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,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin StreetPilot c320 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Great GPS Product but terrible software
Summary: 2 Stars
Purchased item 2 weeks ago and was very excited until I opened the software and discovered you need a PC to install it as it DOES NOT WORK ON A MAC. 1st Major problem. After making a bunch of calls I was eventually able to get an associate to stop be with his laptop to install the V6 Maps from the software (unit doesn't work without maps). Once installed I was reasonably happy with the unit, especially the listings of stores, restaurants etc. c/o City Search. My V.7 Maps update DVD arrived in the mail and it was downhill from there. We weren't able to install the update as the maps were locked and no unlock code was provided. After waiting on hold for almost 30 minutes we got through to CS who after grilling me with what seemed like 20 questions to verify I was the legal owner of the unit, provided me with an unlock code. We entered it and we were able to install V7, however in doing so all the City Search information that makes these units so useful was erased. We tried numerous re-installs of both V6 & 7 Maps to no avail...there seems to be no way to uninstall maps 7 xlear the SD card memory. Tried call CS again around 4:20pm CST and there was no menu options to get tech. support. I pulled out the 128Mb SD card from my camera to try and get back the City Search information & were unsuccessful. This whole process took 2 hours. If you have time to waste calling tech support & screwing around trying to install maps and entering unlock codes, go for it. In summary, The 320c is a great product if/when you can get the Maps installed and are not a MAC user. I'll post an update if/when we resolve the problem.
UPDATE: GARMIN exchanged this unit for a C330 with pre-installed maps. Although Garmin has been promising MAC support for sometime it's still vaporware. In anycase, I'm very happy with the C330. I suggest using Yahoo Maps or MapQuest ahead of time to evaluate alternate routes when planning trips as sometimes the directions given aren't the shortest/quickest route.
Customer Review: Great GPS.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using c320 for about a month, and i'll never go back to printing directions from mapquest! Very simple and user friendly. If you can type numbers and letters, you'll never get lost. If you have poor vision, don't worry! there's a voice instruction too! It will remind you over and over again to take "left turn, right turn, exit, stay in left lane, right lane~..." in a female american English, British English, spanish, french, etc voice...
My sister owns a Honda Accord with Navigation system, and I was actually thinking of paying about $800-1200 for a high-end system, but when I heard about c320, everything changed. I only paid $339 for it! and I don't see much difference.. You don't get extra options and buttons, but it's good enough to guide you.
Pros:
- great price
- user friendly. It's so easy, they don't even include a long instruction manual! They do include a quick starter guide.
- quick recalculation if you take a wrong turn.
- touch screen. (you don't have to scroll...)
- comes with a mount with charger. Just plug it in your car outlet.
- very simple. No extra junk and features that will confuse and frustrate you.
- Touch and go system.
- choose, faster or shortest distance.
- can set options to avoid U-turns, highways, unpaved roads, toll roads, carpool lanes....
Cons:
- outdated Version 6 map. You could order free version 7 map, but it takes additional 1-2 weeks to receive a cd/dvd, and you have to reload it to your GPS with an unlock key... too much work for me!
- Voice instruction is only limited to left, right, etc.. Does not state the street names or freeway numbers.
- glare.. can't see the screen on a sunny day.
- SD card slot with only 128MB (will hold about 3-4 states. I loaded Maryland, delaware, virginia, pennsylvania). But you can purchase a 1GB for about $35
Customer Review: Excellent Choice
Summary: 5 Stars
A touchscreen is a must have. Took about 5-10 minutes to register and load the maps. I was able to fit California, Nevada, and Arizona on the included 128MB SD card. After loading the maps, the displayed showed where I was located. Pretty amazing since I was sitting on my living room couch. Takes less than 10 seconds to acquire the satellite, 3 seconds to calculate the route. Miss your turn and it will recalculate in about 3 seconds. Voice directions are great. Menus are great. As soon as I tried it, I took all my paper maps and threw them in the garbage. The only option missing on this unit is text to speech so that instead of just saying "Turn Left", it will say "Turn Left on Main Street". This feature is really not needed though because the timing of the voice commands are very reliable and you can easily see the street name on the screen display. Text to speech units are considerably more expensive. The size is great, screen is big enough to see, yet unit is small enough to easily fit in your glovebox and does obstruct your view of the road. California does not allow suction cups mounted to the windshield. Don't order the dash mount until you try it first. I used the windshield mount and just wedged the suction cup part between where the window meets dash. That held the unit securely and placed it right on top of the dash. Worked fine, no need to spend extra money on the dash mount. I emailed Garmin tech support before the purchase and they responded within one day. They stated the internal battery is covered under the 1 year warranty. The internal battery is not user-replaceable, you have to send it in when it needs to be changed. They couldn't say how long it would last. I guess probably 5 years. That is the only negative on the unit, not sure how other units/manufacturers compare in that respect. For $268, this is clearly the best value for non-professional use. It is AWESOME!!!Customer Review: Awsome product
Summary: 5 Stars
I test drove it at BestBuy, immiditely liked it amone some others offered (tomtom, sony), then went home and ordered it online at Amazon. The GPS is exactly what it is designed for: Car Navigation! Directions and Points of Interest are really the only thing you'd need for a car navigation system, plus this litte thing even talks! with a 2GB SD card (cost $35) you can load entire US AND Europe Maps and travel everywhere in your car without getting lost.
Screen is not as bad as most user describes, I made a small shade for it so it reads pretty darn good even in harsh bright sun light. Very responsive processor, no sluggish menu found on a lot of other brand GPS systems within same price range. Touch screen is also great and easy to use. Without power adapter, this little thing can run continuely for over 6 hours on battery, so you can carry it with you when you get out of car.
Antenna is one of the best amone competitions, though not using Srif chip, it locks fast and accurate(WAAS).
Route calculated is quite good, though not the best. Sometimes it will give false direction and ask you to go around a circle... If you get off the route, the system will automatically recalculate a new route for you.
Maps are up to date, point of interest information is quite complete, though some information is really old and does not include newest shopping centers/grocery stores. Tor example, it does not include a major movie theater close by(rave motion pictures) or a Wal-mart that's been built long long time ago.
Recommended Buy!
//If you are looking for a hiking and off road product, Garmin GPS 60CSx or 76CSx is your best bet, they are also great car navigation system as well (just without voice navigation). Both GPS device support SD card, so you can use one SD card for both the outdoor model and the C320!
Customer Review: StreetPilot c320
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this unit about two months ago. I work with a local florist and thought this would be a good way to find the various delivery addresses. The unit is easy to use and has an easy touch screen which one could learn to use without reading the instruction sheet. The unit is only as good as the maps that are furnished. In my experience the local maps are about a year or two old as new streets at least this old doesn't show up on the unit. The most disturbing problem with this unit is not taking you to the exact address. Between 85% and 90% of the time the unit would designate an address on the wrong side of the street or having you arrive at the address and it still being several hundred yards down the road. The unit also leads you in the opposite direction you should be going searching out the major highways rather than a quicker, closer route. Other than these irritating problems the unit is simple to use and can definately get you to your destination (which may take longer if you're familiar with the city you're driving in) Another problem is the difficulty of mounting this on the windshield where it doesn't block your view. In my estimate the dash mount would be the best set up. I plan to purchase the dash mount accessory which doesn't require you to mount the unit permanently to your dash. It would have also been nice if the power cord was attached to the unit and not to the mounting bracket so it could be easily removed when wanting to use the battery power rather than have the cord dangling from the windshield. Because of these annoyances I have to give this unit 3 stars, but you can't beat the price that Amazon has to offer. Oh by the way the maps are easy to load from the cd furnished, but if you want to do more that a couple states at the time I would recommend you buy a larger memory disk than the 128mb. supplied with the unit