- With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities, nüvi 1250T is the perfect travel companion for getting around town.
- Twenty-five percent slimmer than other nüvis, you can take the ultra-thin 1250T anywhere.
- Steer clear of traffic with nüvi 1250T's integrated FM traffic receiver and free lifetime traffic updates.
- Receive alerts about traffic delays and road construction that lie ahead on your route.
Product Description
nüvi® 1250 redefines portable, affordable navigation. This ultra-thin GPS has preloaded maps for North America, announces streets by name and calculates a more fuel-efficient route with ecoRoute™.
Slim Down. Take It With You
Twenty-five percent slimmer than other nüvis, the 1200 and widescreen 1300-series are ideal traveling companions. nüvi 1250 easily fits in your pocket or purse, and its rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient ... More >>
Garmin nüvi 1250T 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
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As other owners have discovered, this model has severe problems. It became unusable after less than 3 months. Now it is worthless.
Rating: 1 / 5
The key to making sure you have a trouble free experience with this unit (or any other Garmin unit) is to purchase a USB linking cable such as the “Garmin USB Cable by Garmin” ( currently less than $5.00 on Amazon site) at the same time and as soon as you get the unit connect it to a computer USB port and let it charge up for at least 30 minutes. 30 minutes plugged into the port should make sure the battery is charged enough for updates since the unit will need to cycle off and back on under battery power when the GPS is updated.
Or, if desired, you can also purchased an A/C adaptor (not included in the box) and plug it into the wall for about an hour to charge the battery. The key is to make sure the battery is charged in some way BEFORE you do anything else. The only power cable in the box to operate/charge the Nuvi-1250t is a car adaptor!
Then log onto the Garmin website and register your GPS. When you register it and follow the instructions to hook up your GPS, the computer will link with your unit and tell you there is a SOFTWARE update available for your GPS. Actually, there are probably several. Perform the software update first even though it should show a free map offer update also. This might take a while depending on your internet connection but it’s FREE and it makes sure you should not have problems later. The website does not tell you how many updates you need, it just keeps checking with your unit and tells you there is an update available after each check. Each software update will end with telling you to unplug the GPS, allow it to cycle off then back on, then waiting 30 seconds after reconnecting to the computer and clicking “complete”. After this is done the first time it will probably still show AN update for software is still available. My unit had about 5 updates before it said my software was current. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the updates are not working just because it keeps telling you there is AN UPDATE available for your software. Each time you follow the on-line instructions another update will be downloaded to your GPS. Keep doing it until it shows your software is current with no more software updates avaialble.
Then you will be offered a FREE update of the latest MAPS for your unit. Updating the Maps can take at least an hour so be prepared to spend some time when you chioose to do this … but do it because it’s FREE and will make sure you start out your GPS experience with the most current maps. The unit will work okay after the SOFTWARE updates are done, so if you don’t have the time or want to update the maps right away you can use your GPS but the maps won’t be current until you do.
There are a lot of other neat things on the website you might want to use, or at least make note of, for future downloads … but update your software before you ever use the unit and get your free map update when you have an hour or so to kill.
The unit itself is fantastic for the price. This is my second Garmin GPS (first was a Nuvi-350 which I paid $400 for) and as expected in the electronics world, this unit is much faster, much more accurate and should be more than adequate for anyone who is looking for a GPS with traffic, but doesn’t need Blue-Tooth or voice activation.
One thing about ALL Garmin products is that you WILL NOT get a complete owners manual in the box … ever!! You can view the entire manual on the Garmin Website and/or download it to your computer and print it out, but all that is in the box is a “quick start” pamphelet. The menus are pretty easy once you learn them but if you are new to the world of touch-screen GPS you will need to “read the instructions” on the website and maybe print it out if future internet access will not be easily available. Quite a lot of electronic products are going to on-line manuals only so a computer with internet will be a neccesity shortly.
The good news is that the A/C adaptor, USB computer cable and car adaptors seem to be universal, so they should fit any Garmin GPS should you decide to puchase another Garmin later. Most likely the trend to only provide a car adaptor/charger on some Garmin units will continue.
I highly recommend the Nuvi-1250t and Amazon has some pretty good GPS deals if you watch for them.
Rating: 5 / 5
I agree with that there must be something wrong with this model. I got this model as a birthday gift in August, and the screen’s frozen more times than it works. It sometimes shuts itself off, sometimes it won’t turn off even if pressing the power button, and sometimes won’t turn on…get another model than this one. Generally speaking Garmin’s are great…no clue what happened with the 1250T
Rating: 1 / 5
Great product. Easy to use. Great features. Car, walking or biking mode. Where am I now- at the touch of the screen–gives location, intersection, coordinates and closes gas and emergency locations. Traffic alert–gives location of higher traffic areas on closest multiple highways and approximate delay. Gives speed limit in the area you are in (mostly accurate). Eco-travel–will estimate how much fuel you use based on your driving, your vehicle and the cost of fuel. I travel alot and have used several Garmin GPS including many much more expensive, this by far is the best. Negatives- the screen size is 3.5″ wouldn’t mind it a bit larger and you have to change screens to change volume. Wish there was an external button for volume. The Pros far outweigh the Cons.
Highly Recommend!!
Rating: 5 / 5
I have used a Garmin Nuvi 360 for many years and liked it very much. In recent years, it kept bugging me to upgrade the map. I thought for not too much more than the price of a map upgrade, I might as well upgrade to this model as it is slimmer and newer, and it gives me the latest map. I now regret that decision.
Granted, it is slimmer and easier to carry. But this unit comes with one of those tiny power button that is very hard to press, or very hard to notice whether you have pressed it or not. That would not have made much difference if it comes on every time you press that button. The problem is, many times it just does not respond to that button. So you end up keep pressing it, and wondering whether you pressed it, or pressed at the right spot. Many times when I needed to use it, it just did not power on. I just came back from a road trip where I really could have used a GPS. Many attempts to get it to power on over 5 hours were unsuccessful. I tried it with the power cord, and without the power cord.
One week after I returned home and no longer needed it, it mysteriously powered on easily. So I cannot even return it to Garmin for service.
I think I will use this as a paper weight. I will not count on it for my next trip. I will use my old Nuvi 360. It does not have the latest map and the other bells and whistles, but it works.
7/2/2010 – This is an update to my earlier review, to reflect Garmin warranty service issues. I used the machine on my next trip. It worked perfectly for the first two hours, then suddenly turned itself off. No amount of trying can get it turned on since. I tried to return it to Garmin for warranty work, that was when I found out from Garmin’s website that you cannot request a RMA number online. This is despite I already set up an online account with them and registered the unit. The Garmin website states that you need to telephone their technical support to obtain a RMA number. Sounds easy enough. Except that when I do call, there is never someone to pick up. It seems every minute during the hours they are “open”, they are always “experiencing unusual high volume of calls” and the wait is “more than 30 minutes”. I called in the morning, at night, at noon, gets the same busy excuse every time. What a creative way to avoid providing warranty service.
Rating: 1 / 5