Accessories

Very good product, with a few shortcomings
We purchased a new Garmin Nuvi 260W when moving to Chicago from Los Angeles. All in all, this is a very good product and very user friendly.
Very easy to mount to the windshield and dismount. We purchased separately a case, as none is provided in the original box.

We use our unit only in the car (i.e. not for walking) and in general, it works very well. The accuracy is generally very good, though not always.
In general, I strongly recommend always looking at a map at your route before hand, to get a general idea.

When around tall buildings, like downtown Chicago, the system tends to go crazy, which is annoying. I understand it sometimes loses the satellite signal, but how come it doesn't have some sort of a memory for the route as it was before?

Also, at times it takes it VERY long to acquire a signal.
And finally, having only an ABC keyboard take a lot of times getting used to, if like me, you're used to working only with qwerty.

Bottom line, I think that for the price we paid for it (around $240), it's a great value and while not perfect (what is...?) it is definitely worth considering, at least.

A Very Good Product
Have never used a navigation device before, but this device is very good! While it may not select the exact route you wish to start out with, it will definitely get you to where you want to go. If you do not follow their original directions, the device quickly recalculates and sets you back on course to your destination. This particular model states all the street names and is well worth the extra few dollars above its lower models. I recommend this device highly!

Good overall, but some annoying niggles
PROS: So far it does a good job of giving directions, acceptably accurate. Thus far there is no drop of signals after 3 inter-city tips. Nice compact size.

CONS: 1) The input alphabet is in alphabetical order. That is very annoying! Set it up like the computer keyboard!--something virtually every input alphabet keyboard out there emulates (eg, palms, treos, cell phones, etc). Now, if you don't know how to find alphabets on such a keyboard--learn!--because it's much better than going back to the stone age.
2) Time it takes to start up the unit is TOO LONG--up to 5 minutes. The unit goes through this process every single time upon start-up. Very annoying and time consuming. My car's GPS unit is almost instantly on when the car is started.
3) No dedicated button for volume and screen brightness.
4) There is function for static maps, like, say google maps.
5) Garmin's website is poorly organized. For instant, you can't find additional voices for your unit on the website via their search engine; you can download them using only their webupdater program.

Overall, this unit does it's job. You won't likely be disappointed. However, the rooms for improvement are obvious. I will update my review as I have more use time with this device.

What an amazing device!
It is very accurate. Got me to every destination perfectly It really makes a difference in knowing where to turn when it says the street name. This is alot better then just saying to turn at the next turn. Nice to know how far it is to the next Rest Area on the freeway. Everyone should have one of these.

Garmin nuvi 260W
This is a wonderful product; it amazes me how accurate it is and how easy it is to use. On the negative side, satellite acquisition can be maddeningly slow. See some other reviews for a more complete discussion of this flaw.
A couple of minor complaints: For entering addresses etc., how about a QWERTY keyboard? The alpha style provided is awkward to say the least. Also, for addreesses, why not use the 2 chacter state abbreviations the USPS uses instead of having to spell out the state's full name? These are monior points, but they do take away from an otherwise very functional device.