Garmin nuvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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Our Price: $48.90 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: Exceeds Expectations
Summary: 5 Stars
On the assumption that some others may know as little about a GPS as I did, you're going to find that a GPS will far exceed your expectations -- a perfect product.
After reading several reviews, I got it that this unit would pre-announce turns. But, I didn't know that it, like an alert co-pilot who knows the route intimately, would do so much by way of preparing me for what was ahead with instructions to "bear left" or "bear right" given well in advance -- thereby avoiding those last-minute lane changes and/or missed exits because you're not in position. And I didn't know that it would remove those doubts one can get about whether one remains on the correct road. (If it's not "recalculating" a new route, you're on track. If it is "recalculating" -- no big deal. It will tell you what you need to know.) And I certainly didn't expect it to tell me when to bear left or right when the road curves and you're not certain which way to go. It tells you that in advance.
Also, I'm a guy who doesn't necessarily register a direction when I first hear it. No problem. You're told in advance. You're told when you're close. And you're told a final time at the last minute. All in a voice that sounds natural and which is easily understood. There is no need to look at the display. But, if you want confirmation when two rights are close to one another and there is no road sign, the white arrow that appears will make it crystal clear which right to take.
As you might have figured by this point, it also tells you when you're on an exit ramp whether to bear left or right at the end of the ramp.
After a turn is made, you get your first notice of the next turn and of the distance to it -- a distance that is kept updated on the display. So, a glance at the display at any time will immediately tell you how far you are from the next turn -- a relaxing assurance that there is nothing for you to do except follow the road. Also on the display is your arrival time -- which, of course, gets adjusted in real-time. When you're pulled over, you can even bring up a display that reviews statistics on the journey from your average speed to your top speed to the amount of time that you've been stopped. (Yes, it can accurately measure your speed!)
Maps for Europe and Mexico (presumably Canada too) can be ordered on an SD card. I don't know the price. Map upgrades are available annually for $75, but you may find that you can go for a couple of years in between upgrades. The unit comes with everything you need.
It's easy to use. There are no subscription charges for the satellite use (I didn't know that either!) There are more features than I'll attempt to describe except to tell you that they're all easy to find and to use. The touch-screen interface is brilliant.
Perhaps the most wonderful feature is that it makes possible car trips to new locales that are tension free. The "driver-navigator" arguments are gone. The atmosphere in the car is tension-free and . . . fun! (The other day, I was in the middle of a fairly large city where I made a special trip I wouldn't have otherwise attempted to seek out a chocolatier that had received a great review. After enjoying a remarkable cup of hot chocolate (like no hot chocolate I had ever encountered), I realized that I was smack dab in the middle of the city with NO idea how to find a way out to the highway. With the GPS, what might have been a stressful fifteen minute search on crowded city streets became an easy three minute escape. Terrific!)
If you're on the fence, I suggest going for it. This is a terrific product. If mine ever gets stolen or broken, it's a no-brainer that the replacement unit will be ordered on the same day. I'm a fan.
There IS one downside. I find that I'm looking to find places I don't know how to get to just to let the GPS get me there. That costs gas. Hopefully, the novelty will wear off soon and save me the new gas expenses!
Customer Review: No such thing as a perfect GPS, but this one comes closest
Summary: 5 Stars
This GPS unit is simply beautiful, and has worked great so far. The display is comparable to the TomTom units when under ideal viewing conditions. However, when the angle changes, or in different lighting conditions, the Nuvi is leaps and bounds better than the TomTom units.
However, this unit is not perfect. The preloaded points of interest are quite antiquated. Alot of attractions, hospitals, and businesses that are included in the POIs (even HOSPITALS, and police stations) have changed name, relocated, or shut down. So I would strongly recommend against solely relying on the POIs when looking for things to do. It works great for large attractions that arent easily moved (ie theme parks, monuments, etc).
In terms of getting you from destination A to desination B, the unit works great. No lockup experiences yet. One selling point of this unit is that it uses SirfIII ultra sensitive signals. This is true, but please be aware that in certain circumstances, even though a signal is still acquired, the accuracy can be quite degraded (ie if you're in a tunnel for extended periods of time, etc etc). However, this is remedied as soon as you come into an area with unobstructed satellite view.
Stay tuned for periodic updates!
*** UPDATE 1: Still VERY impressed, but have found a few bugs **
I've been roadtesting this unit for about 5 weeks now, and have noticed the following:
1) At times, this unit will "Recalculate" the route for no apparent reason. The new route it gives you is exactly the same as the one you were traveling on before, but the user will be distracted and puzzled about why the route was recalculated in the first place.
2) This unit will struggle a little in huge metro areas such as downtown LA. The unit occasionally showed me on an incorrect street but this fixes itself rather rapidly.
3) Relying solely on voice prompts can get you into trouble. For some cities, especially San Diego and Los Angeles, the voice prompts will not give you adequate warning on whether to stay to the left or the right. To avoid this problem just rely on the purple highlighted route which has a white arrow showing whether to turn left or right.
4) At times, the unit will take upwards of 45seconds to 1 minute to acquire a signal lock. Especially if you have been playing with the unit indoors w/ a poor signal.
5) The speaker is virtually worthless if you are playing your radio or cd player.
But overall I'm still impressed with this unit. The display works even at high noon, with blaring sun conditions. The few bugs noticed were rarely seen, and easy to work around. This is by far the best unit i've played with. With the map sent to "more" detail, you can see everything around you as you are driving.
The best part, when you park, and everyone is eyeing your new unit... you can just take it down, put it in your pocket, and not have to worry about theft!
Version 2.6 of the firmware fixed alot of the issues that were complained about previously. I've had this unit for a good amount of time now, and have tested it on the West and East Coasts. My overall recommendation is this: The only real problem with this unit is the fairly weak speaker. For the non-advanced GPS user, this unit is the best you can get, and the one I would recommend.
Go to Circuit City, Best Buy, Frys, etc and play with other units, then play with the Nuvi. You'll see that the other units look cheap, clunky, slow, and have dull screens compared to the Nuvi. If you're going to buy GPS, NUVI is the way to go. For constant travelers, the portability just can't be beat.
You'll never find the "perfect" GPS unit that meets all of your wants (note, wants, not NEEDS) to a tee, but this one surely comes close.
Customer Review: Great GPS system, except for one BIG flaw
Summary: 5 Stars
I've used several top of the line GPS systems, including expensive in-car systems in recent cars, and have found this comparable or better to the in-car ones, with a few exceptions. I bought this system to use on trips, and so far I'm very happy with it.
First, the one BIG flaw, then I list the many pluses and a few negatives.
After using the unit for two weeks, I started up the car, and immediately I received an on-screen message that the Blue Tooth firmware was updating. I don't use the Blue Tooth feature so I tried to cancel out of it, and turn off the device, which didn't work. Even holding down the on switch, it refuses to turn off. Unfortunately, this rendered the device useless for the next hour and a half, until the battery went dead and it turned off. After plugging in the cable, the device booted normally and I could navigate again. I looked and there doesn't appear to be a cold boot swith for a paper clip or anything like that as in the case of Palm Pilots or Pocket PCs. So all you can do is unplug the power cable and wait for the battery to go dead.***
I went into the menu and disabled Blue Tooth, and hopefully this won't happen again, but this is a very serious flaw with this system. If you were in the middle of an important navigation you'd be without nagivation for 90 minutes, or however long it took the battery to run down, and mine was fully charged. So beware. Since this morning, when it happened, it hasn't tried to update the firmware again, but who knows, these firmware updates could happen periodically.
That problem aside, here are the pluses:
1. Locates satellites very fast compared to my older Garmin from 3 years ago.
2. Only loses the satellite signal in very dense tree covered streets, unlike the older model (which was still top of the line).
3. Nice, 3-dimensional display of the road map.
4. Very detailed trip computer, as well as useful utilities such as a calculator, but no schedule or calendar, oddly enough, like the in-car systems I've used.
5. Has some intriguing options such as downloadable audio books, an SD slot for international maps that allow you to nagivate outside the US, and a battery mode for operation without the power cable.
6. Brighter and more detailed display, better than many in-car systems I've seen, although smaller in terms of the diagonal.
7. Very small and compact (about the size of an old Sony Walkman, if you remember that far back :-)).
8. The touch display is very convenient, and some in-car systems don't provide that capability.
Overall, the system has many more pluses than shorcomings. However, compared to the even more expensive in-car systems, I would include:
1. Screen display is smaller so that forks and branches in freeways and larger streets aren't shown on screen, so you have to guess looking at the display which lane you should be in. However, the audio instructions will tell you that, so if you listen carefully that shouldn't be a problem.
2. Sometimes it will instruct you to turn west, east, etc., instead of left or right. Unless you have a car compass, you won't necessarily know which direction that is. My in-car system will tell you either left, right, or continue straight.
All in all, though, this is a great product and I'm very satisfied with the features and performance despite its not being cheap.
***Note: Since writing this review, I've discovered the unit has a little plastic tab that is easily overlooked on the back of the unit that can be pressed to cold boot the system and stop the firmware from updating. After that, I was able to use the system normally again.
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.