So... everybody happy with their StreetPilot c320 ???

[macnoodle]

Hi everyone,

I was all set to buy the Navman iCN 520, but then played with a friend's Garmin and I will be buying a StreetPilot c320 on Monday. I already have a eTrex which I've had for years, and which has never missed a beat. I have also used Garmin aviation GPS units in the early days, so I have a lot of faith in Garmin as far as their GPS expertise goes.

But... because you never know... and because I have to do *something* with my time until I can go and buy one of these on Monday - how happy are you with your c320? Any issues that you have come across that you're not so happy about? Anything that you are absolutely exstatic about? Let me know! :-)

This GPS will be used (almost) exclusively in the car, and I will choose accuracy, ease of use and speed of signal acquisition over size or portability. I'm assuming that this makes the c320 a good choice for what I want. Comments?

[ferret79]

Well i have tried the rest but now have got the best havn't tried the 320 but i have had the SP111 and have upgraded to the 2610, as far as i am concerned Garmin are unbeatable both in accuracy/ software / and quality-not to mention readability in sunlight and sound quality although some other makes do make exellent mirrors for combing ones hair in......what other gps system allows you to plan a route on the pc to go any which way you can and then download it to your gps (although not sure if you can do this with the C320) sat lockon are second to none -both my garmins never EVER fail to lock on to sats and never take more than 15 seconds every time..Garmin make some other units look like novelties....Now having said that i will sit back and take the flak.

[rossb]

I am generally happy with my 320. It is lightweight, has an excellent mount, good 3d graphics and sound. Most people I show the unit to are impressed. I would recommend the unit to other people.

Its weakness is at the route planning stage. For me, the route summary is too basic. It allows the user to view each turn in the route, but does not have a route summary, with a text list, or total distance/time. You have to scroll through all the turns, to get the the total time/distance, which is messy. I also found the turn by turn route screen too basic, having a cut down 2d map with very little detail. You can do a workaround by searching for a waypoint, then clicking the show map button. That way, you get the full screen 2d map, with the route shown in red. It is strange garmin did not include a shortcut to do this on the main menu, or on the route summary screen. This is bad interface design.

I was also surprised the unit only holds one route, it is not as if the unit doesnt have sufficient storage to hold routes, having a 256MB card with plenty of free space.

[macnoodle]

Well, I've had the c320 since Monday (Saturday now). I've clocked over 1500 km since I got it, and I am very happy with the unit!

I was well aware of the single route limitation before buying the unit, and after trying 3D mapping I turned it off (I feel it's a gimmick and prefer to have the maps in 2D with "track up" orientation).

The c320 has already saved me at least an hour in time by letting me just drive and follow its direction rather than having to pull over as I get closer to the destination to check the map.

The single route limitation does not worry me, since I usually have to get to appointments in a set order, so I cannot plan my day on a GPS. Should I need to plan something to that effect, I would rather use the Internet maps available to me (the same maps that are installed on my Garmin here in Oz).

Wednesday morning I had to leave at 2 am to be somewhere by 6 am (several hundred km away). It was great to just be able to drive, sip my coffee, listen to some podcasts on my iPod, and let the Garmin worry about navigation. :-)

The c320 passed with flying colours!
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Garmin StreetPilot c320; Garmin eTrex

[Almahadeus]

Thanks guys, I must agree that the c320 is a great piece of kit. Now with the arrival of the POI loader, its become really hard to beat.

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