Garmin nüvi 360 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $75.00 You Save: $424.99 (85%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 360 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech
Customer Review: Super product...good for guys who don't like asking for directions and women who wish they did
Summary: 5 Stars
Truly a tremendous product! Using it in my car and paired with my phone (Treo 650) and it's really impressive. Is it any wonder this thing is such a hit? It's small and eletronic, it saves relationships (I am NOT pulling over to see where we are!!!) and it talks to you in a voice that YOU select from a list of electronic people! (The GPS company who figures out to hire the guy who voiced K.I.T.T. from "Knight Rider" will win the GPS war, by the way.) ;)
I got hooked on the Garmin interface after renting from Avis and paying $10 to rent the CRT version (the StreetPilot c550) of this LCD model. SO simple. SO intuitive. Enough customization available to "make it yours" without so much that it's overengineered. They really hit the right balance here.
Most folks have deconstucted the navigation itself, and suffice to say I'm happy with it (living and driving in suburban Chicago). It's interesting to let it guide you to places that you go often (even deviating from going the way that you think would be fastest). Shaved 10 minutes off an hour drive to my sister's house by avoiding some highways (I have it set to "fastest route" as opposed to "shortest route")
Two points that I think didn't see enough of in the reviews - the suction cup and the bluetooth capabilities.
I was not a fan of the suction cup initially - it's illegal in at least California to have anything stuck there while you're driving, and for good reason, but ended up using it anyway because it was better than the other options (either sticking it to my dashboard, or using a vent hook-up - available separately through amazon - I bought it, and it's clever, but ultimately compromising the use of the vents to heat/cool your car - I'll review them if I get around to it.) I drive an 03 Nissan Altima, if that helps. I stuck the suction cup to the lower left hand corner of my windshield and snaked the power cord behind my steering wheel and behind my dashboard so that it reemerged by the power port. If I want to use it in another car, I'll either need it to run on batteries or get another power cord. So be it. I'm just glad it was long enough.
Bluetooth - was a snap to pair with my Treo 650 - it even took on my phone book (sort of). Treo users know that in addition to your address book of a bajillion numbers you can also select a subset of those (30 or 40) to be on-screen quick-dial buttons for people you often call. It's from this list of quick-dial numbers that the Garmin "grabs" your phone book. It's all a bonus, since I didn't expect the garmin to grab anything from the Treo. I still dial from my phone, but I'm impressed with the phonebook-pulling capability regardless. The absolute best part of the bluetooth capability, as mentioned in at least one other review, is the ability to dial points of interest straight from the garmin - "oh, there's a Wildfire 2.3 miles that way - let's call and see if we can get in without a reservation..." Really, really nice.
Customer Review: Fantastic for Address Navigation, Bluetooth not worth it though
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had the Nuvi 360 for a couple of weeks now and has really performed fantastically. From finding us places to eat and sleep in Hawaii (Oahu) and correctly navigating me to about 15 different addesses as I was checking out houses in the Southern California area, the unit has provided incredibly detailed and timely driving directions and even tells you which side of exit ramps to bear to, so that you can accurately go east/west or north/south as the case may be. The FIND function is good for finding things nearby your location, but don't count on it to take the place of the yellow-pages. Though there are POI's stored on it and it easily locates some of the more frequently visited establishments, this real worth of this device is not in finding you the nearest restaurant you're in the mood for, but navigating you to that destination given an address or intersection. You will do yourself a favor if you always have an address or intersection, as you can not find a single road with the Nuvi--so a little prior planning will go a long way.
I got the 2GB SD card with it, but just know that it is totally unnecessary. You don't need it for navigation or restaurant storage--in fact the country, language and Fodor's guides are all on separate and special SD cards. If you get one, it will only be to store photos or MP3's. If you're using this as your sound system however, perhaps you should be putting the money somewhere else first, before getting yourself a Navigator :O)
The included cigarrette-lighter plug works out nicely when you keep it plugged in all the time. It automatically turns the unit on when you turn the keys in the ignition and shuts down in 15 seconds when you leave the automobile. If you choose not to use the Nuvi while driving however, it simply charges the Nuvi for later battery use, for instance, if you wanted to take it biking or on a walk (yes, it has navigational settings for both!).
The visitbility is fine and the suction-mount is terrific, so there's no permanent commitment necessary. The only problem with the obvious windshield mount of the device is that once you link it with your Bluetooth phone and try to talk through it, your face is so far away from the front of your windshield that people on the other end can barely hear you and it's a tossup of how well you hear them (forget about it if you have a sunroof or convertible top down). For the difference in price between the 350 and 360, I wish I had forgotten about the Blue Tooth option and just went with the 350. Enough people seem to have other hands-free devices these days that having "another" one, that only works in your car, is really not worth your while.
Apart from the Bluetooth glitch, the Nuvi is one of the greatest devices I have ever owned and I think has payed for itself in uselessness, just this past week. And I don't think driving to a new location and asking it to show you driving distances to everything "nearby" will ever get old :O) I love it!
Customer Review: A killer app on the level of TiVo
Summary: 5 Stars
We purchased this device after my wife had gotten lost while using Yahoo! Maps on a business trip late at night. We have since used the our Nuvi several times (although not as much as most people, since we live in NYC and don't drive much).
Most recently, we used our Nuvi to go on a long weekend to the Hudson Valley. Had we not had a GPS device, we would have had to print a dozen or more maps from Yahoo! - to the Inn, from the Inn to Dinner, back to the Inn, Inn to the winery for a tasting, back to the Inn, and on and on. Instead, all I did was look up a few of our destinations before the trip started, enter them as favorites and off we went! It made the trip and driving absolutely stress free, especially with some tricky turns in one of the towns, and locating a restaurant that was so set back from the street, we never would have found it otherwise.
My wife calls GPS the 'next killer app' and she compares it to TiVo - there isn't a better compliment in my mind.
Many people complain that their GPS device doesn't always give them the best route and I agree. However, NOTHING will ever beat local knowledge. I don't rely on my Nuvi when I am near home (although I do keep it on in case it finds a better route, like it did to the Queens Costco). I need my Nuvi when I don't know where I am or where I am going, and in that case, I don't care if it isn't the most effecient route, as long as it is a correct route. That is something the Nuvi has never let me down on.
UPDATE DECEMBER 2007: now that I've been using the Nuvi for several months, I still love it and can't imagine not have GPS. However, there are a few features that other manufacturers support that aren't supported by the Nuvi. For example, the Magellen devices have two great features:
1) More control over the detour function. When detouring with the Nuvi, you don't have any control over the distance of road it will detour you around. I believe Magellen allows you indicate the distance the detour should last before putting you back on the road (great if you know there is traffic for 2 more miles). Very often, I hit detour on the Nuvi and it takes me a completely different route, when all I wanted to do was avoid a couple of miles of traffic due to an accident (even with the traffic service, this doesn't work well on the Nuvi)
2) Multi-point routing (or multiple via points). This allows you to enter several intermediate destinations and the device will calculate the most effecient route to hit all points. Great when doing sightseeing type of things (or visiting wineries!)
At the time I purchsed the Nuvi, the Magellen devices were larger and more unwieldy, with buttons all around the face. However, Magellen has recently introduced a line that appears to be closer to the Nuvi form factor. I can't compare to the TomTom, as I didn't do much research on that brand when I was looking originally, since I wanted Navteq maps.
Customer Review: Good but not perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
I owned a Magellan 760 and after two years it refused to power up. I called Magellan and encounted some truly horrendous tech support. I was eventually told that most probably the problem was with the cradle so I ordered a new one. After waiting two weeks, I decided to cancel the order and purchase a Garmin 360. Of course, although I was assured that the order was cancelled, it wasn't and I received the cradle so now I have two GPS units! Anyway, back to my Garmin. It is very small. It took a bit of getting used to on my part because I was used to a larger screen. If small screens are not for you, you might consider the 600 series. However, it is nice to have a unit that is so portable. You can easily slip it into a pocked and take it on vacation. We are going to Hawaii in a few months and I'll be taking my Garmin with me. It picks up a satellite signal quickly and I really appreciate its detailed voice prompts. You don't have to spend time looking at the screen to figure out when you are going to be making a turn. You just need to listen to the voice prompts. However, the Garmin, like most GPS systems, is far from perfect. The suction mount is worthless. It keeps falling off my windshild and I have ordered a standing holder for the base of my dashboard. Had to purchase this for my Magellan as well as I had the same problem with the GPS falling down. Also, like so many GPS systems, it does not always give the best route. By that I mean that it will give a route that no local would dream of taking. Today, I was traveling into Manhattan and entered an address for NY, NY. It routed me to the right address, wrong boro - ended up in Brooklyn, NY! I actually had to enter Manhattan as the city in order to get to my destination. Also, the Garmin got very confused in Manhattn. This is not limited to Garmin - my Magellan experienced the same problem. I suppose the skyscrapers somehow impede the satellite signal????? At one point my Garmin wanted me to take the bridge back to Brooklyn when my final destination was Manhattan and I was in Manhattan! Kept recalculating the route but eventually (I ignored the instructions to get on the Brooklyn Bridge) it did get me to my destination. All in all, the Garmin works very nicely in most areas. The voice prompt is clear, the screen is easy to read and it is super easy to enter your destination. The touch screen is very sensitive and you really don't even need to read the manual to figure out how to use the unit - it really is that easy. If you are making several stops along the way, you can enter them all at once although I have yet to use this feature. I have not used the Bluetooth yet but my son has and says it works well.
UPDATE: I purchased a mount for the dashboard - good investment Also, I am now using the bluetooth feature. I was impressed, it worked very well. Of course, anyone in the car can hear the conversation so you need to warn the individual on the other line that they are on a speakerphone.
Customer Review: Great Garmin, exceptional price
Summary: 4 Stars
Garmin Nuvi 360. I did allot of research on GPS units before purchasing this one. For instance; in Consumer Reports, this one was rated in the top 5, and the other four were about twice as expensive. The other four were also Garmins, I think .
I have been using this unit for about a month. I have tested it by going to places that I am familiar with. It will definitely get you there, now it might go a different way than you would, but in a place that you don't know... really doesn't matter as long as you get there.
The Garmin Nuvi 350 is exactly the same as the 360, but for a bit more you get bluetooth with the 360. Bluetooth works very well, provided you have a cell phone that it will work with. vEry easy to set up.
Traffic monitoring is extra, some units it is included, this one requires a subscription. I have not found a need for the subscription. I guess if I had to get to a meeting during rush hour or in heavy construction.
It does give you an estimate of when you should reach your destination, and constantly updates that.
I like all the travel features it has, which to me are many. Language translator, currency converter, etc. It has preprogrammed locations. For instance, I am in a new city and want to eat. I can go to locations and find out what is around and how far away. Does the same thing for any city services or other retail locations that you might look for when traveling.(banks, Atm, hospital, convenience stores, library, gas stations...)
Overall, I think this is really a great unit at half the cost of others with some of the same features. No it is not widescreen, but the screen is still large enough to see, and follow. You can choose from different voices/accents for the talking guide. Although it is not setup to preview the voice. So the first time you hear it, is when your on your way. The lighting of the unit can be set for day or night or auto.
The only real downside that I don't like: the battery life. It is not very long, and if you use WAAS, it is even shorter. The unit that I bought on Amazon came with a charger for the outlet and one for the car, so as long as you have the car charger, battery life really isn't an issue.
It comes with USA maps and others, but not Europe. I figured if I went to Europe, I would buy them just before I left, so that they are as current as possible.
I recommend this unit. I travel frequently, sometimes to places I kinda know, but it comes in handy when I am looking for a restaurant or library, post office etc. If I am going to a new place, like a big city, you won't know how you managed before without it.
On all Garmins, if you want to add maps, like to Europe it will cost extra, you can download them on the Garmin site or order a cd. The Garmin site is really good for researching all their units. [...]
That's about it....:) Happy traveling!