After some thought and research, I purchased the Garmin StreetPilot c320 for my GPS needs. (Or maybe those were more “wants” in my case…) While a map will get you there, a GPS unit is able to get you to your destination in electronic style. For the record, I bought it at Amazon for $318, including shipping, and received it ten days from the time I ordered it.
What’s In the Box?
I received the following:
- the Garmin StreetPilot c320
- windshield mounting adaptor
- dashboard disc
- USB cable
- 12V power adaptor
- Map software on DVD
- Quick start guide
Actually, it’s more interesting to see what they, ahem, left out of the package. The first forget was an AC adaptor (even though Amazon says it’s included). The other forgotten item is equally annoying as there is no owner’s manual, printed, or even on the disc as a PDF. True, I did have the thing figured out in less than 10 minutes, but it would have been easier rather than just playing around and finding features. There is an owner’s manual on the Garmin site in PDF that’s worth a look.
Power Considerations
The StreetPilot c320 gets its juice from a lithium ion cell that comes preinstalled, and is not replaceable. It is recharged when connected to a computer via a USB cable. I don’t like this setup, as on a vacation I don’t bring my laptop, so it would be difficult to recharge. One technique I used successfully is to connect the unit to a small powered USB port, and this works fine. However, for over three C-notes of green, they should sell a complete package in my view.
The on board battery is good for an 8 hour run time between charges. For use in the auto, as it is intended, the included 12V DC adaptor provides the needed electrons without the battery being drained. When connected in the car, the StreetPilot automatically turns itself on and off with the car which is a nice convenience.
Remembering Where We Are
The Garmin StreetPilot c320 stores its travel data on a Secure Digital (SD) flash card. The one included is manufactured by SanDisk, with a paltry 128 MB of capacity. This is enough to store about three small US states. I suppose if your travel plans are limited, it might be enough.
In my view, the only solution to this is to take the included SD card, and toss it in a drawer. With one gig cards in the twenty to thirty dollar range, I put a 1 GB SD card from Crucial in the slot. This allowed me to install the whole lower 48 states, with a little room to spare. Now I’ll never have to upload a map again; problem solved.
One technical note was that I had some data on the new card, and the StreetPilot refused to recognize it. I looked for a “format card” feature in the StreetPilot, and there is none. When I reformatted the card with a flash card reader via a desktop, then reinserted the card, it was immediately recognized so keep this in mind if using a previously utilized card.
If you don’t want to play with cards, the StreetPilot c330, the next higher model up, uses a hard drive, but you’ll pay more for this convenience. With the 1 GB card in the c320, they have exactly the same data installed between the c320 and the c330.
Start Me Up
The first step to guided goodness is to load the software. My unit shipped with the latest version of City Navigator North America, 8, and included maps of both the US, and Canada. If you’re planning on traveling “south of the border,” well, you’re simply out of luck. These maps are quite new as the reviews at Amazon complain that the StreetPilot shipped with version 6, and there was a free upgrade to version 7.
The software ships on a single DVD. If your computer doesn’t have a DVD drive, and run Windows, you’re out of luck (no Linux here, Oldster, and ditto for Apple). Therefore keep that in mind, or you’ll end up irate, and with a useless GPS device.
The first step is to install the software, including entering the 25 digit installation key to unlock the maps. It’s smooth, and in about 5 minutes, they tell you to connect the GPS unit to a USB port, via the included cable. The StreetPilot interfaces via a mini USB conection, that also charges the unit as described above. Once this is all installed, and the GPS is recognized, there’s one more step. There is software to check for firmware upgrades to the unit. My StreetPilot came with the latest and greatest, but apparently everytime you connect it, they check to see if there is an update available. I have mixed feelings about this as it is convenient, and only the most anal retentive will continually monitor for firmware upgrades, but on the other hand, too many things sitting in the system tray running all the time can bring even a fast system to a c-r-a-w-l before too long. Be that as it may, it is what it is and it will keep us from missing an update.
Now that we have the StreetPilot connected to the computer with the mapping software installed, it’s time to upload the maps. Most states can be selected individually, but some large ones, like California, are split in two, and Rhode Island is combined with Massachusetts. I selected the lower 48 states, and hit upload. The transfer took a pokey twenty five minutes as each state was sent to the StreetPilot, but now I had the whole continental US all mapped out in my hand.
The first time the StreetPilot is turned on, you need to be outside. This is because in order to get a fix from three satellites, you need no ceiling in the way. This took about three minutes, and then my location was displayed. It is kind of amazing that some little box can process time signals to the millisecond from three orbiting clocks to number crunch this down to my location, within about ten feet. Wow!
Car Mounting
This type of GPS unit is made for use in a car, on the open road. As such, the StreetPilot comes with a windshield adaptor. This is a large suction cup with an adjustable arm that has a fitting that fits onto the unit. This works well, and it can be set so that there is still an unobstructed view of the road. In a few states, like California reportedly, suction cup mounts to windshields are banned by law, so the solution is to put the suction cup on an adhesive disc that sticks on the dashboard. This will definitely make a sticky mess if you try to remove it.
For more temporary use, like in a rental car, the StreetPilot can be placed into a cupholder, which late model cars seem to have too many of anyway. It received the signal fine this way in my testing.
The Screen
The StreetPilot c320 has a 3.5” LCD screen. I believe it is 320 x 240 pixels. While it is not as bright, colorful, or smooth as the Palm T/X, it is still fine for the intended purposes. The viewing angle is large. The LCD does suffer from being washed out in direct sunlight, but it is still readable, and looks quite good in all conditions.
What keeps the unit easy to use is the LCD is a touchscreen. Therefore there are no clunky scroll wheels, or other buttons. The only downside is that the LCD does get covered with fingerprints, so periodic gentle cleaning is necessary with an optical cloth.
Options Galore
There are many options that can be set into the device. You can choose the voice language from a long list (British English is my favorite). The GPS can be set to regular GPS, or the more accurate GPS/WAAS system which uses ground based antennae to provide additional signals. The audio volume can be adjusted with a dedicated wheel. The brightness of the display can be set. We can choose miles or metric measures. The directions generated can be the shortest (local roads) or the fastest (highways). We can even set it to avoid unpaved roads, toll roads, or U turns.
Where To Go?
Finding where to go is equally easy. If you have an address, then just enter it in and the StreetPilot will find it. You can also enter an intersection without the exact street number location. This feature is the “killer app” of this type of device. Once entered, it can be saved in a “My Locations” folder.
Let’s say that we’ve arrived at a new location at a hotel in an unfamiliar city. This StreetPilot is like having a lifelong native with you. When you want to dine, just hit dining, and it will find food places nearby by cuisine. When you see one that you like, just hit “Go There” and it will guide you there turn by turn. There are similar listings for lodging, gas, attractions, movies, and heaven forbid on your next vacation, hospitals. At least for the area around my home, I found the listings comprehensive, and accurate.
There is even a way to preview an area before you visit. By entering a city, we can see the map before we even go there. Go ahead, throw your atlas out!
Where Do I Turn?
With the above background, I decided to see how this StreetPilot really performed. When first powered on, it takes between one and two minutes before the initial location is generated, also known as a “cold fix.” If we don’t enter in a destination, it will simply display our location, compass heading and the speed we are traveling at, to within a tenth of a mile per hour; this baby is more accurate than my speedometer. In a valley near my house, it loses the satellite signal for a few seconds, but it still continues in the last known direction and speed until it reacquires the signal. In a dense city, along an “urban canyon” of skyscrapers, the internal antenna may need to be boosted with an external one. In my suburban location, the internal antenna was quite adequate except for this one valley location.
Configured with a destination is when the StreetPilot gets you there like a homing pigeon. It will have a route calculated in under five seconds. It will then say “Turn right in 4.7 miles.” The name of the street to turn on will be displayed, although you’ll need a higher end unit to say the name of the street via a text to speech converter that this unit doesn’t have. As we near the turn it says, “Turn right in ‘point two’ miles,” and again when within one hundred feet, it says “Turn right here.” It also will tell me to bear right, and turn on the ramp for a highway when appropriate.
If you look at the screen, it will say turn in 40 feet sometimes when I am making the turn. My theory is that they have the distances from the center of the street, and not the curb where we are, also remembering that GPS is not accurate to within the millimeter, and more like 10 feet roughly. Keeping that in mind, it was never off by more than 40 feet, but in a place with no street signs, with very close streets, it could get a little confusing. A brief glance at the screen should keep most people on course in all but the most difficult situations.
Turn Where?
One of the other great features kicks in when you miss a turn. If for whatever reason you make a left instead of a right, the unit instantly knows this, and recalculates a new route in less than five seconds. This is very important in my mind, because in my research, some users complained that with other units they missed three more highway exits before the new route was available. In testing, I deliberately made four wrong turns, and each time a new route was recalculated quickly, and kept me on track to my destination. This feature is also valuable if you take an unplanned side trip along the way on a car trip. I’ve been hesitant to do this when taking a car trip in the past because once the MapQuest directions are printed, you’re off the map after one turn that wasn’t planned and preprinted.
Conclusion
In summary, I am very pleased with the StreetPilot c320 GPS unit. This is an accurate unit that has the rare combination of ease of use, with many controllable options. I like the touch screen interface, the ease of acquiring and tracking the satellite signals, and the fast calculation and recalculation of the route. The weaknesses are the lack of saying the street names, the need for a Windows OS and DVD drive, and the teeny included SD card (which is easily remedied for a few more dollars). I whole heartedly recommend the StreetPilot c320 GPS to drivers everywhere. With this in the car, it’s virtually impossible to get seriously lost.
–Jonas
Road Trip Update: After taking the StreetPilot unit on an 1100 mile road trip, I wanted to update the impression. Be aware that I relied exclusively on this unit, in areas that I was completely unfamiliar and have not driven before (I didn’t even bring a map). For the most part, it performed very well. It did get me to each location, and most of the directions were quite up to date.
I found that the StreetPilot would lose the signal under the metal roof of a gas service station, in a parking garage, in tunnels and in the deep valleys at Shenandoah National Park. As soon as I was out of these areas, it would reacquire the signal quickly.
One quirk that I noticed was that when I started out in a parking lot, the StreetPilot would display the correct direction to go in, but not say it. This made it a little challenging to get underway. I think that being off the road, in a parking lot, confused it a little until on the roadway.
The database, although quite good, is far from perfect. For example, when I was trying to find the entrance to Shenandoah National Park, I was sent to a Masonic Temple about a mile away, and on a nearby road. This was hardly reassuring, and I remembered a sign back on the road, or else I would have been completely lost. The many other locations I used it for were accurate.
The traveling time estimates were pretty good, and almost accurate. They would change throughout the journey, but didn’t really account for “pit stops.” The human bladder, and the car’s fuel tank can only go so far without needing some attention at some point. One annoying aspect is that when I stop, the SteetPilot is powered down, but then when restarted, the destination is cleared, and must be reprogrammed in, and a route recalculated. Perhaps this can be fixed in a firmware upgrade.
The battery life was around 7.5 hours. While plugged into the cigarette lighter, the unit can be used, and recharged simultaneously.
Despite a few shortcomings, I would definitely buy it again, and wouldn’t venture too far on the road without my StreetPilot.
