Garmin nuvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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Our Price: $25.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days 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 nuvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Does an excellent job
Summary: 5 Stars
When my son and wife each decided that they wanted a basic GPS unit without a lot of extra bells and whistles, such as blue tooth, traffic receiver, a choice of lots of different "voices", etc. I purchased this unit for each of them without hesitation.
I myself use the Garmin Nuvi 660, which does have extra bells and whistles, but if you are looking for just a basic GPS unit, you will not go wrong with the Garmin Nuvi 350. It performs just as well as the 660, and while the screen is smaller, that really has no impact on performance, but is more a question of aesthetics. The smaller size also makes it easier to carry it around if you want to use it in pedestrian mode.
I have reviewed the 660, and offer some of the same following comments for the 350:
The screen on this unit is very bright, and can easily be seen with sunglasses on in direct sunlight. The speech directions are very clear and easy to understand.
I particularly like the ability to spell the name of a drugstore or supermarket chain, etc. when I am in a strange town to see if there are nearby locations.
Keep in mind that no GPS unit is a substitute for common sense or advance planning on a long trip. Don't expect to travel your favorite backroads or shortcuts, but also know that you can explore a strange area in confidence without constantly worrying about how to backtrack onto your original route.
Here are some specific tips when you first buy the unit:
Register at mygarmin.com. This is important because as part of the registration process you will also get the latest software update.
Download the WebUpdater from the Garmin site. Use it to check for updates periodically.
Download POI Loader from the Garmin site. This will enable you to download custom points of interest.
POI Factory is a website that has over a million free points of interest. For example, you can download rest areas for various highways so that on a long trip you know exactly where they are. You can also download red light cameras and speed traps.
I substituted the default splash screen with a splash screen containing a cell phone number, e-mail address, and office address in case the unit is lost. Type the text into Word, cut and paste to Paint, and save as jpeg file. Copy this file into the jpeg folder on the Nuvi, go to System, display, change splash screen.
Back up the files on the Nuvi onto an external hard drive on a regular basis. That's a lot simpler that having to re-input all of your different custom points of interest in case something goes wrong.
If you go to a mall or somewhere else where there is a large parking lot, when you arrive touch the screen once, then press save, and name the location. You can then use the Nuvi to find your car easily since it has a pedestrian mode.
I like that on any trip the Nuvi shows not only the total distance, but also the distance already traveled, average speed, maximum speed, and time of arrival, which is not static, but changes depending on whether you get stuck in traffic or really start moving.
I do wish that this unit could save particular routes (such as a favorite backway home from the office), but for basic purposes that does not matter.
The 350 comes with a travel case that is convenient to use when transporting it. You can easily put it in a pocket or purse.
If your main goal is to stop getting lost, then this unit will do the trick. For the money, it is a great buy on Amazon.
Update June 26, 2009: When my son came home from school, I borrowed his car a few times and used his Nuvi 350. At maximum brightness, it is still not as bright as the Nuvi 660. This was never a factor for my son (or wife, who has the same unit), but I noticed the difference right away since I am used to driving with the Nuvi 660.
Bottom line: You can see the Nuvi 350 screen in bright sunlight and with sunglasses on--but not as well as the brighter screen on the Nuvi 660. You need to decide whether that extra brightness is worth the extra expense.
Customer Review: This GPS is great & can change your life!
Summary: 5 Stars
We just returned from a driving vacation using our brand new Nuvi 350, our first GPS unit. I am directionally and technology-challenged, with no sense of direction, hate & avoid city driving, and was driving in areas I'd never been. The Nuvi was wonderful! In one particular resort area we visited, I'd have been sunk without it. Besides keeping me from driving around lost, it was very helpful in finding restaurants and other POI.
This device is so easy to use. It locks on satellites almost instantly. I'd had concerns about only being able to enter one Via point, but it recalculates so well and fast that it wasn't a problem--just start on the route you prefer to your destination, and it recalculates for your new route. Simple. I was also concerned that you couldn't enter routes ahead of time, but just save your destinations to Favorites before you leave, and you're really ready to Go (and get back) with just a few taps on the screen.
I tend to miss turns, so calling out the street names was VERY helpful, and I wouldn't want a GPS without that feature. Intersections are often close together and estimating distances can be difficult. This feature is worth the extra dollars in my opinion.
It even helps you get in the correct lane--says "keep left" or whatever. You can touch the top green bar and view the next turns ahead of time if you want.
The streets weren't very well marked in the resort area we visited--they want it "natural"--signs are often carved wood in white on pale blue, so I gave the "recalculating" feature a real workout. By now I have great confidence in this feature. If you can easily get back on its chosen route, it quickly gives directions for that. If you're choosing a different route, it seemed to know that and recalculates for the different route. The only time I got "make a U-turn" was when there really isn't any other good way to get there. (Some reviews of other brands have complained they just say "U-turn" endlessly instead of figuring another way for you.)
I know the maps are said to be already out of date, but the unit knew the little streets (more like driveways) inside the "plantation" where our resort was. However, it thinks my daughter's home is on the wrong side of the road, but they live in a really rural area, outside a very small town, and I know how to get there. I guess no GPS is perfect. All in all, I'm impressed with this gadget in every way!
This unit also comes with the most needed accessories--leather case, car charger, AC charger, cord for connecting to computer, windshield & dash mounts. (I bought the friction mount for the Nuvis, and really like it--easy to put into console after you park and nothing shows.) A manual would be nice, although most people probably don't need one. Garmin will send you one if you ask.
I'm sure it's giving me the confidence to go places I'd not attempt before I got it. It's already navigated me through the historic (and very congested) area of downtown Savannah without a hitch. I hate city driving and avoid it at all costs, but now I feel I can do it if I must! (Before, even if I could get TO a place with explicit directions, getting BACK was a different story.) I'm not kidding when I say this little gizmo can be life-changing. No printing pages & pages of mapquest and trying to read them while looking for streets--just a few screen touches and GO.
It may not always choose the best local shortcuts, but it will get you where you're going, and it's when you're going to an unknown place (or lost!) that you need a GPS. I wouldn't start on an unfamiliar trip now without this GPS unit. It was $370 very well spent.
If you ever lack confidence in finding your way, or have a loved one who does, get this little gizmo! It's amazing, and Garmin's tech and customer support have also been wonderful.
5 stars all the way--
Update 02/01/10: This unit is still working perfectly two and half years later. We've not updated the maps as they are still very useable. This is one of the best purchases we've ever made.
Customer Review: Luvi my Nuvi (350)
Summary: 5 Stars
I LOVE my new Nuvi. First you have to know that I get lost ALL the time. I had to make a trip to Colorado (over 1000 miles) and NO WAY I was going without a GPS.
I did a lot of comparing and reading professional AND consumer reviews.
I know there are larger screens
But, this one you can walk around with
I know there are multi function ones
but this one is VERY reasonable money wise
The screen is clear, large lettering, easy to read, It speaks to you (to the point of annoyance if you turn the wrong way). I have used it DAILY for over a month now and it has only steered me wrong once (to a dead end it thought was a through street)
This unit is INEXPENSIVE but does MOST of the functions the more expensive units do.
MOST, not all
I love the "find gas" or "food", etc. options. What a blessing that is. Now I don't have to settle for one vs another. I can pick MY favorite on the road chains (or try new local places). I don't have to opt for the expensive right off the road gas station, I can decide if I want to go a mile or 2 off the freeway and see if the station there is cheaper. This really happened on the way back from Colorado. I saved over 10 cents/gallon by going OFF the freeway, through a little town and ending up at one the the more reasonable chains. Couldn't see this one off the freeway! If I do this about 100 times, I think my Nuvi will be paid for, not to mention the time and gas I've wasted simply driving around looking for a place to eat or put gas because I don't like the options presented.
If I HAD to criticize this unit I would say
1. Be nice if you could PLOT a route with multiple stops
(you circumvent this by putting in all your destinations ahead of time as "favorites") and then push the next one enroute. It will ask you if you want to make this a stop (enroute) or not. It only allows ONE of these per plotted route, so I just pushed the "next" place I wanted to go to and said "no" to making it a stop. One extra step (pushing a button) but didn't pay $500 for my GPS!
I can take this in the city (walking)- which I haven't done (but will)
or use the suction cup "snap on" gizmo for in the car (I use this alot - once you get the hang of it, it's easy), so you can remove it and hide it under the seat of your car and not tempt those who would rather not pay for their stuff and take yours instead.
a BIG PLUS: It comes with EVERYTHING you need, sleeve case (sturdy, protective), windshield mount, car charger adapter. Most of the others, including Nuvi's, you have to BUY all this extra.
2. Be nice if I could've CORRECTED my GPS when it led me down the dead end street (1/2 mile off course) so it might not do it next time. Don't know if ANY GPS's do that or not, but I could see the problems that might be associated with an "always always lost" type person like me tampering with the memory of an "almost always right" GPS like the Nuvi! Not complaining about that one!
3. Sometimes, it's about 25-50 feet off when I give it an address. Don't know if that is a GPS thing or this GPS thing. Each time, I have a visual of the place. If it is something I want to keep, I tell it "current location" and then put the name in again (vs using the address input). I've done this a couple of times.
4. I wanted to use the Dutch language voice, but the "street name, turn by turn" directions were not used with this language, just "turn righ in 2 miles/kilometers". I like hearing the street names, so I changed it back to English.
All in all, I LOVE my Nuvi 350. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I even talk back to it sometimes! (scary huh?)
Inexpensive but does ALL the IMPORTANT things
If you are sill stuck wondering what to buy HER for Christmas, THIS would be an excellent choice. I love my Nuvi 350 (I think I said that already several times........)
Oh yes, it came loaded with 2009 I bought In October 2008. Now that is (also) first class!
Customer Review: Idiot proof!
Summary: 4 Stars
I did a lot of research before buying this unit & found the best reviews here at Amazon. Not to mention the best price. The delivery was quick & efficient with no problems. As for the unit itself, based on the way it was described I was pleasantly surprised to receive the latest map version, so won't need to deal with that for at least a year. The quick start book that comes with the unit is pretty much useless unless you already know what you're doing. The best thing to do is go to Garmin.com & read the on-line full manual, if I hadn't done this I doubt I would have been able to do more than turn the thing on.
This is my first GPS & so far I'm pretty happy with it. One thing that surprised me was that I couldn't get the maps to come up no matter what I tried to do, finally had to call tech support at Garmin (a bit of a wait on hold, but great service & help when I did get to talk to a tech) Just about the time he directed me to a screen I'd already stumbled across & realized that the map version was un-checked, the light came on in my own head & remembered reading a review that said something about checking & un-checking listed maps to speed up the re-drawing when you deviate from the suggested route. DUH! I was just surprised to see that the ONLY map choice that comes with this was un-checked by default.
I took the unit on a quick trip around town, just to get the idea of how it worked. It's very easy to use, but also easy to confuse when you go astray. The voice gets a little "testy" when it's recalculating & it tried repeatedly to get me to go thru a fence to get to an exit from the parking lot I was in & wanted me to go around a block to get into the driveway that was right across the street!
I live is a somewhat rural area & even tho I've repeatedly reset my home location it always tries to get me back there by turning after I need to & going to a road that will dead end before I get to my house. Not much of a problem for me...I KNOW where I live, but I have to wonder how lost it will get someone else trying to find me!
The POI feature leaves a lot to be desired. Local example is that a gas station that's been here for over 20 years isn't listed under fuel....I found it under stores instead! Seems like if there is a convenience store at the gas station, that is how it gets listed. It also doesn't have many of the hotels listed for a lot of areas....or I haven't been able to figure out how to make it show me everything it's got listed. While staying at a hotel in PA it didn't even list the restaurant that was right next door & had been there for about 40 years.
I used the unit on my motorcycle for that trip & didn't have a power source set up for it yet. The battery seemed to last for about 3 hours before I got a warning of low battery, but chose to continue using it anyway & it finally died a couple of hours later. It might have lasted longer, but I went off the route & the repeated redrawing & voice telling me to get back to the highway probably used it up sooner than it would have otherwise.
I got the Ram Mounts for it from CycleGadgets.com at a pretty good price, but chose not to get the waterproof case at over $50. So I just used a sturdy ziplock bag fastened over it & secured with a rubber band. I was still able to see the screen fairly well & operate it without trouble. The unit is too quiet to hear over the wind noise on the bike....you can hear it talking, but can't make out what is being said. But with a set of headphones that problem is solved.
Uploading MP3's to it was incredibly easy & there is plenty of room to do so. I added an SD card tho, to keep from loading up the memory on the unit itself. Thankfully it seems to know what you've put on the card & makes it accessible in the correct area automatically.
Overall I have to say the unit is great & lots of fun to use. I'm pretty challenged in the technical area & was able to operate it without any problems. I'd never done any MP3's before, but this got me started...not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing since I'm now driven to transfer all my CD's!!
Customer Review: Killer Price (now) -- Well Executed Product
Summary: 4 Stars
I won't give this a "5" because there are a couple of "buts" here (anyone who gives a product a perfect rating and then says "but" or "except" is kinda missing the point).
I've been fiddling with GPS receivers since around 1993. I had a couple dogs early on (including one that couldn't hold a lock on the satellites at any speed over 50 mph) and have also had some very nice (for their time) units. Most of those allowed the user to configure the unit or construct routes and other tools. This is my first purchase of a consumer grade GPS device.
That said, I am quite pleased at how well the Nuvi 350 goes about its business. Once you figure out how to mount it in your car (always a task that is worth some careful consideration), using the unit is quite simple and straightforward. There are several ways you can enter your destination (custom waypoints, find by name, find by address, find by type of destination, etc.). Once you do that, you're good to go. Satellite acquisition is very fast -- the fastest unit I have ever owned.
On one of my first outings I was at Potomac Mills, a large outlet/shopping area south of DC. Depending upon where you are along the divided perimeter road, it is easier (though not necessarily shorter) to take a route towards one or the other of the two ramps back onto I-95. With "Avoidances" set for "No U-Turn" the Nuvi recognized which side of the perimeter road I was on, and routed me via the simplest route.
When you make a conscious decision to take a different road for part of your journey, the unit tells you "Recalculating" (though it does sound a bit disappointed) and quickly provides updated directions.
Things I'm less that wild about include...
-- The "shift" functionality when you are entering text (you have to confirm going to the shifted character set -- there is room on the screen for more choices, such as "single letter only" or "remain shifted").
-- When you start on a route the voice tells you to follow the highlighted route. I don't know what else you'd do about that pink line on the screen. And it took me about a dozen "starts" to actually figure out what the voice (American English Jill) was saying. For a phrase that gets used every journey, you'd think just a little more attention to clarity would be in order...But I'd just as soon be able to turn it off. Again, there is plenty of room on the navigation settings screen for one more option for "Voice Prompts": "(_) Start Message On"
-- Garmin might as well include the all the "vehicle" symbols, rather than requiring you to download any but the few they give you. I prefer the arrows because the little vehicle symbols may hide map detail at some scales.
-- Be prepared for some omissions in the database of destinations. That's more an issue of how fast things change in the business world. I'm waiting for some of the major retailers to offer downloadable files listing their locations.
Be aware that this IS NOT the unit you want if you need several stored routes or the ability to build multi-stop routes (such as delivery routes -- only one "via" is allowed).
But this is the unit you will use to get you moving efficiently in our complex urban environments. Better still, pop the Nuvi 350 into your pocket, briefcase, or purse and then fire it up in that rental car when you're on business or vacation (over the years my first task when getting off a plane has been to find a decent local road map -- maybe those days are gone now). You can even loan the Nuvi to visiting friends and relatives so they can get around town.
Notes:
(1) Charging is by a standard mini-USB. The included charging adapter works from 100 to 240 Volts AC, so all you need is the correct plug adapter to charge the Nuvi in foreign locations. It also means that you can charge it with many phone or PDA chargers.
(2) If you want to edit and maintain your own waypoint list outside of the GPS unit, you can download free software at: www.easygps.com.