Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Gets the Job Done
As an everyday GPS unit that can fit into the palm of your hand, be fitted almost anywhere, even has a bicycle mode and works on planes (yes, we checked), you can’t get much better than the Garmin nuvi 350.
The best things come in small packages, apparently, and thats quite a fitting aphorism for this unit. It has a total weight of just 5.1 ounces, and its dimensions are less than that of a standard pack of playing cards.
I think it’s important to point out that although its size and portability are appealing, this has not come at the compromise of other features. Everything you might expect from a top quality GPS unit is here, as well as a number of other features that do not come as standard on any other unit.
As well as the GPS, you also get an MP3 player, a currency and measurement converter, an audio book player (audio books can be purchased from the Garmin website), a j-peg format picture viewer and more.
The small 3.5inch screen also has a very high resolution of 240×320 pixels, so even when a great deal of information is displayed, its clear as a bell and does not diminish in either clarity or ease of use.
Although the Garmin nuvi 350 recognizes that navigation is only a small part of the journey with all its features, its quite easy to forget that the Garmin nuvi is primarily a navigation device! And here is where this unit really comes into its own.
One of its best features is that it actually tells you the street names: instead of “turn right in 200yds” you get “turn right into Chapel Street”. This can really be advantageous when there are two or more streets to choose from. It also has great points of interest references – the database seems a lot larger than other units of its type – nicely breaks up a journey. It has a standard SD port so you can upload more points of interest more pertinent to you (for example, granny’s house, 300 yards on the left)!!!
There aren’t really a lot of negatives to focus on with this unit. It does everything you expect it to, plus quite a bit more – it’s really fast at finding the satellites too, and it even turns itself off when the car has been idle for more than 30 minutes!
