Nuvi 310

slypie · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 19, 2007 Posts: 2

I'm interested in buying a Nuvi 310 because at present I have a PDA with a seperate Bluetoothe GPS system running tomtom software. Whilst I'm happy with it it can be a pain when I'm in a rush to setup and use. I have a couple of questions that I hope someone can answer for me.

1) is the software as good as the tomtom software
2) The tomtom gives details such as time to destination and how many miles are to go. does the Garmin do this as the screenshots don't appear to show this info but was hoping that it could be setup like this.
3) Is the handsfree any good
4) Do you get free traffic updates with this model

Any help is much appreciated.

Also someone in Halfords told me this was discontinued is this correct?

philpugh · Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 5:44 pm Post subject:

Welcome

I bought my wife a 310 (UK/Ireland) recently. It's a very neat unit. I have TT6 on a PDA and I bought mysef a nuvi 660 for the same reasons you state. I picked nuvi because I have owned handheld GPS units by GARMIN for years and they are very reliable. One fault on 3 units since 1999, which was fixed by prompt replacement of the faulty unit within 7 days and outside its official warranty period.

I looked at the TT units but I didn't like the x10's much. The TT ONEs are OK though (size-wise) so if you are a big fan of the TT interface you may want to stick with a TT unit - but it didn't worry me. The nuvi is quite different to the TT to use. You get ETA displayed on the screen along with distance to next event (turn). They don't do distance to destination - but I don't miss it. I guess they would argue that distance to go doesn't really tell you much - you end up converting it to time in your head anyhow. The ETA seems to be more reliable than TT 6 Navigator used to give.

The hands free BT connectivity works very well - check the compatibility list on the GARMIN site(http://www8.garmin.com/bluetooth/phones.jsp) to make sure your 'phone is supported. I found the list to be conservative in the facilities it shows. My 6680 will display SMS messages on my 660 - but GARMIN show this as not supported. (OK - I know the difference between "working on" and "supported on")

You can get life-time TMC subscription toTraffic-Master here in UK (it requires an additional h/w element which is combined with the auto power lead). If you want it then I would suggest you buy it as a package with your 310 (310T?) as this will work out cheaper.

Try and have a play with one at a local retailer (Halfords in UK?) to see if you get on with the interface.
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Phil

slypie · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 19, 2007 Posts: 2

Phil, cheers for the reply I appreciate it. It has made my mind up and I think I'll opt for the Nuvi 310. It's on Amazon's website for £159.99 and compared to everywhere else is a lot cheaper. I've also done a little research and the reviews seem to be positive.

Cheers again

Michael

swing · Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:26 pm Post subject:

Phil - the unit does do distance to destination, but not from the main map screen. From that screen, if you press on the ETA in the left hand corner, one of the bits of information in the top right of the trip computer screen is distance to destination.

Also, for the 310, the traffic unit is not part of the car charging cable, but a separate unit. However, this will allow the choice of the GTM12 (portable) or the GTM10 (designed for installing behind the dash, but uses the car external aerial to provide a better signal).
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Please don't be offended if I do not reply to a PM - please ask questions via the forums.

philpugh · Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:56 am Post subject:

swing - many thanks. I do seem (now) to recall reading hat somewhere - but forgetting it almost immediately - thanks for the reminder.

(Note to self - Must tie knot in handkerchief - d**n forgot the hanky)
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Phil

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