Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Features

Additional Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Information

Which nüvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators

Fortunately, Garmin has made it easy to interface with the nüvi 350's 700 megabytes of onboard memory, thanks to "plug-and-play" USB mass storage support. Just plug the device into your computer's USB port and you've got instantaneous access to all the audio books, music, photos, supplemental maps and other data on the nüvi 350's internal and SD card memory.

Navigation
The nüvi 350 is first and foremost a personal GPS device. Wherever you go -- in your car or on foot-- the device offers extremely accurate position data, thanks to a high-sensitivity integrated GPS receiver by SiRF and WAAS-enabled, 12-satellite reception. Combined with detailed maps of the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico the nüvi 350 provides automatic routing, turn-by-turn voice directions, and touchscreen control-- making it easy to find your way anywhere. Plus, the unique "text-to-speech" feature calls out turns by street name, and you can choose from either 2D or 3D mapping perspectives when you're viewing your route on the display. Additionally, the nüvi 350 is compatible with Garmin's GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver*, which allows users to avoid traffic tie-ups by simply pushing a button that will calculate a new route.

As mentioned, the nüvi 350 comes packed with mapping data for North America, but you can can also load up your custom points of interest. Set up proximity alerts for school zones, safety cameras, and more using Garmin's free POI (points of interest) loader program (available from garmin.com).

Important note about map updates: Due to our high volume of sales, almost every Garmin portable GPS navigator sold by Amazon.com will come with the most recent map version. If you ever do need a map update, you can purchase one from Amazon.com at our Garmin Store.

The device automatically calculates the fastest route and provides voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions along the way. Tools for the Journey
Navigation is just part of the journey, and the nüvi 350 is one of the first devices to recognize that. The built-in "Travel Kit" offers an MP3 player, an audio book player from Audible.com, a jpeg-format picture viewer, a world travel clock with time zones, a currency converter, a measurement converter, and a calculator.

In addition to the included travel tools, additional software add-ons are available, such as the Garmin Language Guide, with data provided by Oxford University Press. This software suite contains a multilingual word bank, phrase bank, and five bilingual dictionaries. The multilingual word bank and phrase bank supports nine languages and dialects, including American English, British English, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, European Spanish, and Latin American Spanish. Now you can look up and translate more than 17,000 words or 20,000 phrases per language -- right in the palm of your hand. Through the unit's text-to-speech interface, users can get a spoken pronunciation of each entry in the word bank, along with gender and part of speech information.

Another useful add-on software package, the Garmin Travel Guide, is loaded with information provided by Marco Polo. These guides put in-depth travel information such as reviews and recommendations for restaurants, tourist attractions, and more at your fingertips. The software allows you to navigate to an address or search points of interest-- places like hotels, restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions. The nüvi 350 automatically calculates the fastest route and provides voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions along the way. The unit also audibly announces the name of upcoming streets-- letting you keep your eyes on the road while navigating through busy traffic and tricky roadways. And if you stray off course, the nüvi 350 automatically calculates the quickest way to get back on track.

What's in the Box
nüvi 350, Preloaded City Navigator NT for North America and Puerto Rico, Vehicle suction cup mount, AC charger, Vehicle power cable, Dashboard disc, USB cable, Carrying case, Quick reference guide

Which nüvi is Best for You? Note: All nüvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.

Device Screen Size inches (W x H) Included Maps Text-to-Speech (Directions in Real Street Names) Traffic Bluetooth Media FM Transmitter (audio through car stereo system) Multi-Point Routing Battery life (hours) Cont. U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico AK and Canada Europe nüvi 350 2.8 x 2.1 FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 8 nüvi 205 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 205w 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 255 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 255w 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 260w 3.81 x 2.25   Photos up to 5 nüvi 265T 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 265WT 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 275T 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 285WT 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); Photos up to 4 nüvi 465T 3.81 x 2.25 FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 755T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 760 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 5 nüvi 765T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 775T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 780 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 5 nüvi 785T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 850 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 855 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 885T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 1200 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1250 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1260T 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1300 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1350 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1350T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1370T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1390T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1490T 4.4 x 2.5 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1690 3.81 x 2.25 NAVTEQ Traffic, 2 years free (Garmin nüLink! service) Photos up to 4

What Customers Say About Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator:

Both Garmin & Tom-Tom seem to have omitted these stores from their databases - not sure why, but I suspect these companies are trying to make the stores pay to be found by their databases. Same thing happened a few days later when I needed a Hobby Lobby in Chattanooga, TN.

The Garmin does not allow you to set up a trip with interim destinations - the Tom-Tom does. We travel a lot - often with multiple interim destinations.

I had to use Google Map on my phone and then enter the address into the Garmin to get it to direct me. For that reason, I recommend the Tom-Tom over the Garmin for travel.We often need to find specialty stores (Toys R Us, Hobby Lobby, etc).in unfamiliar cities.

I recently needed to find a Toys R us in Knoxville TN. Both stores had been at the same location for 5 of more years.

If so, they are making a huge marketing mistake - should a service like Bing or Google decide to add a subscription talking directional application, both firms would find their product obsolete in short order

While this has taken us to many places. Sometimes the satellites just don't load.

While it has been ok overall (we only use it for directions, not for music and all the other stuff it can do) We have always had the following issues:1. We have used this GPS in various US states over the last 2 years.

So now the passenger just holds it in his/her hand and it is not safe if the driver is alone.2. The suction cup suddenly falls off the windshield at times.

This can be dangerous for the driver. This seems to have nothing to do with area (cos it has happened in areas where it has previously worked) or weather.You would be better off trying the dashboard mounted models, at least they wont fall off and hit the driver's face.

I don't think its worth the money given that these are getting so much cheaper these days.

For example, "Take exit 70, then keep left", or "Turn right, then immediately turn left." However, it may occasionally notify you of a turn a little late, which results in you missing the turn. Text-To-Speech -------------- The text to speech still sounds like it comes from a synthesized voice but it's perfectly intelligible. If you do miss a turn, however, the software recalculates a new route very quickly (within a couple of seconds). What I really love about it is it automatically turns off when the external power supply is lost. nüvi 360---------------------The only difference between the nüvi 350 and the nüvi 360 is the nüvi 360 has Bluetooth for connecting your cell phone whereas the nüvi 350 doesn't.Alternatives------------I would really recommend the Garmin nüvi 765/765T 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic instead.

Auto-Off/Resume Function ------------------------ My Garmin is a permanent fixture in my car. It gets better - it remembers your set destination when it turns back on and resumes giving you directions to your destination. It has shuffle and repeat track/playlist. Thankfully, this doesn't happen very often. Very cool. It has a built-in FM transmitter so you'll be able to listen to the voice directions (and music, if you choose to use the included MP3 player) through the stereo/surround-sound speakers in your car.

When I start my car, the unit automatically fires back up. The package comes with 2 decals that state that your GPS unit is secured with a security code to deter would-be thieves from stealing the unit. In such cases, your best bet would be to simply enter an adjacent or nearby location into the nüvi. I used iGuidance 1.0 for the Pocket PC for over 4 years before I got the Garmin nüvi. It says something like "In.1 miles, turn left onto Broadway" and a few hundred feet before your turn, it omits the information on the distance before your turn and simply says "Turn left onto Broadway." I wish it used feet instead of miles when specifying distances.2 mile (1056 ft) or less but it's a minor complaint. After I'm done filling up my tank, I start my car, at which point the GPS unit fires back up and immediately resumes giving me directions to my destination. It will, however, read playlist (pls) files, which can have their source from one or more folders / sub folders. - MP3 Player The MP3 Player is very basic.

Nice Extras ----------- - SD card Slot Since the unit can serve as an MP3 Player and a photo viewer, it has an SD card slot allows you to load mp3 and photos (JPEG) onto the unit. Here's the clincher - it costs half as much as the nüvi 350 sold here.Conclusion ---------- The Garmin nüvi is a very affordable In-Car GPS Solution. I leave the car adapter permanently hooked up to the unit. Directions ---------- The software lets you know how far ahead your next turn is when you're within between about.1 to.5 miles.

Lock It ------- You can lock your nüvi with a 4-digit PIN. However, I've encountered a few instances where an address or road wasn't in the nüvi database (I have the 2009 maps). The unit will only read mp3 files in the root directory of the SD card; it will not read mp3 files that are in a folder. What this translates to is whenever I turn off my car engine, the unit automatically shuts itself off.

This makes the Garmin nüvi the perfect In-Car GPS solution. nüvi 350 vs. I loved the iGuidance but the Garmin nüvi blew me away.Accuracy -------- The nüvi is very accurate; it has yet to fail to bring me to my destination. - Picture Viewer You can load your photos via the SD card slot and view it on the screen. There are other limitations to the mp3 player: (i) you cannot delete tracks (ii) you cannot arrange/edit your playlists To edit/delete your tracks or playlists, you will need to do so in your computer, mobile device, or music device. As good as the nüvi 350 is, I would strongly recommend the nüvi 765/765T instead. Apart from the cumbersome interface (A-Z keys) for entering your destination, I really don't have very much else to complain about it. Personally, I find the tedium of having to hunt for letters in the A-Z format a real inconvenience and annoyance.

The software gives you the directions for two successive turns that are very close together (say, 300 feet apart) all at once to make sure you have ample time to respond to the second turn that immediately follows the first. It also has bluetooth and a host of other features. This feature is handy for when I need to fill up on gas midway to a destination. Data Entry ---------- The keys for entering addresses into the nüvi are arranged alphabetically from A-Z, not in a QWERTY format. The nüvi 765/765T has *live* traffic (it comes with a traffic receiver and a *free* lifetime traffic subscription) - it factors in current traffic conditions and routes you accordingly. It has many, many more features than the nüvi 350 and costs half as much.

Turning it on and off is a problem. Spent 80 minutes on the phone when ours lost maps, only to have more problems. Would not buy another Garmin product. This GPS is like dealing with a stubborn child.

You can also save locations you go to often. This model also gives you other options like avoiding tollroads, traffic, highways, etc.

When you print out an online map, you're distracted by reading it and when you miss your turn, you're stuck like Chuck to find your way back. My GPS has been the best money I've ever spent.

With a GPS, you don't have to worry about it.It takes a couple of minutes to find a signal sometimes. This talks to you as well as giving you the option to glance down and read the instruction.

If you're like me, then you've rushed out of your office to a meeting and realized once you're on the road that you left your online map directions on your desk. (I hate toll roads).

So once you're ready to leave your current location, you can just hit, "home" or "work" without putting the address every time.