Garmin nuvi 200W Preview

By
Jayce Ooi
-
Last modified on

Garmin nuvi 200W… Garmin nuvi 200W… I had waited you for so long long time… I bought you since April and you just came back to me on July. I missed you so much. HeHe… Finally, my precious GPS finally arrived my hand. This GPS was bought from US too. Thanks Fionie’s help for bringing it back to me.

garmin_nuvi_200w_02.jpg
Garmin nuvi 200W

My Garmin nuvi 200W was bought at Amazon for US$ 205 (RM677). It is expensive a little bit compare to the price my other friends bought. Some of them got it for US$ 170 only. Anyway… Compare to Malaysia price. WOW… The price I got is still way too cheap. FYI, Garmin nuvi 200W was sold in Malaysia with RM1399 (the cheapest is RM1299 if not mistaken) during Penang PC Fair at April 2008. I can buy 2 of it with Malaysia price. Hmm… Why product in US is cheaper?

garmin_nuvi_200w_01.jpg
Affordable navigation 

In no time, I deleted US maps and uploaded Malaysia maps. I backup the US maps first of course. The US maps is 907MB while Malaysia maps is only 21MB. That is a very big different. The Malaysia maps are dated January 2008 release. The maps at Sungai Petani are not updated and lack of details. I discovered some information was wrong. And it takes some time to detect the satellite signal.

garmin_nuvi_200w_03.jpg
Vehicle suction cup mount

I like the vehicle suction cup mount that come along. The design is good and serves the purpose well. No problem to attach the GPS and detach it. And it is adjustable to the viewing angle that you want.

garmin_nuvi_200w_04.jpg
On road testing…

Based on the manual, it requires few minutes to detect the satellite signal. You cannot get it when your position is blocking by building, tree or any big. Anyway…I will keep learning to use because I need to travel to vacation soon. And this GPS will be my guide.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

40 COMMENTS

  3. wah…this is totally cool! but all the highways updated ah? kl roads always changing one. as for prices of goods in malaysia always being more expensive…i think you can blame it on the tax!

  5. Do you really need this in Kulim? hehehe…

    Anyway, I didn’t own any GPS … my brain is the GPS and i know how to get there using the shortest route in KL and Penang (after 1 yr training last year)… hehehe. this GPS also come with knowing which route to avoid traffic jam.

    Anyway, i think GPS map in Malaysia is a down graded one… they did not tell u whether there is a jam in the regular route… so you will still stuck in the jam … of course i mean in KL or Penang Island etc…

    Just curious, will the GPS recommend u to go with the Ferry instead of Penang Bridge … :-p

  7. TZ, certain places == yes. I still not familiar with some of the places at Kulim. 😛

    kahoongchai, I am using free maps from malsingmaps.com. I will update it when they release a new one. 😀

  12. May I know how you manage to get your Malaysia map, is it free or you have to purchase it? How much in RM, or pirated?

    Thanks

  14. Hi bro, I’m seriously considering getting a unit back from the US since my gf is going there. That’s the nuvi 200w which is soo cool with its wide screen.

    Did you load the maps provided by Garmin? There’s a very active GPS community in Malaysia – http://www.malsingmaps.com. Did you get your maps there? When I still had my iPAQ 6965, that’s where I sourced for local maps (I was using a Garmin software for the PPC then).

    But then again with the fuel price hike… not too sure if I will get one. Used to use the GPS to navigate the streets of KL and other nearby towns (like Melaka) when going on photography trips. Now those have been cut down a lot. Of course, then there’s the 70-200 f2.8 I’m saving up for 😉

  15. Oops, didn’t realize there’s a second page. And there’s a comment that you downloaded from malsingmaps, good for you. Why not you contribute back routes and POIs for the northern states? Not many using GPS up there methinks.

  16. Hey bro, FYI – 200W model does not have the tracking function. Therefore, you cannot contribute new road / routes. 200 model does have the tracking function however. 😀

    Sure I will contribute POIs for Sungai Petani. Some routes are wrong on January release maps. Still need more time to explore the GPS. Busy lately. 😛

  17. Thanks for the information, unfortunately I am new to Garmin. Is MahSing map detail enough? How about the rural area and recommended food and etc.

    How about to download US, Aust, Europe, Asia map? Also FOC?

  18. I am also new to Garmin. Let’s learn it together. 😀

    I use MalSingMap in Sungai Petani only. So far, with the January 2008 release, it is not so detail for Sungai Petani. It is a free map contributed by all the users in that forum. You will get more detail map of the areas that the forum users stay.

    Not sure about other country map. US maps is available for sales.

  21. Hi Jayce, I presumed your friend bought it from the Amazon in US and brought it back to you. Did you got taxed by the MY custom?

  23. Hi Jayce,

    My friend is coming back from US in Dec 2008. I was thinking of getting my friend to bring it back. Is the 200W model the best model at this moment? Very new to GPS. We do the installation ourselves or get a pro to do it.

  25. Hi Jayce, We bought one in the US too because the prices are cheaper than UK. How did you backup the pre-loaded US map? Thanks, Chris

  27. Hiya Jayce & Frens!
    Thanks to the p;ace here, I finally got my 250W for RM1050 and it’s working well here and able to register the Sn# ok!
    Lots to learn now.
    Wondering how to mark a place when reached destination, any tips?

    Cheers!

  29. I got it at a fr Lelong, PDA Gears. I spoke to Deric too and a few parallel independant guys who brought in. I settled on PDA cos they hve an office.
    Ya. I found that clicking on the car right after the mail.
    I’m pretty ok with it so far, wished it was lighter, have a good solid grip to hold on to cos if we slip and it falls, it’s goodbye. I bought a common Nokia Hp case to protect it.
    I tinkered to get the webupdate but it screwed up the Maps, thanks to the warranty, I got back on again.
    I hve a free map updates every 6 months

  31. Errrr….not so bro, I found a few dealers here, same price and with warranty, something convenient to avoid heading back to S’pre., let me know if anyone is interested.

  33. Hi Jayce. Thanks for your useful info. I am getting a 650 from Amazon. Send it to my friend in US and he will post it to me with many other items (inexpensive winter clothing and stuff). As long as he flatten the box and repack the item, it shouldn’t cause any problem with custom right? How can I check if any other items of mine would get into trouble? None of them are as expensive as the Garmin GPS though.

  34. @Jon: Hmm… I am not sure about posting from US to MY. My friend hand carried the GPS back for me. I bought some camera lens from US and shipped directly to MY. No tax for photography equipment. But I am not sure about GPS.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here