Garmin 3 5 Inch Portable Navigator Traffic

Recently, a leading tech publication has chosen five of the best GPS navigators in the market, and 4 out of the 5 appliances were Garmin devices. Laymen and experts all agree that Garmin presently develops the best GPS navigators in the market. So if you are in the market buying goods for one, you can't go wrong with this brand. Even when you have chosen the brand, making a final choice may still be rather a daunting task ask Garmin gives rise to a wide range of navigators. For me, I am always for the lookout for a product that gives me the best value for my money. I look for a product that gives me what I need without all the unnecessary bell's and whistles. After galore research, I in the long run settled for the Garmin Nuvi 255W. Here is a quick look at what I got. First of all, the price was right. At the time of writing, it costs around $180 a piece, which is as much as I would spend for a navigation gadget. Despite it is price, it does come with a wide array of features. The 255W is so much more than a GPS device. With just a click of a button, you may find the nearest gas station, restaurant, or mall and find the shortest route to get there. Finding the best route tow reach your destination all the time will help you save time, energy and money. You would think that a GPS device of this price would get you a little 3.5" screen. The Garmin Nuvi 255W has a huge 4.3-inch touch screen that displays very clear images even in bright sunlight. The huge screen makes it much requiring little effort to view, specially while you are driving. It likewise has 6 million point of interests and comes with maps of the USA (including Alaska, and Hawaii), Canada and assorted more. The Garmin Nuvi 255W also incorporates galore functions that were once only found in more highpriced navigators. It comes with text-to-speech functions, bicycle modes, effigy viewer, currency converter, calculator mode and much more. The widescreen nüvi 1350LMT adds free Lifetime Maps and Traffic to the nüvi 1350. In addition, this thin GPS announces streets by name, guides you to the proper lane for navigation, offers pedestrian navigation choices and calculates a more fuel-efficient route with ecoRoute. Add free lifetime maps and traffic to the feature-packed nüvi 1350. Traffic data is altered constantly, and map updates are available up to 4 times a year, with no subscription, fees, or expiration dates. Travel tools include JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. Simply tap the screen for your precise coordinates, the nearest address/intersection, and the nearest fuel and emergency services. Affordable, Widescreen GPS Navigator With Lifetime Maps and Traffic Includes Free Lifetime Map and Traffic Updates With free Lifetime Map and Traffic updates, you always have the most up-to-date maps, points of interest and navigation data available at your fingertips. Traffic selective information is modified constantly, and map updates are available for download up to 4 times a year. Both features are ready to go, right out of the box, with no subscription or update fees and no expiration dates. Navigate City Transit With it is heightened pedestrian navigation capabilities, nüvi 1350LMT is the perfective travel associate for getting around town. Download optional cityXplorer content to aid you navigate city public transit. Know where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation and how long it will take to get there. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities all around North America and Europe. And with prices as low as $9.99, you'll have cash left over to spend in the huge city. Take It With You Twenty-five percent slimmer than other nüvis, you may take the 1350LMT anywhere. It without apparent effort fits in your pocket or purse, and it is rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it commodious for navigation by car or foot. Know the Lane Before It's Too Late No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane support guides you to the rectify lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. See More With nüvi 1350LMT's widescreen display, you'll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3-inch display is easy to read--from any direction. Get Turn-by-Turn Directions nüvi 1350LMT's intuitive interface greets you with two simple questions: "Where To?" and "View Map." Touch the color screen to effortlessly look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with elaborate City Navigator NT street maps, closely 6 million points of interest (POIs), 2-D or 3-D maps and the speed limit for most major roads in the U.S. and Europe. Its digital elevation maps show you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a huge picture of the surrounding terrain. With the 1350LMT's heightened user interface, you may slide your finger to conveniently scroll among screens. You may likewise upload habit points of interest (POIs). And with HotFix satellite prediction, nüvi calculates your position rapidly and without delay to get you there quicker. Go Beyond Navigation Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 1350LMT saves you gas and cash with ecoRoute--a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 1350LMT includes a lot of travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you may download pictures from Garmin Connect Photos and navigate to them. With it is "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your precise latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the nearest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 1350LMT features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you may download habit habit voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards. What's in the Box nüvi 1350; Preloaded City Navigator NT North America (U.S and Canada); Lifetime Maps and Traffic; FM Traffic Receiver With Vehicle Power Cable; Vehicle Suction Cup Mount; USB Cable; Dashboard Disc; Quick Start Manual

Garmin 3 5 Inch Portable Navigator Traffic Pic

Garmin 3 5 Inch Portable Navigator Traffic Picture

Garmin 3 5 Inch Portable Navigator Traffic Pic

Garmin 3 5 Inch Portable Navigator Traffic Image

Garmin 3 5 Inch Portable Navigator Traffic Image

Garmin 3 5 Inch Portable Navigator Traffic Picture

Most helpful client reviews

879 of 892 humans found the following review helpful.
Very good but . . . .
By mitch53
I have this unit for 10 days now and overall I am very happy with it. For it is mainstream feature, navigation, it is excellent. I had a Garmin 350 before this which I loved but it was stolen from my car. I had a Magellan after that which was crap. The price on this unit was great ($247 - Amazon).

559 of 568 humans found the following review helpful.
charging issues
By mark goresky
I've applied this GPS for assorted weeks now and when it is entirely charged it is perfectly great. The voice is piercing and clear, the maps are precise and detailed. It acquires satellites quickly, even in less than optimal circumstances with trees overhead or tall buildings nearby. It is easy to program and the onscreen menus are convenient. It is thin and reasonably light and portable and the screen is big. But it has one major problem: the cigarette-lighter charging scheme does not supply sufficient current to charge the GPS while it is turned on. It is unbelievable that Garmin would grant their unit to be sold underneath these conditions.

When I received the unit I exclusively charged the battery (by connecting it to my computer using a USB cable which Garmin does not supply, but I happened to have one anyway). Then I used it in my car, always plugged into the cigarette lighter. It turns on mechanically whenever you get started the car, and it turns off mechanically when the ignition switch is turned off. However, over this two week amount of time the battery tardily discharged (without my knowledge) until it reached a point where the unit would no longer turn on, even when plugged in to the car charger. Assuming the unit was defective, I called Garmin and (after 20 minutes on hold) learned that the car charger is not up to the task, and that the GPS will tardily lose it is charge when it is turned on, even if you have it connected to the cigarette lighter adapter. I believe this means that if you have a long drive, perchance 8 hours or more, then the unit may not even stay operational allround the full trip. Other persons have made similar complaints in regards to some of the other Garmin GPS units.

The tech help humans explained how to recover from the low battery situation: you do a "soft reset" which merely involves keeping down the on/off button for 10 seconds. Then the unit will turn on, but the battery will need recharging. I was told to do this by connecting it to my computer using a USB cable, which Garmin does not supply with the GPS (fortunately I already had one), but I assume you could do the same by connecting it to the car charger and making sure that the unit is turned off while it is charging.

What a shame that Garmin has produced a superior product with a fatal defect. I will keep mine for now, but I'm going to investigate other charging solutions. Perhaps after reading this review, the wizards at Garmin will redesign the charging scheme for this GPS.

Update (Aug 1/09): I ran into the reason for these charging issues: In the User's Manual, beneath "Troubleshooting", Garmin states that the Nuvi will not charge if it is in direct sunlight or if the temperature is more than 113 degrees F (45 deg C). Since I had my unit attached to the windshield, and since I only drive for the duration of midday, it is always in sunlight. This charging rule applies to numerous other models as well; for any given model you may download the manual from Garmin, turn to the Troubleshooting section, and see whether or not they describe a similar charging rule. (The rule is meant to refrain from overheating the battery: lithium batteries may occasionally catch fire if they are severely overcharged or overheated.) I think this explains why some persons have encountered charging difficulties and others have not: it depends on whether or not the unit is always in direct sunlight while you are driving. Some humans use the friction mount and their Garmin sits on the console. Others drive later in the day or at night.

307 of 309 persons found the following review helpful.
Mostly Impressive - But Some Quibbles
By R. Anderson
Overall, I am very satisfied with the Garmin nuvi 1350 but I do have a couple of minor complaints.

First of all, I do commend that owners/potential buyers visit the Garmin web internet site to read through all of the product info and to review the FAQs. Some folks have made an issue of Garmin not including the USB cable with the device but this did not matter to me. The required cable is a general type "A" to mini "B" USB cable. Many other appliances use this same cable and I already own a couple of them. (I also heard that if you contact Garmin client service, they may send you a cable at no charge.) Other reasons to visit the Garmin site: to register the product, to download the full PDF manual and to install the "my Garmin Agent Plugin" for web updates.

Next, my quibbles:
When the 1350 is plugged into a charging device (PC or vehicle), there is no way to determine when the unit is to the full or entire extent charged. This is very inconvenient. To view the charge level, you have to unplug the device and turn it on. Only then may you see the battery level. According to the Garmin FAQs, charge time is in regards to 4 hours using the vehicle cable and 8 hours using the PC cable.
One of the features of the 1350 is the speed limit display. However, I find this to be of fixed value. The speed display is many times 5 to 10 mph too high equated with the actual posted speeds on the roads being traveled. As a result, this throws off the approximated destination arrival time.

Finally, why I am impressed:
When driving with the 1350, I never had any doubt where I was at any given time and I never had any doubt what my next maneuver would be (and isn't this the bottom line of any GPS?). The voice commands have a great deal of volume, are easy to perceive and they likewise give you adequate lead time for upcoming turns. The commands will likewise repeat but the voice is not annoying. Several times, I on purpose missed a turn to test how the 1350 would respond. It speedily calculated a revised route based on my current location.
I likewise found the screen to be clear and easy to see while driving (in bright sun, shade and at night).
The full manual states that a PDA type stylus may be employed for the touch screen. I found this to be commodious (I'm genuinely using a stylus from a Nintendo DS.) While you may surely use your finger on the screen, this will leave fingerprints and smudges on the screen.

Other notes:
I have the 1350 sitting on my dash with the Garmin "Portable Friction Mount" - highly recommended.
My 1350 came with a free case - the Caselogic MGPS-2. This case adequately protects the 1350 when it's not being used.

Overall, this has been a outstanding buy for my business travels and I would rate the unit as four and a half stars.

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