Mobile Navigation at Its Best
 |
There are things that come along once in a while that simply make life easier. Take the zipper for example. What a great invention. Most of us take it for granted, but it’s there to hold up our pants, keep our jackets closed, and provide easy access to bags, purses and fanny packs.
Anyway, this post is not about zippers. It’s about practical devices that take the stress out of life and provide a good service. I’m talking about the Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS. This little guy is perhaps one of the best electronic devices I’ve ever purchased. A recent trip to Houston was enough to sell me for good.
At the size of deck of cards and weighing in at just 5.1 ounces the Nuvi 350 delivers amazing accuracy for the geographically challenged. It comes with two charging cables (car & home), a suction mounting kit, and just about every road in the US and Canada. As a matter of fact, I haven’t found a road that it can’t find.
My biggest complain with traveling is not long lines at the airport or the smelly and uncomfortable shuttle buses and cabs. It’s the fact that I usually have no clue how to get around once I reach my destination (given that I’ve flown somewhere). Actually getting to my destination usually isn’t all that difficult. I use Google Maps and a color printer to get me to my destination, but that’s it. I’m always afraid to stray off the familiar path.
No longer! The Nuvi 350 has cured me of my metropolitan phobia. I recently took a trip to Houston on business. I’m usually a ball of nerves when I have to travel. I hate being lost! I not only hate it, but it makes me physically uncomfortable. I’m terrified I’ll end up in the wrong neighborhood or get turned around and not find my way back to the hotel or office. Outside of this, being lost is a major waste of time, which is something all of us could use more of. During my trip to Houston, the Nuvi guided me from the airport to the hotel and on to the office without a single hiccup. When I landed, it was almost dark so by the time I picked up my luggage and got my rental the sun had set. Not only was it dark, there was a terrible fog coming in from the bay. I couldn’t read the road signs in front me. Seriously!
Once I put in my destination, [the hotel] which is stupid easy to do, the Nuvi 350 guided me with it’s voice commands. It actually speaks the street names and direction so you don’t have to look at the screen while you drive. While on the freeway, it told me when to ’stay left’ or ’stay right’ and which exit number to take. Even though I couldn’t see much of the road due to the fog, I stayed on track the entire time. It was amazing. For piece of mind, it displays the number of miles until the next turn. It’s a small feature, but goes a long way with me. If I know I don’t have to turn for another 10 miles, I can relax and listen to the radio or whatever.
Navigation is only the beginning with this jewel. It has 9 million points of interest (POI=hotels, restaurants, gas stations, shopping malls, etc) pre loaded and the ability to add personal POI’s. So, while I was in Houston, I browsed for restaurants near my location. I picked one, and pressed the GO button and viola, off I went; turn by turn, and no hassle. You can easily keep a list of ’favorite’ locations for easy access in the future. If you really like a particular shop or eatery, save it, and you’ll always know how to get back.
As an added bonus it comes with a decent MP3 player and picture viewer. You can load both on an SD card which the Nuvi has a slot for. These additions are gee-whiz items, but cool to have nonetheless. Remember, it’s primary function in life is a travel assistant, and not an MP3 or picture viewer.
There are lots of reviews on this model (and others by Garmin). I particularly like this one. You can get an idea of what to expect to pay for one of these here. It’s not the cheapest piece of equipment, but worth it if you can justify it. View a demonstration of the product here. It will give you a really good idea of the interface.