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Garmin nüvi 1350 Series 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

$152.75

User Reviews about Garmin nüvi 1350 Series 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Great product. No problems with it and I've taken it on several trips so far. Definitely pick Garmin over Tomtom. -- Garmin 1350

I have had 2 Tom Tom-Go GPS units and have been reasonably happy with this brand. My first Tom Tom Go lasted less than a year at which point it lost its "mind" in the LL Bean parking lot, uttering, "Turn, turn, turn." The 2nd Tom Tom lasted 2 years when it suffered screen damage. When both units worked, they were reliable and paid for themselves many times over in gas savings.
I decided to invest in the 1350 Nuvi refurbished Garmin to try out a new brand, to be reassured of having up-dated maps and to receive a 1-year warranty on this refurbished product whereas Tom Tom provides only a 6-month warranty on its refurbished GPS. I also liked the prospect of using the GPS for walking tours of NYC, Philadelphia, Boston, etc.
My Garmin 1350 arrived quickly and in perfect condition. It could be used right out of the box.I was impressed by the sturdiness of the case and by how well the suction gripped the windshield. The unit seemed to turn on a bit more slowly than my Tom Toms but the route planning may be somewhat faster. I liked having the points of interest scroll down the screen. There appear to be many more POI choices on the Garmin than the Tom Tom. The categories are intuitive and it is helpful to quickly see both map location and contact information. Since my cell phone is paired with my car, I did not use to Blue Tooth feature to call up the store via the GPS unit, but this would be very helpful.
I don't think that the default setting gives as much screen detail; e.g., providing names for all the streets. I have found the greater visual detail of the Tom Tom helpful when driving at night, but it is probably a needless distraction most of the time. It is very helpful to have the streets spoken at turns. The volume was perhaps even better than that of the Tom Tom. This surprised me, having read numerous complaints about Garmin being inaudible. I even had to turn down the volume to 80%. The pronunciations were reliably clear with only a few oddities; e.g., the town of St. Davids was spoken as "Street Davids."
Route corrections were made more quickly than I experienced with Tom Tom and it is helpful to know which side of the street the destination is on.
In making comparisons with the Tom Tom Go, there is a feature which I miss: the IQ routing. My Tom Toms had an uncanny knowledge of different routes and respective drive times at various times of the day. Quite fequently, the return route would differ from the original Also-- and more importantly-- the drive time was extremely accurate.
In contrast Garmin seems clumsy and mechanical. Perhaps, this is because I am stil getting used to the Garmin? So far, I am extremely frustrated by Garmin's under-estimation of drive times. Even when I go 4 miles above the posted speed limits, I am seldom able to catch up with the predicted drive time.There seems to be no allowance for stopping at lights. The greater the distance, the more this discrepancy.This is surprising given the Garmin's close attention to changing speed limits.
Also, I do not think that Garmin provides a warning about toll roads and the option to avoid them. I found this a very helpful Tom Tom feature.
The option of adding a memory card to the Garmin provides increased flexibility. I am yet to download additional points of interest to the card from the various on-line web-sites which provide such information free. I also look forward to trying out pedestrian information for NYC, including (I hope) public transportation details. Had I known that Garmins with MP3 players are needed for auditory tours, I might have chosen such a model.
A convenient feature is that the Garmin turns off automatically less than a minute after the car engine is stopped.The unit comes off the windshield readily for toting.
While a manual is available at the Garmin web-site, the curious user will find various hints and tips on-line.
I e-mailed 2 questions to Customer Service and received a helpful response within a couple of days-- even on a weekend!
I am still exploring so have not firmed up my opinion as to which brand is the better choice. I am tilting toward Tom Tom because of the IQ routing, but then I would not want to give up the more detailed points of interest given on the Garmin.

-- A Previous Tom Tom User

Customer service said that the "Current location" feature was accurate to within 3 meters. The average error I found was about half a block. Not good for finding your car in a parking lot. -- Nowhere near as accurate as advertised

I like the Garmin 1350. Using it on local streets, it recalculates quickly and accurately. Screen size is good as well as the sound and volume levels. Locates a satellite quickly. Recommended. -- Impressed