What’s missing from the nuvi 295W?

Garmin nuvi 295W review

from GPS Tracklog by Rich Owings

What’s missing from the nuvi 295W?

Unlike some nuvis, the following features are missing from the 295W:

• Does not warn you when speeding
• Map screen data fields cannot be customized
• Voice commands
• Lane assist and junction view
• 3D buildings
• Bluetooth
• FM traffic compatibility
• ecoRoute
• Audio book player
• FM transmitter

The nuvifone G60 connection

The nuvi 295W appears to utilize components originally created for the nuvifone G60. The case is nearly identical, and the tri-axial compass and accelerometer appear to be holdovers from the design as well. Garmin has apparently found a way to recoup some of their losses from their initial and less than successful entry into the world of smartphones. The only real negatives are that it ended up with the external speaker of a phone, instead of that of a personal navigation device, and the battery isn’t up to constant WiFi access.

Garmin nuvi 295W pros

• Email access via WiFi networks
• Small, pocket-sized
• Easy WiFi and email setup
• Powered mount
• Multi-destination routing
• Fully compatible with pedestrian and mass transit features of CityXplorer maps
• Tri-axial compass

Garmin nuvi 295W cons

• Very short battery life
• Speaker is not loud enough
• 3.5” screen
• 2.5 mm headphone jack
• Very slow browser
• No traffic capabilities (not available as an add-on either)

Recommendation

As I said in the beginning, the nuvi 295W is a good choice for someone who would like email on the go, but isn’t ready to spring for a smartphone data plan. Were it not for the speaker and battery life (more deal killers than the weak browser, IMHO), I’d recommend this without hesitation. As it stands, caveat emptor.

More Garmin nuvi 295W reviews

• Consumer-authored Garmin nuvi 295W reviews have been posted at Amazon
• A user review of the nuvi 295W posted at GPS Review

I’ll be posting more hands on GPS reviews as they appear, but in the meantime, here are some…

Other Garmin nuvi 295W resources

• A PDF version of the Garmin nuvi 295W owners manual
• Want to see how the 295W stacks up against other models? Check out this Garmin auto GPS comparisontool or my own Garmin nuvi comparison chart
• There is a dedicated Garmin nuvi message forum at GpsPasSion
• And another nuvi forum at GPS Review
• The official Garmin nuvi 295W web page