Garmin Nuvi 350
Manufacturer: Garmin Part number: Nuvi 350
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- No bigger than a deck of cards, the Garmin Nüvi 350 is more than just another voice-guided GPS device, packing in travel tools, entertainment features, and good performance; just be prepared to pay a price.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
| RadioShack.com | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 Refurbished |
CNET editors' review
Garmin Nuvi 350 price range: $109.99 - $399.98
- Reviewed by: John R. Delaney
- Edited by: Bonnie Cha
- Reviewed on: 02/22/2006
- Released on: 09/12/2005
The good: The compact Garmin Nüvi 350 has a strong GPS receiver and includes lots of travel-friendly features.
The bad: The Garmin Nüvi 350 is expensive, and the traffic receiver and the travel-guide programs cost extra. The Nüvi also lacks an external volume control.
The bottom line: No bigger than a deck of cards, the Garmin Nüvi 350 is more than just another voice-guided GPS device, packing in travel tools, entertainment features, and good performance; just be prepared to pay a price.
User reviews
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Best GPS I've ever used
by reechwuzhere on November 21, 2005
Pros: Good size display, built-in bateries and speakers, stores MP3's and pictures... i love it
Cons: None so far....
Summary: I've already owned a car with a factory GPS in it and after getting rid of it, I purchased the StreetPilot 2720, which I kept for 2 days.
The ...Summary: I've already owned a car with a factory GPS in it and after getting rid of it, I purchased the StreetPilot 2720, which I kept for 2 days.
The sheer size of that device was a huge turnoff for me. Sometimes I am forced to leave my car in a less than desireable spot and the NUVI fits right in my shirt pocket. Whereas the 2720 was about the size of a brick and impossible to stash anywhere.
Anyway, I took the NUVI on a 150 mile trip, through NYC, Long Island and back. The device performed flawlessly.. I was able to listen to a PodCast that I transfered to its internal memory and whenever the NAV needed to guide me, the podcast would mute and the voice prompts would guide me. When the voice prompts were finished, the audio volume would return to where it was.
The device is small enough to not obstruct your vision, but the display is more than large enough to provide the guidance that you need to navigate the cluster of highways that all seem to merge together on NY highways.
The speed at which the device calculates and responds is impressive, as is the POI's that are in the system. Not only does it list the common POI's within 25 miles(food, fuel, atm's), just to test it, I entered Compusa and the damn thing knew where all of those were too !
I love this new toy of mine, you will too !108 out of 112 users found this user opinion helpful.
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great gadget
by gadgetsguy on December 3, 2005
Pros: use right out of the box... very accurate... fast recalculating
Cons: price is too high
Summary: Recently I decided to get a GPS. After much research and when I was almost decided on one, I came across the nuvi 350 in an article from Garmin around ...
Summary: Recently I decided to get a GPS. After much research and when I was almost decided on one, I came across the nuvi 350 in an article from Garmin around October (before it was available) and fell in love with it. I patiently waited for a review finally finding the one by Craig Ellison in PC Mag. It was a great review. I then started searching for prices, found it for $682 at Beach Audio and ordered one. Before placing the order, I called them and they said they had 14 in stock. The next day they cancelled my order and removed the item from their web site. When I contacted them, they told me they were out of stock and not going to get any more. I checked their website and they carry just about every Garmin product. I'm sure they decided they had made a mistake in the price and decided not to honor my order, the bastards. Today I decided to shell out the $899 everybody is asking for it and got one. I opened the box in the store's parking lot and after setting up the time zone and language, I entered my home address and was on my way home. I intentionally missed my turn a couple of times and it recalculated before I got to the next corner. It was very fast and accurate. When I got stock in traffic and slowed down, it added more time to my ?arrival time? and then took away a couple of minutes as I started to move faster. This is my first GPS but after riding around for a couple of hours with it I am finding that it was everything I expected and more. I just started to play around with the travel features. I speak two languages and when I tried the translation, it was very accurate. As I write this, I am uploading mp3?s and a couple of pictures into its extra memory.
I would definitely recommend this product. I think Garmin did a great job.80 out of 84 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Incredible. Simply Incredible.
by icecop on February 3, 2006
Pros: Small form factor & Simple to use UI, Sturdy, Quick Release Windshield Mount
Cons: Power Button Location, No external Volume Control, No Hold Button or Screen Lock,
Summary: This unit arrived yesterday 2/2/06 via UPS. I ordered it from that major electronics chain; you know, the one with the big yellow price tag? Well, I will ...
Summary: This unit arrived yesterday 2/2/06 via UPS. I ordered it from that major electronics chain; you know, the one with the big yellow price tag? Well, I will save my review of the ?worst buying? experience from that place for another post. For now, let's concentrate on the Nuvi350.
As I mentioned, I have had this unit for about 24 hours. I took it out of the box, connected the AC adapter to charge the battery, then took it outside and turned it on. In just about literally 90 seconds, it was connected, and registered. Really very quick. (if anyone read my post on Socket Navigator Software, you will understand my excitement)
I popped the windshield mount onto the back, and I was on my way in about 8 minutes from when I took it off the charger.
After powering the unit on, (see my "cons" about the Power Button) the main menu provides 3 simple choices. "Where to?" "View Map" and "Travel Kit" Although I am not impressed with the Travel Kit, I have to say this is the simplest way to start navigating around the country.
I have been using my PDA as a GPS, so the small form factor of this little guy is key for me. It is very small, and extremely light. It comes with its own carrying case, so when I parked the car, it was a quick disconnect from the windshield mount, and into my pocket safely. Very nice feature! I was impressed.
Entering an address, or POI is very simple via the touch screen. Each letter gives you a quick and significant on screen click when entering, and they are large enough so you don?t have to worry about doubling up a letter during entry. The POI's are chock full of restaurants, banks, entertainment, fuel stations, and the like. I will say scrolling through some of them was a bit of a pain. A small improvement to make this easier would be a simple way to filter them even more.
All the unit settings are done via the touch screen. So while you are using the GPS, and need to adjust a setting i.e. volume, brightness, language, you will need to tap the on screen menu and click through to the setting you need. I found this a bit unorthodox and cumbersome especially while driving. If the unit volume is too loud, and your phone rings, there is no easy access to the mute button, so you will need to get pretty quick with your index finger before answering the phone.
Other cons I found a bit frustrating for a $900.00 unit are the location of the power button. To power on the unit, you simply press and hold the power button. The same to turn it off. However, it is in the exact location of where you would hold the unit, to place it into the windshield mount, or to remove or place it into the carrying case. In the few hours I have been using the unit, I have mistakenly powered it on or off six times. This might have been resolved with either a different location, or a simple 'hold' switch on the side, next to a volume dial. (I know I already mentioned that one)
As far as the MP3 player, Image viewer, Audiobook player, and language translator (aka Travel Kit), I would rather see these items in separate devices, as it may bring the cost a bit lower. Better yet, simply make them as available upgrade options. I have not had the pleasure or displeasure of using any of these items yet, so I will refrain from reviewing the quality of the Travel Kit. I will only comment on their potential usefulness.
In summary, this unit receives my recommendation for a great all around GPS tool, with some bonus features. It's small size will encourage you to take it with you when leaving your car. The quick release windshield mount will amaze you (especially if you have ordered a mount from _rkon.com and found vibration to be a major problem) The simplicity of the UI, and on screen entry will make using the unit a joy. So far, I am very impressed and look forward to using it every day.
I will continue my review after about a month of using it, but right out of the box, it gets a 9 from me. Hope this helps - good luck with yours.39 out of 41 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great, but still some quirks
by ReomeoFoEver on January 12, 2006
Pros: Simple, Great screen, fast, easy to use, trip monitering functions are superior.
Cons: Map Needs upgrading, Takes too long to find sattelites sometimes, could do without mp3 and picture viewer.
Summary: I purchased my Nüvi about 2-3 weeks ago. I feel in love with it out of the box. Ill talk about the problems ive realized since nobody usually writes ...
Summary: I purchased my Nüvi about 2-3 weeks ago. I feel in love with it out of the box. Ill talk about the problems ive realized since nobody usually writes about them. Most People just say how awesome it is and etc. I agree to it being awesome, but I feel I should
also talk about the problems most people leave out.
First of all, if i turn it off while driving and turn it back on in a different location, it takes forever to acquire the sattelites. Sometined you need to restart it a few times. Another problem is its guidance system, I mean, the path it selects for you. you have the option for chosing the fastest time, or shortest distance, however, sometimes it will chose a long way in fastest time mode, and I will have to switch over to shortest distance.
Another Issue I have is that the search function takes a while if you are searching for something by its name. I figure that it has to search the entire map of the USA, however its a bit frustrating when you are sitting in your car waiting for a listing for about 5 minutes.
Third, Garmin needs to update its maps. I Find that many street names, are wrong, many businesses arent showing up, and many addresses i look for arent there. Alsofor instance, if you are going to a location, like when I go to my school, it will guide you to the intersection and tell you which side it is on (very helpful), however, it wont tell you where exactly where it is, it just shows the waypoints on the street.
Next, i feel some of the features are useless, perhaps because i have a Ipod Video 60G, but I feel the picture viewer and the mp3 player are useless. The audio quality is just plain horrible. It is great in theory though, but I would rather have improved speed and tracking versus a picture viewer, mp3 player, coupon book, etc...
And Ultimately, I feel it is a bit high on the price scale. The size and simplicity are impressive, but Im not sure if they are worth the $700-900 price tag.30 out of 33 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Returned it to the shop after 14 days,
by reslfj on February 2, 2006
Pros: Nice hardware, God size, god recalc.speed.
Cons: Bad routing, Speed not shown on main driving page. only one via point, no Lat/Lon input or display...
Summary: Nüvi 350 Europe, firmware 2.70 Jan/Feb 2006.
I needed a god, very small and very portable GPS to use in my own car. More importantly i wanted ...Summary: Nüvi 350 Europe, firmware 2.70 Jan/Feb 2006.
I needed a god, very small and very portable GPS to use in my own car. More importantly i wanted one to be used when I rent a car in foreign airports.
I wanted a navigator with "All Europe" included, the SirfIII GPS chip and easy to use.
I upgraded the software to version 2.70 This was absolutely needed, but also very easy to do.
The Nüvi 350 hardware has a very nice "look and feel" and its satellite tacking was very OK. I will look for a SirfIII chip in my next GPS too.
Routing:
Within 700 meter of my house it routed me 3 times via "dead end" roads, and asked me to turn left or right at least 2 places where this was not allowed. One such place was a right turn into the local "Main street"
I live about 12 km from the center of Copenhagen and all of the traffic restrictions has been in place for a least 5 years, some for more than 30 years.
When I entered a destination in the center of Copenhagen and it should have selected the main highway from north into the city, it selected a nearby street with lots of speed restrictions.
This routing would have been OK 35 years ago before the highway was built.
If I changed the routing parameter to fastest route, it selected the highway from northwest into the city - All wrong.
It must be said, that when I ignored its directions, the Nüvi was very fast in recalculating a new route.
The Nüvi supports one via point, but I had some problems getting the Nüvi to accept that it had passed the via point and it should move on to the destination.
The routing problems may well be a combination of less than perfect road information and the fact that on the Nüvi 350 you can only select shortest or fastest route.
Maybe a route selection of "shortest, but not too slow" and "fastest, but not too long" is needed.
When you drive without a route the speed is shown in the lower left corner, but when you follow a route the arrival time and not the speed is shown. You have to press the menu bottom to read the speed.
With the present strict speed limits and speed/radar cameras, I need the current speed displayed all of the time.
I entered a number of favorite destinations, home, work etc. and downloaded some POI's including speed limits and speed/radar camera positions ( www.radarfalle.de and a few Euros)
The menu system with just one "folder" for favorites and one for POI's, with limited grouping into subfolders made it very difficult to find the destination you wanted.
Speed limit POI's are not real POI's and you will never search for them via the menu, but they sure make it difficult to find that real POI menu entry you are looking for.
The Nüvi 350 can simulate a route, when the antenna is closed, but I found no way to control the simulated speed.
After downloading POI's with speed/radar cameras I made a simulated route through a small town, and got a very nice warning 400 meters before reaching the camera, driving into the town.
I was however also warned 400 meter before leaving town on the other side. I will bet the second camera is NOT pointed in my driving direction.
Whether this is a problem with the Nüvi, with the downloaded POI's or both, I don't know.
If the navigator is shared by more drivers, I think some better system to organize the favorites into groups like work, private, ours, hers, mine and even by state, country or region is much needed.
I think it would be nice to be able to lock your private favorites with a pincode, if someone from work needs to borrow your car.
Loading and saving favorites from/to your PC seems possible, but I found no information about this in the manual.
The Nüvi 350 do not support Lat/Lon coordinates ( except if you dump the favorites files on your PC) and I think that is a very bad design decision even for a "Car only" GPS product.
In Europe where a lot of countries are not yet covered or only the main roads are included in the Nüvi maps, geographical coordinates can be very helpful.
Likewise, reporting accidents is much safer and more accurate if you can easily read out Lat/Lon.
This should be easy to include in a software update.
I am not much into the extras like the "Travel kit" stuff. I have loaded one jpg picture, one mp3 file and downloaded one book from Audible.com just to test it.
It is OK, but for me it is of very limited value.
The audio quality is just OK for "reading" audio books, but for music the quality is not nearly as good as that of my car radio or an iPod.
You may connect the Nüvi to the car radio, but that adds yet another cable to connect and disconnect when leaving the your car with your Nüvi.
The currency translator seems to convert everything via US$ and this is of limited use at least in Europe.
If it was easy to keep the local EU exchange rates updated - maybe via the PC, I think it could be very useful indeed.
The picture viewer was rather slow when loading the thumbnail menus and you should test this if you plan to save more than a few menu pages of pictures. I can see cases where a saved picture could be useful - like a picture of your destination or of the person you are about to meet or of a scanned business card or ....
But just about every mobile phone can do this these days.
The extras you have to buy separately -the Language Guide and Travel Guide - I just don't think so.
I have returned my Nüvi 350. Its is likely better than a lot of other GPS systems, but with a price of about US$ 1000, I found just to many points that was not "just right".
In the end it was the routing problems that made me return it, and these routing problems may or may not exist in other areas.
I did not think I wanted the accept them.35 out of 49 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great! with one problem holding me
by dpremsankar on February 24, 2006
Pros: Light and Easy ;)
Cons: No Multiple point route
Summary: It is great but be aware that only you can have one stop enroute, which is pathetic, garmin which has taken this much pain to create this wonderful next generation ...
Summary: It is great but be aware that only you can have one stop enroute, which is pathetic, garmin which has taken this much pain to create this wonderful next generation gps missed this one ? and I don't see CNET has highlighted this(garmin has highlighted this in there website), because it will be a big downer in real use..hope garmin can update this feature with software...later
26 out of 27 users found this user opinion helpful.
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The Garmin Nuvi 350 is a Work of Art!
by flavarite on January 8, 2006
Pros: User Interface is Awesome! Screen Clarity and Resolution Perfect. More Features Than I Imagined and Continues to Get Better with Software Updates
Cons: Unable To Export Trip Data to PC. Cannot Connect to Third Party Software (i.e. Streets and Trips)
Summary: I recently bought the Garmin Nuvi 350 right before my trip to New York for New Years Eve 2005. My fiancé took it with her on her road trip from ...
Summary: I recently bought the Garmin Nuvi 350 right before my trip to New York for New Years Eve 2005. My fiancé took it with her on her road trip from Kansas to New York while I flew and met her there two days later. She relied on the Nuvi's accuracy to get from point A to B and had absolutely no problems getting there. If she got off track the Nuvi automatically re-routed her and put her on course quickly and safely. Along the way she added various waypoints into her trip and no matter where she wanted to go the "where to" menu had an abundant number of options. While in New York we used the Nuvi to help navigate our way around the city. Unfortunately when I was downtown on 49th and Broadway I could only get the Nuvi to connect to two of the many satellites, so I was unable to use it while deep within the city amongst all the sky rise buildings. Not sure if that?s common across different GPS units but I managed without it.
Here?s a little information about the device itself:
Where To?
-This option allows searching by: Address, Food, Lodging, Fuel, Spell Name, Intersections, Attractions, Shopping, Parking, Entertainment, Recreation, Community, Cities, Browse Map, Hospitals, Transit and even Auto Services.
-The nice thing about it is you can select any of those options and since the Nuvi knows where you're at it finds the closets destination and allows you to scroll through the different destinations in seconds.
View Map
-This options allows you to view your current location on a map whether in route or in a single location. There are three different modes you can view the map in (Track Up, North Up and 3D View). The amount of detail in the map is configurable and very accurate. Onscreen buttons allow you to easily zoom in and out for more or less detail. Another nice feature is the ability to drag n? drop the map to view parts of the map that are off screen.
-While in route; another feature that truly amazed me, you can view your trip details by clicking on the speed indicator. Such details include: Direction, Speed, Distance Driven, Distance Remaining, Overall Average Speed, Moving Average Speed, Max Speed, Total Time in Route, Moving Time in Route and Stopped Time.
Travel Kit
-This option provides many other available functions that make the trip a little more enjoyable. From a Language Guide, Travel Guide, Saver Guide* (new as of January 4, 2006), MP3 Player, Audible Book Player, Picture Viewer, World Clock, Currency Converter, Measurement Converter and Calculator.
*At the time of writing this review I just discovered the new option in the Travel Kit called Saver Guide. I purchased the Nuvi with Software Version 2.40 and Version 2.60 was released on January 4, 2006. Garmin continues to impress me with this device, even after having it for two weeks. Information on the Savers Guide can be found here: http://www.garmin.com/accessories/saversguide/.
The packaging contained everything needed to get me going with my new Garmin Nuvi. With the exception of the City Navigator NT v7 Software on DVD, according to tech support some of the Nuvi's did not come with this software. Garmin?s tech support was wonderful to work with and within a day I received the software in the mail. The City Navigator software allows you to create routes and mark waypoints. I asked them if there was any other software that would work with the Nuvi (i.e. Microsoft Streets and Trips). They commented that the Nuvi will only be able to accept waypoints; it does not use route information from the PC software. No third party software maps are able to be downloaded to the Nuvi. It?s highly unlikely but it?s ?possible? that the device may be able to communicate with an application like DeLORME Street Atlas but not sure at all.
The Nuvi also does not keep track of where you have traveled. So you are unable to download your trip information to a common format such as CSV or GPX.
With that all said, I wanted to share my experience with everyone with this wonderful GPS. It?s the first GPS I?ve owned so I?m a novice when it comes to using it or knowing how to compare it to others. I love it so much that it goes with me every where I go. I travel 100% of my time for business so for me I think it?s one of the best investments I?ve made in the world of technology in a long time. Just being able to use it in the car and take it with you in its carrying case is a bonus. It?s small enough to fit in your shirt pocket and big enough to view while driving 70+ miles/hour down the highway.
I HIGHLY recommend the Garmin Nuvi 350 to anyone that likes to travel for business or pleasure. Or even those that just like to show off new gadgets to their friends.17 out of 17 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great GPS with everything you could want
by cheeseheadjed on January 9, 2006
Pros: Size, internal battery, POI, directions, Extra functions (travel kit), mapping, re-routing, voice name of streets
Cons: Soemtimes weird directions, tinny speaker, learning curve
Summary: This is my first GPS and I did a LOT of research (reading reviews, etc) before purchasing this one. I am very happy with my decision and would highly recommend ...
Summary: This is my first GPS and I did a LOT of research (reading reviews, etc) before purchasing this one. I am very happy with my decision and would highly recommend this product. I have used it for several weeks, including for a drive from the East to the Mid-West. Besides for some minor flaws, this GPS works great.
PROBLEMS/NEGATIVES:
First off, there were sometimes that it would give weird directions or go astray in its guidance. For instance, I was using it around my hometown, and twice the voice and text directions told me to turn when it was clear from my driving knowledge (and even the GPS map) that I should continue to go straight. It was not that going straight was maybe a shortcut, and it was just giving me a different way, it was giving me a totally irrational direction. If I had made the left it wanted me to, it probably would have told me to get right back on the road I had came from. In fact, one time, there wasn't even a right turn possible where it told me to go right. This only happened on limited occasions (twice in weeks of straight driving), and if you looked at the GPS map, it was clear that it was a mistake.
There were also several occasions were my location seemed to drift into some random place. The driving directions didn't change, but for a minute or so, it said my car was in between two roads and facing the other direction. A little bit weird.
As others have said, the speakers are very tinny. They cause voice directions to sometimes be unclear. It's not hard to distinguish right from left....but "bennet" street might not be completely distinguishable on first listen.
I noticed that all CVS Pharmacies are listed as CSV. Not a big deal, unless you are searching for CVS...cause you won't find anything. Hope other places aren't misspelled. Also, when searching...sometimes more is less. If you put McDonalds, you won't find anything. That is because it is listed as McDonald's (with an apostrophe). Just something you need to know. So typing McDon would be much better, cause then it would find them.
Lastly, like the point above, there is a learning curve. You should definitely read the manual first (online). I was trying to use it while walking, and didn't realize you need the antenna up for it to work at all. There are a ton of additional screens you can get to by touching on the map screen (i.e. by touching the "arrival" in the bottom left, the "turn in" on the bottom right or the text directions on top, they all bring up new screens) These are things that just take a little to figure out.
PROS: Ok, minus those little things, some really great pluses with this product!
I wasn't sure how important size and internal battery would really be. I was leaning heavily towards the cobra and decided to go with this one. I think its small size is huge (pardon the joke). It does not interfere with driving vision and it is very portable. I did not feel comfortable leaving it in my car due to temperature or security reasons, and frequently would just eject it and place it in my pocket. Garmin does a very cool thing of putting a slot for the car charger into the GPS cradle (the car suction cup), thus you can leave the car charger plugged in and take the actual GPS in and out of the car. Makes it very easy since you don't have to keep plugging/unplugging GPS every time you remove it from the car.
The internal battery is very nice when you want to use the GPS in a new city, while walking. I used it to find nearby restaurants while walking around the city. very handy.
Having the GPS say the name of the streets (vocally) was also very helpful and a big improvement over a lot of companies whose GPS doesn't do this. It is confusing sometimes which street they are talking about if they say "turn right in .2 miles". Sometimes this could make you think it is several possible streets. Having the name is very helpful.
Tons of Points of Interest, and they all seemed to be up to date. I used this to find places to eat, go to events, find atms, etc. and every time it worked perfect. The search function as well as the category search function provides lots of flexibility, for example if you know the name of the place or just want to find the nearest bakery.
Directions were generally right on! It always got me where I wanted to go. Every address was in the system and the time to calculate routes was always very minimal (1-5 seconds). (It would take about a minute to find its location if it was in a completely new area?i.e. I took it on a plane from NY to Florida, and it took a minute to find itself the very first time I used it in Florida, and same when I used it the 1st time again back in NY). Re-routing features for wrong turns were top-notch. I frequently made wrong turns (because I am an idiot and wasn't paying attention or cause I wanted to explore the area, not because of GPS problems) and it always re-calculated me within seconds. I love the estimated arrival time (which is pretty accurate), especially when it re-calculates a new route on a wrong turn cause I can see how much longer this new route will take me by comparing the new estimated arrival time.
I could go on an on about the positives, but lastly I'll just mention the "travel kit" features. I didn't use a lot of them cause they are extra (like translation guide), but they provide a sample on the product. The .mp3 player and .jpeg viewer work great though. It couldn't be easier to get stuff on there. Just use the USB and the GPS becomes like a hard drive with folders marked "mp3" and "Jpeg"...just drag files into the appropriate folder, and you are all set. The .jpeg viewer is pretty basic (you can view a slideshow and zoom in and out) but I like how you can drag the picture around the screen by just touching it and moving it. The .mp3 player has basic browse features and pauses the music to give directions. Very nice.
So, overall, amazing product. I gave it an 8 because it is not "perfect." Few flaws, but definitely no major ones. The positives way outweigh the negatives. I definitely recommend the product! ENJOY IT!15 out of 15 users found this user opinion helpful.
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One of the best GPS devises on the market
by Thomas B. on March 5, 2006
Pros: Small, precise car and pedestrian navigation
Cons: Costly software and accessories
Summary: Out of box, Nuvi 350 was used to navigate from the store to the destination of interest. Start up time and signal acquisition combined were about 1 minute long.
As ...Summary: Out of box, Nuvi 350 was used to navigate from the store to the destination of interest. Start up time and signal acquisition combined were about 1 minute long.
As opposed to other similar devises, which take you to your destinations via "official" and "well traveled" roads, Nuvi 350 did something unexpected. On the way to my destination, it showed me my own short cuts, which I knew about for some time from my trial and error experiments.
There are 3 options to view navigation map on the screen. I found 3D option to be the most visually pleasing and easiest to follow.
Dynamic magnification option will adjust number of details on the screen based on how far you are form your next maneuver.
This device, because of it size, doesn't obstruct the view and can be mounted in places, where other bulky devices, cannot even fit.
How about using it when you have to walk to your destination? The device can be set to be used in car/bike/taxi/pedestrian/etc. I tried pedestrian option to see what could it possibly offer more. I was amazed by the precision of this device. It sensed every step I made and accurately depicted my direction as I was moving. Moreover, it memorized my starting point (where I parked my car) so I could get back to it.
Nuvi 350, was able to show all the POIs I could think of in my area, even the most obscure ones.
I did not care much about mp3/audio books/etc. as I own another dedicated device for them (can you guess which one?)
I didn't find audio quality to be impressive, but voice was clear and sharp enough to outperform my CD player, which was set at 25% volume.
Accessories such as external antenna, FM traffic receiver are expensive. So is the additional software if you chose to have it.
Free, automatic firmware updates from the Garmin website
Pros: Quick signal acquisition. Excellent navigation capabilities in car and on feet. Screen clarity and colors. Easy to follow map. Devices size/weight. Easy mounting. Autoupdates from the web.
Cons: Price. Price for accessories, and software. Audio quality. No external volume control.10 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good mapping; poor features
by Luculent3 on April 23, 2007
Pros: Maps are accurate, recalculation is quick, text-to-voice
Cons: Very little user display customization, no simulated route
Summary: I tried the TomTom One and then the Magellan Roadmate 2200T before returning both to buy the Garmin Nuvi 350. In some ways the Garmin is better, but in enough ...
Summary: I tried the TomTom One and then the Magellan Roadmate 2200T before returning both to buy the Garmin Nuvi 350. In some ways the Garmin is better, but in enough others it is worse. I plan to return it too.
The big PRO for the Garmin is its mapping, which I suppose is the main reason you buy the thing. It is more accurate than the TomTom One (which once had me go two miles down the road, make a U-Turn (where no U-Turn was allowed), and then come two miles back, to turn right, rather than just having me turn left in the first place), however, even that is a little problematic. It does very well on the open road, but when I used it in the business district of San Francisco, it kept spinning me around in circles, clearly not recognizing where it was.
The down sides for me however are the many user features that this device is missing which the Magellan Roadmate 2200T, and especially the TomTom One both had. Both of those two devices allow you to have the device simulate the route for you. The Garmin Nuvi 350 offers no such feature. Those devices also let you set the clock to any time you wish. The Garmin Nuvi, by contrast, makes you pick your time zone and then select only between 12hr or 24hr clock. There is no option to change the time, so when daylight savings came three weeks early this year, I had to live with the missing hour on my Garmin. Those other two devices, especially the TomTom One, allow you to set the control panel at the bottom of your screen with many more options. For instance, the TomTom One allows you to have constantly on the screen any or all of the following: Arrival time, time until destination, time until next turn, actual time on the clock, current speed, distance to next turn, distance to destination, battery life, and compass (with several different options for displaying the compass). I really liked having all of these options to choose from. The Garmin Nuvi 350, by contrast. lets you have only two items on the screen: Arrival time and Distance to next turn. That's it. The arrival time to me means less than the "time until arrival" because I never know if the Garmin clock is set right (it doesn't tell you what time it thinks it presently is, so if arrival time shows 4:30 p.m., you don't know if the machine thinks it is presently 4:00 p.m. or 3:45 p.m. or what, which seems relevant. Even the compass on the screen has just one option, to always point North. That confuses me, because when the needle is pointing down and too the right (meaning North is down and to the right), I have to figure out in my head that that means I'm heading South West. That's just confusing. The TomTom One, by contrast, will allow you to have the letters "SW" appear in the middle of the compass arrow. And without a simple battery life indicator that those other units have, I've run out of juice a few times, not realizing I was so close to needing a charge.
The Garmin Nuvi 350 does have an on-board trip computer which offers some more information, but you have to press a button to see it, and the map goes away. You can only look at one or the other. Also, the Garmin Nuvi 350 trip computer is running all the time. It doesn't start fresh with each new trip. That seems so odd. So if you drive for an hour, then stop for an hour, then get back in and drive some more, it'll register for the whole two hours plus. In fact, the moment you turn the machine on it starts registering and running, even if you haven't started your car moving yet. I find that trip computer pretty useless because of these reasons.
Finally, both the Magellan and the Tom Tom that I tested will put an arrow on the bottom left of your screen letting you know which direction your next turn will be. The Garmin Nuvi 350 does not. I find this so frustrating. Sure, as you near the turn, it will say out loud "In 0.5 miles, turn LEFT", and when you actually come up to the turn it will show the arrow on your map, but why make me wait until I'm nearly upon the turn to tell me which way to go? What if I'm in the wrong lane? What if I don't hear it in time to get over to the proper lane? I prefer having the advanced notice that the next time I turn, it will be a left turn.
Admittedly, the Garmin Nuvi 350 does have those others beat with its text-to-voice recognition (meaning it actually says out loud the names of the streets), which is kind of cool. But out of all the voice options available, only the MALE, AMERICAN voice sounds anything like a real voice when pronouncing the streets (the others sound like a robot), and some of the street names I hear most often (e.g., my home street, and the main freeway closest to my house) he pronounces incorrectly, which irks my ear every time I hear it. And what's the deal with saying "In one miles..."? Would it have been so hard to recognize that when the distance is "one" to change the word to the singular "mile". Again, not a big deal, but the Magellan Roadmate 2200T got this right, which just sounds nicer to my ear.
Overall the Garmin Nuvi 350 is better for what you probably bought it for... to get you to your destination. But if you are looking to actually enjoy the thing, I would go for a different model. Had I known there were so few user settings options, I never would have bought it.
I do like the little leather case that comes with it, though. That's nice.
10 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Garmin
- Part number: Nuvi 350
- Description: Garmin nüvi is a versatile travel assistant that's approximately the size of a deck of playing cards. The nüvi is a portable GPS navigator, traveler's reference, and digital entertainment system, all in one. Combined with detailed maps, the nüvi provides automatic routing, turn-by-turn voice directions, and finger-touchscreen control - making it easy to find your way anywhere. The unique "text-to-speech" feature calls out turns by street name. The nüvi also offers a travel kit of useful travel tools to help keep any journey fun: MP3 player, audio book player, JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, and calculator. In addition, optional software packages such as the Language Guide and Travel Guide can be added for language and content support.
General
- Width 3.9 in
- Depth 0.9 in
- Height 2.9 in
- Weight 5.1 oz
Acquisition Times
- Cold acquisition times 38 sec
- Warm acquisition times 1 sec
GPS System
- Recommended Use Automotive
- SBAS WAAS
- Accuracy Position - 10 m, Velocity - 0.5 m/sec, Position - 5 m ( With WAAS )
- Update Rate 1/second
- Connectivity USB
- GPS Functions / Services Speed, Distance, Electronic compass
- Voice Navigation instructions
- Antenna External
- Features Built-in speaker, Optional external GPS antenna connection
- Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card
- Maps Included North America
- Software Included City Navigator NT
Digital Player
- Digital Player Yes
- Supported Formats MP3, JPEG
Built-in Display
- Type LCD
- Resolution 320 x 240
- Diagonal Size 3.5 in
- Color Support Color
- Display Menu Language French, English
- Features Touch screen
Connections
- Connector Type Antenna, USB, Headphones - Mini-phone 3.5 mm
Battery
- Battery Enclosure Type Integrated
- Battery included qty 1
- Battery technology Lithium ion
- Mfr estimated battery life 8 hour(s)
Miscellaneous
- GPS design features Clock, Calculator
- Included GPS accessories USB cable, Carrying case, Vehicle mount, Car power adapter
Environmental Parameters
- Min operating temperature 32 °F
- Max operating temperature 140 °F
Manufacturer info
- Garmin
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Garmin products on Shopper.com
-
- Website: http://www.garmin.com
- Address:
1200 E. 151st St, Olathe, KS - Phone: 913-397-8200
- Fax: 913-397-8282
