Gotta getta Garmin... it's a Moose-have!

I had no interest.
Zip.
Nada.

But Garmin's catchy Christmas jingle caught my attention -especially the one with the moose. (I like "mooses".) Plus darling hubby was pining for one -- (not a moose, a GPS). And we had a family reunion in Alabama. Traveling from Pennsylvania to ‘Bama without a GPS unit didn't sound like a good idea, so I gave in and bought the dang thing.

I like it, I really like it!

Timing was pretty decent too. This past summer Best Buy had the Garmin Nuvi 200W on sale. If memory serves correctly, I had a $50 coupon through their rewards program and paid around $140 for the regularly-priced $200+ device. I felt this was a fairly decent price at the time.

I knew I wanted a Garmin. They have the best reviews on various sites. I checked Consumer Reports too and they gave this particular model a good rating for an entry-level GPS unit. That's where hubby and I were at. Basics. Neither of us needed or wanted the top of the line doodads. Their extra features were extra expensive. Forgoing a GPS with Bluetooth, mp3, and text-to-speech was no problem for us.

So what's so great about the Garmin Nuvi 200W?

Well, for starters, it has a widescreen. Husband Extraordinaire liked that feature a lot. The larger, 4.3" screen is simple to see and the bigger size makes it easier to hold. I liked some of the nifty elements the 200W included: a trip computer, currency converter, calculator, and more.

What's in the box?

According to the package:  "Nuvi200W preloaded City Navigator 48 lower states, vehicle suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, dashboard disk, quick start manual."

However, the wimpy little manual was almost pointless. We read through it in the parking lot and never peeked at it again. We don't use the mounts either. The vehicle cable is handy especially on extensive car trips since the unit's power only lasts a few short hours on a single charge. I'm not complaining. The battery does a fantastic job. Most of the time we store the GPS in our office. We simply leave it in the carrying case we purchased for it then take it to the car whenever we need it. Most of the time there's still plenty of "juice" left in the navigational device to get us through our next adventure. When needed, we simply recharge and are good for another couple of months of non to light use.

The Garmin Nuvi 200W is a handy tool that's a cinch to operate. Predominately, one of us played "The Controller" while the other one drove.  This worked well for us so that neither was distracted by the watching the bright GPS screen's 2-D and 3-D maps. We didn't have to hold the device the whole time either. It slid nicely into a dashboard cubby hole while maintaining linkage with the satellite. We could still easily hear the spoken directions too.

Dorothy is "her" name -err, what we call the lovely lady's voice with the British accent that comes from the GPS unit. We selected her because she didn't sound as persnickety as the female American English voice. Dorothy is almost a pleasure to listen to and has good clarity. She announces turns, directions, and distances but not street names. I find this to be an uncomplicated means of following verbal directions. If she did announce the street names I would focus more on that than the actual instructions. When we wanted the name of the road we were to turn on, a quick tap on the screen revealed it.

Garmin Nuvi 200W is straight forward and fun to use. Our brother-in-law got a kick out of us finding all the Sonic Restaurants along our way to Alabama. His list from Sonic's website didn't have all the ones the GPS had! Other points of interest were super easy to locate and was most helpful when we decided to stop somewhere to sleep while on the road. And recently on a Christmas shopping adventure outside of Philly, it located and directed me to a Bath & Body Works and Kohls with no problems. I was on my own and in an unfamiliar area so I sincerely appreciated Dorothy's guidance. And when I did make one wrong turn, it swiftly recalculated and quickly had me on my merry and correct way.

I'm quite pleased with this GPS. Although I don't think it came with a USB cord, any standard one will work fine. I believe we used my camera's cord for the one and only time we ever linked the GPS to the laptop. Registering, updating maps, and downloading a different "vehicle/cursor" doohickey weren't difficult to do. Just check out Garmin's website for the garage. There are cool and funky and FREE options. (Of course, I chose a pink car.)

The colorful wide touch screen boasts a 480x272 pixels resolution. It has a crisp and clear presentation. I'm impressed with how user friendly the Nuvi 200W is. I'm borderline technologically challenged and I can operate this handy gadget with no difficulties. The Trip Information it stores is pretty decent. Current speed, average mph, distance traveled, and time of trip is continuously monitored. Our nephew enjoyed playing "COP" while constantly updating us on our tendency to umm, accidently go a smidge faster than the posted speed limit.

Hubby and I like our Garmin Nuvi 200W and are pleased with our purchase. I highly recommend this unit to anyone needing a good, basic, GPS unit. If you want one with more bells and whistles, go for it, but I suggest staying with a Garmin. They're industry leaders and make reliable, intuitive products. And they have funny commercials with unibrows, Swedish masseurs, and of course the adorable moose!