmin nuvi 200W has a picture viewer, which the Magellan Maestro 3225 does not. Once again, this isn't really dealbreaker feature for me, because I don't really use it.
So in sum, there are some advantages and disadvantages to both units. But I actually like both units pretty much equally, and they both work really well. Basically, the big advantage of the Magellan Maestro 3225 is that it speaks the street names. And the big advantage of the Garmin nuvi 200W is that it's got a nice wide screen. For some people, one or the other feature is essential to them.
If you want a unit that's got both, that will take you to another level in price. (And if you want a higher-end unit, there are other features, such as Bluetooth, MP3 player, and other neat things.)
Conclusion:
I like the Garmin nuvi 200W a lot. It does what it does really well. I would absolutely recommend it.
A quick sum-up of this unit would be that it's a great budget unit, if you don't need bells and whistles. And it's probably the cheapest GPS you can get with a wide screen. Aside from looking great, having a wide screen also means that there is more typing surface, which makes it easier.
In my opinion, the only big thing it's missing is the ability to speak street names. So whether you choose to buy Garmin nuvi 200W or another GPS depends largely on how important this feature is to you. But it is really great in every other way, as far as GPS function goes. (I didn't consider the picture viewer, for instance.) Also, I hope that the comparison list I made gives you a more detailed idea about how this unit specifically works.
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