Reviews for Garmin nüvi 350 GPS Receiver

Excellent GPS and easy to use

Strengths: Ease of use Bright screen rapid acquisition of signal

Weakness: software not as adjustable as other programs

I have been using a GPS/PDA combination for several years which works well but connection was sometimes touchy and complicated. I wanted a unit for my wife to use. The nuvi 350 is great. She can use it without any problem - the interface is very simple. The text to speech is excellent, minimizing need to look at screen, and the screen is bright enough to be seen in sunlight ( a problem with my PDA). The unit has a SIRF III receiver which is very sensitive and picks up a signal very quickly, esp. after initial acquisition. The main drawback is inability to customize software - I would like to place distance to target on main screen (it is available on another screen) and trip planning with the unit is somewhat cumbersome. Also map updates apparently are only good for one unit rather than two as before (We liked it so well we bought another one). Overall I am very pleased with this unit.

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highly sensitive GPS

Strengths: This can recalculate the direction in seconds, and i s very easy to use. can store the visited places and places plan to visit.

Weakness: Maps are not uptodate, especially of the ones that are recent (say past two years)

I used for my first trip to NJ is about 350 miles and it took me perfectly to the place and I had no problem of signals and is a perfect friend in travels. As the prices are coming down it is really worth for the money. I bought a 2GB SD card from buy.com (selling for less than $10.00.).
and is now a wonderful thing.

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Very user-friendly. Not perfect, but currently...

Strengths: One of the cheapest models with Text-To-Speech; Great battery life; Integrated MP3 player

Weakness: Slow on startup compared to Magellan; Does not have road exclusion like Magellan; Route preference hidden in menu

My criteria for a GPS is that it must have Text-To-Speech (TTS) and an integrated MP3 player. I had the opportunity to use a nuvi 650 and was very impressed with it, except I could not justify paying the higher price for the larger screen, free AC adapter, Bluetooth and FM Transmitter features. I've used older generation GPS (Garmin iQue) and they're too frustrating to be worth the lower price.

The Magellan Maestro 3100 is the closest unit to the nuvi 350, in terms of performance and price, and I would have liked it except for reasons below.

Nuvi 350 pros: The nuvi 350 has a louder speaker, and newer maps (Sept. 2007, the whole North America, including Canada) than the 3100, the display was anti-aliased and was an overall smoother experience. The nuvi 350 seemed easier to input an address than 3100. The nuvi 350 also doesn't have as much GPS drift that the 3100 does. The most important feature in the nuvi 350 is the TTS that the 3100 lacks.

Nuvi 350 cons: The nuvi 350 takes half a minute to power up, and this makes me want to keep the nuvi active throughout the day instead of shutting down between uses. The Maestro 3100, on the other hand, does it right by starting up ready to use. The nuvi 350 never asks if I prefer to use fastest route, or shortest route at every trip, unlike the Maestro 3100. In this respect, the Maestro 3100 is friendlier because for some trips I know that the shorter, direct route is better than the "faster" route due to traffic conditions. In the same way, the nuvi 350 doesn't recalculate routes to avoid roads, which the Maestro 3100 does. If I know to avoid a road that is under construction, I purposely have to "disobey" the nuvi 350. The nuvi 350 does not allow Trip Planning, this was introduced in the nuvi 700 series. The 3100 has it. Other gripes about nuvi 350 is that it has a pop up antenna and a slightly higher price than the 3100.

Despite these small inconveniences, for me, the nuvi 350 is a better value than the Maestro 3100, because of the map's larger coverage, overall navigation experience, and it doubles as my MP3 player.

Conclusion: All GPSs I've tried make mistakes such as displaying or announcing wrong street names, suddenly getting "lost", or doesn't recalculate when you need it to. But the nuvi series have been the least anxious to use, and at the very least did not make me turn at one-ways, lead me to dead ends, or take me to a completely incorrect destination in a different city.

A word of warning about nuvi 660/760's FM Transmitter: It is so underpowered that it is practically useless in New Jersey, you would be better off buying a higher class FM transmitter. Check gpsmagazine.com... for more details.

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Good starter GPS

Strengths: reading the street names; adjustable volume; longer battery; friendly interface; recaculating right after missing the guide; many point of interests; big screen yet small enough to put in a pocket.

Weakness: Califronia law doesn't allow the GPS installed on wind shield. Can't find a better place to install.

This is my first GPS. I did research on the internet and got recommendation/feedback from my friends. This one has the best rating for under $400. I have been using it for 3 weeks. It is easy to use and recaculates right after I missed a turn. I tested the battery - about 5.5 hours, much longer than other GPS. Other things I like are the adjustable volume and reading the street names. There are other features like MP3, travel kit, which I haven't used yet.

The only problem I had so far is that I can't find a place to install it because California doesn't allow installing on wind shield.

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Gets the job done

Strengths: Small compact

Weakness: Speakers, firmware, outdated maps

First, I have found the Nuvi 350 good enough so that I no longer need Mapquest printouts. I have gotten lost plenty of times with that but thats another story.

This unit is small, compact with a bright readable screen. From a warm start, satellite aquisition takes only seconds. From a cold start (having been off for many hours or turned on many miles from where it was last turned off), it may take 3 or 4 minutes.

The speaker in the unit is horrible. Turn it up loud and it is so distorted it is hard to understand. The 350 has a built in MP3 player. Again the speakers are so bad you wouldn't want to listen through them. But thats ok, the MP3 software is so bad that this unit can never take the place of a dedicated MP3 player.

As for directions, it has always gotten me where I wanted to go. Many times though, it tells me my destination is on the wrong side of the street. Weird. People complain that the unit does not give them the most direct route or take them through the shortcuts of local roads they are familiar with. That is true. If you are in unfamiliar territory, you don't really want the local backroads. The idea is to get there with the least chance of getting lost.

Garmin recently released new firmware, version 3.30. Like a fool, I upgraded immediately. Bad decision. The 3.30 firmware introduces a lag of 3 or 4 seconds on the display. Garmin says they no longer support previous versions and there is no way of going back. Actually, they are wrong and you can go back. The instructions are floating around the net but I haven't been brave enough to do it yet.

I am still glad I bought the Nuvi and hopefully with another firmware upgrade, all will be well.

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Excellent compact GPS

Strengths: Compact size, mounting system, screen size, display, touch screen, text to voice.

Weakness: Speaker volume/clarity.

I recently upgraded to the Nuvi from the Garmin Quest after much research. The Nuvi has met or exceeded all expectations, it is a definite keeper. The one and only negative is the speaker. It is small and distorts if you max the volume. This is an issue in my Escape which allows considerable road/wind noise intrusion, not with my Nissan Z. The compact Nuvi has an ideal size screen which is readable in broad daylight and at night. The touch screen is much easier than the Quest's cursor/button system. The text to voice feature is another reason I purchased it. A realistic female voice announces street names instead of just distances. The Nuvi has an excellent mounting system, much easier to use than the Quest's and unobtrusive. I have not used any of the travel companion features as it was not purchased for those. It was ready to use out of the box....no downloading maps. Some may complain that some of the point of interest data is not current and correct. This is true, but is a software issue, not a problem with the Nuvi itself. Updating road construction and restaurant openings/closings has got to be a monumental task. Even with the minor speaker issue I recommend the Nuvi

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Garmin Nuvi 350

Strengths: Fast and easy to use.

Weakness: few

I've been using this for about a month. I'd never had a GPS before and bought it in self-defense. as my wife says, my problem with directions is that after 30 years of marriage, i still believe she can read a map. anyway, even at $600 (Amazon special), this is one of the best investments i've made recently. it worked right away--you just turn it on and it goes. it's remarkably accurate--i used it to measure my morning walks. and it comes complete and ready to use right out of the package.

weaknesses? i've only found a couple: sometimes the unit tells you to exit to XXXX street, when the highway exit is actually marked with a different street name. it got fairly confused in the hills above oakland, but who doesn't? and i did find one flat-out mistake, but in the wilds of mendocino, when it tried to direct me to a restaurant that was on the other side of a river from where it thought it was.

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Excellent Product!

Strengths: Portability, easy to see despite its small size, clear voice instructions that are timed perfectly, accuracy is amazing.

Weakness: S/T's takes too long to acquire satellites. Some of the info in data base is out-of-date (businesses have moved or changed phone numbers), there could be more choices in the type of routes to choose.

I love this product! It is one of those things I truly wish I had had before. It would have been a great help when I traveled on business to unfamiliar places or other times my wife and I weren't totally sure where we were. I haven't tested it in more rural environments yet, but I am hoping the maps will be as accurate as in the big city. From my research there is no other product with the portability and ease of use. You can slip this in your shirt pocket and you can get European maps. Can you imagine having this type of help in Athens or Rome or Paris? The internal battery holds up well. in fact, I haven't used the car cord yet. Haven't needed to. Just recharge it periodically. Also you never are alone in nte car and it's data base is helpful finding movies, restaurants, gas stations, etc.

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Garmin Nuvi 350 - Expensive but very nice

Strengths: Ease of use, built in maps, voice prompts

Weakness: Could use a little more audio volume

I have used GPS systems for the last 10 years or so. This one is very nice, as long as you remember it calculates LAT and LONG - house numbers come from the map and their location is only as accurate as the map.

This GPS unit prompts you with intelligent, intuitive prompts. It alerts you to a ramp's location (left or right) so you know to get over. It flawlessly navigated us on a trip to Staten Island from Philadelphia. We choose a different route from the one it thought was optimal, and after re-calculating the route it said "there is a better route available" - which was kind of cute.

GPS lock is quick, voice prompts give you street names (so you can just keep your eyes on the road and look at signs) and the GPS voice prompts will interrupt MP3 playback.

I drive a diesel pickup (very noisy) and the loudness of the voice prompts was sufficient even with the stereo turned up a little. The only weakness I could think of was that a little more volume would be nice.

I have read many comments that you can only have one waypoint in your trip - my unit let me put 2 waypoints in. Not sure how many it will take. It did calculate the route correctly taking into account the 2 waypoints (and flagged them properly).

I am very pleased with this unit, but of course I wish it was cheaper.

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Navigate Your Way to The Nuvi 350

Strengths: Gps locks fast, best screen for all light conditions, no power cable dangling down the dash, portability to any vehicle.

Weakness: So few- would like to see a software upgrade that would allow celebrity voices on a long trip it might be fun... The non qwerty input is a swift pain and the numeric keypad is childish.

Just got it! Set up was a breeze, the PDF is available on Garmin.com so I had a couple of days to read and reread the manual (it's a quick read) but turned out to be a snap to get up and running... The nuvi found me in the house even though I was on the first floor in an area that is a dead zone for most electronics. I had test routes in mind to put it through... a few roads that were difficult, as which were the best roads to take, the first one I tried could have thrown me on the highway for a single exit instead of the road I knew to be shorter and a coin toss as to whether it was quicker- nuvi didn't get fooled!, it found some roads that I was sure were too new to be on a database. The sound is excellent for its size and sounds better once mounted. Not having a qwerty keypad input is one swift pain, the numeric keypad is very childish with numbers running in sequence- have they never used a calculator?, I hope that all owners let Garmin know... they have a reputation of being responsive to input and modifying software updates to accommodate.

Just returned from Florida where I used the nuvi for five days- tons of fun I now know that the Jet Blue airbus was traveling a moving average of 558 miles an hour with a maximum speed of 644 mph! the max speed was achieved on decent...WOW. A couple of issues did arise, a few years ago I rented a Jaguar with a gps system and it got me to my brothers driveway and announced that I had arrived! I figured that with the new map system and advanced satellite network that the accuracy would be better yet it showed me at the house just before his..... this is a bit confusing but I think we figured it out, we noticed that Google maps showed his house not in the right place, so the older gps with a greater inaccuracy split the difference and it's best guess was the center of the inaccuracy...close enough announced the arrival, the nuvi in this case was insistent on being accurate! Not a big problem just set the new location and rename it. Since my brother knew his way around town we were treated to a nice woman's voice constantly "recalculating" we noticed that the recalculating exclamation almost had a harsh tone to it (slightly condescending) so those of you who are missing a wife who sighs when she thinks you've made an mistake in your shortcut will feel comforted.

Found the battery life to be short of two hours but we were constantly playing music and touching the screen that brings on the back light...also I had the backlight set to two minutes. The battery life should be better once one stops playing with it and just let it do it's job.

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Reply by member: zoglog
Apr 24, 2007

thanks for the review

Report this as innapropriate

Garmin nüvi 350 GPS Receiver

Strengths: Gets me where I need to go, clear instructions, love the text-to-speech function! Picks up satellite signals quickly, maintains signal strength well, recalculates route quickly when changes made.

Weakness: Wish I could tell it to ignore a particular known route. Wish it had the option to avoid routes with many traffic lights. But overall, these are pretty minor.

I'm a bit of a map-freak, so I keep my Nuvi in my car and on on almost all trips, even when I know where I am and where I'm going, just for the fun of it. I really enjoy seeing where things are in relationship to where I am and have learned a lot more about my area, despite having lived here for 7 years! My Nuvi always gets me where I need to go - although it may not take the route I would've taken when I'm travelling locally. I feel very comfortable knowing that I only need to know an address and I can get pretty much anywhere - and be able to find food, banks, gas stations, stores, and anything else on the way. I've found it pretty much impossible to get lost with my Nuvi on. I'm very pleased with my purchase.

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Alittle disappointed, but I guess it's better than...

Strengths: Get you to where you need to go

Weakness: Fastest Route Calculation, Speakers

I’ve own the Nuvi 350 for about two months now. There is no doubt about it that it will get you to where you want to go. There are two things about it that I’m disappointed about. The speakers on this little thing are not very clear and get distorted when the volume is turned up.
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The other thing is the Fastest Route calculation. If you’re living in an area where there are a lot of little US highways or one-line highways along with Interstate Highway systems. This GPS does not distinguish any differences between the two. We all know that little US highways speed limit is a little slower, roughly around 50 mph, runs through little towns, and sometime loaded with stop signs and stop lights. Interstate highways are sometimes longer, but with no stop lights and the speed limit is roughly 70 mph depending on where you live.
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Example 1: Fort Wayne, IN to Ann Arbor, MI
Mapquest: Take I-69 N to I-94 W to Ann Arbor, MI
Nuvi 350: Take I-69 N to US-12 NW to Ann Arbor, MI
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Mapquest: longer distant, but actual time to get there is around 2 hrs
Nuvi 350: shorter distant, but actual time to get there is around 3 hrs
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Example 2: Ann Arbor, MI to Somerset Mall
Mapquest: roughly 40-45mins
Nuvi 350: roughly 1 hr
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These are just two examples. There are many instances where taking the Interstate Hwy would be much faster than taking any other routes that this Nuvi 350 suggest as being faster.
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The software I’m running is their latest, version 3.90. Like I stated earlier, it will get you to where you need to go, just don’t expect getting there in the fastest time possible. I’m just disappointed that my $700 GPS is not as smart as a free service from Mapquest.

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Wow. Perfect new generation GPS. Small, quick,...

Strengths: Portable, quick, intuitive.

Weakness: No weaknesses.

I purchased a Magellan 760 and returned it. Like PC Magazine says, it really is confusing. Big, with no battery, it was awful. Would not click easily into its cradle.

The Garmin 350 Nuvi is perfect. Small, sexy, the speaker is great. The screen is great. The menus are simple and intuitive. The maps are accurate. It clicks and unclicks easily into its cradle. It is small so you can use it in the parking lot. Put it in your pocket. Magellan is 10 years behind this one. I use it on battery power! I love it!

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Garmin Nuvi 350

Strengths: Bright,good sound,memory for complete USA maps,memory card slot,AC and DC adapter,suction cup mount,fast recalculations, good signal pick-up,touch screen works well.

Weakness: Price,Does not accept compact Flash Type I memory card, cannot purchase or install maps for use on water or bike paths,no bicycle mount (not water proof),USA maps outdated,no record of altitude change

This is my first GPS. It is an amazing invention. It is hard to believe so much information is available to you in such a small package. I paid $534.99 with tax in Feb 2007. I wanted GPS I could use in car, boat and on bicycle with sufficient memory to load full set of USA maps and with touch screen. I liked many features of the Quest but insufficient memory, no memory card capability, and no touchscreen. Nuvi's rechargeable battery has relatively short 4 hour life for bicycling. I went to Charlotte, by car, and it took me right to my destination with great ease. Ovens Auditorium was not listed in Nuvi database. When I needed to depart Charlotte after dark to a new destination, it was so nice to have my GPS talk me to where I needed to go. No maps. No magnifying glass. I like the ability to find food, entertainment, etc. wherever you are located. US 421 to Wilkesboro,NC was upgraded to four lanes 2 years ago but the GPS still tells you to exit and reenter at former construction locations where there are now no exit or entry ramps. Touch screen is easy to use. I notice it is easy to mess up destination when inserting Nuvi on its windshield suction cup mount. I don't know how this is happening but it has occurred two or three times and I notice my arrival time is way off from its original time. I stop the car, stop the mapping, reselect my destination and hit the go button to restart the GPS. Fat fingers can cause you to hit the wrong selection on the screen. I purchased remote antenna but have not needed it so far. I can't imagine using the books on tape read-out feature. I haven't tried the travel guides other than the ones that come built in. You do get an altitude read out for a single location but not over a distance. My only buyer remorse is having paid so much. But, now that I have it, I really like it. I would like updated maps that include new roads and streets. I live on a street that was constructed 5 years ago but it does not show on the GPS. I like the way it alerts you to upcoming turns. Sometimes (in heavy, fast moving traffic at intersecting highways) it needs to tell you a little sooner to stay left or right.

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Compact, fast and precise GPS

Strengths: Small size, lock and recalculate within couple seconds, clear voice and text to speach, very nice graphics

Weakness: You can have laptop for this maney. I did not find the way to change the route, or use specific road.

Used it heavily in San Diego and LA in California for the couple weeks on vacation. No way to confuse it - locks and recalculate in sec. The voice direction describes current maneuver AND next : Turn right on Main street and then keep left". The current instruction is written, if you missed the voice. Voice is pretty clear, despite of misarable buil-in dynamics. Voice to speech is not bad - I liked Australian English. The British English is scrumbled - I can not understand it.
The screen is bright enough and can be clearly seen under direct sun. Graphics is OUTSTANDING - even nicer then GOOGLE maps. The arrow shows the approaching turn is very helpful.
I find out that new SW is available for upgrade, that fixes single problem. The previous upgrade (that I already have as I bought the unit) had a bunch of bug fixed. So far machine is running smooth.
I installed it on top of the dash board - not on the glass as it recomended. Much better to me, not blocking the view.
The suggested routes make sense.
Very good product, recommended!

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SUPER PERFORMER IN ALL RESPECTS !

Strengths: Fast satellite lock, excellent voice directions, compact, many useable features, intuitive interface, great price.

Weakness: Too much use of "Back" button to get to home page. Owner's manual online only.

I've only stumped it once (by deviating to a newly installed road in my neighborhood) but the NUVI quickly recalculated and was in-synch within seconds. I love the compact size since it should be great for walking in strange cities.

BE SURE TO GET THE TEXT-TO-VOICE feature on whatever brand/model you select. Without the voice, you're defeating the purpose of buying a navigation tool. I find myself listening to the prompts and watching upcoming street signs. Without the voice, you might as well save $300 and carry a paper map. It would be difficult to drive and watch the small screen as the only means of gathering information. The voice feature makes it a true directional helper.

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Works Better Than the Tom Tom One

Strengths: On-Screen buttons, GUI, voices, form factor, POIs.

Weakness: No full manual in box, speakers designed to be in front of window.

I'm just writing this review to compare it to the Tom Tom One which I almost bought. The Tom Tom has on-screen buttons that are too close together, even for my small fingers. I'd consistently hit the wrong numbers/letters when typing in an address. The Garmin Nuvi 350 did not give me this problem. The only "issue" I have with this unit so far is that the speakers are on the back of it, meaning that if you put it on a soft surface (like the seat next to you) the volume will be soft and hard to hear as the sound gets sucked up by the soft material. Mounting it on the dash window reflects the sound much louder into the vehicle. This is not a big deal just a minor annoyance. Overall, I'm very happy with it.

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Portable, and easy to use

Strengths: Small, capture sat. singal quickly, easy user interface

Weakness: sometime would give fastest time route

I have been playing with Nuvi 350 since I got it on Friday. The unit is quite small, fit into shirt pocket. The touch screen is very good, clear even under sun light.

Used in the house and in the car, and in general give the sufficient information for driving. Good thing is that I can program it at home and take it to the car and go from there.

Tried my routine route, and sometimes did not give consistent rounte, and did not always give shortest time route.

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Best by far

Strengths: Small compact and light ~ fits in your pocket. Speaker volume excellent.

Weakness: Price

I have owned a Navman 510 and the Tom Tom 700 and this is the best yet. I love the the speed of finding sats and the street names being called out are great. I charge in the house then go, no trailing wires from the screen. Also the safety cameras are pre-loaded buy the supplier which I thought was great as you do not have to anything but switch on and go.

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Great Navigation and Sleek Design

Strengths: Sleek, powerful. Fast and accurate. Well designed. Awesome sensitivity in picking up sats.

Weakness: Too many features that are not needed everyday. Price about $400 more than it ought to be.

Terrific look and feel to the product, unlike traditional GPS devices. Functions well. Garmin has been quick to release firmware upgrades with many bug fixes. Picks routes well (even in downtwon Boston with the Big Dig!!) and recalculates rapidly...allowing one to avoid missing an early turn after altering routes. Attaches to the windshield well. I like the added functionality of a portable device that does not need to be constantly attached to a power source. Would be a better buy if a few hundred dollars less expensive!

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a decent GPS

Strengths: portable, compact size, expandable as an usb drive

Weakness: mounting system too short

I was about to buy the TomTom Rider, but I finally bought the nuvi because the TomTom Rider doesn't have a build-in speaker. The nuvi is a very good GPS. If you use it locally around your familiar area, the gps may not give you the best/smart route you already know. But it's a big help when you are lost, you will definitly need it. It will guide you to your target location.
The map is accurate but not 100%, well roads got changed all the time.
The signal is good but I can't get enough signal indoor; not like other's review claimed.
The gps locks my location very good. It could be because the WAAS enabled.
The rest of the mp3 player, picture viewer etc are something extra, personally I would like to have PDA features than those mp3 player.
The size of it is one of the reason I purchase it. I can put it in my pocket easily without the bulk size.
It's also portable, so that I can save my vehicle parked location in the shopping mall parking lot and find my vehcile back after couple hours of shopping. I always forget where I park.
The mounting system on windshield is too short, it's difficult to touch the screen while driving. I need to use the adhesive panel on the dash, so that I can mount the system near me.
In a nutshell, it's a very good gps with some extra features you may not need/want.
I only give 4 stars for overall rating, because the price of it, is expensive.

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nuvi 350 Personal Travel Assistant (travel/portable...

Strengths: Large screen, Very visible in daylight and dark, Easy to use, Will fit in shirt pocket for carrying, Very good voice instructions

Weakness: Very expensive

This is my first and only GPS device so I'm very new to this kind of thing. I have had a ball using the nuvi 350. It as been very easy to learn; even my wife can enter a destination and use it. In most cases it picks the same route I would have used anyway and it has no problem recalculating to the new route if I ignore it and don't follow its instructions. Satellite acquisition and route calculation are very fast -- I never have to wait for it to get ready to go. Also, it has no problem receiving satellites while I hold it in my hand while sitting in my home office or in the car. I highly recommend it to anyone who can afford it.

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Works great.

Strengths: Very much advanced over the Garmin Street Pilot III I have used the last few years. If you can use a cell phone, you can use the nuvi 350. Actually, the nuvi 350 is easier.

Weakness: Like mapquest, google maps, etc., it sometimes is a house or two off the real location. Sometimes it picks an odd route, but it always gets you there.

I have owned a Garmin Street Pilot III since they first came out and have used it extensively. The Garmin nuvi 350 is a quantum leap ahead of my antique Street Pilot. I am amazed by the ease of use and how much faster it can re-draw a route. The internal battery seems to last quite a while. I've used it for over 3 hours (Manual says 4-8 hours battery life) and it's great to be able to travel without having a cord hanging down the dash to the lighter. A power cord is available for longer trips. I was dubious of the suction cup mount, but it works very well and is a snap to use. The graphics are much improved and a quick glance is all it takes to see where you are and where you need to be. I've driven on unfamiliar roads at night in the rain in heavy traffic and Mrs. Garmin guided me flawlessly with no nagging. In those situations, it's priceless, even though by shopping around online I was able to buy it for $300 less than the old Street Pilot III. It's also great to mark your location, stick it in your pocket when you're at some big event, and be able to return directly to your vehicle. I have not used any of the other functions.

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NUVI 350-Incredible

Strengths: I have never used a GPS system before. This is an incredible unit. It does more than I expected. It can find my house! Mapquest and Yahoo Maps cannot find my house.

Weakness: It did shuffle through coordinates quickly a couple of times. But it quickly recalculates and tells you how to recover to get back to where you need to be.

It would be nice it did not cost extra for the traffic option. A very well rounded unit. Compact and Full Featured. I was skeptical about GPS units but NUVI 350 had great reviews and lives up to the hype.

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Tried 3 garmin 2720 c 330 and Nuvi 350 Same problem...

Strengths: Great accuracy in speed and turns

Weakness: Lousy accuracy in final destinations or address data base (poi's) Point of Intrest.

Summary: ve tried 3 Garmin units. the C-330, nuvi 350 and the 2720 They are great when it comes to letting you know where to make a right and left turn.They are all terrible on taking you to the correct address. For example I live at 4990 on a street it takes me to 4960. When I pluged in 7-11 in Tamarac Fl it said it was on the left side of the street rather than the right side. In Jupiter FL I wanted to go to the movies an 18 cinama in a mall. When I pluged in I want a movie it has in it's database 204 N US-1 Tequesta FL when the movie was really in 201 N. US HWY1 in jupiter. Tequesta is the next town. Yet my friends house in Hollywood that was right on target. I'm very disapointed for the money you pay that I"m having these problems. expect it from all of there unit's. I truly think it's the software they are using that is the problem rather than the unit it's self. I'm a Comptuer technician and most of the problems with computers is the software and since this thing is happening with 3 units I'm convinced. I kept the Nuvi 350. the remote did not work on the 2720. and it was also spitting out the wrong addresses or taking me to the wrong location. the 350 has a much nice screen (easier to see and I didn't have to reach far to the dashboard to set it like I did on the 2720. The Nuvi 350 it has a suction cup on the windshild which makes it easyer to reach. so I kept it. I need this unit for work since I fix computers at my clients homes or business. If anything it's better than getting my car full of paper from another lousy system mapquest.

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Worldclass performance from a small unit

Strengths: Compact, touchless screen, includes all cables and mount, awesome graphics, long battery life, an array of extra features and the scalability to add more, can easily be moved from car to car.

Weakness: For the price, I feel the travel case should be bigger and include enough space for the cables, charger etc. Doesn't support MP4, but MP3 does the trick.

I happened to travel a lot for business, especially to the east coast. I tend to get lost sometimes, and it's no fun, especially not in the snow or after dark.

Researched 4 different systems (Magellan 800, TomTom300, Lawrence iWay500, Garmin Street Pilot)and this one seemed to have everything I wanted.

I started by reading reviews about all these products. Each of them had plus and minuses, the Nuvi 350 had many pluses, except for the price.

The unit is very small, yet the 3.5" screen is more than enough. It comes with everything you need, except for an SD card for extra storage. I picked up my 2.0GB SD card and I'm set for now, loaded up all my MP3's and some photos onto it.

The unit delivers what the manufacture says. Navigation is a breeze with both voice and text guidance, it also has a turn by turn list, average speed, distance and other useful info. Switching from 3D (bird's eye view) to 2D is easy, just touch the screen. There are 3 main menus to choose from, so it’s very easy to search and get directions to the search results. You can also zoom in and out via the + and – on the screen.

Other awesome features are the MP3 player that I can use when I fly, currency converter and measurement converter.

There are a lot of expansion possibilities based on your personal needs, traffic updater, European maps, European travel assistance, and more languages for the dictionary.

Garmin also has software updates, so it’s recommended to download and install it once you receive the product. (Install is also very easy, a simple download once the Nuvi is connected to the PC)

All in all, this unit comes in loaded, ready setup to go. Sure it's more expensive than other products, but I'm a firm believer in "You get what you paid for" (in most cases)

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Great Product - Exceeded my Expectations

Strengths: Functionality, Ease of Use, Size, Pleasant Surprises (screen change at sunset, range of voice options, etc.)

Weakness: Product shipped with a very old version of the operating system (which was incompatible with "Updater"). Garmin website lists recommended software (but does not really discuss compatibility.)

I have been corresponding regularly via email with Garmin Tech Support (who have been responsive and helpful) to get a better view of the true range of Mapsource programs which will run on the Nuvi (which appears to be significantly larger than just the "recommended" ones.)

The manual does not really deal with POI management and/or editting (leaving you to learn from trial and error). The manual needs to be expanded and/or the website needs to offer more support.

I am sure that the unit will do more ... but again the manual and website do not provide insight / support.

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Awesome GPS Unit

Strengths: Compact, Traffic Update, Screen Quality

Weakness: NONE

This unit is fantastic, I love the streetpilot 340 and 2720 but this unit is great, I can view my photos, listen to mp3s and it is compact, great screen quality. If you are thinking about any other GPS unit consider this one. Great buy and quality.

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Great piece

Strengths: Light weight, small enough to fitt into your pocket, Antena to receive signal is very good, Battery life is good, $300-350 price tag is not bad,

Weakness: Vehicle suction mount is not up to the standard, also I find my car chargerfind faulty most of the time, I need to make turn few times to get the power connected.

This stuff is very good to handle, we do not need to fixon to wind shield, even if you keep in the seat it will work, the best advantage of this GPS is that fitt into your pockethelp you to carry vehicle to vehicle and place to place. It will work as your vehicle speedometer if your speedometer is not working. It will show time to reach and miles to go.

67% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Nuvi 350

Strengths: Convenience, Satelite reception, Ease of Use, Screen display, Price

Weakness: No remote, Cannot delete one or few items from Favorites, QWERTY keyboard would be a much better layout than the alphabetical one.

After much research I had narrowed my choice to Garmin and then within Garmin to the Nuvi 350/360 or the Nuvi 660. Finally decided on the 350 as the best value among the 3. Received the unit on Wednesday night. Plugged it in and started to play with it.

Did not look for all the other features, for example, MP3 player, travel guides, language tranlations, etc. My research revealed that the other features were not that good. However I tried the MP3 player and it did not seem as bad as some have made it out to be. I actually liked the idea of the Audio Books and may try it later. The sound appeared to be reasonable. I did not set the volume to max and maybe that is the reason I have not had any problem.

Re the GPS function - Not disappointed! Not disappointed?! OK, Very happy!

On Thursday, took it to the car. We are visiting NJ from Canada. Had called a golf course nearby determined that they were open and went to the car. Did not know which town the golf course was in, but the unit is so intuitive. Touched "Where to?" which took me to a series of options, none of which seemed to fit golf, so touched the down arrow which revealed an option for "Recreation" with a golf club and ball, touched it to reveal a list of recreational themes including "Golf Course", touched it reveal a list of golf courses from nearest to farther away including the one I wanted to go to, touched it and lo and behold the unit displayed the directions and led me there!

Later we had to go to an address in Piscataway, NJ and the 350 was spot on!

A feature I had not read about in my research is the ability to input your destination at home and simulate the route! Excellent feature and should be considered a safety feature too! It gives you some familiartity about the route before you start your journey.

The unit tells you your turn and follows up with informtion about the next turn - another great feature. The next turn is also displayed at the bottom right corner. The unit prompts you approximately a mile before the next turn and then prompts you again at the turn itself.

Much later we needed to fill gas and again the 350 is so intuitve. With no problem located all the gas stations from where we were and narrowed the list to Sunoco. Touched the screen to take us the gas station. Same with Food. Someone told us about a restaurant, I spelled the name because I did not remember which town the restaturant was located in, and the unit displayed the directions and the destination arrival time. I have been adding a few minutes to it because I am not familiar with the roads here and they can be confusing! But I have not been lost in the last 2 days. I used to be before I got the unit!

I finally printed the manual last night and did not find it very useful - a common compliant in my research. But I think that the nuvi 350 is so intuitive that the manual does not add value and one does not really need the manual. But...., I noticed that the unit displayed standard time and the website does not yet have a software fix for the 350. The manual did instruct on how to manually set the time to Daylight Savings which I have now done.

I have now used the 350 for 2 days and this is my initial review. I will update my review periodacally as I use the 350.

So far, I highly recommend the Nuvi 350 to anybody looking for an excellent GPS.

Incidentally I have read that the nuvi 350 comes with a City Navigator Map, but my unit displays "Americas Lite Basemap". Even when I registered the unit with Garmin the response was ackowledgement with Map indicated as City Navigator. So far the map in the unit appears to be fairly detailed. Does anybody know if the City Navigator and Americazss Lite the same thing?

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NUVI 350

Strengths: Easy to use right out of the box. Smooth map transition.

Weakness: The Austrailian girls voice promps pronounces St as Saint and not Street and Dr as Doctor and not Drive. It is not present using the American girl. The speaker volume is not loud enough.

I think this is a Great device. It is my first and glad I chose this one. It is easy to use and seems very acurate. I like how it quickly re-routs you around

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NUVI helped me driving across 8 European countries.

Strengths: Small, compact, with accurate map, clear driving instruction, good satellite acquiring time, can put it on pockets and use it while walking.

Weakness: Hard to pre-set a destination in a country while I was in another country. Unit was frozen once, has to reset it.

It helped us driving in US and 8 European countries without any problems, other than the unit was frozen once outside Venice and had to reset it. But overall speaking, it found wherever we wanted to go and gave us precise driving instructions, so we never lost or ever needed to stop to ask for directions in Italian, Germany and French speaking regions. But at Monaco, since the roads are so closed together, so it was confused frequently, but still can found its way out. I bought a City Navigator Europe V8 in SD card, but it was unlocked against the SD's serial number, so I can not back it up to another SD card, if the SD damaged while in Europe, it may cause big issues. So, maybe it will be better to buy a MapSource CD instead. Hard to search for an attraction, if you are not in that country and sometimes I will have to know exactly what that attraction called to find it, e.g., it did not find "Leaning Tower of Pisa", but only know it as "Torre", etc. But it is quite good, highly recommended.

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Nuvi 350 is great!

Strengths: Very accurate, easy to use. Text-to-speech is awesome. Good MP3 player and language translation is excellent. Highly recommend. Simple user interface.

This is a great product - easy to use, very accurate. The text to speech tells you the names of the streets where you need to turn, which is awesome. I purchased 2 of these for my two daughters - and they will not leave the house without them. The Nuvi is really small and only weighs about 5 ounces. Easy for them to carry in their purses. Fast recalculations if you get off-course. Lots of point-of-interests. I highly recommend!

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BEWARE of this POS

Strengths: Size, ease of use (when it works).

Weakness: BEWARE of issues with Acquiring Satellites!! UNACCPETABLE

I bought one of these based at least partly on all the glowing reviews I've read here and elsewhere. In my case NOT! I don't know if I got a lemon but this particular unit is useless. WHY? Yesterday I picked a destination and then the unit hung in the ACQUIRING SATELLITES mode for half the trip there. In fact, every time I turn it on and try and start a trip it does this. What good is a GPS if it can never come online and do its job? I'm calling Garmin on Monday and either returning this to the place I bought it or having them send a replacement. If a simple cell phone can find its position by satellite through GPS there is no excuse for the Garmin 350 not to be able to. Even as I write this the unit is sitting next to me trying to acquire satellite, it's been ten minutes now. UNACCEPTABLE!

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Fantastic!

Strengths: there are some many , it is hard to list them all! But, the ones that stand out the most are :very easy to use, quick to find routes, very accurate as far as arrival times

Weakness: Sometimes takes a while (when you first turn it on) to locate Satellite. Have found instances where it doesn't recogonize new road construction (for faster travel), sometime locater arrow "drifts"

The only other weakness that I found that I didn't get a chance to list above , is that the suction pad that mounts to windshield "melts" to it if left on after a period of days. I had to litterally rip the thing off! And, it wasn't during the summer, it happenend during the winter months. I had to take a razor to remove the rubber chunks left behind when I took it off.

Overall, I love this product. I paid a lot for it (because I bought it when it first came out, but that is to be expected.) but, it was still worth it. Now, that Garmin has made a few upgrades since I purchased it, most of the bugs have been worked out , plus a bunch of new features that are great!

I am in sales and have used it to travel around the U.S. for the last 6 months and have had no problems with it. In fact, my company is looking to purchase another one for other Sales people.

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Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS

Strengths: Easy to setup/use

The GPS unit was extremely easy to setup and use. I was initially trying to decide between this one and the Nuvi 360 which adds Bluetooth support. At the time, I didn't think I would need that, but if I were to decide now, I'd probably pay the additional money and get the Nuvi 360 instead.

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OMG!!!! I LOVE THIS LITTLE THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Strengths: Easy to Use Small Lightweight Internal battery for portable use (i.e., walking in city)

Weakness: Someone should have created this little powerhouse years ago!!!

I had a Cobra Nav One 3000 for a couple of years and it was a decent gps. However, it weighed almost two pounds with it's windshield mount. It also was slow....very slow.....to pick up satellites. This Garmin Nuvi 350 is ssssooooooo tiny and lightweight. It is so small that I actually mount it to my windhshield behind and to the left of my rearview mirror. It also picks up satellites and knows your current position in less than 15 seconds. The software is most likely the newest available. I paid $200 for CoPilot Live for my pocket pc to discover that the maps used for that software are over 3 or 4 years old. We live in a 2.5 year old housing development and our streets are included in the Nuvi software. Also, I go through a small roundabout on my way to work every day. The Cobra and CoPilot Software never recognized this roundabout although it has been there for 5 years. I figured no big deal because it is a minor detail. This Nuvi recognizes the roundabout!!! While I have not used the MP3 player or photoviewer, it is nice to know that the Nuvi can do that also should I need to use it in the future. I am continuously amazed with this GPS system and will most likely be using it for quite a long time. I would be amazed if a company released anything better than this anytime soon...I cannot imagine what could be better.

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Flawed product

Strengths: Portability is super. When it works it is excellent. Got me to a destination I traveled before faster by a different route.

Weakness: Inability to pinpoint at times and occasional poor choice in route. Locked up twice. No voicing of names of streets and highways to take. No printed manual for $800.00?

This could have been a great unit with more effort on the part of this company. In the manual it states if the unit locks up (freezes) power down and restart. So they are telling you there are problems in writing. When you turn on the unit there is a disclaimer that you must not use the unit while driving. Yet they put the product in distribution with the locking problem. Like people are not going to restart the unit while driving? Also while driving the New York turnpike west to Buffalo the system failed to advise me to keep left at the fork where the highway went (90) to Albany and (87) to Buffalo. I knew I needed (90) yet decided to take the left highway 87 to Buffalo. Thank heavens I stayed left because the highway became 90 again to Buffalo. The unit did not sound any warning. Also had a problem from the hotel getting back on 90 from the hotel at airport Buffalo. Nuvi wanted me to go an extra half mile to get back and I disregarded the wrong info and made my right correctly to the road to the ramp West 90. This is just the tip of the iceberg. You will still need your maps and study the cities and towns you need to drive too. I lost faith in the unit and took a different way home because I didn't trust it in the end.
It is a shame because it had the better route that time. Also when I first used it I was on a angled road to a 5-way intersection. The woman's voice said turn right and the screen showed a gentile left. I turned right to watch it recalculate. Later, heading north-east down Highway 55 to Chicago it wanted me to take the Dan Ryan expressway which of course was way backed up. I knew better disregarded the route and took Lake Shore Drive to get to the Lincoln Park area. WHEN IT WORKS IT IS FANTASTIC. BUT ... Well I have tried to warn all of you. Portability is fantastic though and for that reason I will not be too negative on it. This is a tool and it is nice to have as backup or even if you decide to depend on it solely should eventually get you there though you may have to make some double backs and turn-arounds. Magellan's Hertz Neverlost seemed to have better pinpoint accuracy and directions and never locked up. I used that GPS unit 2 days last year. Portability is the key asset of the Nuvi 350.

42% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Excellent GPS. But my wife does better

Strengths: Size and portability. Excellent screen..bright and easy to navigate. Sound from speakers very good.

Weakness: Price

I live in a small Nova Scotia town of Sydney. Nuvi had all the streets, but search on a hospital took me to a hospital in Maine , about 400 miles from here. We have a Regional Hospital with a draiage area of 300000 people about 3 miles away. Then a machine is a machine, I made my rounds and added it as a POI, to loose on my upgrade to 3.10 , inspite of the fact I backed the Waypoint folder and copied it back.
The fact it is changable , to me it is a good thing.
I love this thing , and would rate it higher than $2000 GPS I paid for in the Honda Odessy.

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A descent unit but expensive

Strengths: * Serves the purpose of navigation * If you miss a turn, quickly recalculates new route * compact size, very convenient during travel * Automatically switches between day/night view

Weakness: * With the price, I wish there was an option to download Outlook contacts, an input for dvd player * Wish for better user interface * wish for better dashboard holder

* user interface : e.g. when map is displayed and I change the zoom, eventually to go back to the original display I had to remember where it (zoom scale) was.
* Haven't used any of Travel featuers (mp3 player, etc)
* I wish there was a way to print the route using a computer connectivity
* Since this is my first GPS, I don't know how bad/good it is compare to other units. But I do like it and recommend it.

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Overpriced and incomplete

Strengths: Good packaging - Good size -- Easy to use

Weakness: Voice commands hard to understand -- stilted. Only one waypoint per trip. Audible book couldn't be activated. MP3 player can't use IPOD songs. MP3 player colors music.

At this price, I would have expected a more refined product. My impression is that this is an incomplete product that should cost about half of its present selling price.

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Best GPS Device in the market

Strengths: 1. Easy t o use 2. Map and navigation is accurate

Weakness: 1. Sometime slow to connect to satellite 2. MP3 player? Why? 3. Small Speaker 4. Favorite List cannot be sorted by name, type, and distance.

The GPS is a quite a useful device for me. It is worth every penny. It got me out of many places that I don't know about.

I don't like the built-in MP3 player. Why don't they put a PIM instead? PIM is much more useful.

The satellite connection is pretty slow. Sometimes, it takes almost 10 minutes to connect.

Also, when you save the location on your FAVORITE list, the list cannot be sorted in alphabetical order. No grouping either.

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GARMIN nuvi 350 "Buy it! It is worth the money."

Strengths: Acquisition of GPS satellite signals; screen visibility; voice clarity; touchscreen; WAAS capable; ability to update via USB connectivity online; includes other Garmin-like features

Weakness: Pricey but worth it...

Screen clarity and voice prompts plus the Garmin name and great reviews enhanced my decision to buy... This is especially a great companion for those who despise urban traffic. Has much more capabilities...

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nuvi 350-new generation GPS

Strengths: size,weith,wireless.

Weakness: Prise

The best GPS at current time.Try and you will see so smart
this unit.Maps are very accurate like never before. connection to PC it's great option-your upgrades easy. Thanks GARNIM!

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Garmin 350

Strengths: accurate and easy to use

Weakness: horrible speakers

the reason of this post is to make future buyer aware of poor quality of speakers. speakers are horrible. if you are driving on freeway, it's really hard to understand voice prompts. but other then speaker issue ,i am impressed with all features including accurecy ,ease of use.
I would not recommend it beacause due to poor voice ,you are forced to look at screen again and again, not convenient.

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Inaccurate directions.

Strengths: Locations of stores and businesses.

Weakness: The maps are old and outdated. Do not allow alternate routes.

Everytime I leave my house going to one of my "favorites", it will give me the wrong directions and the further I travel,all it does is tell me to make a right or left turn to go back to where it first directed me. It constantly says,"recalculating". When I get to a major highway it will then recognize where I am at, then it will lead to where I want to go. Why won't it save "my directions"?

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Great help for those who are directionally...

Strengths: Great size, lightweight, pretty easy to figure out

Weakness: Seems to have a really short battery life, cost, too many "frills"

I really like this unit, and it has been quite helpful. However, it has some frills that I don't really need/want to pay for (MP3 player, radio player, etc). The price is a little high, as well, but overall I would recommend this item to others.

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Garmin GPS 350

Strengths: 5

Weakness: 5

I was very happy with the product. The price was very fair, and it was delivered quickly.I have used the GPS and it works very well. Thank you very much.

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Garmin nuvi 660

Strengths: Good maps, good descriptions of where exactly (e.g., which of the two streets on the right) to make a turn, good voice commands, easy-to-use telephone.

Weakness: Audio is somewhat weak - hard to hear over the stereo. Audio quality is mediocre for phone calls. Occasional minor missteps in directions (e.g., told us to exit from a freeway before the exit but afte

I definitely recommend this product. We used it on a 3000 mile trip right after buying it, and it was quite useful in places we did not know. It is particularly good when there are alternatives, such as two streets coming into your street at about the same poiint and you don't know which one you want - the map makes that clear. It requires some learning - you can't just ignore other sources of information, like your eyes - but if you use it as an aide rather than the only navigator it is very useful. The phone feature is easy to use, although audio quality is mediocre. We did not use the traffic or the MP3 player.

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Simple, easy to use

Strengths: Functions are simple and basic, easy to use.

Weakness: Have to pay for map updates, separate screens for speed, time of arrival, etc; need to use suction mount

I bought this unit as a replacement for my TomTom Navigator 5 with bluetooth. I needed something that was not cluttering my car. The nuvi accomplishes this. It is easy to use with fewer things you can do compared to my TomTom. The maps were more up-to-date. I was disappointed in having to switch to a separate screen to see how fast I was going. Also, I did not like to use either a suction mount or a sticky pad to mount the Nuvi. Otherwise, the unit is simpler to use and I don't have to switch between maps. Also, I can preprogram addresses instead of typing in the address every time.

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nuvi 350

Strengths: Portable; accuracy;compact

Weakness: software volume control; new maps expensive

Excellent product; does what it is designed to do; don't need mp3 player but other features are fun. POI is fairly accurate. Touchpad should be qwerty. Price are getting lower every day

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Garmin 350 nuvi GPS

Strengths: This unit is small yet easy to take with you.

Weakness: Have not found one yet!

Just got this product and LOVE it! It's easy to use, and with age creeping up, also easy to SEE! Highly recommended!
This one is for us folk who want simple and not too complicated. Plug and go!

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Compact and user friendly

Strengths: Small sie , User friendly

Weakness: Route calculation not good for some long trips

Very small size - u can put in ur pocket ... User friendly software with touch screen , Easy to use... But the route calculation bad in some long trips, Not taking the fastest interstate highways..Mapquest/Google/Yahoo directions is better than Nuvi route..

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Not that bad

Strengths: Great size and very easy programing.

Weakness: Extremely poor Garmin Travel Guide. Doesn't have one listing for my area of Hampton Roads, VA which covers a million and a half people. The listings it does have are minimal at best.

Like all navigators, sometimes the program sends you way out of your way. Many times this is due to new roads or changes since initial programming. I would like to know a way to upload new directions and download new directions. I drive an open sports car and the sound from the unit is adaquate. My only real disappointment is the Travel Guide which wouldn’t be so overpriced if it covered the entire U.S. My wifes Mercedes has a wonderful Travel Guide but doesn't program anywhere near as well as the Garmin.

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Garmin nüvi 350 GPS Receiver

Strengths: compact, great battery life, accurate with in 10'

Weakness: On cold power up has sometimes taken up to 2 min to acquire satellite. Once locked in great, warm starts are under 30 seconds.

Once satellites are acquired no problem with directions, when going off prescribed route recalculates very quick less than 10 seconds.  Have had unit sitting on center counsel of car and still located satellites, even in house (20 feet from windows) which means the reflection calculations are great.  Garmins web site is so so for information on the POI information and how to acquire it.  NOTE that when hooked up to a Mac you can upload and download MP3's and photos to unit, everything but unit software updates again Garmin says nothing about Mac compatibility. Over all would highly recommend this unit.  

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Garmin nüvi 350 GPS Receiver

Strengths: It's very easy to use, very intuitive. Most of the places I've used it for, it found eaisly. I live in an area that mapquest, yahoo maps and google maps cannot find. Anyone using those maps will get completely lost because they all give inadequate di

Weakness: Sometimes the device really doesn't give the best directions. I mapped a trip to go from Oakland to San Francisco via the Bay Bridge. As I approached the freeway split that would take me to the Bay Bridge, it told me to go the opposite direction - towa

I am not sure how to update the maps on the product. I went onto the Nuvi website and it doesn't give clear instructions for this model on how to update the maps. Perhaps that would solve some of the problems.

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nuvi 350 GPS

Strengths: easy to operate and understand. directions are very clear and the picture is very clear.

Weakness: voice mode is difficult to understand while driving if radio is on. will not always show the best route on first pass.

Like that it is small and can be programmed very easy. the direction voice needs to be increased on the volume for better clarity while driving. Used it on a long trip and made life alot easier in heavy traffic and construction situations. Would definitely recommed it for users that have never used a GPS.

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nuvi 350

Strengths: My first gps - I was ecstatic. Love the running statistics (SPEED, TIMES, ETC.)

Weakness: uNABLE TO ACQUIRE SIGNAL SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM, ACCORDING TO MANY REVIEWS.

When I got the unit, it worked great. I was in a large city with many relatives and friend, but the little nuvi guided me everywhere flawlessly.
I got a new car a year ago, with built-in navigation, but I still like the garmin nuvi 350.
So, after not using it for months I tried to use it to compare to the built-in.
It initially acquired the satellite for the first few miules, then lost signal. It got a signal in about 100 miles, then lost it. That was a week ago , and it still shows the last map. There seems to be a common problem according to web sites.

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Worst eletronic I have used for many years

Strengths: easy to use

Weakness: unable to locate the satellites after a little over a year

I bought it for $350 about a year ago. It was great, ... only for one year. About a week ago, when I was driving down a highway, out of blue, it suddenly says "trouble locating satellites" and stop working. I recycle the power, it still came in and out of this satellites hunting mode, even it was clear blue sky. 2 days later, it stop working totally. No bars, no nothing. I am an design engineer myself and tried everything, soft reset, master reset, upgrade firmware. Still nothing works. Called their support line, the lady could not provide anything more than what I have done. The repair is going to cost $175, since it is 1 month out of warranty, and it sells about $220 on the street. I am not sure I am going to buy another Garmin anymore.

It is the worst electronic gadgets I have for years. No moving parts, how can it fails just like that. The board I designed is more reliable than it.

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Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS

Strengths: Clear maps, voice instructions

Weakness: None

Easy to use, this GPS comes complete with all you need to get to where you are going. Clear maps, concise, easy-to-follow voice instructions. Easy to mount on dashboard. Even comes with a case for when it is out of the car.

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GARMIN 350

Strengths: Works well, small and compact. Easy to use. All around great unit.

Weakness: Sound is not as good as it could be, make sure to check setting to see that it is up all the way. I use a FM transmitter to send the sound through the car speakers.

This is my 1st GPS - It is a great unit. We have had no problems with finding any of the locations. With the mp3 player you can use an FM transmitter to play the music. When it give directions the music stops and then resumes.

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My new nuvi friend.

Strengths: I just love mu nuvi. It was very easy to operate. Very easy to understand.

Weakness: When entering a street, I love that when I start typing the street things pop up but if it is not what I was trying to enter I can't override it to put the name that I was looking for.

I am having a problem downloading things from Garmin's web site but I'm not going to let that discourage me. I drive a school bus and take the kids on many trips. My nuvi has been so helpful. I don't know how I have lived without one for so long. Also I have a business where I do allot of delivery's so this has been so very well worth the price. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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Garmin 350 - Great Tool!

Strengths: Large screen. Loud enough to hear in traffic. Benefits of owning such a tool - priceless. Saves time. Great to have in emergencies. Holds a charge well.

Weakness: Can be complicated to use. Needs to maintain up-to-date information. Better instruction book would be useful.

Used the car mount included on trip and worked great. But in heat I can see that a different mount would be better. Left the temporary (non-permanent stick)suction mount attached to dash without the Garmin and several weeks later it fell off when warmer weather came. Glad the Garmin was not in the mount. We've decided before we use it in hot weather to purchase the bean bag mount.

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Great

Strengths: Compact, easy user interface

Weakness: the antennae is kind of awkward, but really, it's not a big deal.

Moved to a new city and decided to purchase this little guy to help me get around. Having used a family members Nuvi I already knew what I was buying. It works just as you'd expect it to.

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GARMIN 350

Strengths: Voice comands clear and accurate

Weakness: Some rural streets not listed.

Maps need to be updated in rural areas. I noticed the satelite is off a few feet on some of the roads in my suburban area. I liked my TOMTOM one better for accuracy, but it diod not have street name voice comands like this one. Overall a good GPS.

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Nuvi 340 GPS (City

Strengths: I do not know how i got along so long without a GPS - So far so good

Weakness: The voice says alot of the streets incorrectly - sometimes hard to understand

I have not used the GPS too much yet - but so far it has helped me tremendously, i would purchase this product again and would recommend it my friends and family.

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Basically a good product

Strengths: Maps are good and recalculates when I make a wrong turn. Hasn't needed recharging yet and screen is crisp and clear.

Weakness: Comes with quick start guide which is sketchy. Have to download 248 page manual from the web to figure the dang thing out. It's annoying to have to enter the city of Houston everytime.

It's a good product but for those of us who aren't particularly tech savvy - the learning curve was burdensome. Must say I haven't used all the extra bells and whistles yet but it does direct me to my client's homes which is why I bought it.

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Review the product (nuvi 350 GPS (City/Vehicle, 3.5"...

Strengths: Easy to use and good directions. Gives plenty of warning about upcoming turns and exits.

Weakness: Occassional glitch that has the "car" off the road when really on it.

We used this to travel to Pittsburgh and it brought us right to the door with excellent directions. We never got lost or missed a turn. Very useful in finding all the sights we wanted to see in Pittsburgh. Looking forward to more trips to the unknown.

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good product

Strengths: Customizable vehicle icons are nice, always gets me to where I need to go. More features than I use.

Weakness: Sometimes takes a while to acquire satellites. Duplicate POI's.

I just bought my second 350 for my parents. Overall very pleased with this product. The acquiring satellites problem does not happen too often, but is quite annoying when it does.

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Magnificent tool

Strengths: it lets you find yourself all the time, and takes you where you want to go.

Weakness: like the rest of them, only US maps loaded, anything else needs to be acquired separately

A GPS is supposed to tell you where you are. But having a tool where you are relative to everything else around you is a gift not many people appreciate.

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Wish We Had This In Denmark

Strengths: Ease of use

Weakness: MP3 player controls; inadequate map updates

Very effective and useful, it has several menus for finding things such as hotels and restaurants that it sorts by proximity. We could do without the expaperated tone when the voice says "recalculating" after missing a turn. It can only use half of a 2GB camera stick but it does work in it.

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Great product

Strengths: Accuracy, ease of use, fits in your pocket, says street names

Weakness: start up time

Love this product, have recommended it to several friends who love the product as well! Very easy to use, inutitive user interface. No manual required to get going - practically just turn it on out of the box.

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Garmin nuvi 350 - the gift that keeps on giving

Strengths: Very nice user interface.

Weakness: Haven't found any yet.

I gave this device to my wife for Christmas because I wanted one. This is one of those products like a TIVO that actually exceeds your expectations. It's very useful directing you in parts of town that you don't know that well. It certainly cuts down on marital strife arising from failure to ask directions or faulty navigating. My wife has conceded that it was a great gift.

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Garmin Nuvi 350

Strengths: Very easy and straight forward to operate. My wife never looked at the instructions manual and figured out how to find places in 5 seconds of trying.

Weakness: Not sure how old the map is that is installed but it did not have a Meijer on it that was opened about 3 years ago. This leads me to believe that anything 3 years old or newer is not going to be on th

I have not been able to compare with any others GPS because no one I know has one but I love the Nuvi 350 so much I bought my wife the exact same one. I think I made a good choice by NOT buying a cheaper GPS.

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Excellent GPS

Strengths: Accurate, Compact and easily portable, spells out street names

Weakness: No blue-tooth support, takes time to acquire satellite signals in cities with lot of tall buildings.

This is an excellent GPS system. The interface is intuitive and easy to use. Most of all its very accurate. Detour feature is handy for alternate route in your finger. All in all an excellent buy.

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Great product

Strengths: Clear maps, easy to use, good directions

Weakness: Only 2 options for routes - shortest and fastest

After using the navigation system in my Honda Civic, this is a breeze. I do wish it would give more options, such as avoiding freeways, etc., but I would definitely buy it again. I had a little trouble at first when I didn't stop the directions and was starting out from a different location, but figured that out easily. Portable is nice because you can program in your house before starting to drive.

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Garmin 350 is a must

Strengths: fast calculations, small and slim, gets you where you want to go and will never get you lost

Weakness: The only weakness with the Garmin 350 is that it can be a little more louder

Other than the noise, this GPS is amazing. I have never had one before and I had no problem working this one. Even though the sound isn't as loud as it can be, the sound is still very good.

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Great GPS

Strengths: voice speaks street names, small, includes MP3 player, SD card slot, great battery life

Weakness: only one via point on a route.

I like this portable GPS so much I bought another for my wife and one for my daughter. I like the voice speaking the street names. The speaker is sometimes too quiet for MP3 use (e.g. audio books) in a noisy car, but somehow it is plenty loud enough for the spoken driving directions.

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Nuvi 350 GPS - A Very People - Friendly Unit

Strengths: Very easy to operate.

Weakness: Occasionally gives the wrong names of streets

The unit is very easy to operate. Even though it has on rare occasions given me the wrong name of a street or road that I was going to turn onto, it always (with one exception) directed in the the way that I needed to go. I consider this to be more the fault of whoever loaded the information, rather than the unit itself. There was one time that on the final approach to the desired location, the unit directed me to turn the opposite way that I needed to go. This too, I consider an error in the loading of the information onto the mapping system rather than the function of the unit itself. A computer can only produce the information that was placed within its memory. All in all, I love the unit. It is pefect for my wife who does not have an in-depth understanding of technology. When this tool is easy for her to understand and operate, that tells me that somebody has done a tremendous job of packaging a highly engineered product in such a way that anybody can use it with ease and success. I

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Garmin Nuvi 350

Strengths: Easy to use, Excellent voice prompts with Text to Speech.

Weakness: Screen could be bigger

I bought this as a gift for my wife who is definetely not technologically oriented but who travels for work a great deal. She is the absolute "ease of use" test and she absolutely loves it and uses it every time she travels.
It has an amazingly comprehensive street database and will perform route recalculations quickly enough to be useful.
Like almost all similar GPS units, the screen is too small but still useable. The text-to-speech voice prompts minimize the need to look at the screen. This is a significant safety advantage.
I feel this was a good value and have no regrets for this purchase.

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My second Nuvi purchase

Strengths: Quick, bright, loud, accurate

Weakness: none

This is the second nuvi 350 I purchased. It was for my wife. The next one will be for my sons. I travel with mine accross the country every week. It

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Excellent GPS

Strengths: Nice LCD, small size, light weight

Weakness: short battery time, long starting time

In a word, it is a perfect GPS in my affordable range.3.5' LCD is large enough. 6XX series is not necessary, so is blue tooth. However, I found the color contrast is not big enough between the route and road. Also sometimes there was no response after I set up a route so that I had to restart the route again.

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garmin nuvi 350

Strengths: battery life names off streets mp3 player

Weakness: volume

this device is a life saver. i take this everywhere. the added mp3 player is a bonus but it gets interrupted by the voice prompts at every turn so it does get annoying after a while. garmin maps are pretty up to date in the large cities but in the lesser known towns, you are going to have to deal with old outdated road names. battery life is great, atleast one hour.

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Garmin Nuvi 350 - small and great performance

Strengths: Small, includes case to carry it with you, its in your shirt pocket, text-to-speech, maps preloaded

Weakness: Doesn't calculate best route for multiple errands

Great product. Small enough to take it with you when you leave your car to reduce the risk of it being stolen. Maps are preloaded so just take it out of the box and you are ready to go. MP3 player also.

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Garmin Nuvi 350

Strengths: Easy to use, good antenna strength

Weakness: No external volume control, antenna layout is not good

I've bought the Garmin Nuvi 350 from buydig.com with latest software loaded such as City Navigator NT 2008.

Pros:
I haven't read the manual but found it very easy to play with the new toy. Its instruction voice is clear and not quite robotic (but sometimes too fast, the speech rhythm is not even). Good antenna strength (signal pickup) even indoors. Route calculation and automatic recalculation is fast.

Cons:
To use the antenna it must be pulled out, this impacts the cosmetics and also makes it prone to damage.
The keyboard layout is not QWERT making it slower to enter data, also it is annoying when switching between upper and lower case because this takes 3 steps. In the pop-up mode I'd like to see arrows showing the turn directions instead of just the text "right", "left". The power button is placed at a position prone to accidental pressing (a right-handed person, at least me, when grabbing the unit with the antenna pulled-out tends to squeeze his fingers against this button)

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best GPS I used ever

Strengths: The interface is pretty goodand really responsive. The maps were very up to date and found new construction and roads with ease.

Weakness: none so far

I wish it allowed multiple destinations (ie: queue up several stores and find the best route). It locates the satelites and is ready to go before the car is in gear except in rare occasions where it might take a minute or two. I don't want to make it sound too bad because we love using it. Overall, I think it's the best value for the money. Sure you could get more features and a bigger screen for the more expensive or in-dash units, but the Nuvi 350 can't be beat in its class.

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GARMIN NUVI 350

Strengths: IT'S A GARMIN, VERY EASY TO USE, SIZE IS REALLY GREAT

Weakness: OUTDATED MAPS OF BUSINESS AT LEAST 3 YRS OLD. THE MP3 PLAYER NEED TO BE MORE USER FRIENDLY. MULTI-DESTIONATION WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE.

I BOUGHT THE NUVI 350 AFTER BUYING THE C340 FOR MY WIFE.
IT IS A BETTER GPS FOR LESS MONEY. WHEN TURNING ON IT TAKES AT LEAST 2 TO 3 MINUTES BEFORE YOU CAN NAVIGATE.
BUT AFTER THE FIRST START UP IT ACQUIRE THE SATELLITE IN ABOUT 1 MINUTE THAT INCLUDES LOADING OF THE MAPS. THE MP3 PLAYER KIND OF SUCKS I WISH IT WAS MADE MORE LIKE WINAMP OR WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER. THE MAPS ARE AT LEAST 3 YEARS OUT OF DATE FOR POI (POINTS OF INSTREST). THE BAD THING ABOUT KNOWING WHERE YOU ARE GOING AND THEN JUDGE THE GPS BY THE WAY YOU WOULD GO IS TOO MUCH TO ASK AT THIS TIME. MAYBE IN THE FUTURE THEY ADD ROUTE MEMORY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THIS GPS LIKE EVERY GPS, WILL TAKE YOU OUT OF YOU WAY SOMETIMES BUT IT WILL GET YOU TO YOUR DESTINATION. AS FAR AS MULTI DESTINATION I CALLED GARMIN, THE REP SAID THE NUVI LINE WILL NEVER SUPPORT MULTI DESTINATION BECAUSE THE MASSES OF THE PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE IT. MAYBE HE DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE HELL HE WAS TALKING ABOUT LIKE ALMOST ALL SERVICE REP. OVERALL THIS UNIT DOES WHAT IT IS SUPPOSE TO DO AND IS VERY USER FRIENDLY. EVEN A CAVEMAN CAN USE IT.
I JUST REGISTER MY 350 AND THEY ARE SENDING ME THE 2008 MAP UPDATE FOR FREE!!!!! COOL I HOPE IT HAS ALL THE POI IN MY AREA. I'LL UPDATE AGAIN ONCE I HAVE THE NEW MAP.

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Though Expensive But Usefull

Strengths: Compact size,Portability,clear voice instructions

Weakness: Speaker volume is less,costly

It calculates routes quickly and recalculates very fast if miss the way. it is easy to handle as it can fit into pocket. it shows information of nearby malls,restaurants ect.. which is good when we do long distance journey.
touch screen is easy.sometimes don't get signal in home but outside it catches very quickly.

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Here's why the MP3 Player...

Strengths: This is a great small GPS

Weakness: Small speaker - but read on...

The MP3 player lets you keep an assortment of songs on SD cards. But the real value is that the voice directions interrupt the MP3 playback so you can't miss them. And if you're lucky enough to have an Aux input in your car receiver (luckily, I do), the music and the directions are played back through your car receiver. I drive with my top down every chance I get and it works perfectly for me. If you're concerned about the battery life - try plugging in the lighter adapter - duh!

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nuvi Personal Travel Assistant

Strengths: It gets me there and back....especially back. I don't worry now when I make a wrong turn as it immediately "recalculates."

Weakness: Uses county rt. numbers for local road names ~ confusing if one is not familiar with rt.#'s. Then turns around and uses an totally unknown name for a well known rt. # !!!!

Overall, It is a good middle of the road product in ease of use, $$ and functions. Wish it would offer an initial choice of rt. rather than insisting on its peculiar choice( which, in local testsing, is often NOT the most direct & makes me wonder abt. wisdom of choices in unfamiliar places.) Also found that the window attachment was not secure; wound up using the adhesive disk meant for dashboard attachment on the window (& plan to remove it before next inspection.)I think the tone of voice when it says "Recalculating" is hilarious! Sounds sooooo disgusted!!!!

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Nuvi 350

Strengths: Great display, nice array of features, perfect functionality.

Weakness: Short battery life & unable to update destinations (restaurants, entertainment venues, etc.)

This is my first GPS unit and I didn't know what to expect. I researched several units and settled on the Nuvi 350 for several reasons. The unit is perfectly sized and fits nicely in a pocket. It is not thick and bulky like some other models out there. The screen is brilliant and very colorful. The features, compared to higher-end Nuvi's, are exactly what I was looking for. Who needs bluetooth on a GPS unit?

It gets me to most destinations perfectly. Of course, there are always new restaurants and such which are not in the units software, but I sure wish it was possible to update this sort of thing without having to wait for an entire map update.

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Garmin nüvi 350 GPS Receiver

Strengths: This is a great product for the money. It is compact, easy to use, and exceptionally updated for even the smallest of towns I have visited. It is easy to carry on trips and only takes a minute to set up in a different auto.

Weakness: It would be nice to have a remote control, but the strengths strongly outweigh this issue.

This is a great product that you can be using minutes after you open the box. It is that simple. You will find some new and better routes to some of your destinations.

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Garmin nüvi 350 GPS Receiver

Strengths: Ease of use and almost intuitive operation, shirt pocket size

Weakness: Gets confused sometimes in giving correct direction to turn

Aside from one glaring fault, am more than happy with Nuvi 350. We live by the 118 freeway. On one side of the street is the on-ramp to go East and the other side of the street has the on-ramp to go West. Going East is a right turn and for West we would have to be on the other side of the street. The Nuvi always gets this wrong. When we come from our home to the 118 East, the Nuvi lady always tells us to turn left instead of right. Don't know what gives here.

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nuvi 350 Personal Travel Assistant

Strengths: It is compact and relatively accurate on finding routes. The rerouting is very fast.

Weakness: The initial loading of map is bit slow. The search by business name is also slow as it goes thru the entire national database not by local city.

In general, it is a very good compact GPS. The screen is about right. The voice instruction is also helpful. It will be nice to be able to connect that voice output to the car's speaker so that it can mute the ongoing music for urgent route instruction.

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Best Garmin GPS Device with Map Capabilities Download maps

Navigation is Excellent according to 16 GPS Device experts. -- "excellent navigation system"-products.howstuffworks.com -- "legendary SiRFstarIII chipset"-gpsreview.net -- "stellar features and impressive performance"-pcmag.com Read more to find expert opinions on more features like Display, Maps, Usability, etc.

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garmin nuvi 350

Garmin Nuvi 350 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 2.18 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #23 navigation GPS of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a product's...

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Garmin Nuvi 350

Testseek.com has collected 17 expert reviews for Garmin Nuvi 350 and the average expert rating is 79 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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