Good easy to use budget GPS (Garmin nuvi 205WT)

Member Name: bowmanmonk

Product:	Garmin nuvi 205WT
Date:	21/05/09 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wide screen, easy menus, good price.

Disadvantages: A bit slow to pick up sats on startup and mapping update a bit clunky

This is my first satnav (except for the pretty useless app on the Nokia N95)so I have nothing to compare it with. All in all it does what I need it to do. It does take a up to minute to pick up the satellite when you turn it on but unless you are completely lost that is not a problem because you can head off in the right direction and it will catch up with you. The wide screen is easy to read and the graphics are clear. I do find that you have to look at the screen rather than just listen to the voice as she (a bit posh and commanding) will often tell you to turn left or right when in fact the road you are on simply curves away, but the screen is always clear about where you need to go. Similarly the audio will prematurely tell you to exit almost as soon as you enter a roundabout regardless of which exit you need, but again a glance at the screen clears it up. I like the estimated arrival time at the corner of the screen which has, so far turned out to be accurate to within a couple of minutes even on 100 mile plus journeys. I agree with the previous reviewer that the route it chooses may not always be the one you would choose if you know the route, but it will always get you there. The menus are clear and with the wide screen the touch sensitivity works fine for my bloke's fat fingers. The only real problem was downloading the free mapping update on first use which took a couple of attempts but worked in the end. Overall, a decent piece of kit and at £99.99 with full EU mapping a bargain.

Summary: A good GPS fit for most needs at a good price