Not perfect, but CLOSE

OVERVIEW:
I have been using the c340 for about one month and this is what I have found.

SET UP:
It arrived in a box and needed little set up. The only thing I had to do was turn it on once, allow it to find the four satellites for the first time, which took a few minutes (this requires a clear view of the sky, so you will want to go outside to do this), and I was done! No muss, no fuss.

To link it to your computer (Windows only, sorry Mac which is what I use so I had to use my wife’s Dell) you load the WebUpdater onto your computer with the provided disk. Then, you hook up the cable to a USB (universal serial bus) port and the other end plugs into your c340. When you run WebUpdater, it looks to the Garmin website for any updates, and automatically updates the c340. VERY easy, even for a newbie who is afraid of computers. It takes about five minutes, 15 if you hate computers.

It comes with a very simple user’s manual, which reviews the VERY intuitive interface, which makes it essentially unneeded. I just turned it on and it gave me six choices. You can look for nearby fuel stations and restaurants, but unfortunately NOT points of interest like banks, airports, parks, etc. I would especially like airports and train stations to be a choice.

With favorite places, you can enter an address and hit SAVE and give it a name, which adds it to your favorites. Then, when you want to go back, you hit PLACES and hit FAVORITES, and VOILA, there is MOM’s house, or whatever name you saved it under. There is even a separate category called HOME, which is obvious what that is for and saves a LOT of time in that you put your home in once, and then wherever you are in the US, it will get you back to your house in time for dinner. Amazing.

UPDATING:
I did wonder about updating the maps. While the firmware (the software that runs the GPS) updates for FREE with WebUpdater (and make SURE you run this as soon as you get this baby in your hot little hands), this is NOT a Garmin MapSource unit. With MapSource, you can actually plan routes on your computer. That is for other more expensive models so you won’t be able to do that with this unit. To get the latest and most up-to-date maps, you cannot download the roughly two-gigabyte file. Rather, you must plunk down $75 for the disk which is sent via US mail, and is updated about every 9-12 months. They will email you notification when it is available, as long as you register your unit for free at the Garmin website (www.garmin.com/registration) so they have your email address. It took about two minutes to register my GPS. All the information needed is on a little yellow paper in the box so do NOT throw this out when you open the box (I had to get mine out of the trash can).

DRIVING WITH THE c340:
First time out it was so easy it made me cry. I just typed in the address of my client. I hit state, which defaulted to Pennsylvania because it knows that’s where I live. It automatically puts PENNSYLVANIA on the first screen, so no typing needed. Then, CITY. When you touch screen in enough letters for it to recognize the town, it pops up the only choices (i.e. SPRING VALLEY, PA, or SPRINGDALE, PA) and then you just touch the city you’re going to. Then, the street #, then the street. Same deal with the street, it knows which one once you’ve entered enough letters. Then touch GO! on the screen, and it calculates your route in about five seconds. Amazing how fast it works.

It lets you simulate the drive by choosing that option, which shows the route your car would take on the screen (like a video game almost), but it goes very slowly and I never use it. They told me they’re working on this to allow you to speed it up if you wish.

I made U-turns, purposely missed the road, did everything I could to mess Lucy up (yes, I named it), but no matter what I did, she would simply BEEP and say REROUTING, and then guide me to my location. It would take me to the street, but was not exact as to which house I was supposed to stop at, so I still had to look for house #’s. While not a problem in suburbs, I suppose this could be a problem in cities.

When on route, Lucy tells me when to turn, counting down the remaining miles then feet and gives me plenty of voice warning. On highways, it starts at about 1 mile, so there is no need to make rapid lane changes, a very nice feature. Since there are only two buttons, one for power, one for volume, it is easy to use and adjust the volume without worrying you’ll screw it up by pushing the wrong button. It even says ARRIVING HOME and good stuff like that.

One really neat feature is that when it says MAKE A LEFT ON FORGE STREET, it also says THEN MAKE A RIGHT. This lets you know which lane you need to get into to make the next turn. Then when you are close to that right, it tells you the name of the street, and repeats the process. I hate it when I make a left and a quick right is coming up and I’m in the left lane. Lucy lets me know ahead of time, which I really think is great.

The display allows you to touch the written direction (at the top, it will say EAST ON MAIN STREET) and when you do this, it has the route in written words without maps. Just touch BACK and it brings you back to the map. Touch another area, and it gives just the next turn in words. Touch another area, and it gives you average speed, distance, maximum speed, and much more. It is very feature rich, so touch the screen all over to find all the goodies. You always have a BACK button to take you back to the previous screen, a good feature for the intrepid explorer.

It even displays your estimated arrival time, which has been fairly accurate and you can use it to plan when you need to leave. Very nice!

TRAFFIC UPDATE:
You can buy an add on unit for about $150 and comes with a 15 month subscription. After that, it’s about $60/year. What this does is, where available, looks for local radio stations that broadcast traffic accidents and the like, and the GPS informs you and will recalculate the route. It is an antenna, which is not very large. I have not bought it, but may consider it in the future. It sounds great.

POWERING THE c340
It has internal rechargeable batteries. Remember that USB cable? When you plug it into your GPS, it charges the batteries. I have gotten about 8 hours on a full charge. Of course, it does come with a cigarette lighter adapter so you can use that, but I have my iPod plugged into it and prefer to run on batteries.

THE BAD:
Not much here. Unfortunately, the c340 does not allow you to add sites. It would be great if, when parked, you could add a site and give it a name. For instance, my home is on a new street which is not on the map (it shows my car in the middle of an empty field) so I have to use the next street over. Not a problem since all I need to know is where my neighborhood is, but this would be nice to have for other locations like airports, etc.

The maps must be mailed to you because of the size of the file, and the $75 fee is a bit steep in my opinion. Of course, you can do every OTHER update and cut your cost to $37.50 if you don’t go to new developments or streets very often. But I do so I will need to buy every update.

They don’t really explain the WebUpdate feature very well, and that should be cleaned up.

It doesn’t learn routes. When I come home, for some reason, it insists on taking me the long way through my development, even though I have driven the shortcut repeatedly. Not a big deal, as it adds less than a minute to my trip. But it does irritate me.

ACCESSORIES:
It comes with a suction cup to mount to your windshield, which obstructs your view of the road. They make a dash mount, which fits well onto my dash, which is uneven. It has three legs that adjust to just about any surface. It is HEAVY and unless you plan on rolling your car over, this thing is not going anywhere. If you get the c340, you MUST have this dash mount, available for about $35 from Amazon.com at
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Mount-StreetPilot-Vehicle-Navigators/dp/B0007LJHVK/sr=1-1/qid=1171801634/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2515311-6151125?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

OVERALL IMPRESSION:
If you want a reliable voice navigation unit that TELLS you when to turn, is feature rich yet very intuitive, is not overpriced, and gets you where you want to go, this is an excellent unit. If you want to plan your own routes, I suggest you go with a MapSource Garmin unit that has this feature. For me, this is a perfect unit and does exactly what I need to. Entering an address in under a minute is much quicker than mapquest, and more accurate. I don’t know how I got by without it for 25 years!!!!