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| Garmin StreetPilot c320 Portable GPS Navigator | 
 enlarge | Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $749.99
Buy New: $189.99
You Save: $560.00 (75%)
New (4) Used (3) Refurbished (5) from $89.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  299 reviews
Sales Rank: 9555
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Native Resolution: 320 x 240
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 2.8 x 3.2 x 4.4
Array:
MPN: 010-00401-00
Model: 010-00401-00
UPC: 753759047894
EAN: 0753759047894
ASIN: B0007LJHV0
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Overall pretty nice September 20, 2005
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
We've been using it for almost a month now.
Pros:
-Size.The size of this thing is perfect because it doesn't obstruct your view while sitting on your dash board.
-Memory. With the c320 you have the option to use an SD memory card to store you map. USE THIS OPTION. Invest in a 1 GB memory card for around $50 now a days, and you can pretty much store the entire US on it. The memory card sticks into a slot on the side.
-Battery Life. This thing came charged which was a huge surprise and bonus because it allowed me to test it out right away. The battery life likely wouldn't be an issue since the cradle plugs into the lighter and you'll likely be using the cradle most of the time anyway.
-Ease of use. It's all touchscreen operation and the icons are very bright and easy to see. Also when searching for an address, the thing is intuitive enough to know what State, or City or Street you are looking for after keying in the 1st two or three letters. This saves a ton of time when keying in addresses. The database of attractions is really extensive. We've been able to find stores, restaurants, coffee shops, GAS STATIONS!!, pretty much everything under the sun.
-Sound. The volume can go very loud! We used it in an convertable rental car and we were afraid we wouldn't be able to hear it over the wind noise. At highway speeds with the roof down, we had no problem hearing it, and it wasn't even at the highest volume setting. The volume is controled via a wheel on the side, not via the touchscreen. This allows you to change the volume easily without navigating through any menus.
-Map Views. You can view your route in several ways: 3D Birdseye, Plan View like a traditional Map, Turn by turn. You can also zoom in really close or zoom out far en route. The more you zoom in the more road detail you get, when zooming way out you can get a sense of your proximity to other points throughout the region.
-Price. Amazon had the best price on this unit when I purchased it. $479. I've since seen it in stores and online for well over $599. At this price point it's a bargain.
December 2005 EDIT:
Reroute/ Detour feature is GREAT!! Found ourselves in a bad traffic jam on highway 29 in Virginia over Thanksgiving holiday. The highway was pretty much shut down... I pushed the Detour/Reroute button doubtful that it was be of any help. BOY was I surprised!!! The unit told us to turn right in 400ft, onto some little back country road that wasn't even paved!!! 15 minutes later we were back up to almost highway speeds on some of the most beautiful back country roads and several miles north of accident and traffic we were in previously...
Cons:
-Map Transfer. The maps come in CD/DVD format and you must transfer them to the unit via a USB connection to the device. Depending on how many maps you want to load up, it seems to take a while. My PC has USB 2.0 but i'm not sure if the unit is USB 2.0 so that may be the cause of the slow transfer. But I imagine maps are pretty large. I transfered the entire east coast and southeastern region and it took over 30 minutes. The maps are actually being transfered to the SD Memory card so it may be possible to load them onto the card via a memory card reader. I haven't tried this however. So just allow plenty of time to transfer your maps.
-Map Update. The maps that came with my unit say 2004 edition and have been fairly accurate. We vacationed in CHarleston, SC and while using the unit there, some of the new roads were not updated on our edition of maps. The roads didn't seem to be newer than 2004 though. I went online to see if there were any map udates available. Unfortunately, the update is only available for the c330. That kinda perturbed me. It seems like the updates should be available for the entire c3XX series since they are all still current models. Maybe they will release one later. It'd be nice to have the most up to date maps as possible. In our home town of Washington, DC I haven't run into too many problems with new roads other than the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and Springfield areas. But that area changes every week so......
edit: I now see that a map update will be mailed out in October. That is encouraging.
December 2005 EDIT: Map update was released. It was FREE!!!! My 5 star rating remains in force....
-The suction cup for mounting on the window is strong but i've noticed that if the front windshield defroster is on, the cool air must weaken the suction because it tends to fall. This only happens when the front windshield defroster is on though.
Overall I say the c320 is a good buy. The c330 doesn't offer an SD Card slot to load your maps onto, and i'm not sure how much memory it has. If it's at least 1GB then thats pretty decent. But if it's less, then it eliminates the option to load the entire US . With the SD card option you can carry all the maps with you at all times.
 Not perfect, but very good September 15, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
After reading the reviews, purchasing the unit and using it for a couple of weeks, most of the reviews are spot on. There are, however, some issues that I have that have not been mentioned.
The first, and most suprising, is that the screen is polorized. That means if you are wearing polarized sunglasses, that you will not be able to see the screen! After using the unit at night, I took my first day trip and when I put on my sunglasses, I couldn't see a thing! I had to peer over them or tilt my head about 45 degrees to see the screen. Without sunglasses the display was pretty nice in the bright fall sunshine.
Secondly, the unit locked up. Unfortunately I didn't have the manual and was not able to use the unit the rest of the trip. There is a reset button behind the removable front bezel which reset the unti.
Third, there is a slight flaw in the touchscreen on my unit. The upper left corner will not respond when touched, but if touched slightly below (say for the minus sign in the map screen) the unit will properly respond.
All said, the unit works and I will keep it, unless the lockup problem reoccurs. It is accurate, plenty loud, compact, the windshield mount sticks very well, battery life is great, and overall worth the money. Also, Garmin has posted a map update which will ship October 15th.
Very pleasantly surprised September 13, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I tend to be quite critical when it comes to products, but I have to say, the C320 blew me away. This easily ranks as one of the best products I have ever bought. I have had it for several weeks now and it still brings a smile to my face when I use it.
First off, the touch screen is a MUST for this type of product. Initially I thought a button interface would be OK, but I was very wrong. There are many "hot spots" on the screen, and the device always seems to know what I want when I touch a certain location. This ease of use is simply unobtainable with buttons. Whatever you do, if you are in the market for an in-car navigation system, get a touch screen.
On to specifics. The unit is very well made and has a quality feel to it. Setup took some time - the desktop companion application was not as easy to use as the device itself - but I did manage to load up maps for Maine, Vermont, NH, Mass, Conn and RI in the provided 128MB card. NY would not fit in the remaining space. My biggest complaint so far is that the database is not up-to-date. We were looking for a highly regarded seafood restaurant which it had in its database. We blindly followed its directions and it led us to a vacant lot where the restaurant used to be. There have also been one or two times when it suddenly blurted "off route - recalculating" while we were traveling along a straightaway on a divided highway. Turns out the highways had been re-routed a little and the device was still tracking the old path. I went to the web to download updates for the maps but could not find any for the C320 (the one I found said excludes 320). I don't know why that would be, but I am hoping an update will be available soon (or, if already available, hopefully I will stumble across it ;-).
Aside from the occassional map discrepancies this product is perfect. The voice directions are excellent, clear and timely. I love how it gives you a heads up "keep right, exit right in 1.5 miles" and when you are approaching a fork in the road it always tells you well in advance to "keep left or keep right". The database is amazing. And I can't emphasize enough its ease of use. The windshield mount works well, but the provided dashboard mount is a permanent fixture. I have ordered a different dashboard mount (removable) for my other car so I can easily move the device between vehicles.
The smallish 128MB card is more than big enough to hold several states. There are several advantages that I can see to the solid state memory of the C320 vs the hard drive capacity of the C330. First, searches are faster because they are searching significantly less data. Second, battery life is better. Third, I expect the C320 to be more reliable than the C330. Lastly, it's hundreds cheaper! If capacity is a problem, 1GB cards are $60 on sale, and would presumably have enough space for at least half the country (6 states in 128MB, 1GB is 8 times larger).
If you are in the market for a nav system you cannot go wrong with this device. Highly recommended.
 unit works great...but screen is horrible to see in daylight September 13, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This would be a 5 star unit if you can see the screen. Between the shiny screen surface (too much glare) and lack of brightness...I could hardly see the screen on sunny day..Very unhappy with the screen. I spend more time adjusting the unit to see it than where I am going...Also...picks up major glare from the dashboard. Hard to believe this thing was field tested and released with this set up. Other than that..very easy to use...great touchscreen...everything else is great..but whats the sense in having a screen you can not see. Also..they shade out all the surrounding roads in a pale yellow so only the main road you are on is dark...again..in the daylight..these roads are basically gone on the screen..One last thing, if you wear polarized sunglasses..forget it.. It cuts down on the screen glare..but for whatever reason..also takes the brightness down even more..and you can barely see anything.. I will try the roadmate 300..heard it has a much better screen.
UPDATE- atfter 9 months of very little use..the battery died just when we needed it..on a trip in unfamiliar grounds. I got a refurb unit back from Garmin that looked like it was used hard..Mine was used very little and babied..not a mark on it..I wish they would just fix the originals and stop doing this refurb thing..I like to know the history of what I have. I know it is more efficient to go the refurn route but I would have waited the extra time it took to repair mine.
Nice unit but a little dim on a bright day September 12, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have an Infinity FX with the in-house nav system so I have experience with these things. The c320 is a great unit for the price. Only two criticisms so far. The screen is too dim on a bright day and there's no "via" (waypoint) capability when putting in a destination. But, it doesn't cost a thousand bucks + either. I think it's a great value but it's a little disappointing the engineers didn't put in quite enough daylight screen brightness.
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