I wish I could say that I got the Garmin nuvi 250 portable GPS navigation device for free, but it just wasn’t part of the free swag that I got at CES 2008.

Instead, you could say that this direction-finder was a Christmas present to myself, because while I didn’t exactly go Boxing Day shopping last month, I did hop online to jump all over this deal. How can you lose with a Garmin nuvi 250 for only $150? Thanks Dell!

Based on my first few moments with the device, I’m very pleased with the responsiveness of the touchscreen display and the user interface looks to be intuitive enough. The ball joint connector also looks to be very solid and convenient, as does the power adapter that plugs into an available 12V outlet.

My only complaint is that the touchscreen is definitely on the smaller side of things, meaning that it cannot display as much information as some of its bigger brothers. Again, going to back to the price, when the Garmin nuvi 250 only cost me $150, I can’t complain. My friend went with the nuvi 250W on Boxing Day for $100 more, and the only major difference is the larger display (4.3″ widescreen vs. 3.5″ standard aspect).

Look for a full review on The TechZone in the days and weeks to come. I’m still swamped with CES coverage (which you can find on FutureLooks), so it might be a little bit before the GPS review pops up on TTZ.