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| Garmin nüvi 360 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Bluetooth and Text-to-Speech | 
 enlarge | Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $279.99
Buy New: $224.99
You Save: $55.00 (20%)
New (31) Used (5) Refurbished (8)
Avg. Customer Rating:  1044 reviews
Sales Rank: 29
Color: Li-Io
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Native Resolution: 320x240
Display Size: 3.5
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 3.9 x 0.9 x 2.9
Array:
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Warranty: Garmin nüvi products purchased through Troy Ford will receive a full 3-Year Warranty. This is a FULL 2-Years longer than the warranty a consumer would receive, if a similar product was purchased through a consumer retailer.
MPN: 010-00538-00
Model: 010-00538-00
UPC: 053759058846
EAN: 0753759058845
ASIN: B000EXS1BS
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 convenient and almost indispensible August 17, 2008
The Nuvi 360 is very easy to use, and very helpful. The bluetooth feature is a very helpful convenience, even tho the sound quality is not high quality, but good enough for telephone use. The maps are clear, and the menus are easy to follow.
 More than a Gps device August 17, 2008
Slim and pocketabl, this GPS is not just for driving directions but also connected by bluetooth to my smartphone for hands free driving. The nice bright screen works well with maps, but also is handy as picture viewer for my jpg images. (The screen is certainly larger than my camera's. I used a 2 gb SD card I had lying around). I started an Audible acoount and the audiobook transferred smoothly to the device. I appreciate being able to bookmark the place that I stopped at for easy restarting. I also tranferred some podcasts to the Nuvi and it did fairly well as an MP3 player.
Pros: Bright screen, Smooth map movemnent while driving, reasonably accurate directions. Great for audible, podcasts and jpgs. Standard mini USB plug for power (same as my smartphone) Street names are pronounced in a recognizable fashion. Pocketable. Fairly reasonable battery life. Snappy rerouting when off course.
Cons: Pokey boot sequence. Needs to have unit's antenna(?) swiveled open in the back for GPS navigation. Didn't pair nicely with my wife's Treo
Affordable and effective GPS August 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I used to have a Garmin iquee3600, which served its purpose but took a really long time to receive the signal of our position. I switched to the Garmin 360 when the price dropped to just $212 on Amazon.
Pros:
1) The blue-tooth connection capability is great for using the GPS unit as a handsfree device instead of fiddling with earpieces when driving.
2) The unit can call out to restaurants and make reservations whilst you're driving on the road, which is so convenient if you're the sort who likes to make last minute decisions about where to go and still wanna call ahead to book a table where you eat.
3) The signal search is swift, no more than 2-3 seconds on any road. The only time it wasn't able to was when I'm still in the carport, but once I pull out and am seconds on the road, the signal locks on and I'm all set.
4) I love the touch sensitivity and the design of the interface. The tones made whenever you touch the screen is pretty cute and makes you feel like it's all fun and games.
Cons:
1) It's not as fast as the iquee3600 to capture a new place you wanna go. The iquee3600 is a PDA, so it practically lists the entire 6 million places of interests/food places etc immediately and narrows it down as you key in the name of the place. That is a feature I miss on the Garmin 360. The Garmin 360 tries to pull out data really slow, between 3-10 seconds depending on how far the place is from where I'm currently located. Most times, it wasn't able to pull our the data that I want in comparison to my iquee 3600, but I use both units side by side, so if I'm looking for a new place, I'll find the address on the iquee3600 and then key it in to the Garmin 360.
2) It doesn't come with a bean-bag, so you'll have to buy it separate if your state (I'm in California) doesn't allow wind-shield mounts. I just use it on my iquee 3600's bean bag with a bit a sticky tac and clever wiring of the unit onto the bag.
Overall, it's an awesome unit and totally deserving of the 5 stars rating. Anyone looking to get one should really consider the Garmin 360.
Excellent performer - experience of a novice August 15, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is my first GPS unit and I am pleasantly surprised. After I received the Nuvi 360 I updated the software and maps to the current versions. The process (really the maps) took some time, but was completed without any problem.
I am just back from a visit to New York City and New Jersey, the unit worked flawlessly and performed beyond my expectations. I experienced no problems with the loss of satellites while driving between the tall buildings in Manhattan. The 360's navigation accuracy is surprising. I was impressed as it even continued to navigate and give directions while in the Holland and other tunnels (without satellites). It was great to be reminded of what to do when you get out at the other end of the tunnel. (I assume it is storing the information in memory before you enter into the tunnel)
As a novice I had my preconceived ideas of GPS, i.e. only useful to get to a destination. The other functions I considered unnecessary if not useless. Was I wrong? In addition to getting me to where I wanted to be very satisfactorily, I will share my experience with some of the other functions:
*Shortcuts - I am glad I have read the manual before the time. I used the suggested "shortcuts" all the time.
*The speaker volume was adequate and I had it for the most part at about of its capacity.
*The trip information page is interesting, but it is not essential. Nonetheless, as it is there, why not?
*Trip and preview page - Used it often to get a better understanding of what was ahead. It is an essential function.
*Next turn page - Used it often to get a better view of what is coming and to confirm instructions. It is an essential function.
*Text to speech - I under estimated its value. It is very helpful, especially in a city like NY, to have the street names spoken. That way I could listen and concentrate and keep my eyes on the road and traffic around me. Based on my experience it is essential and I will not consider a model without this capability.
*After using it I appreciate how well the "Go to" has been designed. The POI information is not only convenient, I found it very useful. For instance, to refill the rental before I dropped it at the airport I could locate a gas station near the airport, enter it as a "via point" and get to the drop off area in the least amount of time. The battle to look for a gas station near the airport is now of the past and I will always use this function in the future.
*Bluetooth - A function I considered unnecessary. Yet, I used it all the time.
*MP3, Audio Books, FM, etc. I have not used it and still consider it gimmicks. However, it may just be that I will change my mind again once I have.
As I am traveling often and, hence, am renting cars, it must be convenient to carry the Nuvi with me. Therefore, the "size of a set of cards" of the smaller screen Nuvi 360 is very convenient. I never found the screen uncomfortable or too small. I don't know what the bigger screen Nuvis are like; however, as I am going to have it with me ALL THE TIME in the future, I prefer the smaller format.
I also bought the Nuvi "Portable Friction Mount Part Number: 010-10908-00". What a useful and innovative product. It is an excellent accessory and I have no intention to ever install the suction cup mount that comes standard. If you travel in many different cars this is a must have.
In summary, I have no experience with other GPS systems (Magellan, TomTom, etc.) or Nuvi models, but am very satisfied with the 360. In fact, it will in the future always travel with me. The only question I have is: How did I in the past get along without one?
An update - after more experience
In the past few weeks I had the opportunity to test the Nuvi 360 in different locations. I flew to Nashville, TN to visit the Center Hill dam and looked at property around the Old Hickory Lake including Henderson. I then flew to Florida where I visited the Tampa/St Petersburg/Clearwater areas on the Gulf coast, Ocala, Orlando inland and the Merit Island/Cocoa Beach areas on the east coast. From Tampa I flew to San Francisco to visit Oakland and Concord.
In summary the Nuvi 360 performed spectacular at all locations. Having read many of the reviews I gave particular attention to some of the criticisms. Here are my experiences:
*I never had a problem with satellite reception, nor did I have to wait "long" for it to connect on startup. (Some reviews mentions 10 minutes. I don't know their locations, but it never happened to me.)
*The Nuvi was always accurate and took me straight to my destinations.
*The POI information was very handy, accurate and useful. I used it all the time to get to my hotel, find a gas station and to decide where to eat. The data base is really good.
*However, once you have a detour/"via point" programmed, it is not easy to change it. It happened a few times that I had a gas station in as a "via point" on my way to my hotel. Later I decided to go eat first and then go for gas, or to go directly to my destination to fill up later. I had to "stop"/cancel the whole trip, lose the destination, and reprogram it from the start. Garmin customer support says there is no other way. However, I would love to know if there is anyone who has a workaround for this limitation.
*I added a 4 GB SDHC memory card to use the Nuvi as a MP3 player. It works well and is a benefit. Although I am not a music fanatic it allows me to download interesting programs and discussions to listen to while driving. It makes the long trips more bearable. Having the Nuvi coordinating the interaction between my cell phone (blue tooth), MP3 and driving directions is very convenient. I have to confess that I changed my opinion and, although not essential, I am very glad that the MP3 feature is available on the Nuvi 360.
*I added a "dubbing" or MP3 stereo connection cable to my standard travelling accessories. Playing through the car's radio improves the sound significantly on long trips (and for use as a MP3 player). For short trips, in my opinion, the Nuvi's sound is good enough and not worth the effort. I added to my car rental "profile" that my rental car should have a MP3 accessory connection on its radio.
*I tried to create a GPX waypoint and saved it on the SD memory card. Unfortunately, Garmin's information on this topic is very flimsy. Although I succeeded I am not comfortable that I did it right or on how to edit and manage the file I created. I wish they could post better instructions on their website.
*Talking about Garmin, apparently the current software for the 360 is version 4.7 and not 4.6 as stated on the Garmin website. I received an e-mail from Garmin Technical Support stating that version 4.6 is the current update for the 660, but the update for the 360 is 4.7.
*The arrival estimates (ETA) of the Nuvi were amazingly accurate. When I was able to maintain the speed limits I consistently arrived at my destination on the time estimated by the Nuvi when I started the trip. Of course, if I had traffic delays it adjusted the ETA accordingly.
*I have the Nuvi on "Shortest Time" as criteria to calculate the route. It seems that it considers the speed limits on various possible roads and logically puts one on a route where the allowable speed limits are higher (Although it is a longer route the higher speed limits should in theory get you to your destination sooner.). Consequently, it will select main streets rather than smaller and sometimes "better" backstreets. I developed a workaround for this issue that works for me. If I steer to the route that I know from experience is a "better" route it will assume that I made a wrong turn and will automatically recalculate and direct me back to the "less desirable" mathematically faster route. However, if I hit "Recalculate" it will reprogram and as a rule put me on the "better" backstreet route I know. Only once did I have to hit "Recalculate" twice before it established the route that I know from experience to be the "best" route. Personally I think that is pretty good and I have confidence to trust the Nuvi when I am at unfamiliar locations. I don't know what the results will be if one chooses "Shortest Distance" as the calculating criteria. As I have confidence in and am satisfied with the current results I will leave it on shortest time and just hit "Recalculate" if I suspect that, or want to check if there is a better route.
*Usually the rental car company is situated in a parking garage at the airport. If one, while in the parking garage, program the Nuvi to your destination it will unsuccessfully attempt to find satellites. Should you not get out of the facility into the open fast enough it will ask if you are under cover. An irritation I encountered is that if you dare to say "yes" it turns off the antenna and will not turn it on again automatically to find the satellites when you actually get into the open. One has to reboot the unit and reprogram the route over again. That can be dangerous if, on exit from the parking garage, you find yourself in traffic at a strange location. My workaround for the moment is to not turn it on until I am in a position where it can find satellites. However, I will keep on testing potential workarounds as I consider it important to have the route programmed and ready before I start driving.
*Another problem I experienced was on arrival in San Francisco from Tampa. On leaving the rental car facility at San Francisco airport the Nuvi (recognizing that the satellites locations were not as it calculated) asked if I was hundreds of miles away from my previous location. I said yes and it cleverly and expeditiously established my new location. However, when I "spelled" my city to go to as Concord it would find every city with the name Concord in almost every other State but the one in California. I repeated the process a few times with the same result. After a few minutes, somehow, suddenly, there Concord, CA was offered.
In summary and after hours and many miles of use at many different locations, I must still give it the highest rating. I am very satisfied and can recommend it strongly. For a person who travels a lot, the Nuvi 360 GPS is one of the best innovations you can have. The very high ratings of so many users are for a good reason.
Nice unit. Vol should get louder. August 14, 2008
Had a Garmin Ique3600 palm based unit before this, so that is what I judge against. Nuvi has 3d view which is nice, but kind of cartoony compared to a standard 2d overhead view. 2d can be selected also on the Nuvi. I use 3d and then slide to drag the map and it switches to a 2d overhead view complete with distance scale (that is missing on the 3d view because the distances are not linear).
- Likes:
-New map (allowed 2gig download of version 2009 maps no problem)
-Suction cup is solid mount.
-Power cord connects to MOUNT, not unit like the newer 200 Nuvi units.
-Easy to remove and reinstall to mount with one hand. Tomtom XL one mount stinks.
-Easy to get to volume and brightness control
-Phone Bluetooth works great with a Motorola Razor 3v. Pulls contact and last called, ect from the phone to the unit.
-Point of interests can easily 1 button dial a hotel or restaurant when bluetooth is connected to phone. (Find location and press DIAL button to ask for reservations etc.)
-Very sensitive antenna.
-Accurate time estimates (250 mile trip off 5 minutes from intial Est! Tomtom XLone off by HOURS!
)
Cons:
-Routing takes more side roads than the Ique ever did.
-Volume should be louder. Wife has a convertible Mustang GT and all the way up there is NO WAY the phone option is loud enough. Even in a Caravan it is JUST loud enough cranked all the way up. The Tomtom XL1 is much louder, but has limits of its own.
Overall good replacement for the Ique3600, but wish the volume was louder and the routing more like the Ique way. (Phone thing rocks though!)
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