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| Nextar C3 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator | 
 enlarge | Brand: Nextar
Category: CE
List Price: $199.99
Buy New: $179.99
You Save: $20.00 (10%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 15347
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Native Resolution: 240 x 320
Display Size: 3.5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 5 x 3 x 1
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: C3
Model: C3
UPC: 714129932585
EAN: 0714129932585
ASIN: B000P3XKRM
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 61-63 of 63 | | « PREV 1 ... | | |
 Wonderful device at a wonderful price August 7, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have been thinking of getting a GPS for a while now, but couldn't see myself spending over $200 for what would amount to a high tech toy. I am good at navigation and can read a map well, so I didn't think I needed a GPS (although my inner geek wanted one...)
I saw the C3 advertised and it was the answer that I was looking for. Positive reviews and a good price. I bought it and it arrived promptly.
The display is very readable. The directions seem to be very good. It responds extremely quickly when I go off route, and recalculates a new path.
The voice prompt is very pleasant and gives adequate warning before a turn. The volume is adequate to be heard, even in a noisy car with a four-year-old child.
The initial start-up seemed to have us placed somewhere in Tennessee, but after a few minutes, it located us properly.
I have noticed it was a few yards off one time when I was driving, and it kept thinking I was on the access road instead of the main highway. It was annoying in that it kept telling me that I needed to go on the highway.
Some of the POI are also out of date, as it took me to a bank and a McDonalds that did not exist. But the majority of them seem to be fine. Nextar promises an update eventually, but they have not had one so far.
I have not yet tried the MP3 player functionality of the device, but I have no doubt that it will work very well.
There were a few glitches. But overall I HIGHLY recommend this machine. In fact, ours was stolen out of our friend's car, and we bought another one the next day. It was really missed while waiting for it to be shipped. A good GPS at a good price.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!! July 21, 2007
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
This product is so slim and affordable. I didn't want a big bulky navigation system. The case it comes in makes it easier to travel with. I downloaded my mp3 music on it and the music sounds great! I have used this navigation system all week and it worked great! I am so pleased with the fast delivery and the packaging of the product. My friends are so jealous of me now :) I definitely recommend this product to everyone.
Very Impressive! July 10, 2007
72 out of 74 found this review helpful
I'm not sure you could do much better than this for the price. I bought it on sale, more than a little anxious about the quality of the resolution, the touch-screen interface, the accuracy of the GPS, etc. I have been VERY impressed with this unit.
One of the things I like best is its built-in rechargeable battery. This precludes the necessity of having cords hanging all over your dashboard, and is a very nice touch. The battery lasts well over 3 hours on a single charge (I drove for 3.5 hours once on a charge and 25% still remained), and both AC and DC/cigarette lighter adapters are included for charging at home or on the go.
The 3.5" screen is large enough -- and resolution clear enough -- to allow easy reading as well as a good bit of detailed information to be displayed at any one time. The touch screen is easily calibrated and remains quite accurate. Even when typing in letters for a street name, I seldom "fat finger" a virtual button. The display is bright and crisp, and easily readable, even in bright (indirect) sunshine. I use this in a SUV with a sunroof, and also in a car with t-tops and even with the tops out on a sunny day, it's easy to read the display -- and that's not even at its fullest brightness! There is an "auto" setting that will dim the display automatically at night... nice touch. Colors on the display are good and saturated and contrasted appropriately (you can change the overall background or color scheme between four different colors). Viewing can be toggled between a regular view and a "3D" angled-type view in one of three different angles. You can also select whether you want the orientation of the map to be "north" (where north is always up) or "heading" (where the map turns as you drive so you're always moving towards the top of the screen). At any point in map mode, you can "pan" by touching and dragging the map. Very cool.
The flexible holding arm attaches to a cradle and terminates in a rock-solid clampable suction cup. Not once -- even going over rough railroad tracks or off-roading in the Jeep -- has this suction ever broken off my windshield in days and days of continuous attachment. An adhesive-backed disc is also included for dash mounting (you would then suction the arm to the disc). One nice touch is that the GPS unit itself is very easily removed from the cradle... good for security when you're out of your car.
The excellent Navteq software is Windows CE-based.
The GPS signal acquisition takes a couple of minutes from a cold start, less from a warm start (if the unit has been turned off, then turned back on in a short while). I'd call the acquisition time slightly better than average of the GPS units I've used. Once acquired, however, this unit is VERY accurate, typically even locking in signals from 5 or more satellites while indoors. Both the maps and the displayed speed are right on the money, and the turn-by-turn navigation instructions (delivered audibly and visually) are accurate as well. The voice used is smooth and reasonably clear (female voice). You can set the unit to provide all kinds of routes... quickest route, shortest route, routes using or avoiding major roads when possible, routes including ferries or toll roads, routes using or excluding HOV lanes... goodness. When navigating, if you miss a turn, the route is recalculated within a few seconds. You can also look at a route list and avoid a specific road on the list, after which the route will be recalculated.
Points of interest are numerous (1.6 million) and highly usable. There are shortcuts to the more common POIs such as restaurants, ATMs, gas stations, etc. By touching any of these buttons, the display will show you the nearest POIs sorted by distance from your current location. You can also store favorite locations and a "home" location for easy retrieval. Navigation to any of these points, once selected, is as easy as touching one button.
There are some pretty neat ancillary features as well. Of course you can display everything in standard or metric measurements. The GPS info screen shows you the signal strength of each satellite from which a signal is being received as well as your exact latitude and longitude (with a minimum of 3 satellites' signals locked in), altitude (minimum of 4), and speed. I wish you could display the altitude on the main mapping screen, but that's not an option. I'd rather see the altitude there than the time. Perhaps that could be addressed in a firmware update? :) You can set a "speed alert" as well, to warn you if you exceed a preselected speed. You can even choose "auto speed," which uses the type of road you're on to determine the most likely speed limit. Not sure how useful this is, but it's a neat option.
Included in the box are the GPS unit itself (mine came ready-to-go with about a 30% charge), an AC power adapter, a DC car adapter, the windshield suction-mount bracket, a mounting cradle, the dashboard mounting disc, a touch-screen stylus (slides into the upper rear of the GPS unit; I doubt I'll use it much, but there it is), a USB cable, a nice storage pouch, and two owner's guides -- one for the software and one for the hardware. To my surprise (since I didn't read the original description carefully enough), there is also a very nice remote control (with battery) included that duplicates virtually every function of the menu and touch screen on the main unit. It has seven buttons and a four-way circular rocker switch with the typical "OK" button in the middle. I virtually never use the remote, but I suppose it's nice to have, all the same.
A stereo headphone jack is on the right side and allows connection to anything with a 1/8" input jack. I plan on testing this out with my car stereo as it has an auxiliary input jack on the face. I can store hundreds of MP3s on an SD card and away I go! Any navigation audio prompts are played through the car stereo in this set-up, as well.
The user interface is very, very good. The printed user guide isn't necessary at all for basic operation and navigation; however, for some of the more advanced features, the guide is helpful. The MP3 player's interface is wonderful... very intuitive. Loading songs into the playlist is a bit cumbersome, but not overly so, and I didn't buy this to be used as an MP3 player anyway.
The GPS antenna on the rear of the unit swings back and forth, so you can adjust it to improve reception. It also has a jack for an optional external GPS antenna. They thought of everything! Future firmware and mapping updates can be done via either the USB connection (and a computer) or maybe even downloaded onto an SD card.
I can't recommend this unit highly enough. Even at full price ($200) it would be worth it. When it's on sale, though, it becomes an astounding bargain. No buyer's remorse on this product whatsoever!
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