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Garmin nuvi 255W crapola

My brand spankin' new Garmin nüvi 255W arrived from Dell (yes I ordered it from Dell). The first thing I noticed is that the packing box looked like it had been stepped on.

Not cool.

But I figured the inside Garmin box with the actual nüvi in it would be okay.

I took out the box and it had been creased.

Not cool.

Still figuring my nüvi would be okay, I took it out of its box. Everything seemed okay with it.

I grabbed the power cord, went outside and turned it on so it could get its first signal. That went thru without a hitch.

On attempt to plug in the power cord it was way too tight into the USB port in the back.

Not cool.

But even after all this crap I said, "Okay, let's configure this thing."

That's when I got the most upset. The touchscreen required a really firm, and I mean firm, touch in order for it to even register touches from my finger.

Very, very uncool.

I figured that maybe the screen needed a cleaning. I cleaned it. No help at all. Never have I had to press a touchscreen on a Garmin GPS so hard just to get it to function.

In other words, it's a defective nüvi.

I called Dell and will be getting a replacement unit tomorrow.

And if this one exhibits the same problem, I'm not calling Dell back. I'm going to West Marine for warranty replacement direct from Garmin. They're an authorized Garmin retailer. If the touchscreen b.s. happens again, I want to show somebody what I'm talking about, because if this happens twice in a row from the same vendor (Dell), I'm not taking another unit from them. No way. If one is bad, then the second is bad, chances are they have a whole lot of them that are bad as well. And I don't want to order anything from a bad lot, obviously.

~ ~ ~

Here's what's happened with Garmin and warranty replacements:

Personally, I've never had a Garmin GPS break. Ever. But my father's did. He has a StreetPilot 2720. The touchscreen failed completely. Fortunately it has a remote control so you could still use it. It was in warranty at the time, so we headed over to a West Marine, they did the whole RMA thing and got a replacement unit which has worked flawlessly ever since. No problems at all.

Here's what's happened with me and Garmin GPS touchscreens:

The best touchscreen I ever used on a Garmin GPS was with the StreetPilot c340. That screen was awesome and very responsive. It never missed a touch. Ever. But I would never use one again because it is a beast, as in large. Big, clunky and has weak audio speakers. But the screen was awesome.

The c580 which I still currently own was slightly less responsive than the c340 due to the anti-glare coating for better readability in sunlight. However it was still lightning quick on touch response (and still is).

The nüvi 270 I had briefly had a touchscreen that was on par with the c580.

The nüvi 205 was on par to the 270/c580.

The nüvi 255W I just received was the absolute worst, hence the reason I'm getting a replacement that will hopefully not exhibit the same problem.

Even before I ordered the 255W, I knew it was not exactly uncommon for this to happen to nüvi widescreen units. It seems that it only happens with the 4.3-inch screens and never the 3.5-inch. I don't know if it's the sensor, the anti-glare coating, the screen itself? No clue. But it does happen periodically. I have read several forum posts on various parts of the internet from people complaining about this. The advice given to those is always the same, "If it's in warranty, get a replacement." And that always works.

Hopefully it will work for me. If not, I'm going to West Marine.

Published 2009 Aug 5

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