Garmin Nuvi 250

Garmin has announced the Nuvi 250 which is in the middle of the entry level Nuvi 200 series. The Nuvi 250 is designed to be an extremely simple device, without many of the advanced options many people never use. I often get feedback from readers that a particular device would be a good match for them, but the price was a little high and they felt like they were paying for features they really didn’t need. The Garmin Nuvi 250 might be a perfect fit for them.

One of the changes for the Nuvi 200 series is that the flip-up antenna is apparently gone, replaced by an internal antenna. I’ve never been a fan for the flip-up antenna design so this is a welcome change.
Many of the PDA features in the rest of the Nuvi lineup have remained in the Nuvi 250 such as the world clock, calculator, unit converter, and the picture viewer. You can also load up Garmin’s additional paid content such as the Savers Guide and Travel Guide products.

The Nuvi 250 is designed to be an extremely simple device, without many of the advanced options many people never use.

The Garmin Nuvi 250 comes with a 3.5″ display, which is the standard among the entry level GPS devices, but still provides enough of a screen to ensure ease of navigation. There is an SD card slot for loading additional products and maps.
So, no Bluetooth, no traffic, no MP3 player, no FM transmitter, no widescreen display. However most people can probably get by just fine without those features. However there is something else that you might just want that is missing, text-to-speech. You will need to move up to the 300 or 600 series Nuvi to get that feature. If Garmin had included text-to-speech with the 250, this device would be untouchable in the entry level category, but it would have also likely cannibalized sales for the still popular 300 series. And most people will get by just fine without text-to-speech.
The separation between the Nuvi 200 series devices all comes down to maps. The 200 has just the continental contiguous USA plus Hawaii and Puerto Rico. With this model, the 250, you get North America. And if you are a more worldly traveler you might want to check out the 270 which comes with maps of North America plus Europe.
So what features are you missing out on that other, more expensive devices have? If Bluetooth hands free calling, traffic receivers, text-to-speech, or music players are of interest, you might want to move up the line from the Nuvi 200 series. However if those features are not something you would utilize and you need maps covering North America (beyond the US 48 and Hawaii), this device could be a perfect mix of the features you want without paying for features you may never use.