Introduction
The Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS is the most desirable entry level GPS unit that you can get for the best of price. See for yourself how much power a simple GPS navigator can bring to its user, information is a valuable resource and can ultimately save you countless time and money. This gadget here is able to do all the navigation you need in the U.S. or other regions, with preloaded maps it’s ready to use straight out of the box. It’s a small device, but functions very well to get the user moving in the right direction. Even though it’s an entry level unit, it does have some functions similar to the higher end models available from Garmin. This is a most impressive unit and you’ll see why this is a popular product on the GPS market.
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| Figure 1: The highly functional handheld navigator Nuvi 200. |
Design
The design is sleek and clean, the compact build (3.8″W x 2.8″H x .8″D), ultimately weighing in only 5.2 ounces, allows the user to take it anywhere with them as well as making its transport for recharge easier. The battery itself lasts for about 5 hours of continuous usage, which is plenty for almost any trip. The Garmin Nuvi 200 is sure the impress the eye of anyone who has never seen or used a handheld GPS unit before. Beyond the appealing physical characteristics of this device is so much more.
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| Figure 2: The Nuvi 200 was designed to be as portable as can be without sacrificing functionality. |
Interface
One of the most attractive aspects of the Nuvi 200 is the responsive touch screen. This makes using all of the units functions quick and easy, much better than any traditional keypad typing and selecting. Menu’s are easy to use, as they appear as large selectable items. The menus and such are also quite bold and streamlined, making it pleasant on the eye as well as making it clear enough to use constantly. Typing itself couldn’t be any easier with the touch screen. The typing interface is very fast to use, you can get down an address typed in within a couple of seconds even. The interface is very well designed to be as user friendly as possible, thus any user shouldn’t have trouble in handling it while on the road.
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| Figure 3: The typing interface with the touch screen makes your destination definition fast. | Figure 4: Easy to read and press buttons makes navigating through selections as easy as it should be. |
Navigation
Navigating with the Nuvi 200 is the best part. Once you get this thing set to your defined location, you are greeted with a color and vivid map that all Garmin unit uses. The maps feature both 2D and 3D views, very convenient to help you get things in perspective. The maps will also feature a little customizable car icon, this is also a very nice feature that allows the user to know exactly where they are as they travel along. Like all the other Garmin Nuvi’s they all have voice prompts, which is the audio cues that let the driver know to “turn left in 500 feet”, and so forth. This is one of the most important features that any GPS consumer should look out for, as this is something that does not only bring convenience, but as well makes the usage of their GPS safer while driving. With such ease to use and convenience from the Nuvi, it’s practically impossible to get lost.
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| Figure 5: Colorful and vivid maps makes reading and understanding them much more easier. | Figure 6: Overhead maps can be brought up to give you a birds eye view of your surroundings.. | Figure 7: Never miss a turn. The Nuvi 200 ensures that each turn is properly broadcasted to you to ensure you are prepared at all times. |
Other features
While navigating is such an easy task thanks to Garmin’s well designed interface and navigating tools, the Nuvi 200 does have a few more features that further brings the functionality of a GPS unit all together. One of the most notable features is the points of interest function. This basically allows you to define a location, should you go near that defined location the Nuvi 200 will alert you as you near such location. This is useful in defining traffic camera locations, school zones, and anything else that might be important to the driver. The Nuvi 200 does have other travel tools, such as a jpg viewer, so you can easily view all your digital pictures with ease, clocks with various time zones, currency converters, calculators, and other things that may become useful. The Garmin Nuvi 200 is lockable and features anti-theft. For such a small unit, it sure does a lot honestly.
Conclusion
Like all of Garmin’s Nuvi line, the 200 is great at giving beautiful maps, displaying where you are, and taking you to your destination. With a sleek design and an extremely user friendly interface, it’s very easy to use right out of the box without any difficult learning curve, perfect for the new user or the more veteran GPS users. There are enough features to fulfill almost any level of users’ needs, and with such a small price tag this makes the Nuvi 200 one of the best GPS navigators you can get. Though it may be small, this piece of technology does pack a lot of functionality. If you are really in the market for such a device, I highly recommend the Garmin Nuvi 200 as one of the best for the lowest price.
