Torn between the choice of bringing either your GPS unit, your digital camera, or your laptop? No? You’re not alone, but that doesn’t negate the fact that a camera with built-in navigation functionality and WiFi browser capabilities is incredibly convenient. As a matter of fact, once you have a Garmin nuvi 295W in your hot little hands, you’ll be loathe to give it up.

5 Responses to “Garmin nüvi 295W 3.5-Inch Widescreen Wi-Fi Portable GPS Navigator”

1. Fred C. Mcclanahan says:

   July 22, 2010 at 12:00 am

   It fits in your shirt pocket and has a camera that seems to take pretty good photos. It has a digital compass so you know which way you’re facing. That’s the good stuff.

   Now for the bad.

   On several attempts in an open area, it took from 15 to 20 minutes to acquire satellites. My very old Garmin vehicle unit was up and running in about 45 seconds. The virtual keypad used to input addresses, etc. is only good for very small fingers. With big fingers it is very difficult to hit the right key. The system never suggested the east or west end of a street as my auto Garmin does. Asking for 600 East Jones street was impossible. If you put in Jones, East Jones is not offered as an option. If you put in east, it only offers streets beginning with east – like Easter street or Eastern Ave.

   I downloaded the software update and the map update – made no difference.

   I tried to call call Garmin. After 79 minutes on hold, I gave up.

   I really wanted a GPS that does all the things this one should do well. This one was a giant misstep from Garmin.
2. James Lawrie says:

   July 20, 2010 at 12:00 am

   Hello,

   Purchased this device to replace a stolen nuvi 650, and from the description it looked like a good choice, but after playing with it for a few days the following problems continue:

   1. Every time I power on the device it goes thru the initialzation and registration process. I downloaded and installed the

   latest software and maps; still has the problem.

   2. Touch screen to sensitive for me, hard to scroll without activating something.

   3. Information is hard to find in the menu’s, still looking for OS version.

   4. Position on map doesn’t line up with marker on screen.

   5. Installed MicroSD card and loaded TOPO US 100k maps, but they don’t display.

   6. Unable to figure out how to do a hard reset on the device, not the same as other like the 1390T.

   7. The position sensor is too sensitive for my taste.

   In short it was a waste of money for me; I should have found another nuvi 650 instead. Maybe with a few more software patches it will work great, but for now I’ll use my new 1390T that I purchased today as a replacement for the 295W.
3. Mcoto says:

   July 19, 2010 at 12:00 am

   Want to buy the garmin nuvi 295W, you can install in the cityxplorer New York City
4. SereneNight says:

   July 6, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I’ve used IN CAR gps devices before and really liked them, so I was really happy to get this gps portable which I could use in my old 97 Ford Ranger. I’m pretty tech savvy, and like electronic gadgets, but right away I was bummed that the package didn’t include an ac adapter. I tried using the usb cable to charge off my computer but it never seemed to achieve a full charge that way. I don’t have a functioning cigarette lighter, so I bought an ac adapter and case as accessories to protect the device.

   The adapter gave the device a complete charge (finally) and I took it outside for a test drive. I found the screen to be very difficult to see during daylight hours. This hampers using the camera function and the gps function. I also find the lock screen function kind of annoying.

   As GPS goes, it works fine. Driving instructions are straightforward and easy to use. If you travel at night or morning, or darkened cab you should be fine. However, I found myself frustrated by my inability to see the screen during daylight hours (when I like to exercise) which makes this device limited.

   I particularly like the camera feature. The pictures are clear and bright and unloading them onto my laptop was easy.

   Disappointments

   1. Screen dimness during daylight hours renders the gps feature unusable while walking and the camera feature difficult to use.

   2. No ac adapter/case

   3. Manual too brief/not descriptive enough.

   Overall, this is a nice item, but I was disappointed by the screen dimness during daylight hours which makes it of limited use for me.
5. Rich says:

   July 25, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I got this because I had a lots of interest in the features and product. Mainly, I was looking for a GPS replacement since; I was giving away my older Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3 to my parents. This is Amazon’s special deal of the day impulse buy. This is basically the same feature as the T-Mobile Garminfone Android without the cellphone. As a multi feature gps on the go that has wifi for email and web surfing, mp3 player, camera with Geo-tagging it is fun to use. As expected from a device that is a jack of all trades, master of none, this is what you get. Most of the reviews I read when I purchased this were from Vine members.

   Design:

   Well it is the size of most 3.5″ cellphone with average depth. The bottom and top are rubber surrounded by a metal rim. I had no issues with the buttons layout. Camera button is correct on the upper right, volume on the upper left in landscape mode. Cold boot is actually very slow 1-2 minutes, but most of the time it is on standby which is instant and is just one click verse the hold click. This device does get warm when I played with it in my hand via mp3, wi-fi etc. similar to a cellphone when you been calling for awhile. I cannot read word document nor excel file as it stated. I even sent it through my email and it doesn’t open the attachment. Internal HD is 3gb with about 1.5gb is free. Touch screen is as sensitive as my sister Garmin nüvi 1300 4.3 and a lot better than 255w. The screen is as bright as any Garmin except the newer Garmin nüvi 3750

   GPS – 4 out of 5

   This GPS interface is almost everything like most Garmin, which easy to use like the 2008 255w and 2009 1300. The Favorite, home, recent folder, speedometer, is all the same. I didn’t really see any new feature, I didn’t have before. My biggest question was how would the 3.5″ screen do, compare to the typical 4.3″ screen? From my experience with this, it works fine. I drove with both 295 and 255 gps on. The map screen was exactly the same, except the scale, some speed number maybe moved a little, but nothing much different. So a smaller screen is less of a luxury then the 4.3 but it will work. (See my pic of the screen different in the user images) Two major bugs I have was the small voice/ speaker, is very weak. When you max the volume and do sound boost the voice crack a little and is hard to hear compare to the bigger 255w. Put on the British’s accent and you won’t be able to understand anything. FM traffic is the other bug, it is not compatible on this device. For an average to big city with traffic issues, I would prefer to have this feature and sadly there isn’t any. A minor thing is there is no lane assist for some people with higher end Garmin. I haven’t gotten the city Navigator and if I do I will update that. GPS search is as fast as my 255, but seem a tad slower than the 1300.

   Wi-Fi for email and web: 3/5

   Yeah 3.5″ is just way too small, zooming and scrolling is a painful experience. At least it is a full feature browser, but without flash support. Big site like ESPN takes like 1.5-2 minutes to load. Amazon takes like 40sec and so do CNet. MSN is reasonable. Facebook is instant with it mobile page version. I found my finger hitting the wrong icon all the time here, to add to that layer of frustration. It can saved your cookies for the site you login to and you can change your homepage and delete cookie, in the setting area.

   Email is actually good, I have two accounts on it via hotmail and Gmail. They put all emails together in the inbox. It is default to text, but you can upgrade it to web browser view. I connected to my home network fine as so I did at public wifi, no issues there.

   Camera. 3.5 out of 5

   Well it takes 3.0 megapixel pictures as is. For indoor and no light it is terrible, lack of flash. Outdoor it looks fine. I compared it to my old Canon Powershot SD400 5MP and looked a little sharper, but the color range was off with a bluish tint, and two much contrast between light and dark area. Geo-tagging is the great feature. Turn on GPS and when you take picture it will save the coordinates. This is a luxury feature that I most have on my next DSLR aka Nikon D90.

   MP3 4.5/5

   It works like my last ipod. Only issues I was I had to get a 2,5-3.5 headphone converter. Sound good, not anything like your PC can do. Artist, Album, playlist, etc. are all here. You can dump the music onto the spare internal 1.5gb document folder of the Garmin or add a 8gb micro SD card which I did. I threw mp3 under a few folders and it found it all. What it didn’t find or can’t play are movies files: mp4, flv. The Micro SD transfer rate is 1.-1.5mbps which is slower than typical SD cards.

   This device to me is a toy that I can’t do anything very well with, except the GPS. I really can’t recommend it unless you need a GPS and don’t have a data plan smartphone in one. For me it I will use it as a gps unit and feel good that I have a portable email/web browser if I need it. Most public area like malls, restaurants, coffee shops offer free wifi. I think the screen is tad small and would hold out on a 4-4.3″ screen or just get a media player like an Archos 5 32 GB Internet Tablet with Android. This is my first gps unit that came with an usb cord so that is nice.