Gives you turn by turn directions; gets you back "on - track" if you go wrong .
Disadvantages:
Big Brother knows where You Are !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I bought my first StreetPilot unit over two years ago and have been very impressed. The voice is clear and distinct, it doesn't twitter on at you (one thing I was worried about) and the screen is large enough to see but not so big that it is a distraction. I recommend this to anyone who wants a basic, sound navigational aid without breaking the bank.
Besides using it for navigation, I also use it just to "View Map" and watch where we are. When we hit congestion, sometimes you can see roads to divert onto which lead back onto the main road (even without the navigation speech ~ and without having to await her "recalculating" a route).
When you are in a strange town where you are unsure of your bearings (like needing gasoline ~ or to find a train station ~ or even just to use a cash machine) you are then ready to just ask for the appropriate destination without waiting to find the satellite lock and they will be listed with distances from where you are.
If I am just watching the map, it is quite useful to identify roads you are passing, as it highlights roads you are approaching and tells you your speed and direction (my husband is ambivalent about this particular feature, as I sometimes say the speed he is going if he is speeding ~ to remind him ~ as it is quite accurate ~ but he also hasn't had a speeding ticket in an area with quite a few speed cameras!).
So far, he has been satisfied with what we got (although he has complained that sometimes the roads he's sent on are not very good for the suspension of the car!).
The bottom line, here, is that it is a sound, basic, reliable navigational unit, and has taken us safely to many new destinations by day and night successfully.
"Garmie" has become a good friend to us over this time, and I don't know what I'd have done without her!
Why Did We Buy A Satellite Navigational Aid?
I have downloaded maps from "Multimap" and similar websites to find my way to unfamiliar places, printing unfamiliar sections of maps as well as the basic directions (step by step) and only discovered when we turn the wrong way at a freeway exit junction and travel 5miles or more in the wrong direction that the directions were not quite as straightforward as they had initially appeared in the security of one's own living room looking at a computer screen. And, of course, when one is in the panic-inducing situation, internet access is always a LONG way away (at home, where you started from, of COURSE).
On our way to a reception venue just on the outskirts of an unfamiliar city in December 2005, our instructions were duly downloaded from Multimap. This time we came unstuck at a road exit which pointed us to a hospital and local traffic only (but didn't say the name of the "locality" the local traffic was to). We blithely carried on into the center of the city, getting further away from our destination rather than closer. With Satellite Navigation, we would have been alerted
that that was our exit
when passed, that we had gone too far
of immediate steps to take to get back on the track or to take an alternative route (sometimes quicker than backtracking where one-way systems are in place) to arrive at destination.
Why Choose The Garmin StreetPilot i3 GPS Unit?
Comparing it to much more expensive units (like the TomTom), it seemed to have sufficient details for our usage:
It has a fixed color screen of about 2inches
it finds destinations by postcode or street address
you can save addresses to "Favorites" and name them
it is powered either by 2 AA batteries or connection to the cigarette lighter socket (or both)
it is compact and can be attached to the windscreen
it can be transferred easily to mount in another car
Importantly, it lets you know if you have missed a turning and re-directs you.
Upgrades and more information are available on the website: http://www.garmin.com/products/spi3/
What Did We Receive?
The 5" x 5" x 5" cube carton contains a StreetPilot i3 display unit - a fist-sized monitor that connects to a swivel knob and windscreen suction-cup mount. This is programmed with your maps. Also included are the USB connector, and the USB drivers CD; the 12-24 volt adapter cable; the product information/guarantee booklet and the quick-reference users guide (both in 11 languages, and with numbered drawings for example). The quick start booklet is VERY basic, and contains, with illustrations, a mere 6 pages (in each of 11 languages, of course!). The quick-start guide recommends using high-capacity NiMH batteries (2300+ mAh) for prolonged audio performance on battery power. [New batteries are projected to last up to 6 hours without car battery support, and battery power is useful to assist in moving from satellite to satellite while traveling.]
The two AA batteries are NOT INCLUDED.
You are warned to install in such a way that it does not interfere with the operating controls and safety devices (like airbags); and without obstructing the driver's view of driving conditions. This does sound like common sense, but is a good warning for the unthinking driver who might not have considered safety in his eagerness to try it out.
My husband had the first play with the unit, and then brought it to me to figure out how to turn the device off. (I pressed the on-off button, holding it in a few seconds, and it turned off).
Fortunately, I found a downloadable (English) PDF file Owners Manual, which I downloaded, so I read the manual thoroughly before trying to customize the unit.
The PDF Manual
The manual consists of 30 information pages, and gives very helpful instructions on lots of eventualities. The Manual also contains useful telephone numbers, addresses and website addresses, an index, contents page and preface, with a place to record your unique unit number (essential for uploading further maps when purchased, and for signing up for special services). Useful Features Highlighted in the Manual:
You can add "via" points to your eventual route (one at a time - you add the next one when you have passed the previous point) - it means that you can pre-schedule your rest points - in turn - while not losing sight of the main picture.
Your ETA (expected time of arrival) and Distance to Next Turn are shown on the bottom of the screen. The ETA alters as your "rest-time" continues, and also as your average speed increases or decreases.
You can turn off the GPS to have a trial "run-through" of your journey, or to practice understanding how to read the unit's screen. I tried this feature out using both the "fastest route" and the "shortest route" -
I also tried using daytime and nighttime backgrounds (you can set day, night or automatic) and the different orientations. I found the daytime background to be most dyslexic-friendly as it is brighter so I set "day" as my default view ~ at night, it starts out with the night-time view, but changes to my default as soon as it has finished calculating.
There are instructions as to how to find hotels, restaurants and points of interest (POI). It also locates nearest gasoline pumps by brand name - I tested this feature out, and it worked.
For similar destinations, the "Show Map" feature lets you choose which of several possible destinations is correct. If you know a little about where you are going, looking at a map will help you distinguish between them.
Any Negatives?
It was slightly more fiddly to set up than I expected, and did not distinguish fully between roads and parking lots.
It sometimes seeks the most direct route available, even when not the best for the vehicle concerned.
The AA batteries had to be purchased separately, as did an "External" aerial to improve satellite reception (generally only required if you have a heated windscreen or poor reception); this adds to the basic cost, but not excessively.
We have occasionally had to wait a minute or more for "awaiting better accuracy" ~ the time is improved when both the batteries and cigarette-lighter adapter are in use ~ meanwhile it tells you your speed and compass direction ~ when it is ready, it calculates the route and shows what percentage has been calculated before indicating where you are and which way you are heading at the top, with the ETA and distance to next turn at the bottom.
PLEASE NOTE: It is NOT waterproof, so is not appropriate for use on bicycle or Motorcycle; nor is it really for pedestrian navigation.
POSTSCRIPT
In July 1981, we were invited to a wedding in an unfamiliar city. We had never been to the area before, and didn't know where the church was in relation to the city center. After spending an hour traveling a few miles down the freeway, we decided to come off the "parking lot" an exit early, and attempt to find the church by back routes. Every time we asked directions of a passerby, we were given inane (or even "insane") directions, such as, "turn right at the lights, proceed about a mile, and ask someone else" - and this was even at gasoline stations . . .
Eventually, we found the church, about an hour late - only just in time for the reception.
The StreetPilot i3 would have gotten us to the church on time!
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