This affordable entry-level personal travel assistant comes with preloaded maps for the continental U.S., Hawaii and Puerto Rico or regional coverage in other areas. For even more mapping options, nüvi 250 features preloaded maps for all of North America or Europe, while the transatlantic nüvi 270 includes preloaded maps for both continents. Like all nuvi 200-series members, the 200 features an easy-to-use colorful touchscreen and ultra-slim design — perfect for everyday navigation.

 

Display size, WxH                           2.8"W x 2.1"H (7.2 x 5.4 cm); 3.5" diag (8.9 cm)

Display resolution, WxH                  320 x 240 pixels

Display type                                     QVGA color antiglare TFT with white backlight

Weigh                                               5.2 ounces (147.42 g)

Battery                                             rechargeable lithium-ion

Battery life                                        up to 5 hours

Maps & Memory
Basemap                                          yes

Preloaded maps                                yes (regional)

Built-in memory                                  internal solid state

Accepts data cards                          SD card (not included)

Waypoints                                         500

POI Loader is free software for the computer that lets smb upload customized POIs to the compatible Garmin unit. POI Loader does not create customized POIs, nor is it software for Garmin GPS. It simply gives the ability to upload POIs created by others from the computer to  compatible Garmin — making it easy forsmb to navigate directly to these points of interest.
POIs include restaurants, hotels, post offices, emergency services, entertainment, plus much more, and are represented by small icons on the maps displayed on this unit. Many ofsuch mapping products, such as MapSource City Select or City Navigator, include a database of nearly 6 million points of interest. With POI Loader,one can now add additional points of interest to the compatible Garmin. This means one can upload custom POIs to supplement the nearly 6 million points of interest that are already in the unit. Traveling on holiday? Upload the POI for that bed & breakfast that just opened or the new restaurant that the guide book recommends.

We tested the Garmin Nuvi 200 in San Francisco, and from a cold start, it took the unit less than two minutes to get a GPS fix under clear skies, while subsequent starts were almost instantaneous. If the system is having any problems acquiring a fix, a pop-up message will appear onscreen and ask you if it should continue searching for satellites. If you're indoors and tap no, you can still plan trips and get a running demo of your route.

During free drives around the city, the Nuvi 200 accurately tracked our location. We also planned a specific trip from the Marina district of San Francisco to CNET's downtown headquarters, and the system quickly returned with a route. We also missed several turns to test the route recalculation rate, and after a few seconds, the Nuvi gave us new directions, always before our next maneuver.

The Garmin Nuvi 200 is small enough to use on foot and can easily be thrown into a suitcase for use during your travels.

Conclusion
The Nuvi 200 is almost the exact same size as the Nuvi 300 series. It has virtually the same width and height, but is just a sliver thinner than the 300 models. It also comes in at virtually the same weight.