Garmin nuvi 255W crapola part 2

(part 1) nüvi 255W #2 arrived today from Dell. This time it wasn't from UPS but from FedEx. One corner of the box was a little crunched but the unit is fine and in A-OK condition. Works perfectly.

Before getting into that, here's my experience with the return process.

Dell sent me what's called an "electronic UPS Returns Label" in email. There's only one problem with this. I don't have a printer so I can't print it out.

I called the local UPS Store, which is an authorized terminal where I can ship this thing out, and told them my issue. They said I could simply forward the email to them and they would print it out at the shop. Cool! So that's exactly what I did. I forwarded the electronic label, arrived at the store, they printed it, gave me a receipt and the unit it now on its way back to Dell.

Concerning the first 255W I received, here's the list of things that were wrong with it:

• Crunched packing box
• Creased product box
• Touchscreen required you to press really hard to accept touches
• USB power port in the back was way too tight
• Power switch was very stiff

As for my new one, it has absolutely none of these problems whatsoever and acts exactly like it should. When I pushed the power slider, it was smooth and the moment I touched the screen I knew this one was a keeper.

The 255W acts exactly the same way my 205 did. The only real difference is the text-to-speech with the "Samantha" voice (which sounds good but a bit terse), widescreen and US/Canada maps instead of just lower 48-state US.

I'm happy with the purchase.

Published 2009 Aug 5