Garmin StreetPilot c320 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin StreetPilot c320 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Garmin c330 StreetPilot -- a great product
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased my c330 from Amazon about two months ago. It was delivered next business day as promised. Also as promised, it was ready to go "right out of the box" -- nothing to load, nothing to configure ... I didn't even have to charge the battery! Just powered it on, took it outside, and watched it find the satellites in about four minutes. After that, it was ready to go.
Changing preferences, entering waypoint information, and otherwise "navigating" the unit's menus and features is very easy, so it was a snap to plug in an address and have the route info displayed in seconds.
Now, I'm from hill-country Texas and I currently live in the corn-field-flat mid-West, so driving in the New Jersey and New York area used to be a daunting task. The Garmin made it much easier, but not foolproof. This fool found that even with WAAS enabled, the voice prompt "Turn right in 200 feet" usually referred to the street that I just passed. The convergence can be off significantly. Perhaps the c340 unit (which has voice prompts by street names instead of approximate distance) would be better. But then again, you can't read most of the street signs until after it's too late to make the turn anyway.
Problem not. Even if you miss your turn, the c330 is quick to recalculate your route and get you back on track. Sometimes, however, it can be irritatingly insistent that you make a U-turn to make up the missed turn, even when you can clearly see parallel streets and can usually navigate back to your intended path on your own. Of course, in downtown Manhattan, this means you get honked at by every cab driver, and most other drivers and pedestrians also signal that you're "number one" in their eyes as well.
Customer service: Thanks to a careless baggage handler at O'Hare or Newark, my Garmin came out of my luggage strangely mute -- no sounds came out of the unit anymore. Everything else worked just fine, but I no longer had voice prompts. I logged onto Garmin's website, found the TechSupport contact button, sent an e-mail, and got a response in 48 hours. I was issued an RMA number, shipped the unit back to Kansas City, and received a brand new unit by return DHL shipment in only six days. Now that's quality stand-behind-your-products support, in my book.
Overall, I give the unit a four-star rating. I'd give it five, except for the outdated map data that shipped with the unit, and the fact that it sometimes doesn't seem to know the difference between 200 feet and RIGHT THERE! Must have been a male who programmed some of the measurements. :)
Customer Review: Can't beat this GPS for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this item to use during our honeymoon. I did not want to carry around an atlas or Google maps to all the places we wanted to visit. I also did not want to start out our marriage rocky by getting upset with a wife whom is a little slow in reaction time.
I bought this item along with a 2 gig SD card. I got it and used the included software to plug in our points of interest. I also plugged in places where we might want to go just in case.
I read somewhere that with the version 6.X software that was included with this device that you will need over a 1 Gig SD card to put the whole US on the card (this is true). With the subsequent updates the size shrinks to about 900 mb (if the software was produced before you bought the GPS, you get the updates for free). So since I bought mine after version 8.X was released, I got a free update DVD with the most update version of their software which was up to the year 2006.
Only ONE time I have been lead wrong. Let me explain what I mean first...I am the anxious kind of person. It told me to "Turn in 400 feet". Well, it was in a busy part of Myrtle Beach that roads are spread out about 200 feet apart. I turned 200 feet too soon. So it was actually my fault.
I use my GPS frequently. I love the fact that I dont have to know where I am going as long as I have an address. It will get you there with the quickest route. It also gives you choices to not use toll roads, only use roads that are paved, etc. I also love the fact that when you do a group search (Food, Amusement,etc) it is a live list of updating areas. It will update every couple of seconds with the closest destination and what direction it is located. So when another place becomes closer to you than another choice, it will bump up the one that is now closest as you are traveling.
The auto night/day feature is nice, too. It makes it not as bright at night and easier to read.
Downsides:
-Hard to read sometimes in the bright light, reflections (can fix this by adjusting the angle of the device to not pick up as much reflection)
-A few times the suction cup mounter has fallen off my car while driving (although, I will say my window was cold and dirty from winter use..so this is up in the air)
-Sometimes big finger make it hard to type in letters into the address part
Overall..give it a 5 stars for being a great basic GPS. I really wanted an in-dash double din GPS unit..but for ~$1300, I can deal with using a suction cup when I need to.
Customer Review: BEST BUY IN A GPS ! ! !
Summary: 5 Stars
Folks, I have used several and this is simply the BEST GPS unit you can buy for under $300. I travel a Southeastern sales territory and use this device every day. NO GPS from ANY manufacturer is 100% accurate, but this one is pretty dang close.
The interface is very intuitive. The controls are simple. The accuracy is stunning. It just WORKS. You can easily find addresses, hotels, gas, food, entertainment, etc. near your location, WHEREVER you are.
You DO have to load your own maps with this unit ,which is fairly easy, but obviously you must have a computer and web access and know how to use it. You'll need a 1 GB SD card ( about $20) to get the whole U.S. The included 128 MB card will store a few states.
You can go to FREE POI sites on the web and download your own "points of interest" and items like the location of "traffic cams" and many others.
My only commment would be that if you are somewhat computer and web savvy, then get the C320, load your own maps and save some money. If you are computer deficient or unsure, buy the C330 ( only a bit more ) and it works right out of the box with pre-loaded U.S. maps. Later, if you gain computer skills , you can add your own points of interest.
If you don't need the higher end features ( Bluetooth, traffic radio, MP3, etc.) then you can't beat this unit anywhere. It performs the functions you REALLY want from a GPS on a par with the $700- $1000 units. They only add features you probably won't need or use. ( Even the higher Garmins).
I bought mine for $248. Why pay $800 for a GPS ???!!
Don't let your wife see it unless you want to buy TWO !
*** UPDATE *** *** UPDATE *** *** UPDATE ***
APRIL,25 2007
Had a little difficulty with the windshield mount. If you stick it without a little moisture first and leave it for a long time, it can adhere to the windshield and it is VERY difficult to remove and will leave part of the rubber on the windshield and render the mount unusable.
A single call to Garmin (you get to talk within 2 minutes to an actual,live English-speaking PERSON!) and they sent me a new one out 2nd day Air!!!
I am now a Garmin fan for life. Great GPSs AND super service!
Also, I just used the C320 on a trip to the Smoky Mountains. Even with all the mountains and the very dense tree cover, I NEVER lost the sat signal. This thing just keeps amazing me.
Customer Review: Lots of value for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
There are, of course, dozens of GPS systems available, priced from about $100 up into the $1,000+ range. They all perform the same basic function, and most of them actually work quite well; the price differences arise from their extra features.
We chose the c320 because it's from a major manufacturer, it has a touch screen, and it's at the low end of the price spectrum. It doesn't have some of the additional features of the much pricier units, but I wonder how many of those bells and whistles really get used, anyway.
The c320 gets us where we need to go, and it rarely makes a mistake in the process. Obviously, any GPS unit depends on the software, and the "City Select NT" software that comes with it is quite good. Will it know about every road, hotel, restaurant, and gas station in the country? Of course not; things change all of the time. But everything important is there. In addition, Garmin offers an easy update process for the software.
The included SD storage card is big enough to store several states, and it's easy to dump some off and add others that you need. However, I bought a bargain-priced 1 GB card and loaded all of North America on it. (The c330 has a hard drive with all of the maps pre-loaded on it, but it's much cheaper to go with the c320 and add a bigger storage card.)
It finds the satellites quickly, and it doesn't lose contact very often. Terrain matters a lot when you're using any GPS; if you're in city canyons, under bridges, etc., you'll have problems. The voice prompts are clear, and the screen is good. It will wash out in bright sunlight, but even when it does, the voice keeps you alert to any necessary turns.
The windshield suction cup mounting system works fine, but in some states, it's illegal to obstruct the windshield with anything. We bought a Garmin accessory dash mount that consists of a heavy, flexible base that holds the unit, and it works very well. The rechargeable battery seems to run at least six hours, and recharging takes less than an hour. It would be a good idea to get some kind of case; this is an electronic device with a touch screen, so you don't want to just toss it loose into a bag. A screen protector is a good thing, too. I discovered that the screen is same size as the one on my Dell Axim x50 PDA, so those protectors work.
In summary, this unit is a very good value. I'm glad I bought it, and I'd do it again.
Customer Review: Problems with built in SD card reader and 1Gb SD cards
Summary: 2 Stars
I have the 2610 unit and purchased this one for my parents. After spending about 6 hours trying to load all of North America onto two computers with two different 1GB SanDisk SD cards, I figured the unit was bad and returned it to Amazon for a replacement. Amazon sent a new unit out the next day - great customer service! However, the replacment unit had the same problem! What was funny is that both units worked if I just loaded the state of Florida on the included 128mb card. For some reason, larger memory cards seemed to suffer from 'communication' problems in the built in reader.
The Desktop software doesn't offer using an external SD card reader on the first install but tries to use the built in SD card slot. Only after aborting the map loading process and restarting the software are you presented with options to use external SD card reader. After figuring this out, first attempt at loading 1GB worked.
Took the unit out on the road today. Below are some of my thoughts compared to the 2610.
Pros
1.) 3D view is nice, especially how it shows up coming road names.
2.) Nice to have a volume adjustment on side of the unit. 2610 was difficult to adjust via on-screen slider bar.
3.) Nice to have built in battery - keeps unit alive if car lighter plug gets disconnected.
Cons
1.) Missed the buttons on the side of the screen which makes menu navigation quicker
2.) Missed having the speed displayed on the screen - could only see it if I hit another menu but then the map was hidden - it appears this unit 'dumbs' down the display so users watch the road versus the GPS unit - might be a good thing for my dad but I like seeing things like current speed and next exit/turn info overlayed on map.
3.) Voice is a bit more metalic/harsh
4.) More screen glare compared to the 2610
5.) Searching 1Gb for an address can take a long time. I searched for a name of a park and waited about 4 minutes for the unit to state 'not found' The 2610 seems a bit faster.
I'll probably go ahead with giving this unit as an XMAS gift to my dad but if I upgrade my 2610, it will be to the 2710 or 2810. I guess I'm really a bit pissed at Garmin for all the problems associated with unlocking/installing maps. The documentation/software/web site were very light on details. They should have a forum where people could post problems like this.