Garmin Nuvi 200

Garmin has announced the Nuvi 200 which now marks the entry level position of both the entire Nuvi line as well as the new 200 series of Nuvi devices. The Nuvi 200 is designed to be an extremely simple device, without many of the advanced options many people never use. I often get feedback from readers that a particular device would be a good match for them, but the price was a little high and they felt like they were paying for features they really didn’t need. The Garmin Nuvi 200 might be a perfect fit for them.


One of the changes for the Nuvi 200 series is that the flip-up antenna is apparently gone, replaced by an internal antenna. I’ve never been a fan for the flip-up antenna design so this is a welcome change.

Many of the PDA features in the rest of the Nuvi lineup have remained in the Nuvi 200 such as the world clock, calculator, unit converter, and the picture viewer. You can also load up Garmin’s additional paid content such as the Savers Guide and Travel Guide products.

The Nuvi 200 is designed to be an extremely simple device, without many of the advanced options many people never use.The Garmin Nuvi 200 comes with a 3.5″ display, which is the standard among the entry level GPS devices, but still provides enough of a screen to ensure ease of navigation. There is an SD card slot for loading additional products and maps.

So, no Bluetooth, no traffic, no MP3 player, no FM transmitter, no widescreen display. However most people can probably get by just fine without those features. However there is something else that you might just want that is missing, text-to-speech. You will need to move up to the 300 or 600 series Nuvi to get that feature. If Garmin had included text-to-speech with the 200, this device would be untouchable in the entry level category, but it would have also likely cannibalized sales for the still popular 300 series. And most people will get by just fine without text-to-speech.

What one? Expect the Nuvi 200 become available in April for about $400. The 200 comes with maps of the USA 48 plus Puerto Rico and Hawaii. If you need maps of Alaska and/or Canada, you can pay about $100 more for the Nuvi 250 and if you want maps of North America and 30 European countries, consider the Nuvi 270 for about $600.