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Tom Schindler

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Theresa and I got married on September 30, 2006 and as a result we have about $500.00 in Sears gift cards. I want a new GPS to replace my Garmin GPS-V.



We are looking at either the Garmin Nuvi 350 ot the Garmin StreetPilot C330.



The Garmin Nuvi 350 is more than just a GPS. It has a bunch of other crap I might not need or wan't. My fear is that the StreetPilot won't have a POI's I need like Campgrounds.



Anyone here own one of the two you can recomend and if so, why? As I said, I don't care about a currency converter or MP3 player. I just want the best support for POI's and maps.





Tom
 
I borrowed my friends C330 for a few months since he wrecked his car. It was great, and I had it at L'ville. (It was the one that didn't get lost on the way to the dyno) Never really used the POI, but I did use it to find several new, faster ways to get around town. Warm up time is pretty fast, usually taking 30-40 seconds if completely cold using the built in antenna, not an external. Suction mount left something to be desired; the unit is relatively heavy, I think, and the arm it sits on is a little long, so hitting bumps in the road, it fell off on more than one occasion. I never really had any problems with it, and if I had some extra money, I'd definitely pick one up. It's easy to move between vehicles and pretty small. The one plus about the long arm on the mount was it fit perfectly below my mirror and actually looked semi-factory. It's plenty bright, and has an auto night setting. The one major flaw I felt was that the vocal notifications were a little late. I eventually turned them off. If you're cruising along not paying attention, and it tells you you have 50ft to turn, you will have already passed it. You can extend the distance, but then it will pretty much continuously tell you how far it is to turn until you do it; it gets kinda annoying.



Would I buy one? Absolutely. On the way to Louisville, I hit major traffic in Tennessee, and instead of sitting on the interstate, I got off at an exit and just drove randomly for 5 miles, then the GPS bypassed the city and took me on some back roads and probably saved me an hour or more. The only major things are the mount and the voice commands; I could probably fab a mount if I really wanted, and turning the volume down solves the voice problem.
 
Tom, check out http://gpsinformation.net/. They have reviews on most of the units available. They also respond to emails quickly. Garmin.com has a feature where you can view the data for your area. I have never used it so I can't say how good it it. I have been using my GPS-V since they first came out and am about ready to purchase another. I will buy either the Nuvi or the C330 - 340. Also checkout the reviews on epinions.com.



I inquired about wireing the GPS to the overhead console and found out that the C-330 has a regulator built into the cigar plug and that the nuvi does not. The nuvi can work with up to 26 volts. Check that out yourself before you hook one of them up.



Paul Howard
 
Tom,



I have a StreetPilot running v8 software. Garmin's maps and POIs are behind (I say this though I like it). Garmin uses Mapquest data. I forget the other major company, but that major company is a little more on top of the newly finished roads, etc.
 
I work with a guy that was in Somalia, Iraq & I think maybe even Afghanistan as a sniper and he said that his Garmin that he bought in 2000 was better than the Army issue. FYI
 
Tom I also just found out that you can load your own POIs using the loader available free from Garmin. They suggest that you use something like mapquest of Google earth to get the Lat/Lon and import that. Just a thought.
 
I have been using the C330 for about a month now and it does a great job. The POI's can be updated through the Garmin site, therefore, I would think both models would have the ability to have the same info/data. I've only used it to locate gas stations and ATM's...which it did perfectly. The one thing I do not like about the C330 is the glare of the screen. It can be nearly impossible to see during the daytime. I am returning it because of that and seriously considering the Nuvi. I will definitely stick w/ Garmin.
 
Thanks for all your help. It was really helpful.





Tom



p.s. Paul, I see you are from Ashland, KY. Spent some time there at the MAP refinery. You live in a nice area.
 
My uncle showed me his Nuvi, I used it for a few days. Loved it. Recommended it to my friend who just went to Germany for 2 weeks. He bought the Germany card so he wouldn't get lost there. Loved the touch screen and the MP3 abilities. So, can only give reports of 2 long term users who were very happy with the Nuvi.
 
I just got a nuvi about a month ago to replace my tomtom.



It is very nice and I use it everyday for work and just got back from a trip to San Diego. It found us plenty of resturants and several monuments/POIs in the area including parks (didnt look for camping though)



I'm very impressed its much better than my tomtom 300 was.
 
We have the 330 & love it. When we moved to Tennessee it was a godsend! It is so easy to use too. We also have the GPSV and it seems so old fashioned next to the 330 that there is really no comparison. I now use the old V as my speedometer for the Sport Trac. I bought mine at www.gpsnow.com where they are now going for 399.
 
I have the Nuvi 350. I don't regret getting it, that thing is freakin awesome. All the "other" crap almost steered me away from it as well, but that is one fine damn GPS, the right size, dead-on accurate, and sounds clear if you use the british dude's voice.



It works well as an in-vehicle system, as well as an on foot device. I picked it for that reason, in case I need to bail from my vehicle and hoof it. I've had it for several months now and it hasn't let me down yet.



I picked it up for $614 at the site below. I highly recommend them as their service and prices cannot be beat. They have it for $565 now, and the 360 is for sale as well, but for more $.



 
Tonka,



Could you please do me a favor? Could you see if it will find campgrounds, amusement parks, hotels, ets. A list of all POI's it has available. The websites do not say what all POI's they have.



I am seriously thinking of going with the StreetPilot C330 over the Nuvi. I don't need MP3 or anything like that. A good map with good POI's is what I really need. I plan pon buying it from Sears since I have a bunch of gift cards from my wedding. I am trying to buy a GPS and get a moderatey priced entertainment system to replace the one we have that is acting up.





Tom
 
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I have had my 330 for about a year and most of the usage has been on a motorcycle!......I have had outstanding service and no problems at all. I brought a reconditioned unit through Amazon and saved 100 dollars. I'd fully recommend the 330 if you were not interested in MP3's or external speakers.

............Jim
 
We got my sister in law a Street Pilot C340. I played with it some and it was very nice. She loves it and raves about how great it is. I set it up for her and added a bunch of addresses and so on all without looking at the instructions. It is very easy to use.
 
Caymen, I dont know if this is what you wanted but I found Amusement Parks under the "Attractions" menu (closest to me was 35.3-114.9 miles) Under the "spell name" menu I put in Campgrounds & it showed listings for a RV campground 29.8 miles S. of me & the next closest of 114.9 SE (sounds about right)

Hotels are under "Lodging"

The Menus are: Food, Lodging, "My" Locations, Fuel, "Spell Name", Intersections, Attractions, Shopping, Parking, Entertainment, Recreation, Community, Cities, Browse Map, Hospitals, Transit, Auto Services.

There are some photos of the different menus etc. in my library. If you want any specific photo or anything just let me know.
 
I own the c320. Only drawback with the 'StreetPilot C' series is you can not search for addresses by zip code. I was so stunned by this because my friends Tom Tom will allow you to enter the zip code and I though it was such an obvious feature that I had to call Garmin to see if I was missing something. Garmin confirmed their 'StreetPilot C' does not allow for zip code reference when doing searches. This effects me quite a bit here in Miami because several of the town names are similar Miami Shores, Miami Lakes, Miami Highlands, Ft Lauderdale, Ft Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderdale by the Sea, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens and so on. Many people just give their address as Miami which is incorrect and the only way to solve this is with the correct zip code. This would not be an issue if most of your driving is in less metropolitan areas.
 

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