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: Expensive, yes. - TOO expensive?-No Way!
Summary: 5 Stars
One reviewer wrote of GPS: "..limited as a fun toy for those who can afford it". TRUST me folks my expenses do not opt for unnecessary "toys".GPS helps in so MANY circumstances such as to limit driving down dark alleys or dead-end streets, limit asking for directions in unsafe neighborhods, and being able to confidently locate nearby gas stations, restaurants, shopping areas, and of course, hospitals!And having all this convenience and more in my wife's or my POCKET for goodness sakes, is phenomenal!Yes, the Nuvi IS expensive, but when you make mindful calculations - as we do, regarding gas money saved by not driving extra miles all about in lost situations, not being frustrated by having to look for someone reliable to ask (annoy?) for directions, not using cell phone time for people, places, & things, not having to read print-outs from internet sites while driving (as we'd done previously) ...well the Nuvi HAS literally paid for itself! And that's no overstatement!On a recent trip from Baltimore to vacation in Orlando, and also to visit Tampa, we rented a car and often utilized the marvelous pocket-sized Nuvi to quickly & efficiently zip to an amazing number of tourist attractions, and even felt confident to wander somewhat off the beaten paths, knowing that directions to the main highways or to our hotel was always at our fingertips!I won't be redundant with the technical aspects of the Nuvi that has already been well covered by other reviewers, but suffice it to say that there are NO gps units that are perfect! NONE!!!A physical operations manual SHOULD be included in the box instead of having to connect online.My giving '5 Stars' to the Nuvi 350 considers 'plus & minus' comparisons of many other gps units with all things being considered (as much as possible) "equal" because there will always be streets being changed, rerouted or even newly created even at this very moment; so don't assume ANY gps unit will be some sort of perfect godly miracle.DO know that the Nuvi 350 was not an easy financial purchase for me. However, it may be THE most important money spent in a very long time.While traveling, I've also enjoyed listening to music via the Nuvi while waiting in airports and listening to downloads of books (optional) while flying.I did my homework on this item and other units too and know that - yes, you CAN spend less money for another product, but you get less overall positive assets (see the more tech. info of other owners).Obviously, this review is more of the practical, logical, and quality-of-life reasons for getting the Nuvi 350.As a final comment, let me again nail this point home: My Nuvi 350 has PAID FOR ITSELF and is in many ways the most important purchase that I've made in a very long time.Customer Review: this is a great product--updated mar23, 2009 (comments on extra features and database)
Summary: 5 Stars
Mar 23, 2009
I continue to be impressed.
I have found only two or three significant errors in the database. One time Nuvi sent me approximately 25 miles out of the way (from San Diego Wild Animal Park), and another time it sent me a mile or two from the proper spot. Apparently a lot of other companies including some of the online mapping services use the same database so Garmin isn't the only product or manufacturer with this error.
I added 2GB of memory for under ten dollars and a modulator so that I can use the Nuvi as a "poor man's" ipod. This works great. I can use MP3 compressed music and I don't need to lug another gadget around.
This product does have a picture viewer, but it doesn't seem to be too smart. I had to scale photos on my computer before loading them into the Nuvi so they would fit properly on the screen. But (once again), it saves me from bringing another gadget on the road.
Nuvi also works quite well as a portable drive or flash card reader.
A few minor comments/suggestions: 1. You might want to try different accents. Some offer a little bit better intelligibility than others. (One or two sound like Nuvi is gargling.) 2. You can adjust the settings so that a "bell" rings before the next voice instruction. This is very handy if your car is a little noisy. 3. There is also a screen which not only gives you very accurate speed, but it provides total remaining travel (over the road) distance (and not distance "as the crow flies"). 4. Latitude, longitude, and altitude are available (look under "Favorites".) 5. I have tried Nuvi while airborne and it keeps up even when traveling at land speeds greater than 600 mph. It can be a little tricky to lock on to the signal (due to the shielding effect of the fuselage) but it is possible to do this half the time (just be patient and place the Nuvi close to the window).
Original entry:
I have had the nuvi 350 for a few weeks.
It takes awhile for it to initialize after it is turned on--about as long as my computer. I hope Garmin can speed this up in future models, but this is minor.
The database is very extensive but I have found a few minor errors in it(For example it placed my house on the wrong side of the road). It also occasionally suggests a route which is a little unusual, but it always gets me where I want to go (Travel distance is about the same for the suggested and best routes). I am very pleased with the amount of data (gas stations, restaurants, etc.)--this really makes travel in unfamiliar areas a lot more enjoyable.
Route recalculation is very quick.
I really like this product.
Customer Review: The wife's review
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I finally got my Nuvi 350 I spent at least 6 months reading reviews on the web of all GPS devices out there. I asked for opinions on numerous travel and GPS-related forums then finally decided that the best bang for the buck would be the Nuvi. I wanted a unit that I could use both in the States and on my frequent European trips. Since I usually end up in countries where I know little about the language, the translation capability of the Nuvi was a huge plus.
At the same time I was dreaming of getting a GPS I was also fantasizing about getting some sort of small portable storage device to store my photos when I went on vacation. I didn't want to carry around 10 SD cards when I went overseas so I was hoping to find a device that would allow me to store some of the photos so I could reuse the vard. And since my 2 year old Nikon 4200 featured a rather puny 1.5 inch monitor I was also looking for some way to get a better idea of what my photos looked like before deleting them.
The Nuvi would allow me to not only navigate, translate and transfer photos, but it also could act as an MP3 player and a currency converter. The perfect devide. Only one problem: the wife. In order to go on these overseas trips each year she has to pose as Simon Legree for 11 months of the year. Her pursestrings are tighter than Jessica Simpson's abs. She would not agree to let me spend $600 on a GPS device. To her $600 is 6 nights worth of bed and breakfast accomodations in Europe. To make a really long story slightly shorter...I ended up with some money from an insurance settlement and the old girl let me spend it as I wished. She probably expected me to buy her something and she almost gagged when she learned I bought the Nuvi 350. "I hope you're satisfied" was uttered more than a few times.
Once the device arrived and I took all of 5 minutes (without even consulting a manual) to figure out how to work it I took my wife on a trip about 3 hours away. Within 15 minutes she had taken the Nuvi of the windshield mount and was playing with the sucker all the way to Philadelphia. She figured out how to route us around the Schuylkill Expressway and its perpetual backups and later was able to find an ATM from our bank out in the middle of nowhere. A week later she navigated us on our way up to Yale. On our way back she actually said, "I am sooooooo glad you ordered your Nuvi. How did we get anywhere without it? You did a great job in researching this thing." No higher praise is necessary - if my cheapskate wife digs it, it must be special.
Now she's trying to find us a good price on the European maps we need on our upcoming vacation.
Customer Review: Worth the hefty price!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was a bit skeptical about purchasing this. I'd read all the glowing reviews and decided to take the leap because airfare for a trip was going to be expensive.
I got the Nuvi in record time through Amazon rather than a third party seller. I'm not good with "gadgets" and was looking for an instruction booklet - this doesn't need one. Honestly, it doesn't. Trust me...if I can figure it out, then ANYONE can. If you're worried that your 75 year old in-laws won't be able to figure out how to use it, don't be. It really is that simple and self explanatory.
I wasn't confident enough after a few days of having the Nuvi to ditch the plane tickets, so I flew and carried the Nuvi for the rental car. The Nuvi was invaluable with the rental car. My friend & I went all over Louisville, KY like we knew the city well.
I won't repeat all the good stuff that has already been listed. Everyone is spot on with the kudos. I'll list the issues I've had with the Nuvi:
1. It drove is in circles when trying to find a Denny's. It turned out the Denny's had closed, but the Nuvi didn't know it. Once we realized the Denny's no longer existed, I stopped the route and chose a different restaurant.
2. It doesn't know when some traffic signals have a "no left turn" sign. This presented a small problem trying to find our hotel, but once we figured out a back road with the hotel in sight, all was fine. This is something to watch though...the Nuvi should be intuitive enough to direct us through the traffic signals. I wish the Nuvi would've recognized each time we got to that intersection though - we had to ignore Jill's instructions and every time she would say "recalculating."
I call myself "directionally impaired" and don't know that I would set off alone on a long trip depending solely on the Nuvi. However, it's PERFECT if you don't have as much direction ignorance as I do, or if you have another person in the car with you. I would definitely trust the Nuvi on a shorter trip for myself than this last one.
I decided against the Nuvi 360 because of the higher price and I didn't want the additional MP3 capabilities. I feel I've made the right decision.
The Nuvi can find restaurants, gas stations and hotels in every nook & cranny of a city. We had no worries about finding anything or how to get to it. I like the way Jill says the street names....this is a big bonus for me. Much easier to keep eyes on the road and know what's going on and where I'm going.
Bottom line: Buy it! It's worth the money for ease of mind and ease of use.
Customer Review: Beats TomTom
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent product. Recent upgrade from a TomTom 300. While TomTom has gotten some things right, this unit was much better overall. First of all, the TomTom mapping is just not up to date. Addresses of homes built 4 or 5 years ago are not available in TomTom, but are in the nuvi. Errors in the map are less in Garmin and updated more frequently. TomTom advised me that they could only do an update once a year...and that was too long to wait to see if the would actually correct errors in the road map. The display is bright and easy to read. TomTom had a better idea to allow you to select or deselect other data such as speed, distance, etc. for the display, however, this data and more are kept in a second level display that is available with one touch of the screen. The MP-3 player is surely not for music enthusiasts, but it does play the tracks clearly and, when nuvi has a navigation instruction, the MP-3 is automatically paused while the directions are stated...then it automatically goes back to whatever you were listening to. Suggestion, don't drive around Chicago, LA, or NY with the MP-3 going...you may miss an instruction or two. Selecting an address is very easy, starting with the state, then city, then number, then street. TomTom did one thing better in this regard ... it remembered cities you had entered and made them quickly available. Garmin could take note here. But the fact that I could enter addresses that were not available in TomTom and the fact that I could enter a variety of street names (e.g highway number or name of street) and that there was intuitive logic to help me find cross streets made the issue with not remembering towns a minor one. The Point of Interest works well, allowing me to select a city then a POI or just a POI. The size of the nuvi is also a plus. It is very convenient and can be carried in a shirt pocket. The voice prompts also state the street names on which you are to turn...this is a nice touch as well. Finally, it has a vehicle classification. I haven't validated this but it seems to keep me on larger roads when I tell it I am a truck than when I am a car. This is a good thing since I drive an RV and a GPS taking me down a road with a low tunnel or a dirt road would be less than perfect. It also has classifications for walking and bikes...etc.
There are some nit picky things that could and, I imagine, will be improved, but all in all this is an excellent choice, and while TomTom did some things better, overall I like this product much better ... mainly because of the mapping.