February 2nd, 2010 | 
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- 4.3-inch widescreen touch display lets you view map detail, driving directions, photos, and more in bright, brilliant color
- Preloaded with detailed 2D and 3D City Navigator NT street maps, with over 6 million points of interest
- Voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions with spoken street names and HotFix satellite prediction
- Features Bluetooth wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker for hands-free calling
- NOTE: Model number on the box is 285WT because the traffic receiver is included; however, the model number on the device itself is 285W as the “T” in 285WT refers to the additional component
Amazon.com Product Description
This sleek widescreen navigator takes you there with preloaded maps and turn-by-turn directions that call out streets by name. It delivers real-time local weather, traffic, movie times, stock information, gas prices, news and local events as you navigate. The 285WT provides complete maps for North America and the handy Text-to-Speech feature, so you get turn-by-turn spoken directions with the real names of streets (e.g. “turn left in 50 feet at Nebraska W… More >>
Garmin nüvi 285W/285WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
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Tags: 285W/285WT, 3d City, 4.3inch, Amazon, bluetooth, Brilliant Color, City Navigator, Driving Directions, garmin, Gps Navigator, Handy Text, Inch Widescreen, Local Weather, Model Number, navigator, Note Model, nüvi, portable, Prices News, Real Names, Satellite Prediction, Spoken Directions, Stock Information, Street Maps, Street Names, Text To Speech, Traffic, Weather Traffic, widescreen
just an fyi msn is discontinuing their direct service at the end of 2011 start of 2012. Here is more in depth – The gps functions fine just like any other Garmin released recently. The traffic where I am out is more of a novelty. I do not think it has ever helped me avoid a traffic issue. Usually it is better to ignore the alternate routes. Every time I estimate how long the delay was vs. the alternate route with no traffic it always was better to ignore the alternate. As for the MSN service it is a very cool feature that is going away as noted earlier. So in short buy this if you want basic gps functionality, but be wary of traffic and be aware of the MSN services demise.
Rating: 2 / 5
Just a fair warning: The MSN Direct website states that they will shut the entire service down in 2012. So if you buy this with a view to having access to weather, traffic, movies, plane status, etc., then this will only work for two years, after that, it will turn back into a very handy and useful GPS pumpkin, the glass slippers and the pretty dress will be gone.
Rating: 1 / 5
i disappoint that nuvi 285WT
because it just provide msn traffic info only
not free info
just 3months free msn info
after charge $50.00
and sometime freeze screen and automatically turn off power.
that’s it
Rating: 2 / 5
Interesting to put these two GPS devices face to face, Garmin 260 series and up, and Magellan 4000 series.
They come from the same generation and they both share a very similar map. Magellan looks more robust inside and outside, it has a more stable firmware on a questionable fast Windows CE, has basic and reliable features like zip code routing, the voice is mild and very clear and it guides you pretty accurately. It has also a useful AAA POI database. No “go to coordinates”, or “display altitude”, or browse the map to go to a location, or show the street numbers as you drive, or other features that I found in the first generations of GPS devices. It is more task oriented device but lacks some useful features.
Garmin is smaller, cooler and have more features which are sometimes not stable enough. It resets and crashes more often and do funny things. Outside it looks of a better quality even if it shows easier your fingers and dirt on the screen and case. Garmin is more generous with the traffic and MSN Direct receivers, they are included in many GPS packages and have lifetime subscriptions or long trials. The speaker is cheap and the voice is not clear enough. The guidance is not as precise as Magellan or an earlier Navman device. The touchscreen is not very responsible.
I guess a car electronic device should be very reliable. It has to work fast and precise when you interact with it, to handle heat and cold or a small impact, and to be extremely reliable. It has to have very clear basic functions at least. We would like to see them implemented on a dedicated fast operating system or even Linux.
What we would like to see in the future is faster processors and reliable firmware. Not necessary mp3 players or photo features. There is no time for these when you drive. The device has to react fast, there is not time to wait if it freezes for a while or resets… It has to speak clear and loud your directions and guide you clearly to an exit or turn. It would be useful to display more information on the screen, like house numbers you passed by, the street name you drive, speed or altitude when requested, some basic POI like gas station, parking lots, hospitals.
These are more toys than automotive devices, in some aspects earlier versions are better…
Rating: 3 / 5
I had Garmin 660 I thought this GPS will also be same as Garmin 660 but this unit is horrible. Biggest problem is this Unit get frozen. When I saw this issue first time I thought it is problem with unit so I replaced the unit but I also saw the same issue with new unit. The other issue I found GPS get re-boot without any reason. Few times I observer GPS get re-booted if I take the wrong turn instead of re-calculate the directions GPS get re-booted and you need to wait for GPS to come back. I will not recommend this unit any one.
Rating: 1 / 5