Garmin Streetpilot c330; WOW.

Mosca · 11-17-05, 04:52

First, on sale at Circuit City for $529. I didn't even check if it could be had online for less, I drove down and bought it and had it right away... just checked, that's a match of the lowest available price online.

Second, this thing is as slick as waxed ice. The learning curve is essentially zero; take it out of the box, plug it in, and navigate. Whoever designed the interface deserves an award.

This is the most impressive consumer electronics device I've seen in years. As disappointed as I was in GPSs 4 years ago, I'm that impressed now. It does exactly what you want a GPS to do; it gives you turn by turn instructions visually and verbally from anywhere, to anywhere, inside North America or Europe (depending on which map set you got and of course where you are using it).

Highly recommended.

Tom

CarWeenie · 11-17-05, 04:59

I have a Garmin Ique 3600 (a GPS/PDA running Palm OS).
Got 1G sd card in it. Can store most of US map.
(I have not tried the 2G sd card - not sure it would work).
Pretty good toy (crashed from time to time).
Got it 1 1/2 years ago for about $400.

By the way, it is MP3 player too.
IPod kicked its a** in term of user interface, though.

White95Max · 11-17-05, 05:00

How does it mount inside the car?

CarWeenie · 11-17-05, 05:11

I assume the question is for me?
There is OEM's beanbag mount and suction cup mount.
I have the suction cup mount (it sticked to the windshield).
The mount comes with the power cord that goes to the 12v thingie
in the car. The mount also has a built-in speaker (with volumn control) so that the driving
direction from the GPS is loud and clear.
The mount is serviceable - not the best.
There are a lot of after-market mounts. The sky is the limit for some of these
mounts (like the car mods that some of you guys are really into.

)

White95Max · 11-17-05, 05:18

Well, no, my question was for Mosca, but I'd guess it's a similar mount for all Garmin vehicle GPS units?

Scottwax · 11-17-05, 06:38

Sounds like a great product. Probably be great for us mobile detailers.

throttlethumb · 11-18-05, 02:39

Thanks for the heads up Scott. I have been thinking about a portable unit for the tow trucks. AAA keeps me busy all of the time and being in a very busy and congested area makes it difficult to remember all the streets. I have a pioneer AVIC N1 in my pick up but its a permanent mount. I think I will go and look into the one you got. If its the same quality as other Garmin products I have seen and used, Its a bargain. BTW... Does it tell you total milage from point a to point b before you leave? Some AAA members only have a basic membership and get 3 free miles before I need o charge them. Many times they dont want to meet me at the destination and wat to pay before I leave. Having a GPS that can tell me the milage of the trip will be a huge PLUS!!!!

Mosca · 11-18-05, 02:59

Big suction cup to the windshield or to a supplied plate that gets mounted to the dash. I put the unit next to the rear view mirror and the mounting bracket is invisible there.

Tom

hadboosttroy · 11-18-05, 02:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mosca

Big suction cup to the windshield or to a supplied plate that gets mounted to the dash. I put the unit next to the rear view mirror and the mounting bracket is invisible there.

Tom

mosca would you mind taking pics? pretty please?

buy the way i used you qew hall of fame thread the other day, thanks a bunch

klnyc · 11-18-05, 02:36

Carmin its so so and over priced.
* Get M$ Street n Trips 2006. Hint: get this w/GPS kit at COMPUSA for 99.99 on Black Friday.
* Get a USB GPS from Ebay for 39.99
* A laptop or pocket pc.

Mitchubishievo · 11-18-05, 02:48

Glad to hear you like it! I work as a Roadshop Product Specialist at my Circuit City (Vernon Hills, northwest suburb of Chicago), and that has been the easiest of all navigation systems to use. Personally, I liek the Tom Tom's more, but I have a much eaier time showing people how to get acquinted wiht the spC330. Once time, as customer said "I'll but it if you can help me install it...it looks kinda of technical." 4 minutes after he pulled around and had me set it in place and put in the directions, he was gone

.

Mosca · 11-19-05, 04:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitchubishievo

Glad to hear you like it! I work as a Roadshop Product Specialist at my Circuit City (Vernon Hills, northwest suburb of Chicago), and that has been the easiest of all navigation systems to use. Personally, I liek the Tom Tom's more, but I have a much eaier time showing people how to get acquinted wiht the spC330. Once time, as customer said "I'll but it if you can help me install it...it looks kinda of technical." 4 minutes after he pulled around and had me set it in place and put in the directions, he was gone

.

It's all about the people, isn't it? The guys at my Roadshop are great. The work they do is super, and I get better service there by far than I do with the attitude-laden people at the local car stereo shops.

I liked the Tom Tom, but not as much as the price differential between it and the Garmin. $500 was my trigger price on getting a GPS, and I decided to go the extra $30 to have all the maps preloaded (the c320 was a tick under $500). I notice that the price has been creeping up $10/day, btw!

klnyc, please justify your statements. What makes the Garmin overpriced? Why is it so-so? What good is a usb gps to me? How would MS Street & Trips work for me? Why would I want to carry around a laptop or pocket pc? Can I mount those to my dash or windshield? Will they have touch screen navigation? Wouldn't it cost more to do what you're saying, but with less ease of use?

Tom