Garmin nuvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
|
Our Price: $25.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
|---|
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: Very Nice GPS
Summary: 5 Stars
After extensive research, I decided to buy either the Garmin 2720 or the Nuvi 350. I wanted reliable maps, ease of use, future real-time traffic expandibility. I decided on the Nuvi because the sensitivity of the GPS antennas is much better in urban environments and the small pocket-sized shape. I have now owned the unit for 2 months and used it extensively. Here are my observations:
1. The antenna sensitivity is outstanding. As a test, the first time I got it, I had the unit "find itself" from within my 2 story house. I was on the first floor and not near a window. While I took a shower, it figured out where it was. In the car, it usually finds itself within 5 seconds. The tangible benefit of this sensitivity is that I don't have to mount the Nuvi on my car dash or window. It just sits on the center console of the car.
2. The maps are very good. So far, it's found every place I searched including little local resturants. The time to calculate (or re-route) based on these maps is very good. I have been able to use the unit straight out of the box without any updates to the software or the maps.
3. The readability of the screen is very good. Even in bright daylight, the screen can be easily read.
4. The speaker on the unit does the job but should be improved. At the higher volume settings the sound is tinny and the cheap little speaker just isn't as clear as it should be. I'm not trying to compare to built-in GPS units from manufacturers like Honda but for $900 the speaker should be better.
5. The internal battery seems to last about 3 1/2 hours with the screen on full brightness. Seems reasonable considering the manufacturer says the battery should last about 4 to 6 hours and we all know how manufacturers over state battery life.
6. The Li-Ion battery is sealed in the unit and can't be replaced by the owner. I don't like this at all. Since this product is reasonably new, there is no detail on how much the battery replacement service would cost. I expect we will get taken to town like Apple with their iPod battery replacements. However, Li-Ion batteries are well regarded so the they should last about 1 1/2 years. We'll see. If anyone from Garmin reads this: Don't do it again. It's not good. Convince your design team that a battery cover with a screw isn't going to take away from the coolness of the product.
7. The software has worked fine. One time it came up with a better route and asked if I wanted to take the new route. However, it didn't say how much shorter or faster the new route would be so I could make an informed decision. Minor detail but if you want me to make a decision, give me some relevant information.
8. The product comes with a quick start guide which is all you really need. There is a product manual but it doesn't get shipped. You can get the pdf from Garmin's web site for free. At $900, I would have expected a paper manual in the box. If you want the paper manual, it's around $10 from Garmin.
9. It comes with the capability to play mp3s and audio books. With the built-in speaker, that is a painful experience. Better to hook-up headphones.
10. One feature that it doesn't have compared to other top-end GPS units is the ability to tell current position in Longitude/Latitude. Minor and not needed but what's the harm? After all there is a screen showing 12 satellite signal strengths and your current elevation.
Overall, I think this has been a good decision. Maybe some of the software issues will be fixed in the future. It is expensive but tangibly better than other GPS units on the market at this time.
Customer Review: Great little device for your car, never go back to print directions.
Summary: 5 Stars
I was planning a big road trip to Northern California and I did not want to get lost or pre-print directions from the Internet, so after much research on an affordable GPS, I got the nuvi 350. The price was just right even though a map update is just around the corner, GPS prices have been coming down like those plasma/lcd flat-panel TV's. I really needed a GPS and for that NorCal trip it was a life-saver and made the driving much more enjoyable. Knowing estimated time of arrival and where you're at puts me ease.
I went with the nuvi because I felt it was worth it to have something that could fit in my shirt pocket, unlike the C series. My friend has a TomTom and we used that when we went to Las Vegas. Comparing that to my nuvi 350, overall Garmin wins, however there were some stuff I wished the nuvi had. On the TomTom you can have a list of routes you want to take, calculated with total miles. So if you know a certain freeway is clogged before you leave your home you can see which freeways to take. On the Garmin, you have to pick Shortest or Fastest in the settings and then it calculates a route. You can pick detour when you're on your trip and it will calculate a new route, but I like the TomTom feature where it just gives you all the possible routes. However, for the Point-of-Interest function - Garmin wins hands down. Very easy to use.
As for the GPS - there were some confusing times, I mainly drive in Southern California, and there were a couple of times where the exit was confusing. It will say take this street exit, but it wasn't an actual exit on the freeway signs. Then you look at the GPS and it says on the top, take the street exit off this freeway exit. Very crappy, I wish the voice prompt would say the whole thing. Also driving up to NorCal, the GPS did not tell me stay on this track, it was basically one way each small roads, instead I had to rely on a sign on the road (going to San Jose, getting on the 101 freeway). Also sometimes the voice command was a little late and I missed a turn cause there were just too much traffic. The streets in San Francisco were really curvy and broke off in all crazy places. I have to use hit the directions to see what my next turn was. Luckily though, the GPS will calculate another way, so I just drive a little slower til it finds it.
Overall, since I mainly drive in SoCal, it's very handy. For directions to parties or events I no longer write my directions down or anything. I probably use the GPS only once or twice a month, it's not something I truly need, but you know that saying, - it's better to have a gun and not need it then to need a gun and not have it. So pick up the GPS from Amazon at a great price but also remember to follow the signs on the road.
As for no manual being included, you don't really need a manual. Honestly, it's so simple and self-explanatory. Garmin is helping the environment by not printing a thick manual that most people probably won't care about or look through once. I did download the PDF manual so that I could look up what WAAP meant. By all means, save paper, no more printouts from Mapquest or Google.
Also in Cali, it's *technically* illegal to mount something on the front windshield. I got the portable Garmin friction dashboard mount instead, it's on Amazon also, forgot which one it is but it had all 5 stars and comes with everything you need. The base is weighted and it does not slide around at all, much better than the windshield mount since it's closer and I don't have to lean over to access the GPS if it was mounted on the windshield. Plus it's easier to take down and store in the glove compartment so you avoid those passerbys with sticky fingers.
Customer Review: Very happy with my Garmin Nuvi 350
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased my Garmin Nuvi 350 a couple of weeks ago. The shipping was very fast. It came with a 2008 map, and I went to the Garmin website and downloaded the free 2009 map with no complications. It did take about 4 hours for the completion.
I have never had a GPS before and I am truly amazed at how accurate this is. I will never be afraid of getting lost again! I did a lot of research on GPS and found the Garmin Nuvi 350 to have very good reviews. The cheapest I had found it previously is $399.99 and as I did not feel that I needed a GPS, I did not want to spend $400. When I saw that I could get this for under $200, I bought it immediately.
I am so glad that I bought it, because it takes the fear out of driving to a place that I have not driven to before and possibly getting lost.
It has a very clear screen both in the daylight and at sunset when it changes over to the dark screen. The screen has a matte finish so there is no glare. The voice is very clear and the volume is sufficient. It tells you to turn on the named street well before that street comes up and then it tells you to turn again right when you are at the street. It also tells you which direction to turn. It also has this in text on the top of the screen. Another thing I like is that it always shows which way North is and tells you in which direction you are traveling. I love this feature.
If I take a different road because I am taking a short cut, it immediately recalculates the route and picks up from there. It also shows you what time you will reach your destination, and how far until the next turn, which I really like.You can also view the directions ahead at any time, which is a very nice feature. I have not yet lost the signal.
I really like the photo displayer. I just insert a SD card with my photos on it, and I can show my photos to people right on my GPS.I cannot comment on the battery life yet, because I always have it operating on the car charger. When I first got it, and was checking out all of the features, I had not charged it first because it was working fine.Then when I went to turn it on the next day, it would start up and then shut down right away. I thought something was wrong with it, but then I put it on the AC charger and it has been fine since. So I probably should have charged it when I first got it as I'm sure the battery was probably not fully charged when I received it.
I also bought the friction car mount because it is illegal to have a windshield mount in my state. The friction mount works fantastic. It does not slide around on the dash at all - even when you turn a corner. And the unit detaches from it very easily. I would definitely recommend this friction car mount.
I also use it at home when we want to go someplace different to eat that evening. I just check different cities close to us and then check what restaurants are there and how far away it is. No more driving around a different city and looking for a particular restaurant. The Garmin Nuvi 350 takes you right there. I love it!
It comes with a non-replaceable battery, so I hope the battery lasts a long time. Also, I read that this unit is discontinued. However, I still had no problem downloading the 2009 map from Garmin. And for this price, you can't go wrong. To me this is well worth the price to feel so at ease driving knowing that I will always get where I am going with the help of this unit and never get turned around again. It also has a place where you can "go home" from any place you are and it will direct you to your home.
Customer Review: Be a "local" wherever you drive!
Summary: 5 Stars
First let me say that I have a MS in Geography so you might say I'm spatially oriented. I can read a map, even have drawn maps. I can usually find my way around in unfamiliar territory. That said, when traveling you often need to know what lane to be in before you turn, and even more important, in the NY or New England area, what lane to be in of the two or three turn lanes on the specific ramp...if you "guess" wrong, you're toast! So on this last trip we took to Maine from Virginia, we tested out our Garmin Nuvi 350, mounted on the optional bean bag mount (better than the windshield mount, in my opinion, due to less view obstruction). It got us where we needed to be with no stress, no mistakes, leaving us time to ENJOY the view rather than worrying about making a wrong turn. We even used the lodging features and found a good hotel right near where we expected to be that night in our trip. Called ahead, made a reservation...sweet...as I was conducting that operation in Freeport, Maine, a person walked by and commented how great these GPS units are. On one section of road in Massachusetts, we saw a young guy in a sports car ahead of us with the same unit as ours and his turn signal came on the same time ours did as he was following the route of "map lady"...that's what we've named her! Both my wife and I love "map lady"...and we'd never take a trip anywhere without her leading the way! I think this GPS device is one of the most valuable tools I've ever had...as good as having a cell phone, if not better! I would characterize it as very close to perfect...but a few things could be improved. One, would like the screen to be a tad brighter (perhaps bigger too would be good) and sharper in daylight, particularly full sun (not that you can't see it, it's just that when you have sunglasses on, it just isn't bright enough for these 55 year old eyes of mine). Second, I'd like to see a feature to add more waypoints in a trip (currently only one can be added). The reason for this is when traveling through Connecticut; we wanted to go on the Merritt Parkway, a very scenic and less congested highway than the selected I-95. The only selections in the unit are for the "faster" route or the "shortest" route...none for the "scenic" route...that would be a nice feature. My workaround method is just to make a number of short routes that take me the way I want to go...and then it was easy to customize the trip. We only came across a few instances where roads where mislabeled - in one case "map lady" said "take exit 23 H when the exit was 23 B...but not a problem since "H" was not an option. Bottomline, if you haven't bought one of these, do it now. And if you already have one, you are probably, like me, going to give one to all of your kids that drive so you can be less stressed when they are on the road traveling. My prediction is that when this unit comes down below $200, EVERYONE on the road will have one. Also, in looking into other places to buy the Nuvi 350, there was no better price than what I found on Amazon. The unit came in two days...right out of the box it worked perfectly giving us accuracy to 10 feet...didn't need to read the instructions since it's so intuitive. Even downloaded some POI files that indicated where speed traps are on the New Jersey Turnpike...and indeed when the beeping happened to us with a flashing Speed Trap Warning, we saw a cop had pulled a person over going the other way...how cool is that! So, go get this product right now, you won't be disappointed!! And Garmin, what is your stock symbol...I want to buy a few shares!Customer Review: SO Cool - it's the iPod of GPS Navigation
Summary: 5 Stars
After doing research on GPS units for about a month, I finally took the plunge and bought the Garmin Nuvi. Wow - it's so awesome! I haven't loved a new gadget this much since I got my iPod. Let me tell you the highlights of what I've learned:
PROS:
* The Nuvi is SO small and cool - it easily slips into my purse when I'm not using it in the car. When I'm driving, I have it mounted on the windshield just below my rear-view mirror and it does not obstruct my view of the road at all.
* The WAAS-enabled GPS receiver with SIRF is super accurate and fast.
* The Nuvi will tell me the street names in plain english ("Turn right onto Main Street"). My last GPS didn't use names, only vague instructions like "Turn right in 200 feet". That's not especially helpful in areas that are unfamiliar.
* It's easy to add "favorite" locations, like home. You can set these up off-line. We're leaving for vacation, so I added as "favorites" the hotels we'll be staying at. This will make it just a couple of touches to get to them.
* A nice variety of needed accessories are included right in the box... car adapter, windshield mount, dashboard mount, regular power adapter for charging at home, USB cable, really nice leather case.
* The car power adapter plugs directly into the windshield mount, OR into the Nuvi. This makes it super easy to disconnect the Nuvi when you are leaving the car, without having to fuss with any cords.
* When you go off of the calculated route, Nuvi automatically recalculates a new route for you. It does this quickly and accurately.
CONS:
* The Nuvi does not provide your latitude/longitude coordinates. Certainly it must know them! I can't imagine why Garmin didn't include this information on its "satellite" screen. It shows altitude, but not latitude/longitude. Grrrr! No GeoCaching for the Nuvi! (Update: 3/07/06 - Garmin has added this information on the "satellite" screen in the updated version 3.10 of the Nuvi firmware. Thanks Garmin!)
* The NavQuest database that the Nuvi uses is outdated, which surprised me. A hotel we regularly visit in PA isn't in the "hotels" listing, and the map doesn't even include the street which the hotel is on. This is not a new hotel, it's been there for at least 8 years! I am finding that in general most streets are included, but hotels and other points of interest are not as current as I expected.
* The software on the Nuvi is little buggy. I had one system crash, which required a hard reset using the button on the back of the Nuvi. And sometimes the "back" button doesn't work as the manual says it should.
* The Nuvi didn't come with a printed manual - you have to download it from Garmin's web site and print it yourself (?!?!). I would have expected that for such an expensive unit, Garmin could have spent a few extra cents on a manual to put into the box.
* I'm a little nervous about the battery not being user-replacable. I talked to Garmin tech support, and they said that the battery should last for 1000 charge cycles, and beyond that it's a flat fee of $225 to replace it. That's a lot for a battery!
I don't have a need for the travel guide, MP3 player, currency converter, or audio-book player, although I did try them. They seemed to work fine, but the real strength of the Nuvi is navigation, not the other stuff.
All in all, I am VERY impressed with this little Nuvi. My husband and I are enjoying the stress-free driving, with Nuvi doing all of the navigating!