Garmin Nuvi 250 Satellite Navigation System with Full EU Mapping

I've used one of these extensively on the Isle of Man, in the UK and in France (obviously, I have the Europe edition but the only difference is the additional maps). I also have a great deal of experience with Tom Tom.
As the Nuvi 250 not a top-of-the-range unit, there are some shortcomings - and overall I would prefer the Tom Tom interface.
But it is extremely neat, lightweight and easy to set up (which means you're not tempted to leave it on display in the car when you park up for a few minutes and nip into a shop). Actually using the unit for the main purpose (getting to an address) could hardly be easier. It's never locked-up or crashed despite some multi-hour sessions and varying temperatures. The windscreen mounting is excellent: the best I've seen and very easy in any car. I have to admit that I bought it for my wife, who prefers such things to be extremely straightforward (any why not?): she is very happy to use it.

The biggest weaknesses are the voice (very robotic, and can't say "right" correctly which is irritating)(later edit: this has now been fixed by a download from the Garmin web site) and the 3D map display (no indication of movement, and confusing where there are many streets tight up against each other). Also, the location of junctions takes some getting used to: if you wait until "zero feet" before turning off the motorway you'll have missed the junction by a long way. I think that this is partly the mapping, and partly that the countdown of distance to go is a little slow. Moving at 30 mph, a left turn will be indicated ahead but the actual turn takes place whilst the unit is still indicating 50 feet to go. If you stop at the junction it catches up a few seconds later. Tom Tom on my PDA (admittedly a high-power one) seems to stay in sync better with the position of the vehicle.

It does hold satellite lock very well (as you'd expect with this chipset), and generally starts up quickly.

Sometimes the route chosen seems a little odd: in France we were directed to use a rough mountain path at one stage, of the type that would be a challenge on foot. But that's a weakness of the mapping, and despite having better coverage, the Navteq maps seem slightly inferior to the Teleatlas product (as used by Tom Tom). A quick press of the nifty "Detour" button eliminates rogue routing so it's not a real problem.

Also, if you've changed settings to request the shortest route to a destination - don't forget to change back before your next journey (it isn't obvious that this is set) or else you'll be touring tiny back streets unexpectedly!

There are lots of pre-loaded POI's: sometimes it's a little awkward to see these on the map. It is easy to load custom POI's yourself (I do this a lot) using a PC cable (you may have to buy one of these, but it's a standard mini-USB which many digital cameras use: so check whether you already have one). The feature "go to coordinates" (where you enter the Lat and Long) is a great boon: I use it in conjuction with Memory Map on a PDA, and I can then be directed to the exact point on a detailed map.

Overall, pretty good if you like portability, simplicity and ease of use.

Very pleased indeed
My first sat nav and after reading reviews took the plunge with this Nuvi
Very impressed...this unit has been designed for ease of use and I don't think it could have been done any better
It has the Sirf chipset...(verified on the second page after switch on) which locks onto satellites within a couple of mins tops and destinations are found in less than 30 secs routinely
Also being so sensitive it works sat in my sunglasses case near the gearstick without needing to use the mount
This negates the need to install/uninstall every time I leave the car and does not give thieves a clue with tell tale sucker mount marks on the windscreen....this should not be underestimated and makes using it so easy and quick
Post code search is first class and very accurate and favourites work really well
I have been astounded at the places included in the searches for POIs
Bought at £137 a couple of weeks ago but at £119 this is a steal!
I am getting another for the wife for Xmas
I cannot think of anyone who could not use this it is soooo easy!
Does what is says on the tin ....brilliantly!

This is an excellent sat nav for those of us who just want to plug it and be told where to go. It's simple. I particularly like the size of the unit as it's just bigger than a pack of cards and fits into my pocket as I don't like to leave it in my car.

A friend of mine has a higher spec Tom Tom unit which I have used but it seems over complicated and slow to find satellite siganl compared to my Garmin.