Garmin StreetPilot c320 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $129.00 You Save: $620.99 (83%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $29.99 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin StreetPilot c320 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Amazing and easy to use
Summary: 5 Stars
October 17, 2006 Update: Still thrilled with the unit. The POS can be somewhat spotty though -- today we went looking for Cosi Restaurant in New Rochelle NY that was in the directory, however, it was not where the unit directed us. This has happened on a few ocassions in different places, however, the purpose of this unit is to prevent you from getting lost and to facilitate the discovery of more efficient routes (both of which it does almost flawlessly). I think that perhaps I should get a BlackBerry if I would like to locate a cup of coffee or a Macys.
Another thing that is really cool is that you can view the surrounding roads in varying levels of detail. This is important if you're trying to figure out how to navigate around something like a roadblock or a back-up. I've discovered many shortcuts this way.
I know some people have some sour grapes with this unit. However, it's less than $300. I've bought computers for 4 times as much and put up with a heck of a lot more dysfunction. Computers are not perfect, and a GPS unit is no exception. However, I cannot remember the last time I spent $300 on a piece of electronics that worked this well.
We also called Garmin for a replacement suction cup, as it had adhered too stubbornly to my windshield to remove properly (I've got a rubber bullseye now, but the suction cup still works on my husband's car). This is a potentially annoying thing, but they were very helpful on the phone and didn't ask us to send the defective suction cup back.
I still recommend this unit 100%. I only wish I could get commission for the units that people bought on my recommendation.
After years of waiting for prices on GPS units to decrease to a reasonable cost, I was very excited to purchase the C320. We used it over the weekend to get from Westchester County, NY to Queens and then from Queens to Manhattan, and then onto Philadelphia. The accuracy was spot on and it was uncanny how we were able to track our exact location and view our progress. I also enjoyed viewing the trip stats -- time moving, time stopped, avg. MPH, highest speed, etc. The interface is very intuitive and easy to use -- if you can use a Microwave, you can use this GPS. The display was easy to read both at night and during the day. I don't have a single negative thing to say about the unit. It is probably the best $300 expenditure I've made in recent years.
Customer Review: Worked great until...
Summary: 3 Stars
[10/12/05]...it broke one month after I bought it. The unit kept resetting itself, losing saved data (home, favorites, etc., but not losing the maps on the SD card). First it would happen every few days, then it got more frequent until it became unusable, turning off and on constantly until the battery would die.
This leads me to comment on Garmin tech support. Once you get to talk to them, they're nice and helpful. However, grab a big cup of coffee, sit down and put them on speakerphone, because you'll be waiting 30-60 minutes to talk to somebody. I am not exaggerating. They open at 9AM eastern; I called at 9:02 and was on hold until 9:26. I called again at noon, and didn't get to talk to someone until 12:55. That's ridiculous.
I sent my unit for service today. I will post an update when I get it back from repair...
[Update 11/21/05: I received a new replacement about two weeks after I sent it in. Seems to work well so far...]
Some comments about the unit itself:
1) The operating system is intuitive and easy to use. No need to read the instructions, except the quick start guide for the map loads.
2) The voice is clear. Sometimes the instructions are confusing. "Keep right/left" means go straight, for example. I like the British English voice.
3) The unit has a fair amount of glare in daylight. This can be ameliorated by purchasing the boxwave screen protector. It is available here at amazon or at boxwave dot com. Some claim it improves visibility when using polarized glasses, too.
4) The competing Roadmate 300 seems to have similar features and is a hundred bucks less (refurb) here at amazon. The Roadmate also has a flat rear surface, which would make it easier to mount in most situations.
5) The face trim is blue; it looks kinda silver in the picture.
6) The C320 fits all of Florida on its included 128MB card. Unless you travel across country ALL the time, 128MB is probably enough. You would need a 2GB card to fit the entire US, but you are unlikely to need the whole country. For a road trip visiting, say, 10 states, a 512MB-1GB card would probably suffice. Note that this unit plus a 2GB card is about the same price as the C330, but it does not have a hard disk, so you don't have to worry about it crashing.
Customer Review: A Police Officers Friend
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a Police Officer in a large city and was recently transfered to a new section of which I had no knowledge of the streets. The key map I had did the job but gave me a headache evertime I used it because I just didn't know the area and didn't know what I was looking for. I researched the various GPS systems and decided on the Garmin c320 and was not disappointed. The first night I used it I was able to imput very quickly the addresses I needed to get to and it took me straight there. The verbal commands were very clear in the British English voice (don't use the American voice- it sounds like a computer). The second night I used it when there was a Home Invasion in progress and I had no idea where it was. I quickly put the address into the GPS and followed its directions and arrived in about 8 minutes, well before the other police units, who knew the area well but were having trouble finding this one location.
I have tested it for two weeks now and I feel confident that I can get anywhere at anytime. One weakness though is the mapping system which I think is the weakness of all GPS systems. There needs to be a better and more accurate update system since it was unable detect the newer subdivisions and the new highways being built in the city. At one point the GPS told me to turn left but there was a new toll road blocking my path. Knowing that the street I wanted came out on the other side I drove about a mile and then turned and the GPS quickly recalculated a new pathway and took me to where I wanted to go. But still I think there should be quicker updates for users.
Another weakness is driving into the downtown area. I asked it to find police headquarters in downtown Houston and it did great until I got in-between the buildings and then lost the signal. The entire time downtown I was unable to use the device.
But overall I am very happy with it and can't imagine driving the streets of Houston without it. I rode with another officer who was also new to the area and showed him how it worked and he was blown away by it and probably made a sale for the Garmin people.
This is the device to get if you want to use it for a single city or state. If you are a traveller I would probable get the c330 since it has the entire US already in its system.
Customer Review: Easy to use, good value, minor mechanical problem.
Summary: 4 Stars
Got the C320 for a trip to California. Was able to load Arizona, all California, and a couple more states on the included SD card. Routing was easy to use, did have some problems acquiring satellite signal downtown in between tall buildings (drove in the general direction of where I thought I needed to go until satellite signal was picked up).
Took it also on a trip to Kansas City. Also some problem acquiring satellite signal initially. Had a highway entrance ramp that was closed, and had to 'guess' whether to go east or west on another freeway. After making the guess and following the new freeway, the GPS recalculated the route quickly and took me to my destination.
Had a problem with the mounting system...there's a lever to flip down for the suction cap to attach to the windshield. This lever worked at first, then stopped working (required too much force). Rather than forcing it and breaking it, I looked closely at the mount and saw that one of the pins that the lever pivoted on was loose. Shaking the mount a few times until the pin fell back into position fixed the problem. If shaking it a few times did not work, a convenient tool to use (for pushing the pin back in) is the plug from any headphone.
Also bought an 1 GB SD card for $20 and now have the entire US map loaded in the memory (no more loading maps before trips).
In summary...
Pros:
1. Easy to use, touch screen nice and faster then other data entry systems.
2. Fast route re-calculation.
3. Removable SD card allows inexpensive memory upgrade.
4. SD card better than hard drive - no worries about hard drive crashes.
Con:
1. Mounting bracket has problem with pin falling out
2. Voice volume sometimes not loud enough
3. Voice instruction tells distance to turn, but not street name (requires looking at the screen to see street name)
4. Sometimes routing is not best - will take you on small streets, even a gravel road (turned out to be blocked)
5. Entering custom POI's not very intuitive or easy
Conclusion:
For the price, it's a great value and gets its work done. It's dependable, though it's good to have a general idea where you are going (like north or south) even if you use GPS systems.
Customer Review: Very bad customer support, weak features
Summary: 1 Stars
Got this item less than one moth, but it faild to provide function as it promised, also it is weak in some functions.
I have owned several GPS, including Garmin iQue 3600, Quest, Navman . This C320 is not as it supposed to be. Here are its problems.
1. Easily to lose signal in city.
2. Confused directions. It told me turn right then asked me to turn left immeidately. It did not make any senses.
3. Some maps/directions are not accurate. The stree name is diffent than the one actually showed. I use V6.0 most update map.
4. In cloundy or bad weather, it really took time to get signals.
5. CAN NOT save current locations, for example, if you want to come back to your current location, there is no way to save it.
6. CAN NOT browse through map. For example, you know the place you want to go, but you don't know the exact mailing address. There is no way you can find such place through browsing map. It is useless function of browse map. Their customer support kept saying it is working, but never got a chance to use the actual item. Their knowledge is based on their web demonstration.
7. Limited POI, you can only can find nearest location, such as 2 miles, if you want to more, you have to know the name.
8. Few choices for planning trip. They only provide two choices, short time or short distance. But I found either way is not working as they support to as I know the trip.
9. The holding cup kept dropping. My car is not bad, but the holding cup keep dropping when I am in the road. Man, that's too bad. I have Navman, which never drop!
10. No via point. For example, if you want to go to point A before point B. You have to put point a as destination, then when you arrive you have to put point B as destination. There is no function let you put them in one time and allow GPS to caculate an effeicient way to route.
11. It is REALLY HARD to see it under sunny day. It is bad than Navman. In CA, it is almost impossible to see it under such Sunny day! Also the holding cup is aweful to adjust to find a good way to view. Who design it?!!
I may be picky for this product, but you should get a sold production for over $400 bucks! But it is a not too bad GPS for beginner user!