As always, Garmin produced another simple and cheap GPS navigation unit that will certainly be one of many backbone products of the late 2008 year. The Nuvi 270 is for the world traveler and intercontinental businessmen (or businesswomen) always on the go from nation to nation.The unit is much like the previous Garmin 3.5" navigation devices such as the Nuvi 250. However, there are still some important new features that we will cover here.

What's New
Most late-2008 release GPS devices will include the high sensitivity WAAS system built in. The feature is not evident anywhere on the device (no status bar, no display, etc.) but with the Nuvi 270, you will experience a much more accurate and smooth GPS service. WAAS was used by the aviation industry prior to being globalized in navigation electronics. Yes, you will use a similar system to that of a Boeing 747 flying over your house. You will also receive signal much faster and you will also be more unlikely to lose the signal (unless in covered areas of course), thanks to the WAAS receiver.

The Garmin Nuvi 270 also has built in maps for the United States, Canada, and surprisingly, the complete European map database. As we said before, this could be such a useful device for the international traveler, easily mountable on any rental car.

What's the same
The Garmin Nuvi 270 has an identical design as their previous Nuvi release. The unit features a 3.5" LCD touchscreen with easy to read text and bright contrasting colors, buttons, and icons. In addition, it's just over 3/4" thick, allowing it to be compact yet versatile. Because of the small screen, the Nuvi 270 has a great battery life with up to 5 hours on its own lithium-ion power source. Just like its previous counterparts, it has an SD card reader with a USB connection both for map and firmware updates.

There wasn't a whole of change in this release. But Garmin has made it right around the same affordable price for essentially 2 upgrades to their previous Nuvi 250. All around, it's compact, versatile, and offers a simple navigation companion for your intercontinental travels.