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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: 15171
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:
 First GPS September 14, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I do not have a very good sense of direction. So, when I got lost in Atlanta I knew this was going to be something I would purchase even though I am an ooccasional traveler. I searched the internet and finally came across this Amazon link and your reviews. Thank you for helping me make what I consider to be an excellent choice.
What I wanted was a GPS that was accurate, a screen that is easy to read, and voice prompts. It is so much more. The maps seem to be very accurate since the unit was made in March of 2007. I hope Nextar will allow downloading of updates as promised on their web site.
I like the audible warning, the sidebar that shows my approach and the audible "boink" when the turn is at hand. (It does not read the street name but that hasn't been a problem at all.) My current street is clearly displayed. I can concentrate on driving and not have to constantly watch the screen. And as others have said so well, if I miss a turn it will quickly account for that.
The sale price of $150 was incredible. The Nextar C3 is everything I need in a GPS...and more.
 Cheap - needs work September 13, 2007
PROS:
* Cheap!
* Destination calculations fast.
* Good maps (but questionable "best-path" calculations)
CONS:
* Street name labels only appear at a zoom level that is too zoomed in. (This to me is unacceptable because the resolution is clearly available to draw the names).
* When the map says you are at a cross street you have already passed it. (This is true at >30mph) - One-refresh predictive positioning would solve the problem.
* Slow to acquire satellites
Can't beat it for the price... September 12, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I purchased this unit for around $150. My experience with GPS devices include:
- Running Routis 2004 (now iGuidance/Intellinav) on my Dell Axim X5 with GPS CF card.
- Magellan 700 on roadtrips with my friends.
- Owned and returned Garmin i3 and c330 units.
- Currently also own a Mio C310x (SirfIII, Teleatlas maps, running Mio's version of iGo software.)
PROS:
- NavTEQ maps. Yeah I know this is a raging debate item, but I gotta tell you out here in SoCal, in my experience, NavTEQ maps just seem to be more accurate.
- Intellinav software. This is by far the biggest plus. I had gotten spoiled using Routis in the past and the low-end stuff from the other companies just aren't as good. While this version of the software does not have Text-To-Speech (TTS), it does include additional sampled voice audio to speak freeway numbers, compass heading directions, and what side of the street your destination is on. These might seem like minor things, until you try another unit that doesn't have them. In the LA area there's often multiple merging freeways. It's definitely *a lot* safer to hear the unit say "keep left onto eight-oh-five North" and keep your attention on the road rather than having to look at the screen to figure out which freeway fork to take while people are merging and braking in front of you. Also, the side-of-street announcement is nice in business areas where every building is not marked with the street address.
CONS:
1) Not SirfStarIII. While this unit doesn't have SirfStar chipset it does seem to acquire a lock pretty readily. My Mio (with SirfStar) does definitely acquire much faster (great hardware, but I'm not wild about their software or the TeleAtlas maps.)
2) Dead battery = lose your settings and favorites. Okay, to be fair, I haven't plugged in a SD card into this thing and maybe that will solve the issue, but as it is out of the box, if you don't keep the battery charged, you lose any setting preferences and favorite destinations you might have set up while using the device before. Probably not an issue for those people who have this constantly plugged in in their car, but I usually have this in the glove compartment and only take it out when I need to actually go somewhere I don't know how to get to. So usually the battery will be depleted as I'll only maybe use it once a month.
3) Dead battery = "Loading..." boot. If you let the battery die on the unit, then the next time you power-on it will go thru it's initial "Loading..." screen which can take a few minutes (seems like an eternity when you're in the car and ready to get going, but have to wait for the thing to boot.) Switching on when there's still battery power doesn't have this issue (but as mentioned above, I use it infrequently, so this happens pretty much everytime for my usage pattern.)
4) Volume not as loud as others I've used. The Mio and Garmins that I've used can be turned up louder than this unit.
Even with the above listed cons, this is still the best unit for the price that I've encountered so far.
Awesome Deal September 3, 2007
Very easy to use and is pretty up to date with its maps. The mp3 player is a nice added feature. I like that it comes with all that you need home charger,car charger,2 mountings,carring case,telescoping pen(for touch screen)and P.C.USB cable for updates.
Great unit for the price August 30, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am very satisified with the value for the money of this GPS.
It is very accurate and takes just minutes to find satellites. The voice prompts are clear and easy to understand. Warns you in plenty of time of approaching turns (IE: "In 1000 feet turn right") as well as a tone and another direction when you get to the turn ("turn right")
The display is very bright and easy to read. It shows the name of the road you are travelling on near the bottom and the name of the road you will make the next turn on at the top. So even though it does not tell you the name of the road, like some higher end units, (IE: instead of saying "Turn right onto Oak Drive", the Nextar unit says "turn right"), it is still easy to glance over and see the name of the road. It also shows the estimated arrival time and the distance to your destination.
One minor glitch is that it sometimes tells you to bear right or left, when really you are just following the same road, but maybe passing another intersection. But a look at the display will show you to remain on that road.
The stopover feature is a plus, as you can enter more than one destination at a time, travel to each one and then continue on.
Touchscreen and stylus are great easy to pan and zoom. You don't have to use the stylus, your finger works well too. I haven't tried the remote, but I guess it is a nice feature if you need that sort of thing. My son said he would use it from the back seat to mess me up and make me drive to Gamestop instead of the Dentist!!
A complaint I have about the display is that the farthest out it zooms is 10 miles. Therefore, you cannot get a really good overview of your trip or where you are in relation to other nearby cities. Kind of frustrating, since it is such a nice unit, that limitation could be frustrating. I guess we'll have to keep the paper maps for that.
While I haven't fully tested many of the POI's, what I did look at and use, seem accurate. Maybe not every restaurant and shopping place listed, but enough if you were in a strange city to be helpful. I especially like the ATM and Hospital POI's. They could be very useful.
Lastly, you cannot save any "waypoints" by the logitude and latitude coordinates and you cannot set any destinations that are not on a road. For example, I tried to set a destination in the middle of a park, but it then attached it to the nearest road. This makes the Nextar good for auto navigation only, and not hiking, boating or geocaching. Too bad, cause it is a very compact unit, and if it had just that feature, it'd be great! I looked at Magellan crossover units that will do both, but they are much more money and they are bulkier than this Nextar. So for the price, this unit is a very good value, and I can afford to get a cheap handheld unit for those uses.
All in all a surprisingly good unit for the money.
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