Garmin StreetPilot c340 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review
September 18th, 2009
Garmin StreetPilot c340 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review from John W Graham. Your Mileage May Vary, I was originally going to get the C320 but the text-to-speech feature made me decide to get the C340 instead. Overall, after having owned this unit for approx. 2 years, I am pleased with it. When I first got it, to build my faith in the product, I used it for a week just entering the places I normally go to see how the unit performed.
First I tried to enter a restuarant I have been going to for years. Route planning was very fast – the only problem is that the route took me 6 miles away from the restuarant into a residential neighborhood. The destination was someone’s house in this neighborhood! To retest, I chose the restuarant address from the built in POI listing instead of typing it in…and the result was the same. It had me going into a subdivision and to someone’s house. My second test was entering my work address. This worked fairly well except that a 2-year old change in the road was not registered on the map. So the unit got really confused when I was driving through what looked like a lake on the screen. Recalculation can be irritating as the unit repeatedly tries to force you to do U-Turns to get back on what it thinks is the best route. I’m sure this is region specific.
Bottom line here…don’t rely on the restuarant listings.
My next test was a little longer – it was a 25 mile drive to my mother’s house. Again, route planning was very fast (3-4 seconds). The route was very accurate to her house but the route seemed to favor toll roads and highways. The result was the same when I modified the preferences to prefer “back roads” and avoid highways. About 7 miles into the trip to mom’s house, the C340 locked up completely. I reset it and reprogrammed the route (you have to stop the car to do this safely). Then, 5 miles down the road it locked up again. I checked for later firmware when I got home and there was none, but an email to customer support was all it took to get a firmware update that resolved this issue.
So with various other tests, I give it a ~90% chance of picking the correct route to wherever you are going (at least in my area)…but often times it does get you where you intend to go but takes you far out of the way. A few major highways are missing from the basemap in my area, which were corrected when I paid $75 for the 2006 map update. Common sense and a backup map are sometimes necessary.
Ok, about the unit itself…the text to speech is worth the extra money of you are considering buying it for that reason. Text to Speech pronunciation has been corrected with several firmware revisions. I have not had any major issues with the text-to-speech pronunciation since these firmware updates were applied.
The screen is bright and the whole thing is smaller than I expected – but there really is no excuse for being upset about the size when you can go to Best Buy or Circuit City and see it for yourself.
So:
Pros – bright screen, doesn’t wash out too bad (I have deeply tinted windows) and speech volume is appropriate. Planning is quick.
It is very accurate on where to turn, giving ample time for braking or lane changing.
Cons – with earlier firm revisions it used to lock up frequently, power cable goes to mounting base, routing not accurate in many cases, and some POI are incorrect. Searching an address is glacially slow. Shows many obscure restuarants but overlooks the mainstream ones. Some of the cardinal directions are reversed. I was going to get on an expressway going east and the directions said to go west. (The drawn map was correct, just the speech was wrong)
Bottom line is that after using this for routine trips around town as well as jaunts into unfamiliar areas, I recommend it.
Update: 11/25/05: On Thanksgiving day I took a longer trip of about 50 miles. Set to use WAAS, the C340 locked up at exactly tyhe same point as in my previous review, about 7 miles from my home on a major highway. The unit definitely locks up at this point consistently and I will be informing Garmin. I did find that turning off WAAS reduces the amount of lockups but I can still get it to lock up with WAAS turned off. When it does work, the C340 is impressive in its accuracy and display. The automatic daylight to dark screen contrast is nice. But I still can’t recommend the product because of the instability. I’ll post an update here if I can get a response from Garmin.
12/30/05 Update: Several weeks ago, Garmin released updated firmware for the C340. I downloaded and installed the firmware update. Address entry appears to be improved and I have not encountered the lockups previously mentioned since applying this firmware patch. That said, I still have a hard time recommending the c340 for the price and other minor to moderate issues, but I am happier now that the lockups are gone.
5/22/07 Update: Changed my recommendation and rating of this product. I have gone many places with my Garmin and it is still a solid performer. Just recently, I went from Orlando to Hampton Roads, VA and the Garmin was very accurate. One thing I do want to add is that the Garmin likes to use major highways. Unchecking this feature is not advised as the Garmin will go “bonkers” using back roads and even dirt roads to get you to your destination. You must update the firmware frequently as Garmin continually irons out the bugs in the product. I still don’t think this thing was ready for prime time when it was first sold…too many bugs! But now, with the latest firmwares and maps, I solidly recommend the Garmin to my friends, family and anyone. I now give it 4 stars, not three, though Amazon won’t let me edit that part.
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