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| Garmin StreetPilot c340 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator | 
 enlarge | Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $365.00
Buy New: $124.99
You Save: $240.01 (66%)
New (13) Used (4) Refurbished (9)
Avg. Customer Rating:  1175 reviews
Sales Rank: 657
Color: Dark Gray
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Native Resolution: 320x240
Free Memory Slots: 1
Display Size: 3.5
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.3
Dimensions (in): 4.4 x 2.8 x 3.2
Array:
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Warranty: One Year Garmin Factory Warranty
MPN: 010-00401-20
Model: 010-00401-20
UPC: 753759050658
EAN: 0753759050658
ASIN: B000A5TAT2
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 c340 January 15, 2006
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
it is a product with excellent potential, versatile, easy to setup and not too hard to use, potentially good value and will serve its user well as soon as garmin puts some decent US-wide maps in it,
the c340 worked ~92% for the Miami, FL region, i only missed one meeting, which actually happened to be an important one, in ohter cases it guided me well
i sent the product back to the manufacturer based on 60-% performance for mid-NJ, which made the product totally useless for where i actually live and spend most of my driving time
As with all portable units, some good & bad points; read on! January 12, 2006
45 out of 45 found this review helpful
Having switched from a petrol car (with built-in navigation) to a diesel one (without built-in navigation), I decided to invest in a portable navigation unit.
Having owned a Garmin GPS2 in the past, I trust their technology, and so considered the c340 & Tom Tom 700 . In the end though, my decision was based around how useful Bluetooth connectivity (available on the Tom Tom 700) was against traffic avoidance (available on the c340). I decided that traffic avoidance is more important for me (but didn't want to have to rely on my mobile to get this data (Tom Tom 700)).
A couple of things to mention about the c340.
0 the c340 doesn't have dead-reckoning on-board. Once it looses
sight of sattelites it stops guiding you until it
re-acquires. Built-in systems have positional technology
on-board, along with connections to your reversing lights and
speedometer; therefore, once they loose sight of satellites,
they use data obtained from these additional sources of
information to continue guiding you to your destination. If
this ability is important to you, look at the Garmin
Streetpilot 27xx range. Garmin is the only company that makes
a portable unit that offers this functionality. Of course,
because of its additional capability, be prepared to pay more
for it. The 27xx range of units have to also be
professionally fitted.
o if you buy an additional antenna (the GTM11) (& turn the
option on) the c340 will warn & guide you around any jams
etc... One point to note though; this service is a
subscription service in other countries like the US, but comes
with lifetime subscription in the UK.
o always check that you're comfortable with the unit at maximum
volume & the radio turned on. Some units (such as Navman
Icn520 & some PDA/GPS combinations) are too soft at maximum
volume. The c340 is loud enough. Oral instructions are very
imporant especially as you'll be moving.
o realistically assess your future needs; if you travel widely,
then a unit with more maps loaded on-board may make more
sense. If you're going to stay in one place, then buy a unit
to which you can add maps. The c340 (mine anyway) comes with
the whole of Europe pre-loaded.
o whilst i have read about screen visibility issues on the c340,
I myself, haven't had any issues with this. The screen is
clear and crisp, automatically adjusting for day / night
driving. Bright colours for daytime driving & dark ones for
nightime driving. The unit (if programed to do so) will
automatically switch between these modes when sunset/sunrise
is reached. This can be distracting when you're learning to
live with the unit, but you soon get used to it.
o Two types of voice guidance are available on the c340;
text-to-speech (where the street names are announced) &
distance (where you're warned to turn in so many feet / metres
etc). Not many other units have text-to-speech capability.
It's very usefull whilst driving. One note though; if you
travel outside your own country (and they happen to speak a
different language) then text-to-speech
doesn't work (unless you switch the unit to that countrie's
text-to-speech capable voice). What you'll have to do is
switch to the "standard" voice (feet'n'metres) for your
country.
o Garmin make it very easy to update the actual software
engine. Just download a small piece of software from their
site & install it, connect up the c340 via the supplied USB
cable and double click the icon. Then leave it to do its
job. Other items (like the various voices) are not updated
in the same way, but, it's just a case of downloading the
update from the Garmin website and (whilst still connected to
the PC) double-click on the update.
o the c340 has an SD memory card expansion slot
o It doesn't come with a wall plug, but ships with an in-car
windscreen suction mount and power adapter for the lighter
socket. You don't need a wall plug, as, when it's connected
to a PC via the supplied USB cable, this powers the unit. It
has an on-board, rechargeable battery, which means you can
walk about with it if you go sight-seeing.
o I'm not so happy with the map. Some addresses are located in
the middle of intersections! Whilst this isn't a Garmin
problem (they buy the maps off a third-party company) it shows
a lack of quality testing. For the price of this unit, I
expect door-to-door navigation. It has to be said though,
that all the portable units have problems with this aspect of
routing. Check this out whilst still in the shop; plot known
routes on the unit (but none involving your home!) and see
if you're happy. Plot the same route on as many units as you
can & see what the outcome is.
o Garmin don't supply any information on how the software work
(ie, when you set your vehicle type as car / taxi / bus etc...
how this changes the way in which routes are calculated. When
compared to my previous car (a Nissan with their own version
of navigation (Birdview) installed; for a given route(in this
case my drive into work) the unit doesn't plot the shortest
route (I never use "fastest time"). Additionally
when "highways" is set as an avoidance, the unit not only
avoids motorways (sorry, I'm from the UK) but also avoids
A-roads as well (one down from motorways for those outside the
UK)! I suspect that this is a cultural issue. The difference
between what I know is the shortest route(which my Nissan used
to plot) and what the c340 plots is minimal though. Still....
it does raise some doubts which need careful consideration in
your decision (especially so if you're outside the US I think).
o If your windscreen is heated (or has solar reflection
capability) test the c340 in your car before you buy it. Some
people's units have problems acquiring satellites when such
windscreens are fitted. I don't have any such problems though.
o you can do some pre-travel planning; the unit will tell you
what is available near a city you specify. All points of
interest are categorised; you choose what you want it to
display.
o Only one waypoint (a stop-off point between your start and
destination points) can be input into a route. If you need to
input more than one, then the c340 isn't for you.
On the whole though, I am happy with the unit. I'm trying to find out from someone at Garmin if they can tell me how the software behaves (for reasons mentioned above). Once I have this information, I can use my unit optimally. If anyone from Garmin is listening though; I would resolve the cultural issues that have crept into the programming of these units, which should make for much more happier drivers!
 Do not buy from Garmin January 11, 2006
28 out of 52 found this review helpful
Not that there is anything wrong with this unit, rather, you should be aware that Garmin's technical support is pretty bad. I waited 20 minutes on the line just to get to a technician. And the technician was pretty rude. Paying for a $500 unit, I would expect to get better support than that.
Update:
Garmin software fails miserably on my PC, I can't start any of the updater and Point of interests loader.
To conclude, I wish I have never ordered this item.
 Garmin Streetpilot C340 Review January 6, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Before buying I compared the Streetpilot against the C320, C330, Magellan, and Tom Tom GPS systems and decided the C340 was the best buy. I wanted something that would be simple to use. Straight out of the box the C340 was ready to use. What impressed a co-work was the fact that the programmed maps had updated street names that had been recently renamed. Although it has an internal battery it comes with a DC adapter for the car. It does not come with an AC adapter but you really don't need it. If you have the unit connected to your PC for updates the unit is powered via the USB connection. The first day I fully charged the unit battery through the USB connection. There is one big disappointment with this unit and that is the so called 6 million points of interest. If you plan a trip and decide to make some stops at points of interest along the way you might want to call ahead because they might not be in business anymore. Overall I'm pleased with the product.
 Horrible performance in "county" type roads January 4, 2006
19 out of 21 found this review helpful
I was quite excited using this product in large town settings but was horribly disappointed trying to use it on the back roads of Connecticut. The device kept losing satellite connecticity, took a huge amount of time to regain connectivity, did not recognize the street(s) I was on frequently, was slow responding when I made sudden turns, etc: etc: I tried it both ways - i.e. fastest time and shortest route but the results were no different. I had to return this as it was pretty much unusable.
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