Nuvi 260 vs 350 Which one? Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:07 am
I definitely want TTS....I'm torn between the 260 or the 350. The 350 is only $30 more on line, delivered ($255 vs $285) plus I get the USB cable, AC cable, a case. I also like the idea of the car connection to the mount, making removing it from the car easier, plus the MP3 player, and traffic (which I don't really care about). I am not bothered by the flip up antenna on the 350.
It seems to be a no brainer. I'm leaning toward the 350, however I am not able to actually "play/touch/see" either one, locally. So, is there a difference between the screen quality, ie color, clarity, etc, and how about the sound? To me, screen crispness, colors, etc, and sound are the most important attributes for car navigation. Oddly, reviews are mixed....some say the 260 has better screen and sound quality, others say the 350 does. I realize this is subjective, but I value user opinions more than so called "reviewers".
To summarize, which model do you feel is best, and why.
Thanks
I already read most of them. I did find a 350 at a local store, but no 260 or any 2xx, to compare it to. The posts you suggested indicate the 260 has a better screen, although the 350 looked and sounded fine to me. I'll have to hunt around for a 260 that's on demo. Of course it'll be hard to compare if they're not next to each other. The one thing that did get my attention is someone said the 350 is hard to see with polarized lenses...that's a deal breaker for me....I wear them all the time. I think I'd better go back to the store with my sunglasses to check.
I have the 260 but bought it at the wrong time, when Garmin decided to replace the SIRF chip with the Bravo. Also, the 260 does not have WAAS enabled.
If you check out sites like Costco, Amazon, etc. the 260 specs indicate it's a SIRF chip and WAAS enabled, not true. Check out Garmin site for real specs. At one point, 260's came with a SIRF chip, so you need to be careful.
I would go for the 350, especially if the price diff is so small. Especially if you are looking for a better GPS device, 350 would offer more: SIRF, WAAS enabled, and external antennae connector.
I have the 260 but bought it at the wrong time, when Garmin decided to replace the SIRF chip with the Bravo. Also, the 260 does not have WAAS enabled.
If you check out sites like Costco, Amazon, etc. the 260 specs indicate it's a SIRF chip and WAAS enabled, not true. Check out Garmin site for real specs. At one point, 260's came with a SIRF chip, so you need to be careful.
I would go for the 350, especially if the price diff is so small. Especially if you are looking for a better GPS device, 350 would offer more: SIRF, WAAS enabled, and external antennae connector.
I just put my 260 to a 2200 mile test run from Denver CO to Ft. Myers FL. It passed with flying colors. I really don't know what the crying is about for WAAS and Sirf.... Whatever mine has (probably Bravo) it works just fine.
If Bravo is better then why doesn't Garmin use the Bravo chip in their higher model. Also, why doesn't any site, including Garmin, "brag" about the Garmin Bravo chip. They make no mention of it on their site. Check out the 260 specs... nowhere does it say Bravo chip inside, blah, blah blah.
Do you know what WAAS is?
I'm sure your Bravo passed with flying colors but that doesn't mean Bravo is as good as the SiRF chip. Toyota is a great car, but Lexus is better.
All the reviews and comparisons I've read, SiRF is better.
WAAS provides little to no benefit for auto use. Accuracy goes from about 30 feet to about 15 feet. With the "snap to" activity on these devices it is hard to imagine another street that is less than 30 feet away where it confuses what street you are on. WAAS also drains battery life. Every Garmin auto device I've seen that is confirmed by Garmin to have WAAS, also has a way to turn off WAAS since it is such a drain on the battery.
Therefore unless someone can show me something from Garmin that says the 260 has WAAS, my discussions with them indicate it doesn't... but it doesn't really matter anyway since you wouldn't really notice the benefits in an auto environment anyway.
If Bravo is better then why doesn't Garmin use the Bravo chip in their higher model. Also, why doesn't any site, including Garmin, "brag" about the Garmin Bravo chip. They make no mention of it on their site. Check out the 260 specs... nowhere does it say Bravo chip inside, blah, blah blah.
Do you know what WAAS is?
I'm sure your Bravo passed with flying colors but that doesn't mean Bravo is as good as the SiRF chip. Toyota is a great car, but Lexus is better.
All the reviews and comparisons I've read, SiRF is better.
I never tried to intimate that it was better. I just said that it worked well over the 2200 miles of my trip. I'm happy with it, because it does what I want it to do... gets me from here to there, shows me the POI's that I need on the way, and does so with little fuss. I don't ask more of it. I didn't want an MP3 player or audio books, I don't have any need for traffic reports.... I just wanted a good dependable GPS for a reasonable price from a company with a solid customer support record, and that's what I seem to have gotten.
I have USB cables and I can get a wall/cigarette charger adapter, so I can run/charge it indoors if necessary. Disregarding the ability with the 350 to leave it connected to the windshield mount, is the 260 mount as good? And no, I don't need the extras on the 350.
Keep the opinions coming. Haven't heard about the screen and sound differences, if any. At this point, unless the 350 is better, I may as well save the $.
I have USB cables and I can get a wall/cigarette charger adapter, so I can run/charge it indoors if necessary. Disregarding the ability with the 350 to leave it connected to the windshield mount, is the 260 mount as good? And no, I don't need the extras on the 350.
Keep the opinions coming. Haven't heard about the screen and sound differences, if any. At this point, unless the 350 is better, I may as well save the $.
What's the value of the simulator on the 260?
If you mean the GPS Simulator, I think that they all have it (I didn't demo a 350 so I'm not certain). It just turns off the satellite acquisition so you can try out routes and simulate driving them. It really doesn't work that well on my 260, as it does this in real time and there is no way to accelerate it. Takes forever just to run a short local route. After a quick test, I don't bother with it much... I really don't see a need for it.
As for the mount, the standard windshield mount worked fine on my trip, but I had already ordered the friction mount, which I've been using since I got home again. It's easier to move off the dash and conceal when I'm parked. I can also place it closer to the driver's position in my Accord Coupe because the windshield is very sloped, requiring the suction cup mount to be well forward of the steering wheel. It also means I don't have to worry about it if I take a trip to Minnesota or California, where the windshield mount is not legal.
I just put my 260 to a 2200 mile test run from Denver CO to Ft. Myers FL. It passed with flying colors. I really don't know what the crying is about for WAAS and Sirf.... Whatever mine has (probably Bravo) it works just fine.
I've read and heard MANY complaints from 260 and other Nuvi users concerning satellite acquisition taking forever, as well as often losing signal during navigation in open areas...not in tunnels. Have you had any problems with this?
I just put my 260 to a 2200 mile test run from Denver CO to Ft. Myers FL. It passed with flying colors. I really don't know what the crying is about for WAAS and Sirf.... Whatever mine has (probably Bravo) it works just fine.
I've read and heard MANY complaints from 260 and other Nuvi users concerning satellite acquisition taking forever, as well as often losing signal during navigation in open areas...not in tunnels. Have you had any problems with this?
Nope. No problems like that at all. The only thing that might be a glitch is that in 4 days of travel, it twice spoke up in the middle of a long freeway run saying "Recalculating". No indication that the signal was lost or why it was doing it (Maybe the road on the map was enough off from the received signal to make it think I left the route?), and it only took a couple of seconds each time to reset the route. We even went through about a 1/4 mile long tunnel (I think that was in Mobile AL) without losing the signal.
I only drove one way then flew back home. The unit took about 5 minutes to "relocate" itself after the flight, which as understand is not that bad. Starting up cold each morning it took about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes to sync up. Since I'm a new user, I don't have any past experience to compare this one to, but it seems to be doing everything it was advertised to do.
My 260 acquires fast even right here inside the house next to my PC, my previous units could never do that inside the house (Magellan Gold and Garmin Etrex)
turnright don't know where you got your 260 but my 260 is WAAS-enabled, I have read others post here the same missinformation.
check the facts:
http://garminnuvi.wordpress.com/2007/11/24/garmin-nuvi-260-review/
Flaco
It's funny that you ask me to check the facts. Initially when I bought the 260 I thought I did my homework but I was wrong. I was checking the wrong websites, just as you are doing now. I read a lot of different sites and a lot of them say SIRF chip WAAS enabled, including COSTCO, Amazon, etc. So I thought, wow, why buy the 350 when the 260 has the same "engine"? I was WRONG. At one point, it may be true that the 260 contained the SIRF chip and maybe even WAAS enabled, but that is no longer true. Check GARMIN's website. You will notice no WAAS logo anymore in the 260 spec page.
I dug a little deeper and emailed Garmin tech support and they confirmed NO WAAS for 260. And 260 no longer comes with SIRF either.
Also, if 260 is WAAS enabled, Garmin would definitely advertise on their website. check the 260 on the GARMIN WEBSITE, don't believe any other website, their information may be out of date.
Call or email Garmin and they will tell you the same thing.
Next time, I buy a Garmin product I'm going check their website and email or call Garmin first.
When I'm driving around where I live (flat, no tall buildings, electric bus lines, etc), my 260 is very accurate. When i approach an intersection, my Nuvi vehicle icon is at the same spot. However, as I enter the city (Vancouver), the accuracy drops drastically. My Nuvi vehicle icon is about a good 30 to 50 meters in front of me. If the 260 had WAAS I would assume it would correct this.
Also, you mentioned that it drains the battery, but one can always plug in their charger as they are going to be in their car any way, correct? Worse case, you can turn it off.
However, as I enter the city (Vancouver), the accuracy drops drastically. My Nuvi vehicle icon is about a good 30 to 50 meters in front of me. If the 260 had WAAS I would assume it would correct this.
I wouldn't make that assumption. Whatever is causing the signals to get "bounced around" when you are in the city would still be there. Despite the WAAS signal providing correction info, it only provides correction info to account for a known (measured) error from the satellites. The error of the originating signal hasn't changed, so the WAAS correction info wouldn't cancel out whatever is causing your signal bounce.
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