Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I'm not sure you could do much better than this for the price. I bought it on sale, more than a little anxious about the quality of the resolution, the touch-screen interface, the accuracy of the GPS, etc. I have been VERY impressed with this unit.
One of the things I like best is its built-in rechargeable battery. This precludes the necessity of having cords hanging all over your dashboard, and is a very nice touch. The battery lasts well over 3 hours on a single charge (I drove for 3.5 hours once on a charge and 25% still remained), and both AC and DC/cigarette lighter adapters are included for charging at home or on the go.
The 3.5" screen is large enough -- and resolution clear enough -- to allow easy reading as well as a good bit of detailed information to be displayed at any one time. The touch screen is easily calibrated and remains quite accurate. Even when typing in letters for a street name, I seldom "fat finger" a virtual button. The display is bright and crisp, and easily readable, even in bright (indirect) sunshine. I use this in a SUV with a sunroof, and also in a car with t-tops and even with the tops out on a sunny day, it's easy to read the display -- and that's not even at its fullest brightness! There is an "auto" setting that will dim the display automatically at night... nice touch. Colors on the display are good and saturated and contrasted appropriately (you can change the overall background or color scheme between four different colors). Viewing can be toggled between a regular view and a "3D" angled-type view in one of three different angles. You can also select whether you want the orientation of the map to be "north" (where north is always up) or "heading" (where the map turns as you drive so you're always moving towards the top of the screen). At any point in map mode, you can "pan" by touching and dragging the map. Very cool.
The flexible holding arm attaches to a cradle and terminates in a rock-solid clampable suction cup. Not once -- even going over rough railroad tracks or off-roading in the Jeep -- has this suction ever broken off my windshield in days and days of continuous attachment. An adhesive-backed disc is also included for dash mounting (you would then suction the arm to the disc). One nice touch is that the GPS unit itself is very easily removed from the cradle... good for security when you're out of your car.
The excellent Navteq software is Windows CE-based.
The GPS signal acquisition takes a couple of minutes from a cold start, less from a warm start (if the unit has been turned off, then turned back on in a short while). I'd call the acquisition time slightly better than average of the GPS units I've used. Once acquired, however, this unit is VERY accurate, typically even locking in signals from 5 or more satellites while indoors. Both the maps and the displayed speed are right on the money, and the turn-by-turn navigation instructions (delivered audibly and visually) are accurate as well. The voice used is smooth and reasonably clear (female voice). You can set the unit to provide all kinds of routes... quickest route, shortest route, routes using or avoiding major roads when possible, routes including ferries or toll roads, routes using or excluding HOV lanes... goodness. When navigating, if you miss a turn, the route is recalculated within a few seconds. You can also look at a route list and avoid a specific road on the list, after which the route will be recalculated.
Points of interest are numerous (1.6 million) and highly usable. There are shortcuts to the more common POIs such as restaurants, ATMs, gas stations, etc. By touching any of these buttons, the display will show you the nearest POIs sorted by distance from your current location. You can also store favorite locations and a "home" location for easy retrieval. Navigation to any of these points, once selected, is as easy as touching one button.
There are some pretty neat ancillary features as well. Of course you can display everything in standard or metric measurements. The GPS info screen shows you the signal strength of each satellite from which a signal is being received as well as your exact latitude and longitude (with a minimum of 3 satellites' signals locked in), altitude (minimum of 4), and speed. I wish you could display the altitude on the main mapping screen, but that's not an option. I'd rather see the altitude there than the time. Perhaps that could be addressed in a firmware update? :) You can set a "speed alert" as well, to warn you if you exceed a preselected speed. You can even choose "auto speed," which uses the type of road you're on to determine the most likely speed limit. Not sure how useful this is, but it's a neat option.
Included in the box are the GPS unit itself (mine came ready-to-go with about a 30% charge), an AC power adapter, a DC car adapter, the windshield suction-mount bracket, a mounting cradle, the dashboard mounting disc, a touch-screen stylus (slides into the upper rear of the GPS unit; I doubt I'll use it much, but there it is), a USB cable, a nice storage pouch, and two owner's guides -- one for the software and one for the hardware. To my surprise (since I didn't read the original description carefully enough), there is also a very nice remote control (with battery) included that duplicates virtually every function of the menu and touch screen on the main unit. It has seven buttons and a four-way circular rocker switch with the typical "OK" button in the middle. I virtually never use the remote, but I suppose it's nice to have, all the same.
A stereo headphone jack is on the right side and allows connection to anything with a 1/8" input jack. I plan on testing this out with my car stereo as it has an auxiliary input jack on the face. I can store hundreds of MP3s on an SD card and away I go! Any navigation audio prompts are played through the car stereo in this set-up, as well.
The user interface is very, very good. The printed user guide isn't necessary at all for basic operation and navigation; however, for some of the more advanced features, the guide is helpful. The MP3 player's interface is wonderful... very intuitive. Loading songs into the playlist is a bit cumbersome, but not overly so, and I didn't buy this to be used as an MP3 player anyway.
The GPS antenna on the rear of the unit swings back and forth, so you can adjust it to improve reception. It also has a jack for an optional external GPS antenna. They thought of everything! Future firmware and mapping updates can be done via either the USB connection (and a computer) or maybe even downloaded onto an SD card.
I can't recommend this unit highly enough. Even at full price ($200) it would be worth it. When it's on sale, though, it becomes an astounding bargain. No buyer's remorse on this product whatsoever!
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Nextar C3 3.5-Inch Portable GPS NavigatorThe Nextar C3 GPS mobile navigation system assures that your days of getting lost are OVER!Finding an address or any one of 1.6 million points of interest, such as the nearest gas station or restaurant, is a snap anywhere in the U.S. Just enter information in the C3's 3.5" touch screen and let the voice prompt and detailed map guide you to the destination.The C3's built in MP3 player will entertain you with your favorite tunes while en route.Just copy your favorite play list onto an SD card and insert into the slot.The C3 moves easily from car to car using the supplied windshield or dash mount.A rechargeable lithium ion battery assures that the unit stays active.The Nextar C3 will provide you with worry free navigation on even the most complex routes!This product comes with 1GB built- in Flash memory, SD card slot for MP3 play, MP3 Song Playing mode (Requires SD Card, not included), 2D or 3D Map viewing mode, day and night mode, turn by turn voice prompts, built in front speaker, Intel Processor, built in GPS receiver SIRFIII.The system includes mounting cradle, suction cup mounting bracket, dashboard mounting disk, remote control, DC adapter, AC adapter, USB Cable, and convenient carrying pouch.
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