|
| Garmin nüvi 360 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech | 
 enlarge | Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $279.99
Buy New: $174.99
You Save: $105.00 (38%)
New (33) Used (11) Refurbished (9)
Avg. Customer Rating:  1122 reviews
Sales Rank: 19
Color: Li-Io
Media: Electronics
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: 753759058845
EAN: 0053759058846
ASIN: B000EXS1BS
Release Date: October 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Awesome device! September 25, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm a little late in rating this product, but I bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas last year and he loves it. It's a great GPS and we get so much use out of it. It's great getting us where we need to go, great for looking up gas stations, shopping, places to eat when on the road, etc. Worth every penny!
 Never Get Lost Again... September 24, 2007
When I recently bought the Garmin Nuvi 360 Global Positioning System (GPS), I was overjoyed to find a device that could perform all the navigational duties for me. I know I should be ashamed for admitting that, but my sense of direction is too lousy for false pride.
Garmin has been developing GPS technology for 18 years and though it's not their most recent model, based on various reviews, the 360 model seemed to fit most of my needs. One thing that immediately impressed me about my new toy was its portable size. Weighing less than a pound and with dimensions measuring 3.9 x .9 x 2.9 inches, it can fit in your pocket or on the dashboard of your car. The bright touch tone color screen - viewable even in sunlight - measures 3.5" diagonally, taking up most of the device's real estate; and yet the Nuvi 360 still sports a power button located on top, a flip-up antenna, an SD expansion slot on the side, headphone jack, mini USB connector and a microphone and speaker to accommodate hands-free phone calling with its Bluetooth technology (more on that later).
The interface couldn't be more user friendly. The bright backlit display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels responds to the lightest touch. Big readable fonts with three main menus take you into submenus that allow you to configure the system to your personal preferences or to fine tune your navigational search.
The best way I can describe how this GPS operates is to run through the steps.
1. Power it on and touch the "Where To" tab
2. Type in the address you'd like to reach.
3. Voice activated directions including actual street names will guide you turn by turn with a reminder usually one mile before direction change and one more when approaching a turn or exit at 500 feet.
That's it. I've gone to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Upstate New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Rhode Island and Connecticut without once consulting Mapquest or Google Maps. The GPS technology and map directions have always been accurate. The navigation logic is in the receiver's high sensitivity WAAS technology. After some research, I found that WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) technology is the most advanced of its kind out there, owing to a network of ground stations and satellites that obtain and fine tune signals to achieve a pinpoint accuracy within 3 meters. Best of all, once the technology is built into the device, it's free and there are no monthly subscriptions or fees! This also explains its high up-front price, whose cost if you amortize over a period of say, two or three years, doesn't seem pretty steep, especially if you tend to use it as often as possible.
With all machines, you shouldn't trust them wholeheartedly (although this one comes pretty damn close). I know I'm contradicting myself, but I will say that it's a little foolhardy not to back up your directions with some other web-based mapping software. There are times when satellite reception is temporarily lost due to a long tunnel, but I never had reception issues on say, a cloudy day or rainy night. If you know where you're going, I wouldn't recommend using the GPS because awareness of surroundings will always trump technology. Case in point: driving up to my parents' house in New Rochelle, I know I can zoom straight up 95 North and get off at Exit 16. My Garmin always instructs me to begin on 95 North, then inexplicably tells me to detour onto the Hutchinson River Parkway North, only to get back on 95 North. It's a circuitous route and I'm not sure why it does that. Nonetheless, I ignore the step and the device always recalculates for me to continue on 95 North to my desired exit.
With no outside controls, virtually everything on the Nuvi 360 is operated by the touchscreen. This includes the volume control, which, while audible, should not be set to maximum as the sound begins to reverberate and scratch. You can search for various points of interest (POI) such as food, lodging, fuel, nearby parking garages, hospitals, shopping, entertainment, etc. In addition to these specific categories there's an especially handy feature called "Spell Name" whereby you can access Nuvi's database of more than six million points of interest by simply typing the name of any establishment. Nuvi generates a list of names from the device's physical location, with the nearest at the top of the list to the farthest as you scroll down. It's a fantastic tool especially when you don't have internet access handy.
The "Swiss Army" features, as I call them, include an MP3 player, travel alarm, jpeg slideshow viewer, currency converter, world clock and calculator - all neat features to have, although I haven't had occasion to use any of them. The Bluetooth technology, however, is a great, convenient extra. Just sync it with a compatible cell phone and you can talk hands-free while you drive. The sound quality is the same as the voice activated directions, so be sure to set it just below the max.
The device's portability allows you to move it from car to car, which is what I intend to do when I go to Arizona later this week (the Nuvi comes with pre-loaded maps of the North American continent, plus Hawaii). You can also change the mode from "vehicle" to "pedestrian" so a walk or a hike with this in hand will never get you lost.
Included in the package is a vehicle suction cup mount, AC charger, 12/24-volt adapter cable, dashboard disk, USB cable, carrying case, quick reference guide and a user's manual. Out of the box, the Nuvi is already charged. After placing the suction cup mount to my windshield, I snapped the device into place and it was ready to go. The AC charger allows the device to stay constantly charged, but even without it, the Nuvi lasts for a good 3 - 4 hours.
Garmin Nuvi 360 GPS is replete with many features and its navigational accuracy is nonpareil. I'll say it with no shame or discernible compunction: I'm all for machines that do my thinking for me. It really speaks to my lazy side while satisfying the gadget geek inside me. Get one if you have the extra cash and do a lot of driving/sightseeing.
 Below expectation, unfortunately. September 21, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Bought this after reading the overwhelming positive comments here. The most annoying problem is it takes a while to get satellite connection either in open space or urban setup. Sometimes up to around 5 minutes. Another thing I don't like is this NAV often does "recalculation" just in front of intersection, accordingly, ended up taking a wrong way and took more time than should have been time to time. MY unit is broken?
Garmin Nuvi 360 Review September 21, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love my Garmin Nuvi 360. It's small enough to fit in my purse and besides using it as a GPS, I also use it as I would a phone book. I'm able to locate restaurants and gas stations near my current location. Once it's fully charged I can use the Garmin without plugging in the adapter (on shorter trips). It's not 100% accurate but fairly close. It's a good idea to also check directions for long trips via MapQuest or Yahoo Maps. When using the Bluetooth feature (hands-free phone), the clarity through the speakers on the GPS is not the greatest but sufficient. Overall, it's a good buy and easy to use.
Garmin Vs Magellan September 20, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have owned many GPS, my take.
Garmin is slick looking, light and user-friendly, Bluetooth has bad speaker quality ended up not even using, mic, friends instantly said were are you turn it off, all GPS will have map issues, if its Navteq then its going to be wrong on Magellan and or Garmin. Great battery life, very portable. Fun add-ons free, change car to Santa Sleigh.
#1 issue, no street prompt, huge!!!! Recent trip to LA was hard, had to keep looking at screen and hitting details. I've always been especially fond of the way Magellan announces upcoming turns - they are the only GPS that offers a incredibly accurate "bing-bong" sound right before the turn. The key word there is ACCURATE. Yes, Garmin has an upcoming turn tone, but more often than not, it's too early or too late to be effective. Magellan gets it right every time. It's a no brainier GPS!
With the above I can say that on Magellan's you never get lost or even have a gut feeling that is this the turn, with the 360 I am always thinking this must be the turn, so I say this missing feature is huge!
I would recommend the 360 but please don't rule out Magellan, just because they don't look as slick or have great advertising doesn't mean they aren't designed very well, if I had to drive someone to an unknown hospital would pick a Magellan with street name prompt vs. a Garmin without.
Again if you see reviews about incarnate maps it would be that way on a comparable GPS.
Quality, cigarette lighter plug is lose on a few cars I have been in so its the lighter not the car.
|
|
|
Copyright
©
2006 Adminpal LLC | |
