Who has one and how good is it. is there any antenna you have to install with it or no.

 

I have a one of their Streetpilot systems, the C330. It's very nice.

There is an optional external magnetic antenna that plugs into a port on the back. However, it is unnecessary for most installations. I've had it suction cupped to the windshield, mounted on the dash next to the head unit, and just sitting on the passenger seat unmounted, and it always worked fine. I wouldn't imagine that you would need the antenna unless you were mounting it actually inside the dash.

It's good at finding things. If you miss a turn it automatically recalculates. You can do either a 3D view of the roads as they would appear from you driving, or a birds eye map view (choose between either 'track up' where the top is in the direction of the motion, or 'north up', where north is always up and the little arrow representing your car turns)

I personally prefer north up.

The unit has a good selection of preprogrammed points. You can type in something like "Circuit City" and it would name all of the stores, in order of closest to farthest. You can also type in an address and go there. Once you've typed in an address, it saves it, so you can just hit "Recent Selections" and it will show you the last few places you've gone to, and you can scroll down pretty far (I've gone at least 20 places back)

The Streetpilot and the Nuvi series are their main car ones. The C330 is one of the lower end models. I'm not sure what the main differences between the Nuvi and the SP ones are, except that the Nuvi ones are much thinner.

I've also recently had some experience with the Zumo 550, which is their top-of-the-line motorcycle GPS, which means it's more rugged. The higher end models are the same essential unit. I think all the SP ones have the same 3.5" screen, except for the 7200 series, which are ridiculous 7" screens. The Nuvi ones vary from I think like 3.5" for the lower end ones to 4.3" for the better ones.

The main thing I noticed was the addition of it reading street names. My SP-C330 says "Turn left here" and lists the name on the screen, but the Zumo 550 says "Turn left on main street" or whatnot. It's a nice feature. Also added on the Zumo was bluetooth. It was easy to link it to my cell phone via bluetooth. Once it was linked, I could use the Zumo as a speaker phone. It would show any incoming calls on the GPS screen, and I could also use the screen to dial a number or call someone from my contacts list or recent calls. Very nice for anyone who talks on the phone a lot.

Of course, those same features in the Zumo 550 are also on the higher end Streetpilot and Nuvi models.

 

does it feel small being on a 3.5" screen? i have nav on my 7" in dash but rarely ever take the max when we go places. I was considering one of these but seems like it'd just be so small to see the screen when glancing at it or trying to find somthing on the map.

 

i have the garmin nuvii and it is a very portable system. it doesnt require any installation and just works wherever you are i would recomend it to pretty much anyone who has to switch vehicles alot. the only problem i have faced with it is that it takes a while to aquire satelllites when it is inside the car ( i usually just put it under the wind shield).

 

I have a Magellan RoadMate 2000 flush mounted in my center vent panel. It takes the place of the left vent. The screen is not small, but I also don't have butcher's hands.

 

The screen can be awkward to type on if driving (which is why it says not to do that), but I have big hands and I don't have a problem typing in an address while parked, or using the other features while driving.

The autoscaling can be annoying sometimes. I find that it zooms in more than I would prefer, and zooming out isn't that responsive. Sometimes it won't zoom our, and if it does, it takes a bit. When the scale is nice, I don't really mind having only 3.5". 7" would be far too much unless it was custom mounted in the dash, because more than 4.3" would reduce visibility too much (especially when I use it in my other car, my Olds, which has a smaller more steeply sloped windshield)

Fr33way, how were you able to flush mount it like that?

 

thanks guys the only reason why i asked was cause i asked for one for my birthday.

 

yea lookign at the tom-tom myself exspesially sence there only 300 now

 

yea i want to go to the shore and stuff and maybe some meets in the future and i dont want to get lost going to either place you know or any place iam not familar with especially when iam a new driver all though i know my way around pretty good though but not everywhere.

 

Circuit City has been selling the SPC330 that I have for $250 for awhile, which is a steal.

 

Got the Garmin 360 for $389 shipped. Worth every PENNY!