Garmin nüvi 370 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator by Garmin
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Digital camera reviews of Garmin nüvi 370 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Digital camera Review: 370 kept us from arguing!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the 370 before a trip to France this fall. It was handy in Paris but it really proved it's worth in Brittany. When we got off the train and into our rental car in Rennes we were lost, until we turned on the 370 and let it lead us out of town. We became more and more trustful as we drove. And, no more arguments over map reading! We named our 370 Madeline and she has been a reliable companion in Europe and back in the States. I've become fond of her bluetooth capabilites for hands free phone use in the car - works great.Digital camera Review: A "mature" GPS product -- with some of the problems solved
Summary: 4 Stars
Succinctly: it's got a great screen, bright and adjusts for day vs. night. You can change even the accent in which it speaks to you. It will get your there 98% of the time. (as time goes on, and road construction continues, the map gets progressively out of date, but you can buy an update yearly if you desire.) I buy it every other year.
Now this is not my first GPS. We own two cars with them built in, a Toyota Sierra van 2004 and a Lexus Hybrid 2006. The GPS systems are similar but the Lexus is a bit updated from the Sierra. We've also rented cars with GPS systems either internal or external.
Each will give you "mostly" the correct directions with an occasional odd error or weird routing. Sometimes because a very odd route is marginally shorter, it will send you around the mulberry bush to get somewhere you could get to straightaway. It does NOT know dangerous or sketchy neighborhoods. It is unaware of traffic unless you activate the traffic service (which after an initial period, you must pay for on a subscription basis). Its estimates of the ETA are based on your current speed or your average speed but are rarely accurate. This is true of all the GPS units we've tried and/or owned.
All of that said, this unit is small, light, portable, easy to program and has many extra features (most of which I find unimportant or redundant. I do NOT need a GPS to also be my iPod. I like those functions separate.
I have found this to be an extremely easy, reliable and usable unit. My experience with Garmin's tech support with a previous nuvi 360 unit was incredibly wonderful. They are simply great to work with and usually solve the problem forthwith. The best tech support still available on any product I own. This alone is worth the price of admission.
Digital camera Review: A Trip Report
Summary: 4 Stars
Since this is my first GPS, I really have no way to compare whether this GPS is "better" than others. I can only describe my experiences with it.
I first used the GPS locally (southeastern PA) to test it out since I had an upcoming trip to VT where I planned to really use it. I wanted to make sure I'd know how to use the controls. I used the GPS while taking public transit to see what it would say the best route was. I also used it while walking near my home and Philly to see if it knew small local streets. The GPS performed well (detouring whenever I went in unexpected directions) during these tests. There are settings to change your mode of transport to bike, bus, car/truck, foot, etc. and I used many of these modes. I never encountered any streets that weren't known and this surprised me since these maps are from 2006 and there is tons of construction. Speaking of which, that was one of my complaints: that 2006 maps are included with a late 2007 sold product. I think it should have the maps of the year it is sold in.
Then came my trip to VT which I pre-mapped using Google on the way up thinking I'd see if the GPS agreed with the route I took. I had dragged my Google Map directions so that I could avoid the interstate routes that went through NJ. My route was PA->NY->VT on the way up. The Google map directions got me confused around the NY/VT border with some road names I couldn't find, but the GPS led me the rest of the way to Stowe, VT. I had absolutely no problems; I did not get lost once using the route the Nuvi 370 told me to take, even when I accidentally missed a turn and the route changed. Incidentally, it takes about 10-30 seconds to recalculate routes and I was pleased with that. In fact, the only slow point is when I first turned on the Nuvi and it took as long as 3 minutes to "acquire satellites."
I then used the Nuvi around Stowe and found pretty much everything I punched in, including some not-so-run-of-mill places I wanted to visit. Some of the roads were dirt roads, but they were considered finished (just sort of backwoods, which seemed typical near some of the hiking spots I went to). The Nuvi did fail in finding Mt. Elsmore State Park since it took me to someone's house in the woods. It was definitely not a ranger station or park office. That was it's only failure.
Coming home I allowed the GPS to completely figure my route. I had previously set the GPS for "shortest distance," but once I changed it to "fastest route" it put me back on interstates, which is where I wanted to be after all of those one-lane (in each direction) VT roads. Another small problem I had was the Nuvi's insistence on calling road name changes "turns", which sometimes caused me to wonder whether I missed something. I realized that all I really did was change roads so from then on I ignored the word "turn" if I saw I was not supposed to physically turn. Also, I never used the sound so I was going strictly by looking at the GPS. I prefer listening to music so I figured I might not hear the turns anyway. I used the mileage to each turn to remember to change directions or roads.
If you click the bottom left of the screen (Expected Arrival Time when you're routing), you can get a view of the trip information like fastest and average speeds as well as mileage and total time. Clicking the top where the current routing info is (like the road you are on and the very next upcoming turn) lets you see quite a few more steps in the future, which I also found useful.
All in all, I believe this GPS (which I bought here on Amazon) was well worth the money even though the maps are old-ish, the travel kit and languages come separately, the warm-up time is a little long, and I could not get it to stick to the dash (I placed it in the driver's cup holder instead since the dash of my car is too slanted to reach). I will be using my Nuvi 370 often.
Digital camera Review: A company not keeping up with the demand...
Summary: 2 Stars
Until now I have been an admiring and faithful Garmin customer.
Our household now as 2 Garmin NUVIs less than a year old and I have a decade old Garmin MAPS 12. I am inspired to write this review as I am on a projected 35 minute hold (this could be a long review) with Garmin Technical support to obtain a RMA number required to send it back for repair. This is my second experience with horrendous wait times to get Garmin support on the phone. The first pertained to a snafu in obtaining their free North America maps update that took 18 hours to download with a satellite internet connection. The download ended up being for Europe. I had a week of arguing resulted in I made a mistake and "sorry but I would have to pay to get North America".
My ~8 month old NUVI 370 has since stopped functioning. I get a quick start-up screen when unplugged then dies. When plugged in either to the car or the AC charger it will not start. I have left it connected overnight to ensure it is charged but no change. There has been no adverse handling or conditions to cause to to fail. I keep it in the case in my brief case whenever not in use.
I have become greatly disappointed with Garmin products and especially their support. Maybe in our world of off-shoring services we should expect this kind of service for goods we only pay several hundred dollars for vs. several thousand...
My guess...Garmin has been focused on Marketing, developing a huge product line and is dropping the ball on good design and customer support.
Hey a person, and only 26 minutes...Wish me luck on this call.
Oops guess it was my fault. According to the technician the battery is dead and the car or AC charger will not charge it (don't look for this info in the manual, it is not there). I must connect it to the computer USB connection for 8 hours and it should recharge the battery. Also it is imperative that I do on-line software updates regularly (she would not tell me why but I am guessing it has to do with the unit not shutting off and the battery going dead). Another important piece of information not in the manual... I suggested adding this and she seemed too busy to even acknowledge this thought.
So if your going on a long trip bring your computer to charge your NUVI should the battery inadvertantly go nearly dead.
Digital camera Review: A great choice
Summary: 5 Stars
We have not had a GPS before so were a little nervous. We were headed to Europe where we have often gotten lost. However the Nuvi performed admirably almost every time, announcing each turnoff as it approached. We are very happy with our choice.