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If you are directionally challanged, a GPS is a must. My first trip using it was great. Easy to setup and use. Amazing how much detail this unit provides. Comes with everything you need. Nice sleek design. Cost was reasonable. Could have paid more for one with more features, but I don't need them.
I purchased this on the recomendation of a friend that I know always does a lot of homework on the product he's interested in before he purchases it. I rated this as 5 stars...though I dont have enough experience with other GPS units to be able to make a "comparison" but can offer my unbiased opinion of the product on it's own. I love it! I was born without any sense of direction (can't drive my way out a a paper bag;) and the Nuvi has made me seem like I have a great sense of direction! There is a lot to like about this unit. It's screen is bright and is adjustable and easy to read. The voice prompts are clearly audible, and it's accuracy is amazing. Features like showing me the next gas station on my route and can find places to eat on my route sorted by "type" Mexican, Chinese, Italian, etc. The unit is very user friendly and there is a minimum of things to do before the unit is ready to go...pretty much ready out of the box! If I had any complaint or suggestion, it would be to make it possible to have the audio of the unit come through your car speakers so you could turn the radio up a bit and still hear the commands. (would only require a 1/8" headphone jack on the unit) The unit has an adjustable volume and on the higher volume setting...it can be heard above a radio at a pretty decent volume...but I am a little hard of hearing so the extra boost of coming through the speakers would be nice (especially since you can also can store music on the Nuvi)
I can't really think of anything else...so I will just have to re-state that overall I am very happy with this unit... for myself and my needs...I Love It!
This is a great tool. You just find any place you want to go and let this unit take you there without maps or stopping a gas station for directions.
We have had the NUVI 350 for a month and haven't been disappointed. We have a StreetPilot and were pleased with it but wanted something smaller and easier to use. I downloaded the manual but you don't need to. This little unit is so easy to use. With the StreetPilot you have to scroll through the alphabet, but with the NUVI you usually type a couple of letters in the city name, street name, etc and choices pop up. The information is presented very fast. If you do go off route, you are rerouted immediately (unlike the slower StreetPilot). We just returned from a trip and finding hotels and restaurants was so simple. We use the suction cup mount and it is very easy to place and change for different drivers. As with all of the GPS I have used, the routes selected aren't always the best, but you will not get lost. We live in a very rural area and know the back roads to take to get from point A to point B. Nuvi sends us on a totally different route. It is interesting to use the GPS in an area you are familiar with to see what the options are. I like the DETOUR feature, especially if you run into a traffic jam or road closure. This screen is smaller that we are used to and were afraid we might think it too small, but the clarity and graphics are so clear you don't need a big screen. This is a great GPS, easy to use straight out of the box and full of features we haven't even tried yet. Buy one, you won't regret it!
I did some research before purchasing this product, narrowed my choices down to the Garmin Nuvi or the Tom-Tom. I have had the Nuvi for several weeks now and am very impressed. It was easy to set up, came with everything I needed, easy to use, the map is very up-to-date, easy to navigate through all the screens - all in all, I'm very pleased with it. I truly thought the setup and use would be much more difficult but it was a breeze.
I am so disappointed with the HK GPS-300's GPS performance becuase I like it so much. It took over 20 minutes the first time to lock on GPS signal and so long the second time I had to give up on it. Needless to say, it is on its way back to Amazon for a replacement. I will give it one more try.
The screen is gorgeous. Kind of dim in the sun light, but I don't know if there is one in the market that wouldn't. I would rate this screen on the same level with the expensive widesreen Garmin. Menu makes a lot of sense and easy to navigate, map display is clear and provides the exact information you want. No text to speech, but it is ok as you can look on the screen and find out what street you have to turn.
I have not tried the mp3 player yet, but I trust HK to provide solid performance there. One thing, why wouldn't HK provide a JPEG viewer? They have everything there, just add the software capability.
More update when I recieve my replacement unit.
Update:
Received the replacement unit. GPS signal is now locked under 3 minutes, not excellent, but not disappointing either. All I can say is I LOVE IT! The map is very up to date. It even has a new road that was built only within a year ago. Buy it. You wont regret.
I wanted to get my Dad a GPS for his summer road trip. I have a GPS-500 myself and knew it would be easy enough for my parents to figure out. From the pictures of the product it looked like the GPS-300 had the same easy to use interface as the 500. Thankfully it did. My dad had no problems learning to use the device. GPS locks quickly and the interface is snappy.
The 4" widescreen is a huge plus compared to other $300 GPS devices. 3.5" is just too small for someone my parent's age to see. I haven't seen anyone else offering a screen of this quality at this price point.
My parents don't use the music player, but I can confirm it is the same player as my GPS-500, with the exception of video and DRM support. It lets you browse by album, artist, genre and playlists. Music is played from the SD Card slot.
At this price you can't go wrong. It's as good as other products costing much more including the nuvi. In my opinion, the graphics and UI are the best of any PND at any price. If you need video and/or DRM go for the GPS-500. Either way you won't regret your purchase.
I manage a decent size towing service; we purchased three 910's and a 300.
With in 1.5 months one of the 910's took a crap. I contacted the company and they replaced it w/ a refurb...about a month later the replacement took a crap again, they replaced it w/ another refurb...two months later that one took a $h!t, I spoke to them again and demanded a brand new unit; I was promised a new one but when I recieved the package it was another refurb; I called them and was told that there was nothing that they can do...Guess what??? That one crapped out: again demanded a new one and was told that they can't promise that they will send a new unit...got a refurb...Do your self a favor and stay away from tom tom.....
TomTom worked great the first day, then shut off when I needed it the next.
I returned it and bought a Garmin nuvi 660. A lot more money for the same
features (except european maps) but it works. It's also much thinner and easier to program.
I wanted a portable GPS for both the US and Europe. The Go 910 was the most cost effective for both continents. In terms of it's GPS navigation function (it's intended role after all) it does a reasonable job. It det4ects satellites quickly and in general gets you from A to B. The maps and directions aren't perfect but if you're prepared then this doesn't need to be a problem.
So would I recommend it? No. Why? Well here's the list:
1. The mount is appalling - it's just not strong enough for the unit which will sag and in some cases pull the mount of the windscreen
2. The mount won't stick to a wide variety of surfaces so it can only be mounted on a windscreen/windshiled which places the unit out of reach!
3. The mount has a very strange connection to the unit which is bespoke and requires a training video before it can be used! This is clearly an example of an engineering solution that wasn't thought about before implementation.
The mount has supposed to have been overhauled and modified but it still makes the unit dangerous to use unless precautions are taken. Yes I do mean dangerous especially when the unit comes off the windscreen suddenly and shoots across the cabin of the car, etc. On this point alone I can't recommend the unit.
4. The screen can't cope with bright sunlight without some sort of additional cover. This is the case even with the brightness turned all the way up.
5. Battery life is okay (4 - 5 hours) but can only be recharged via the stupid mount. I'd much rather have the power supply from the cigarette lighter go straight to the unit rather than rely on the mount.
6. As another poster said it's a real shame that the map only tracks up. It would be nice if it could be set so that North is always up.
7. Can't set an address by US Zip code. This is a real drawback especially if an address is otherwise only known by a PO Box number.
So if you really need an economical unit that covers Europe and the US buy this as it is the most cost effective solution. Otherwise it's obvious flaws mean that I have to recommend another unit and probably a unit from another manufacturer.
Started having display problems from day 2....flashing and cycling between day and night. Need to use it for the time being, but will have to return it for replacement. Maps are a little out dated but lots of freeway construction in the Houston area. Haven't had any tracking problems and the re-route feature is great. Had to fool the unit into letting me use an alternate route to get to my lake house. Added favoties to navigate to. Not all addresses are defined with the correct cities. Post office info should be a requirement for map builders. Found it hard to communicate mapping problems to manufacturer.
It seems like this unit was initially rushed to the market without proper engineering due diligence. Consequently there were many bugs and flaws that are widely documented on the Net (mount, virus, software glitches, electrical connection, RDS antenna, documentation, etc). TomTom appears to have been flooded with complaints and did not communicate all that well and their responses seemed not always sufficient. These points were real deterrants to prospective buyers.
However, to their credit, they kept working and have systematically upgraded the product and solved most issues, even for past customers who unwittingly acted as guinea pig testing agents. Now the recent shipment batches seem to work well straight out of the box and are sufficiently up to date, so that no updates are immediately needed. After extensive internet research, I decided to take the plunge as I needed both Europe and US maps in a cost effective package. My unit has firmware version 6.522 installed with US map 6.65 and Europe map 6.60. This unit was bought in early July from Expo Electronics via Amazon. High volume resellers like these ensure that you get the latest build versions and thus most satisfaction.
This is my first GPS unit and with little experience so far, I can report great signal acquistion on both continents and good GPS routing and recalculations. TomTom says that version 6.75 maps are not essential, so I dont plan to update before at least one more updated map version is available. I dont plan to update the firmware either as I have no need for the FM transmitter and that is all that the update covers. I only downloaded the GPS Quickfix, as I see that some people who have downloaded the firmware update had to do backup, format their hard drives and then reinstall the backup BEFORE redoing the update...no thanks, I dont need all that extra work! One person reported that loading songs and photos crashed their unit.
Finally, I use an intel Mac with OSX 10.4.10 and it is reported that TT Home is not 100% compatible with this setup. I had problem in doing a backup and had to do it manually in the end. Occasionally when ejecting the unit from the computer, it will freeze up, requiring a reset. These software quirks cause me to give only a 4 star rating.
In the end, with the recent price reductions and with most kinks ironed out, this machine is now a quality purchase...no longer a beta version being sold for top dollar. It can be had for a shade more than $400 right here on Amazon, brand new and latest build version. The 910 will give the Garmins and Magellans a real run for the money at lower cost with extra features to boot (including massive storage space). Now all I need is a video player application!!!
TT is ready to launch the radically updated x20 series (720 already available in Europe) with slim, compact designs, voice recognition and user updated Map Share application, so the x10 units are being phased out at ever decreasing prices. Timing for a 910 purchase has never been better. Get one while stocks last...even BestBuy had them for $399 plus tax a week and a half ago.
Update:
I did extensive internet research on this unit before purchase and saw the good, the bad and the ugly. I must have read over 300 pages online.
I can honestly say that the unit has been brought up to scratch. It now has the quality standard it should have had when launched. However, tech moves on and though the feature set is STILL about the best in the business, its bulk makes it seem a bit dated. Nevertheless, if one wants to have a no compromise unit in terms of features, this is still the closest thing to perfection...only things possibly missing are voice recognition, Mapshare, slender size and built in TMC (option only). Oh yeah, it also only comes with TeleAtlas maps...great in Europe, less so in the US where NavteQ apparently rules supreme. Video playback is a cheap optional add on as well with the likes of mobilnova.com.
With the 910 you get 20Gigs of storage space!!!! That is massive in GPS land. Even after loading POIs up the wazoo and cramming in oodles of mp3s, you still will have more than 9 gigs to load on video. Folks, that like 20 movies. Oh, the joy of not having to worry about space for big continental maps and other GPS data.
This thing is a veritable video iPod with full GPS functionality. The charge will hold at least 3 hours doing all the multimedia stuff. Imagine going on a trip on a familiar route, the passengers can idle away the time watching a movie ... for example.
I was able to use Windows and conmpletely manipulate the data structure to what I wanted in terms of POIs, safety cameras and even topo maps. Tons of celebrity voices added. And video content! No probelms with the operations of the machine. Sure it hung up a few times, but was quickly reset. Manual backup was a breeze, thanks to online tips. Just made sure that all files were unhidden.
This is a great toy...oh yeah, its a more than competent GPS unit as well! Probably people who have technophobia should stay away, as this is a high tech unit, it is really is a full linux computer. For them a more basic unit would be better.
The product is a birthday gift for my daughter. She loves it. The choice was easy as my husband and his sons all have this model. They highly recommended it. It is wonderful, as advertised, delivery was prompt and we are truly pleased with this purchase.
Excellent product...easily fits into pocket or purse....speaks clearly......easily moves from vehicle to vehicle......battery also helpful for short trips in town where you don't want to plug it in......I had trouble getting address on interstate HWY.....any hints?.....very helpful at night or through complex freeway systems.....overall great product.........fred
I have enjoyed having this unit, it worked great in Birmingham, AL, Atlanta, GA and points in between. But it stunk in Miami. I am not sure why the difference, but several times the unit thought an address was somewhere else. I used mapquest print outs to check the unit.
Part of the problem appears to be duplication of street numbers. So, in areas were multiple cities are close by and use the same numbering scheme, enter the city in - don't the unit choose for you The unit might also change from SW to NW or vice versa.
The points of interest database, the primary reason I selected this model, is handy. Need a pharmacy in a strange town? A few touches to the screen and it will give you 20.
When everything works right, these units are simply amazing. But the accuracy of the database seems to vary. I would not assume the unit is always right.
Eccellent product and very easy to use. My job requires freq travel and printing directions are not effective. With this new navigator, I am able to make better travel plan and less rush to go from point A to point B.
This piece of equipment lives up to all the hype! It is very user friendly and has been a tremendous help!
I was looking for a GPS that I could use in my work van and "borrow" on the weekends and mount it on my motorcycle.
It really can't be any easier to use. The touch screen even works with gloves on.
But I can't recommend it for use on a motorcycle. The screen isn't bright enough on a sunny day. It would also need a place to tie a lanyard to it so I could tie it off to the handle bars.
I wonder how much longer it will be before I can get a GPS that projects onto the visor of my helmet?
I bought this Maestro 3100 due to a really reasonable price, took it on a trip and returned it to Amazon the next day. We could get used to it not telling us street names (after all the price certainly is just entry level), but the real problem was that we couldn't hear what she had to say and with the a/c and radio on, we missed several turns. The volume was up to the max and we still had trouble hearing the instructions. Broke down and bought the Garmin Nuvi and absolutely love her. If you just need an inexpensive GPS, the Magellan is ok. But if you can spend a bit more, you will love the added features of the Nuvi such as street named turns and excellent volume control. The Nuvi gets an A+++
Indeed, many GPS devices have come down in price over the past few years--but the Maestro wins the prize in my book for being the one with the lowest price and highest quality for the price. I was very happy that Magellan lowered the price by removing a few features that are really not desirable for the casual user. For instance, having only 750,000 POIs (Points of Interest) versus a more expensive model have 4-5 million.
The screen is bright, clear, and very easy to use and navigate through the menus. My wife and I have had it for almost a month now and have yet had to read the instruction manual to figure out what something was.
The Maestro has an intuitive city and street search so that when you are typing the names, it only shows you the possible letters for the next letter to eliminate the possibility of accidentally hitting another letter. This also help for spelling some names as well.
Furthermore, the reception of satellite signals is excellent! We always seem to have somewhere between 10-13 connected satellites. The Maestro also has a Trip Meter to keep track of the miles driven, time, drive time of your trip as well as the average speed.
Overall, I have been extremely satisfied with this GPS and am glad that I did not fork up the extra $100 - $150 for the model above this one (Magellan Maestro 4000 Portable Auto GPS System for Continental U.S.), just to get the slightly wider screen and more POIs.
My wife and I bought this GPS because we wanted the ability to not use those silly printed out maps and if there was any urgency such as an ATM etc.
So we tested this system vigourously for 4 weeks when we started our apartment search in San Francisco. We were looking at 4 to 5 apartments a day and used the device to punch in addresses one after the other.
So from a performance standpoint, the Magellan knew every single address and was generally very accurate. The screen was the perfect size and the graphics are excellent. The vocals of the person speaking was very clear. And we did not need to read the manual to start using it.
BUT... we had a few major issues. The first was the lack of signal on numerous occassions. This was really apparent in the city, where at times it would take more than 5 minutes to get a signal. It places you at the last location that it stopped at. While one could overlook this occassionally, I found that the GPS failed to do so at least a third of the time. Secondly the lack of POIs (Points of Interest) can be an issue when what you are looking for is out of the ordinary. For example, it would not find a chain of gyms that I belong to.
Pros
- Detected every single address
- Easy to Use
- Nice Sized Screen
Cons
- Did not pick up signal quickly
- Lack of POIs
Overall this is a starter device that is handy but the lack of a signal is a major issue. The lack of POIs seems to be minor, but once you start using the Magellan, you keep trying to find POIs and can be frustrated when the devise does not find it.
I just returned the Garmin Navi. I really didn't like it too much. Paid $449.00 on sale. I bought the magellan 3100...got it for 215.00. This is a great GPS. Although not as many POI's it has the banks, gas stations, and restaurants as good as anyone. It has the gas and banks listed as you are driving. If you want to get to one just click on it...my first gps was garmin 2630 and then the Nuvi...believe it or not this one seems far better then both and it was much, much, less money
worked pretty much out of the box. had a few issues setting up the computer connect, but relatively easy. I have a treo 700p, and am not happy with the fact that the live traffic won't work with it. also, the treo 700p and tomtom continuously need to manually be reconnnected for bluetooth use. not sure if its the treo or the tomtom, but i think its the treo.
the Tom Tom 510 navigation system is easy to use, has all the features you could ask for in a GPS system, including touchscreen operations, dragable maps, route alternatives, a Favorite locations list, and the options for live weather and traffic.
over all the tom tom 510 is a user friendly and extremely helpful little box, and that does not need the qualifier "for the money"
Good plotting GPS unit... I have another one Indash Pioneer, I still prefer it to this one.
I have had my TomTom go 510 for almost a month yesterday I made my first long trip and used it. The 510 preformed well. However the Preloaded Maps from Tom Tom are out of date by many years. eg, the address on my Home changed almost 6 years ago,the TT 510 could not locate my home or any other areas that have changed their address due to E-911 are unavailable also. There are NO Current Updates on TT web site to correct this problem,So Bottom line is this,the 510 works well but maps are really out of date,so if you buy one do your self a favor and buy a current road atlas at the same time. I will return my TT 510 to the seller this morning for refund and buy a New Road Atlas.
I have been using tomtom since tomtom2 was first released and then used every version since. So Im a big fan. I used gps on various PDA's with different types of aftermarket gps recievers. Then tomtom came up with this strict registration code policy and PDA's are pretty delicate so I gave in and bought two 510 units one for me and one for my wife and they work great.
The units are fairly sturdy. They should have made the outter shell a lighter color. Black attracts a lot of heat and can get very hot. The latest tomtom software version 6 does not appear to have changed much visualy from tomtom2 except a few extra features. all in all, It works fine.
Still my only complaint and this has been my complaint since tomtom2: is that this product is basically produced overseas. European versions get all the latest updates and product features long before they released in North America, if relasesed to us at all. North American updates are passed out whenever they get around to it or we have to upgrade or purchase a new release to keep up to date. I always got the impression that TomTom really went out thier way to cater to the european markets and but leave North Americans in the cold.
Overall its a good product. Once you start using GPS you will never go without. Im still very surprised the Gov't does not charge for the service so while the units may be a little pricey. Once you have them the service is free. Unlike XM or Sirrius where you buy the units then have to pay monthly fees. So enjoy it while you can!
I've been looking at GPS systems for some time now and that it met my needs for the price. Needless to say, I have been more than pleased. This thing does all it is advertized to do and without a lot of hassel. It goes without saying that since this was my first GPS purchase, I was a little hesitant about my purchase, but when it arrived the packaging was impressive, as was the instruction material. It was straight forward and easy to understand. I also appreciated the 2 disks that came with the GPS and also contained the instructions on how this thing would work. A it turned out, I really needed the extra help. My first and only real problem came not in working with the unit but trying to put the holder onto the unit. It seems that the hold is "REAllY" hard to snap onto the unit. As a result, I ended up calling tect support and they were extremely helpful in helping me get the holder attacted to the unit. It also seems that I was not the only person who had this problem so expect it. The only other problem I had was with the extension device that attached to the holder and would extend it beyond its' normal reach making it easier for you to reach. Mine came with a striped out thread. When I called the tech support people again, they said that they would send me out a new piece but I have not received it as yet -- and it's been over a month. So, I'll give them a call again later. All in all, the unit is great! The voice directions are loud enough to be heard over the noise of the road and the instructions are timely and clear. The directions also come well in advance of your turns which is indeed helpful. However, like someone commented -- it would be great if the unit could tell you on what side of the street the destination was located. This would be helpful when your desitation is in a busy section of town and traffic is all around you. In a situation like this you don't want to be on the wrong side of the road and need to make a quick cross over in front of someone. One final thing, I also like the dark and light feature that allows you to turn down the brigthness of the unit at night -- really nice on a long drive. All in all, well worth the money and especialy with the rebate offered by McNally when I purchased my unit.
I purchased this item as a gift for my husband. His first reaction was that he didn't need it, but now he loves having it. He finds it to be very accurate. By giving him a different route to a place he regularly travels to, it cut 15 min off a 45 min.trip. He has never had one before so has nothing to compare it with, but it seems to be a great value for the price. It provides all of the necessary functions in an easy to use format. One negative is that the voice gives directions such as turn right or left, but doesn't give actual street names. However the directions are so clear that it hasn't been a problem. Another negative is that it must be connected to a power source (car battery thru the cigarette lighter) all of the time or the information programmed in by the user will be lost when the charge runs out. This means leaving it in the car all of the time at night and when it is very cold. However we have learned that there is an adapter available, sold by an electronics chain for about $30. which allows it to be kept in the house when not in use. If you don't need a lot of fancy features, this is a great buy for half the price of the more complicated ones.
This is my first time writing one of these... Hopefully it helps someone out.
Anyway, I am in pharma sales and NOT technical at all. Needed a GPS device to help navigate between doctor's offices. I sampled a number (i.e. Garmin, Magellan, etc.) of them - their too expensive to make the wrong choice! -before selecting Rand McNally. Here is what I like...
Pros:
1) WAY easier to use than others. Very intuitive. I didn't have to read the directions. I just felt my way through and got to the feature I wanted . I tested the others... Always bumbled-stumbled into the wrong areas and found myself asking the sales clerk what I did wrong. Drove me crazy!
2) The RM starts up faster than the others. Sounds like a small thing, but when your running from one meeting to the next and need quick directions, it's really nice. (and cause less consequential stress!!). The Garmin took foreverrrrrrrrrrr.... I would still be waiting.
3) The RM has pre-programmed roadtrips. I haven't used them yet, but I thought it was kind of cool. Figure at some point I will... And at least I trust Rand McNally (i.e. make maps!) more than others.
Cons:
Only Con since using last few weeks is I keep misplacing the dang stylus. It has place to put in back, but instead I just use my finger... It works fine on touch-screen, but not as sophisticated as using stylus I suppose.
Overall it works great. I'm very happy. It is a solid product.
When you input the address, it is very easy and quick because you could input zip code first. If you put zip code first, GPS instantly show the matching city name. Other, enen garmin, takes more time and effort to input every singly address.
This might be a great GPS, but I've owned it a month and haven't had a chance to try it. The unit was shipped with a bracket that would not fit onto the unit. When I called Rand McNally about the problem, they promised to send me a new bracket, and get back to me within a week to let me know it had been shipped. After a week passed, I called again and was told they were waiting for a shipment of replacement brackets from Germany. I explained I was leaving on a trip in a week and needed the bracket ASAP. I have since returned from my trip (the GPS Navigator stayed at home,) and I called them again on 12/27. They looked up my customer id and said it had been shipped and I will receive it on 12/28. I hope it fits.
I am very happy with the Garmin GPSMAP 492. It was shipped promptly and it works well. Thanks!
It took a lot of research for me to finally find a GPS CF bundle (hardware and software)for a Dell Axim X5. Some how just buying the one Dell pushes was not good enough and here some of what I have learned...
The Pharos units covers the audio input on the top of the X5... why is that important? Well if you are using it in a car and what to use a device to boost the sound of your turn by turn directions (ie. a power PDA car holder) ... Well you would be out of luck.
The product has a lot of kinks, it has trouble with re-routing and over all is a good start but for the same money you can get something that is much better. Look into a Haicom 303...As far as software a lot of it is personal preference - look at the website of the software makers and see if you like the look of the software.
Call Pharos and talk to them... I think you will find that they are more about good marketing, slick name and packaging than a mature product. Like other reviewers I can not see any difference between the PF022 and the PFD22 (for Dell) other than something for Dell.
Check 'Buy GPS Now' (add a DOTcom) for more in depth information about GPS and software products. Amazon has a good start but there is just not enough information - like EXACTLY what comes in the box and any thing else (i.e. cords) that you will need to make it work with your PDA. Since you can not return software once you have installed it - you need all the INFORMATION you can get to pick wisely.
I think that this is the same product (other than some ink on the outside box) as the PFO22 model, which currently has many more reviewer comments. You may want to just refer to some of them. Intallation seemed fine, the product works okay but not great. It doesn't handle rotaries all that well, since everything is a right hand turn on a rotary. (Web based directions aren't very helpful for rotaries either, which is why I got this item.) After reading one very negative review for the item, I decided to get the PFD22 instead of the PFO22, so that if it didn't work, I could return it knowing that I had definitely bought the correct item. With what comes in the box, I still don't think there is any difference between the items. (For instance, the software asks you to identify which machine brand is being used to run it.) The PKO38 model is cheaper, and may be more useful, as it doesn't use up your CF slot. Since the maps require some memory, that CF slot may come in handy. Unless you really want to use the device as a handheld, away from your car and a power source, that model may be better. This one is just a bit "neater", since you can carry it around with you running it off of the PDA power, but if your main goal is to use it in a car, that won't matter too much. I doubt the device is as good as the stand-alone machines, or those now coming already installed in cars, and I debated between 3 and 4 stars. The cost is so much less than those other systems that I went with 4.
I have never dealt with such a bad company. I deal with electronics companies daily, but this one takes the cake. I bought the PFD22 from a direct distributor and got the product, with outdated software that would not work on my Axim, OR my WinXP machine. They said I had to pay additional money for the updated software on CD that I just paid for the previous day. I would never EVER recommend this product to anyone. Customer Service at Pharos also took DAYS to get back to me on each reply.
OK - so it may not be perfect, but I like it. It is easy to use - twice this past week, I was able to get around some major congestion in the metro Atlanta area thanks to the HK - and I know nothing about Atlanta's streets. I have used a Tom Tom in the past, but prefer the HK.
The nice things about this unit are obvious:
* the form factor
* great screen
* video support
The bad points make me want to send it back:
* The maps aren't very complete and they CANNOT be updated. Harmon Kardon's support is nonexistent and they certainly are far from providing map updates. In several cities in Northern California I've looked for restaurants and cafes and found almost nothing, when just driving down main street tells me there's tons.
* Very, very difficult to set a 'Go Back' navigation point.
Exceeded my expectations! Very easy to use. Recalibrates within seconds if you ignore directions, you can't go wrong if you try (and I did!). "Saved places" feature is extremely handy. Music and video very impressive. Great to have SD card function. Very pleased.
I've own 2 other GPS units before, both handhelds (a Garmin and a Magellan). They are primarily used for hiking/camping. I also have a built-in OEM GPS navigation unit in my MDX. I bought this unit for my wife for her to use in her car. So far, here are my impressions:
1) Unit size is nice
2) Winshield mounting suction bracket is small and sturdy
3) Screen is clear and crisp
4) Menus are easy and intuitive
5) Battery life is good
6) Easy out-of-the-box setup
7) Does what it's suppose to do (find places and tells you how to get there)
8) Lots of voice commands that let's you have ample time to prepare
9) I like that it uses the mini-USB port to charge the device as well as to sync with your computer
Having said that, there are 2 major gripes that I have with the unit:
1) While driving, it automatically zooms for you. Normally, this is a good feature to have but sometimes, I like to zoom further out so I can have a better idea of what the nearby streets look like. I don't like the fact that 2 seconds after I change the zoom-level to what I like, the unit automatically zooms back to the level it likes. I wish there was a way to turn off this feature. It can be quite annoying.
2) There is no button on the map screen that let's you go directly to the directions list; you have to go through a few menus to get to the directions list. I find it very useful to be able to do this so I have an idea of what turns are coming up, at what streets, etc.
And here are some general comments as well:
1) Like with many other GPS units, when you first turn it on, it takes several minutes to lock onto a signal. The reason I believe is that it has to download the "almanac" from the satellites. Subsequent power-on has taken no more than 15 seconds to lock on. If you have it off, travel several hundred miles, then turn it on, it will also then take several minutes to lock on since it again needs to download the "almanac". Then after that, it should be fairly quick. Please see link for better explaination: [...]
2) Another reviewer mentioned that he had good coverage in SoCal. The GPS signal is not like a cellphone signal in which there are areas of better coverage than others. The GPS satellites has coverage over the ENTIRE world. The main factor that determines your signal strength (or lack of a signal lock) is your view of the open sky. If you are in the city with lots of tall buildings, it may not have an open view to at least 3 satellites in which it needs to calculate your position.
3) Not a major issue with me, but the unit does not seem to distinguish which side of the road your destination is on.
4) Added 06/11/07: Another minor issue -- I wish it had the ability to show current/max speed, odometer, etc. Not something most people would probably need, but it's nice to have.
Overall, I think it's a great unit and it does it's job very well. It's not perfect and doesn't have some of the features (bluetooth, FM modulator, text-to-speech, etc.) of more expensive units, but it is a great GPS for the money. Of course, the true test will be when my wife starts using it!
I've own this GPS for well over a month now and used it all around So. Cal. and for a week in Vancouver, BC, Canada during a business trip.
While it is far from perfect, it is a very good, almost great GPS.
Pros:
1) It looks great. In my opinion, it's the best looking GPS out in the market.
2) The graphics are great. As someone else noted, it direct sunlight the images do tend to wash out. But in all my driving, it's actually rarely occurs. Otherwise the images are sharp and clear.
3) I didn't think I'd have much use for the video until I realized how useful it is on a long airplane ride.
4) The speech instructions are frequent enough to give you plenty of warning as to when you need to trun.
5) In the So. Cal. area, the unit had no problem getting a signal.
6) The interface is exteremly easy to navigate.
7) The mounting mechnisim is very small and sturdy.
8) Naviagation fucntions are easy to use and the # of points of interest listed is more than satisfactory.
Cons:
1) It was slow to get a signal in Vancouver. This is a bit worrisome since I wonder if I will have trouble during my next trip.
2) While the customer service people are very helpful, it is obvious from that lack of online web support that they have a lot of work to do in setting up the support infrastructure for their GPS
Overall, the unit is great but the biggest worry is the support issue. You wonder if HK will be around long enough to give the necessary support needed as this unit gets older and maps need to be updated. The current lack of online web support is a bit troubling. The good news, however, is that HK has just come out w/the GPS-300. So it looks like they are committed to this market.
I would recommend it because of the price and what you get. And if you can get past the support issues, it really is a great product.
I have been using this for geocaching. My father has a more expensive GPS, but mine leads me to the cache just as well as his. Very good purchase for my intents and the price.
First let me say, I hope this doesn't go towards the seller, because the transaction was perfect, that being said, let me rate the product.
The geko is a horrible GPS unit. It has a very hard time trying to find a signal, even in a clear sky. Hope for no clouds or trees.
Once a signal is found, you can start your tracking. I used mine for geocaching. Not only would the unit take me to 18 feet, then as I was continuing in the direction that it told me, it would flip and say 45 feet the other way, and continue doing this until I gave up the search.
Which brings me to my next point. It does not update AT ALL with distance and direction. It doesn't matter how slow or fast you are going, it will not change. When it finally does, it is too late and you are well past where you should be. So you start tracking back, it same thing.
The unit is junk and it is reflected in its price. Do your research and stay away from this product.
I use this navigator often and love its convinience, and features. I enjoy using it, and think it would rank a 90 on the 1-100 scale.
Of course, it's not the MOST perfectly accurate one around, but that's OK, especially for its price.
I highly reccomend this unit to any adventurer, due to its size and how easy it is to use after only a few hours.
I just wanted to say that as a Mother who knows nothing about these units, and looking to buy a GPS for her trekking son, REX and his updates gave me excellent information that I would have never gotten from a dealer. His concise use & explanations were perfect, his updates were beyond helpful, and I appreciate users like him taking the time like he did to explain how the unit operates, his comparisons to more expensive units and his thoughts on how to spend your money in the right place.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Mary
I initially purchased a Whistler GPS200 unit. The GPS200 had a ton of features, integrated maps, etc but suffered from one inexcusable flaw. It did not find the required minimum satellites (it needed 3) 9 out of every 10 times - even in the best of conditions. When it did find a signal, it took 15 mins to lock and frequently dropped the signal. It was an extreme disappointment and I was hoping that the Geko would fare better. The day the Geko arrived, I powered it up and left it (on a cloudy afternoon) in my back yard for it to try and lock on a signal. The manual said this should take 15 minutes. It took barely 2 minutes. Ever since then, it locks in less than a minute and has yet to drop a signal. I use alkaline batteries and so far (after a few hours of use), it still has almost a full power band. I did set the "battery-save" option the first time I used it. Its redeeming features: It is very small (like the size of a slim Nokia 6100 cell phone), light, reliable, attractive, easy to use, comes from the best GPS company around, and has a host of sales, support and accessories available. It's negative: does not have the advanced features that the much more expensive units have (WAAS and mapware) .. but the price is so much lower so can you really complain. I cannot comment on its longevity (I have only had mine a short while), but so far, I am very pleased with it.
This product really expanded the usefulness of my Samsung i-700 PDA/Phone. The first week, it was a huge help in getting me into the heart of Chicago with only one wrong turn (the turns were too close together for the unit to switch fast enough!). The one small glitch I had with getting the GPS to power-up was solved with a quick phone call to Pharos, and I've had no problems since. My only grumbles have been that my PDA cannot be made to stay on more than 5 minutes, while powered; and the Ostia maps are not as detailed as Microsoft Streets & Trips. Otherwise, Great!
It took a lot of research for me to finally find a GPS CF bundle (hardware and software)for a Dell Axim X5. Some how just buying the one Dell pushes was not good enough and here some of what I have learned...
The Pharos units covers the audio input on the top of the X5... why is that important? Well if you are using it in a car and what to use a device to boost the sound of your turn by turn directions (ie. a power PDA car holder) ... Well you would be out of luck.
The product has a lot of kinks, it has trouble with re-routing and over all is a good start but for the same money you can get something that is much better. Look into a Haicom 303...As far as software a lot of it is personal preference - look at the website of the software makers and see if you like the look of the software.
Call Pharos and talk to them... I think you will find that they are more about good marketing, slick name and packaging than a mature product. Like other reviewers I can not see any difference between the PF022 and the PFD22 (for Dell) other than something for Dell.
Check 'Buy GPS Now' (add a DOTcom) for more in depth information about GPS and software products. Amazon has a good start but there is just not enough information - like EXACTLY what comes in the box and any thing else (i.e. cords) that you will need to make it work with your PDA. Since you can not return software once you have installed it - you need all the INFORMATION you can get to pick wisely.
I think that this is the same product (other than some ink on the outside box) as the PFO22 model, which currently has many more reviewer comments. You may want to just refer to some of them. Intallation seemed fine, the product works okay but not great. It doesn't handle rotaries all that well, since everything is a right hand turn on a rotary. (Web based directions aren't very helpful for rotaries either, which is why I got this item.) After reading one very negative review for the item, I decided to get the PFD22 instead of the PFO22, so that if it didn't work, I could return it knowing that I had definitely bought the correct item. With what comes in the box, I still don't think there is any difference between the items. (For instance, the software asks you to identify which machine brand is being used to run it.) The PKO38 model is cheaper, and may be more useful, as it doesn't use up your CF slot. Since the maps require some memory, that CF slot may come in handy. Unless you really want to use the device as a handheld, away from your car and a power source, that model may be better. This one is just a bit "neater", since you can carry it around with you running it off of the PDA power, but if your main goal is to use it in a car, that won't matter too much. I doubt the device is as good as the stand-alone machines, or those now coming already installed in cars, and I debated between 3 and 4 stars. The cost is so much less than those other systems that I went with 4.
I have never dealt with such a bad company. I deal with electronics companies daily, but this one takes the cake. I bought the PFD22 from a direct distributor and got the product, with outdated software that would not work on my Axim, OR my WinXP machine. They said I had to pay additional money for the updated software on CD that I just paid for the previous day. I would never EVER recommend this product to anyone. Customer Service at Pharos also took DAYS to get back to me on each reply.
Do yourself a great big favor. DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM! I took a chance and bought this item. My first mistake was not sticking with a trusted company. The directions were so far off. I first went for a ride to a street right across from my house and this system had me go around the block instead of straight across the street. Then while i was on "york road" the system told me to turn right onto "york road" in 300 feet. If i would have turned right in 300 feet i would have been on an entirely different road. As i approached "Welsh road" the unit told me that road was a totally different road, which i had already passed! The voice that pronounces the streets is a robot from the 1960's. Road pronunciation was poor! The touch screen was horrible. To type a letter you had to touch the screen a little above the actual letter. To get to different screens i had to touch the screen 3 times. The touch screen stopped working comletley after 2 days of use. After contacting the company i was told they would repair the unit. I told them the unit does not give proper directions, has a very hard to understand voice commands and street names, and i do not want the unit. I sent it back for a refund and they sent it right back to me! After much frustration and arguing with the company i sent the unit back again. They refused to give me a complete refund. They still charged me a restocking fee even though this unit could not be restocked as it had a defective touch screen. This unit is a complete peice of crap! For $400.00 dollars it should get you where you got to get, know the right streets, and have a workable touch screen. I have used Garmins GPS prior and don't know why i tried going with a different one. What a mistake! I now use the Garmins NUVI 350. I put out the extra $200.00 and it was the best purchase i ever made. Not one negative thing i can say about Garmin! So please save yourself the frustration, money loss... and do not buy the Tele Type world nav! 1 star because i couldn't give it 0 stars!
I held off purchasing a GPS system for my PPC for about 2 years. Then I purchased the Toshiba E755 and finally did some serious research on the more popular GPS systems and software, e.g., Co-Pilot, Mapopolis, Destinator, and took the plunge. For the combination of features and price I decided on Pharos, and I'm glad I did (note: there is currently a $50 rebate on the already low price offered at Amazon, effectively dropping the price below $200). One of my unspoken concerns was that it would be a complex process to set it up on the PPC--nothing could have been further from the truth. I pulled out the quickstart card, downloaded the software to my laptop, synced the PPC and downloaded a local map for testing. (Note: as the GPS unit fits in the Compact Flash slot of the E755, you'll want to invest in a SD media card--the downloaded maps are resource hogs. For example, I initially used a 32MB SD card and used about 20MB for two maps; I've since purchased a 64MB card. Be advised Toshiba PPC owners: shop carefully for your SD cards. I was ready to purchase a Sandisk because I've had great luck w/ their CF cards. But having read other Toshiba owners' woes w/ Sandisk SD cards, I went to the company's website and checked for compatibility of their SD cards w/ Toshiba PPCs--they are not) Anyway, read quickly through the salient parts of the owner's manual to make sure I understood the basic functions and turned the system on--inside my house and not seated in front of a window.) About 90 seconds later I was connected to several satellites. I then got into the car and mapped several known routes, all of which were mapped accurately. One word of caution: make sure your "sounds and notifications" are turned on on your PPC otherwise the GPS voice prompts will not function. I did not, but it gave me the opportunity to test Pharos' customer service. I E-mailed customer service one evening about the problems I was having with the voice prompts and I received a reply the next morning outlining the steps I needed to take. Some of the features I found particularly useful: -the on-screen display is great; there are several different modes: text directions; maps w/ turn-by-turn indicators (two views); expanded map view.
-voice prompts and turn indicators are very useful.
-w/ automatic re-routing, you'll not be off course for long--I found this very helpful; quick and accurate.
-system provides both a daylight and night view.
-you can use your contacts info in MS to select destinations or points of origin.
-the system comes with the CF GPS, an antenna extension (which I have yet to use; the compact flash GPS has done a great job without it), cigarette lighter power cord for the PPC and a mounting kit. Bottomline: probably not the flashiest GPS system out there w/ lots of bells and whistles, but for the price, functionality, and accuracy, you can't beat it. For the great PPC the E755 is, this makes it yet more indispensable. I would make this purchase again.
Worked well out of the box. delivery excellent. CDs and connection fine
Happy with item.
Has some southern Ontario missing road updates related to highways (401 and 404; Alan Expwy, others) but fine all the same.
Wish the European maps were in! Greedy!
Unit was bought as reburbished, and works like new.
I wish it had a battery to make it REALLY useful.
All functions work, and helped navigate unknown addresses with confidence and accuracy.
Thanks
Unit is mostly used for hiking/hunting in the fairly rugged terrain of Eastern Tenn. and Westewrn N. Car. The iFinder is up and running in less than 2min, with a clear view of the S. horizon. It is just as accurate and dependable as other, more costly GPS WAAS units in our hunting club. The included US map is fun to use but not something for anyone wanting/needing a serious road navigation unit. I experience no major problems using the unit while driving. I highly endorse the iFinder Go 2.2 for anyone seeking an accurate and dependable WAAS capable GPS. If you need expandable memory and detailed road navigation, look elsewhere.
We use this GPS every day to find residential lots by boat on large lakes. Most important to us, this unit has excellent, accurate maps, better than the Garmin or Magellan. For the price, it is impossible to beat.
Like any new tool, it takes a bit to get used to it. The menus could be easier to navigate, and in the light, the screen contrast and small (2") B&W display are hard to read, especially if you have trouble with the little displays on phones and such. The screen is best viewed at night with the backlighting. Manually entering coordinates and names is also clumbersome, as you have to scroll through each letter using the ^v<> keys. Battery life is good, but with 1/4 of a battery remaining, it may have trouble getting it's fix, so we always carry a spare charged set of batteries.
I am a newbie to GPS and there is definitely a learning curve. The Lowrance manual that comes with the unit is excellent to getting you started quickly, but you absolutely must get the advanced manual, available on-line at lowrance.com, to really enjoy the features. It does take some study and practice, but it is worth the effort, it is not that bad and the unit is (to me) impressive. It does not have street-by-street navigation, and it doesn't talk to me, but units that do cost $hundreds more. When I am in my car, it is quite usable; otherwise, street-by-street navigation is unnecessary anyway. I have recommended this unit to family, and feature-for-feature, I thought it was the best value of all the units I found in its price range. It quickly locates the satellites, often faster than the documentation would suggest, and I have found it remarkable that it has maintained the signals in very improbable situations. It is much more sensitive and reliable than I expected after reading another review that complained about signal acquisition and maintenance; I have no comlaints whatsoever about that.
I do admit that when I get the extra available $$ I may get a color street-by-street unit that talks to me; it would be safer in an urban environment while driving, but I really don't need it. I would also like a slightly larger screen for when I don't have my glasses.
A couple of words about service. It is a truism that modern solid-state electronics either fails very quickly or lasts a long long time. I had a defective unit and it failed during the first couple of weeks. (This also underscores the importance of putting it to a lot of use, testing out its features etc., to give it a good burn-in). Call to service was easy, the technicians clearly knowledgeable and when it was discovered that the problem couldn't be handled over the phone authorization to return the unit was readily provided; and they sent me a replacement unit within 24 hours of receiving it. About the only complaint was I had to pay the cost of sending it to the factory which wasn't too bad, except the post office raised its fee for insuring the parcel.
In any case, I unreservedly recommend this product.
Hardware wise this is a great system. Not much more to say from most of the other reviews. Great size, sharp screen, good layout. Comes with awesome cradle and mount, home and car charger etc... Go to boxwave and get a screen protector and a rubberized case though. The GPS takes a little longer to hook onto the satellites then my big external GPS, to be expected. But once locked on it stays locked on! Uses Windows Mobile, which means that you can get TONS of programs for this.
What I don't understand from the reviews, is that this PDA/GPS comes with 3 GPS MAPPING PROGRAMS!
First you get Pharos Traveller. I do not know why people do not like it. The maps are beautiful, was very intuative to me. Like the 3D view. Was perfect on all the travel I did. people don't like the routing, but no mapping software does routing good. I would never use what the computer came up with the route me somewhere. My brain and a map (or mapping software) will always work better.
Second you get Streets and Trips 2005. For your PC or laptop. THE best maps available from any software (same database of maps as used in Microsoft's expensive MapPoint software). Yeah, it's 2 years old, but unless you live or travel in a lot of new areas it's fine. And it's free.
Then you get Microsoft Pocket streets for the GPS 525. It's on the Streets and Trips CD, and works with the GPS just fine. Only in 2D but shows a lot of places to eat, places of interest etc... so it's great on a long road trip. You do need to download the cheap GPS Gate shareware software to get the live GPS to function right (Pocket Streets uses 4800 baud, while the GPS 525 is 9600, the GPS Gate translates it).
So I see no reason to pay $100+ for more GPS software when this one comes with 2 for it (plus one for your laptop/home PC)
Awesome little unit!
This is a great PDA unit. It is a nice portable unit small in size. All but one feature work great. Wi-Fi, bluetooth, and Windows Mobile 5.0 work great. The main feature of this devise the GPS software it's the worst I've seen. In most cases the GPS unit accuracy was over 100 feet off on Z values (elevation), which makes it useless in some cases. The preloaded maps on the SD card looked great; however, the card has to be loaded all the time.
This device has good wireless and Windows features that may work if it's used in an office environment but not outdoors.
Wonderful replacement for my Palm TX. Wi-fi, Bluetooth and GPS in one surprisingly small pocket pc. I had serious software compatibility issues with the Palm; no problems thus far with the Pharos. No problems with wi-fi. Skype works great; the only thing that's disapointing is that it doesn't seem possible to use a Bluetooth earpiece with Skype (there is a wired set of earphones and mic included).
I read all the negative reviews of the Ostia mapping software so I bought the 525E which comes without mapping software (the included Streets & Trips is only for a laptop). It's about a hundred dollars cheaper so I figured I could buy whatever program I wanted. I tried several before deciding since they had free trial downloads: PocketMap City Guide was the cheapest but would not work with the Pharos.Delorme Street Atlas 2007 is about the same price and includes a program for the pocket pc but unless you want to spend time working out installation and the interface I'd suggest spending a little more and getting something more user friendly. Mapapolis worked fairly well. I wasn't wild about it's interface but it seems to have a number of features that some users might really find useful. Odyssey had the nicest interface and practically no learning curve. It was also the easiest to enter destination addresses into. It's slightly cheaper than Mapapolis but look around and you will find deeply discounted downloads. I should point out the screen on the Pharos is tiny and you will likely rely on voice directions.
Since the Pharos is also known as HTC Galaxy Qtek G100, Dopod P100, I-mate PDA-N you can check Ebay for those models and get batteries, chargers, cases, screen protectors and car holders cheaply. They all seem to ship from Hong Kong, but I was surprised to find I got my order in 9 days.
This was my first PDA and GPS device and I must say I was and still am very impressed with this little device. It is just the right size and the WiFi capability is absolutely awesome. The battery life is good. GPS loads quickly and is very accurate.
The only down sides of it is the crappy Ostia software that is included. The maps are not very accurate. The voice navigation is simply a joke, the voice navigation warns you of highway exits which are not there and stays silent on turns and exits which are highlighted in calculated route. Not to mention that the software has many bugs and WILL freeze on you every now and then requiring you to hard reboot the entire device. Luckily you can simply uninstall the ostia software and install something better. I recomand Destinator 6, not only it works better but has more accurate maps (Eastern Europe anyone?).
Recently Pharos announced newer devise which adds a cell phone, 2mpx camera and FM toner. Knowing my self I'll probably be selling my 525 and purchasing the new one. However for under 400 bucks I must say this is definitely one impressive device. Change of navigation software is a must.
I hope this review helps a little. Good luck to all.
It is awesome! I love it. It is a PDA with GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. I think the only other thing I could ask for would be phone capabilities. I know it has Skype, but you don't always have wi-fi available.
It easily can synch movies and music from the Windows Media Player. I could download about 4-5 hours of Tivo shows onto the Pharos in probably an hour with the conversion.
It is small, light, and has a good screen size for reading pdfs, documents, etc...
It does have it's annoyances for me.
1. Bluetooth headset does not work for Skype. You have to use the plug in earpiece.
2. The Ostia POI database is not nearly as intuitive and helpful as say a Garmin product.
If you are going to spend $400 bucks on this product, I would suggest spending another $10 on some screen protectors.
Loaded with lots of information. Would be easier to use if touch screen. Marine lake detail did not include my favorite lake which is the second largest in its State (44,000 acres). Bummed since I could not find a list of the covered Lakes at the Garmin site.
The unit arrived in good order. Am still working on the operating manual. This GPS has many options to set up and different ways to connect to a vehicle. It will take some time to take advantage of all it has to offer.
I paid only $139 for a refurbished unit, complete with a full factory warrenty, and couldnt be happier!
Be advised that this is a discontinued unit, and the base map can not be changed, but it was always my intention to buy the current City Navigation maps, so the point (for me) is moot.
This WASS capable unit does everything the big boys do, at a faction of the price. Being water-proof and with proximity and off-anchor alarms, and Blue Chart compatable, it make a great marine unit as well.
You can import waypoints, POIs, Geocache chests, routes, and tracks thru the fast USB port.
I also can get over 45 hours of battery life with lithium batteries.
My only concern, is that the memory is built in, and can not be increased, but with each detail map being about 5 megs, you can enough data to get you just about anywhere.
I am comparing this to my old etrex Venture. This is not a mapping grade GPS, meaning that there is no NMEA output. Typically, this does not mean a dang thing to the typical user. If you are a bicycling, hiker, fisherman,hunter, then this will be a great choice. The display is easy to read. Right now I am sitting in my house with the unit plugged into the computer (which uses the computers battery source) and I have 6 satellites. There was no way I could have used the older models indoors. In other words, the satellite reception is great. For the money, it may be worth choosing a different model, as this one is now discontinued. Makes me wonder if that is a sign from Garmin??
Very good and capable. Takes a while to understand all the detailed features, but they are all very good.
This GPS is amazing. I recieved it as a Chrismas present several years ago. I primarly use it when driving in the car. After using it for a while and researching the mapsource software I decided to buy it. This software is worth the $$. The software lets you download maps. With the maps you have dl'ed to the gps you can search for intersections, addresses, parks..you name it. One really cool feature is you can search for a business by name get driving directions to their location and their telephone number so you can call ahead (say to order takeout). The software ads another dimension to the versatility of this unit.
The only downside is no expandable memory. This is a bit of a dated version. Newer versions come with micro-sd slots. The bigger the sd card the more maps/info you can cram into this pocket sized travel guide.
For the legend c shop around I paid $180 for mine.
When this unit works, it is pretty slick. Most of the negative responses I've seen about this thing have to do with people not understanding what maps come with it, expecting too much out of the routing function, or the lack of NMEA output (which is more of a real problem).
My eTrex Legend C, which has been replaced twice already and is presently in the box on the way back to Garmin for the third time, has issues anytime it is plugged into either the USB of a computer, or the Garmin car adapter. It has had the same problem repeatedly and while Garmin, to their credit, has allowed me to exchange it each time without any issues, it keeps having the same problems.
When it is turned on while plugged in to either a USB port or car adapter, it thinks it is a Vista C, which only presents the problem that I loose the GPS elevation and instead get a "barometric" altimeter saying that I am at something like 65555' at all times.
Garmin has told me one the multiple times that I've called that it is 1. "not something they've ever heard of," 2. "A problem with a bad run of cables and that both the unit and cables need to be replaced," and finally, 3. that "it is a bug with the Legend C, but shouldn't cause any problems."
However, the first unit I had I tried to ignore the problem but slowly the unit stopped receiving satellites and started turning itself off, so I am skeptical when they now tell me that it doesn't cause problems.
Anyhow, hopefully my fourth unit will work. We'll see.
Moved to California a year ago. Driving into LA scares me; high traffic, high speeds bad drivers..........this Garmin is an awesome deal. Navigates me to LAX with EXACT directions. Even tells me which lane to be in!! Screen is very readable, voice prompts are dead on accurate. Saves addresses and searches. Locates by name, address, type of location (fuel, church, store). Bean bag mount is VERY secure and doesn't require adhesives or drilling on the dash. Tried a friend's and bought this one. HIGHLY recommend this Garmin.
I have had one for almost 1 year. It work well until recently. It fails to acquire satellite signals nearly every time I try to use it now. It's useless. It will sometimes acquire a signal if I turn in on and off several times. Garmin's support is non-existent. I have updated software regularly. A web search indicates that this problem has been ongoing for quite a while.
I got it out of the box, set up the "home" feature and my two adult son's took it with them on a West Coast road trip to watch 5 major league games from San Diego to Seattle. They totally relied on it. I use it every day for work as I travel the largest geographic county in the United States. I only have one minor regret... It doesn't operate on batteries for use away from a 12 volt power source. Oh well, being 99% pleased with a product is pretty hard to top. Great work, Garmin.
I bought this when we were moving to Houston and it has saved me countless hours of getting lost in a city with plenty of roads to get lost in. Out of the box I had a minor hiccup in trying to locate Satellites but a reboot of the unit cured that. After that it was smooth sailing to get the product up and working. Directions are clear and most addresses can be easily found. I have used this in Houston and Calgary, Canada with great results
I would say 90% of the time I have no issues with this product and it works great.
Pros: easy to use, accurate mostly, clear spoken directions, good price, lots of features
Now for the cons.
Sometimes gets confused when roads are close together, takes about 20 seconds to get a satellite lock when turned on, maps are a bit dated so you can't find newer addresses and some of the businesses it locates for you have moved on.
All in all a great investment.
Wonderful, took it all over northern California including the bay area and mountains east, it even took us on forest roads and never got lost during the two weeks in unfamiliar areas. My mother was absolutely amazed and thinks someone live somewhere programs each trip.
software is way over priced and doesnt include updates...very hard to link to computer....very poor customer support.....and dont try to find any upgrades or q&a on any product that is last years
This unit is great for all around use; hiking, biking, marine, and auto. Auto function is simple, but effective. It essentially picks a route between 2 waypoints. We load Topo charts too onto the SD Card for hiking, and mountain biking. The unit floats!
SD Card: The largest file size the unit can read is 64MB, BUT you can load as many files as you want onto the SD card. You tell the PC Software to upload to the hard drive, then use a card reader. If you go direct to the SD Card while installed on the GPS then you are limited to 1 file. You can use an SD card as large as you want, with as many files as you want (just don't transfer files larger than 64MB).
USB/Serial: You can easily buy a USB to Serial cable adapter if your PC does not have a serial port.
Pro: Uses an SD card for fast uploading of detailed maps.
Con: Only can upload 60 MB of data onto the SD card. I have a 1GB SD card and it won't add onto the data that was uploaded, it just keeps re-writing over the first uploaded detailed map. Therefore, had to buy 2x64mb SD cards ($16 each) to upload additional detailed maps of europe so that we don't need to take our laptop with us. I guess this is a plus because no other portable GPS comes with the external memory capability. Magellan seriouly needs to upgrade this feature to be able to read off of >1GB SD cards.
Pro: Menu features are fairly easy to navigate through.
Con: No auto-reroute feature. Have to push 2 different buttons to get the unit to recalculate new route. No voice feed back feature telling you to turn. You do however get a very annoying audible "beep, Beep, BEep...." noise as you approach closer to your next turn.
Pro: this value pack came with an ok car stand for the unit.
Con: doesn't come with a USB connector to your laptop, just a serial connector. Hard to find newer laptops with a serial port.
Comments: if you can wait for the next generation gps units... do! You may be disappointed with what's out in the market in terms of handheld gps units that double up as automobile units.
I just bought the color unit with the entire travel package (Software, cables, SD card, car cradle)and have just begun to play with it, and I am extremely impressed with how the unit functions. Once I learned how to maneuver the unit, and downloaded detailed maps, I get an accurate and concise street by street map and directions. I am planning some longer trips and will use the unit as my primary map guides.
I will also use the devise to plot and measure our Cross Country course, which should be more accurate that using the wheel to measure the course.
Like the other reviews, the battery life is very disappointing, but if it is plugged into the car power outlet, it will stay lit and will not drain the batteries.
This is my first GPS device; I've seen other GPS devices design specifically for the car (Magellan Roadmate 700 etc), but what drove me to buy this one was the portable size of the unit.
I've used it in both rainy overcast and clear sunny weather in the SF Bay Area - SF to Petaluma to Dublin, and I get good connection with up to 6 or 7 satelites. The key is to get a lock-on, before starting your trip. Usually takes less than a minute to lock into the satelite(s).
I was considering using my PDA (Sony TG50)as a GPS (via Blue-Tooth connections), but I'm glad I purchased this separate unit as there is no car power adapter for the Clie (recharging yes, but)and the cost for the blue tooth version was about $350.
The Mapsend software that came along with this package is very up to date and I was able to find and set user-points quite easily. I found setting the user-points on the device alot easier than on my home computer. The driving directions are not exactly my regular routes, but come pretty close.
Using the 64mb card is ample space so far. Car adaptor is a must. Firmware upgrade was not difficult. Have not had to call Magellan for customer service, yet...
Overall a very good product and one that gets me from point A to point B, without spending over $425, including Case too.
This is the first review I post for any product but I had to leave word. Nuvi 360 has it all: ease of use, thin, bluetooth, bright screen, accurate within a few feet. Optional traffic receiver sounds good but does not offer analysis of detour. Overall, I am extremely pleased and haven't left home without it.
VCery happy with this purchase! I bought the 360 over the 350 for the Bluetooth. So far it is a great unit: very accurate and fast. At Pricegrabber.com I found the best prices delivered. I would recommend this unit to anyone who travels. It is very easy to operate and attaches easily to the windshield or dash with a sturdy suction mount. It can also be set to play MP3 files and audio books.
It is a valuable tool and has already saved me time. It comes in handy when you are in a new area or need an alternate route idea.
I purchased Nuvi360 for just more than 900USD, features and other things are good, but during Thanksgiving i got GPS from Mio for little less than 200USD. Both GPS worked well, i used Mio GPS in NY downtown under highrise buildings but there was no problem of finding signals, when we travelled via Lincoln tonnel we lost GPS signal (which is quite normal) but once we came out of tunnel GPS acuired signals in less than 30Sec and recalculated the distance and map.
I also used WALKING mode of Mio GPS to roam in NY and it was quite exciting.
I would recommand people to go for Mio (unless u want to have Traffic alert which is not in Mio but is part of NUVI 360).
I purchased this GPS at a clearance for only $5.00! Yes, eat your heart out! I purchased the Jornada 548 for $100 off of Ebay so I have a great GPS unit for only a few bucks. When I started using the unit, there were several things that I desired in a GPS unit that the software would not do. For instance, I live in a rural area and many of the places that I go are not physical addresses. The upgrade software enables the user to store locations based on GPS coordinates. It cost $29.00 to upgrade and was definitely worth the investment. As far as reliability, it is solid. It locks onto the satellites quickly and has never lost the signal. Maps takes quite a bit of space, so I bought a 256 MB flash card and am only using a small amount of that for the 2 maps that I store on my Jornada. I have not taken a trip with it yet, so don't know how it will do at mapping locations between 2 separate maps. All in all a great unit. I couldn't be happier!
Purchased this GPS to connect to my HP548.
Unit was very easy to set up and install software.
Map files are very large so for any long distance traveling you will need a larger CF card for the map files. I purchased a 256mb just for this purpose.
Initially the unit kept saying to recheck the power connections when I tried to get the GPS to sync with the satellites. When it finally did sync with 3 of the 8 possible satellites it would intermittently lose sync with them making the unit basically worthless.
I have just received my new GPS 76C. It is a great unit. There is however a major downside. If you intend to use this for marine navigation and are looking at buying a BlueChart CD to download Charts, you only get one unlock code with your CD. This means that you can only use one of the region charts. Ie. if you are in the Eastern part of the Med, you can use your one free download to get the chart for this area. If you move to the West of the Med, you now need to buy another unlock code. These are far from cheap and will start costing you a fortune. Buy a Magellan GPS as the Marine CD is cheaper and you get all the charts for the region you purchased included and not have to buy each areas chart. I am now stuck with a GPS that I don't really want.
I bought this unit for GPS data collection. I choose it because of the 115mb internal memory and the 10,000 track points storage, WAAS capability, external antenna jack, USB port, ability to load maps, and color screen. The screen is very readable in full sunlight, better than any I have seen. The rocker switch makes text entry for track and waypoint descriptions easy. Managing Waypoints is a bit cryptic. This is because there is no function to bring up the waypoint list except the "Find" key. At first I did not realize I could search by name, there are many submenus whith additioanl functions. I think it would work better if there was simply a WayPoints menu (there is one for Tracks, and one for Routes, why leave waypoints out?) rather than having to "Find" your waypoints. The MapSource program allows for a DXF export, all I could get was 5 points and a single line. I had collected 7 tracks and 30 waypoints. O.K., why is Garmin putting games on the GPS units? I would rather have the ability to easily manage waypoints or more tracks than 5 stupid games. Without WAAS I was getting +/- 21 feet (7 meters) on top of a levee, and +/- 49 feet under canopy, at least thats what the screen said. I was able to collect track and waypoints under different levels of canopy, but I did notice I lost track points while circling a large riparian area with 40-50 foot trees. Track points can be set to collect once per second, or by distance. The smallest distance is .1 mile, it would be better if it could go down to meters. Track display is very good. Summary: I like the unit, but Waypoint Management could be easier. What would make it better? 1) Waypoint Management Menu screen
2) Allow more than 20 tracks 3) Pulldown box descriptions for Waypoints, Tracks, with user item entrys, like "tree", "River", so I don't have to enter every letter every time. 4) Remove corny games, why would you be playing these games at sea? This is a MARINE unit...
I bought this unit for GPS data collection. I choose it because of the 115mb internal memory and the 10,000 track points storage, WAAS capability, external antenna jack, USB port, and color screen. The screen is very readable in full sunlight, better than any I have seen. The rocker switch makes text entry for track and waypoint descriptions easy. However, once you have waypoints marked it is extremely difficult to delete them. This is because there is no function to bring up the waypoint list except the "Find" key. If you have waypoints far-away from you, you cannot delete them because you can only "find" waypoints near your current position. Well, mine came with 2 waypoints outside of the United States, one was Garmin Europe, the other Garmin Taiwan. These points do not show up if I use the find function as they are too far away. I see no way to delete these waypoints. Also, since there is no Waypoint management screen, you have to delete the waypoints you can find one at a time. The MapSource program does not allow you to delete the waypoints, so how do you get rid of Garmin's headquarters? This seems like a very ridiculous limitation for a NEW GPS unit in this price range. The MapSource program allows for a DXF export, all I could get was 5 points and a single line. I had collected 7 tracks and 30 waypoints. O.K., why is Garmin putting games on the GPS units? I would rather have the ability to manage waypoints than 5 stupid games. Without WAAS I was getting +/- 18 feet (at least thats what the screen said). I was able to collect track and waypoints under canopy, but I did notice I lost track points while circling a large riparian area. Track points can be set to collect once per second. Summary: I like the unit, but not being able to easily manage waypoints is a major limitation. What would make it better? 1) Ability to Delete all waypoints
2) Waypoint Management Menu screen
3) Allow more than 20 tracks
4) Remove corny games, why would you be playing these games at sea? This is a MARINE unit... Suggestion: If you are looking for a GPS unit for Data Collection, this ain't it. Unit has the potential to be a great tool, but un-professional limitations restrict its use to a fancy toy.
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