Garmin StreetPilot i3 1.7-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Garmin StreetPilot i3 1.7-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
- WAAS-enabled 12-parallel-channel vehicle GPS navigator with suction-cup mount
- Built-in speaker offers voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions via intuitive menu-driven interface
- Includes City Select North America DVD, with nearly 6 million points of interest in U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico
- 128 MB Transflash data card receives mapping data; 32,000-color sunlight-readable TFT display
- Runs on 2 AA batteries or included 12-volt adapter cable; 3 x 2.74 x 2.15 inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty
The StreetPilot i3 is an extremely compact, affordable automotive GPS. This affordable navigator offers automatic routing capabilities with turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance. The StreetPilot i3 features a bright TFT color display, built-in speaker, convenient scroll wheel with click-to-enter function and removable TransFlash? data storage. The StreetPilot i3 includes a compact vehicle windshield mount that allows for easy transfer between vehicles. The StreetPilot i3 is powered externally with the included 12-volt power adapter cable or using 2 AA batteries. The StreetPilot i3 comes with a MapSource City Select North America NT v7 DVD providing mapping detail throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico (including rural areas). Map data can be loaded onto the included 128MB TransFlash card, which allows the unit to display residential streets, addresses, business listings and more. The database features nearly six million points of interest ¿ including hotels, restaur
List Price: $ 428.99
Price: $ 129.99
Sanyo Easy Street NVM-4370 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
- Voice guidance, turn-by-turn navigation and Li-Ion battery that last up to 4 hours
- 4.3″ touch screen display with stylish thin bezel design
- Pre-loaded US, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and Canada map
- Built-in 4.0GB internal memory, 7 million points of interest (POI) and JPEG photo viewing
- Optional TMC antenna kit
4.3″ touch screen display with stylish thin bezel designPre-loaded 50 U.S. Puerto Rico and Canada mapsBluetooth enabled (built-in microphone) SMS and data transfer video input for back up camera SD card slotText-to-specch (TTS)Built-in 4.0GB internal memory 7 million points of interest (POI) and JPEG photo viewingVoice guidance turn-by-turn navigation and Li-Ion battery that last up to 4 hoursOptional TMC antenna kit English/Spanish/FrenchWorks as a rearview camera display (camera not included)Includes AC adaptor DC car charger car mounting kit USB cable DVD storing US and Canada map and video cable
List Price: $ 299.99
Price: $ 125.00
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telmar "telmar"
July 23, 2011Updated review – very good with some quirks,
I have to edit this review, having used the product a bit more. I bought this having never owned a GPS before and still can’t compare it to others, but can give a good first-time-owner’s perspective.
– Size. You can throw this GPS into a carryon on a flight and use it in a rental car when you arrive. It’s totally unobtrusive, you can put it up next to the rear-view-mirror and it blocks none of your view. You can hide it in a car compartment when you’re not in a safe location. It does not have a touchscreen – this isn’t really a big problem, but this and the size make it slower to enter addresses. It’s a tradeoff, but I believe I prefer the size of this unit.
– Satellite tracking. Sometimes it’ll take up to 30 seconds or so to acquire satellites when you power on. That’s not too bad, but a little annoying. A bigger problem is that occasionally tracking seems to be lost. The GPS seems to think the car is pointed diagonally, or the map stops updating. Had these problems both in downtown Boston and coming from Virginia into DC on the GW Bridge. WAAS seems useless, by the way.
– Route recalculation. Pretty quick – usually happens in < 10 s when you miss a turn. Recalculations are pretty good – and the whole route is recalculated, not a path to the previous route. Once in a while it thinks you’re off your route when you’re not at all – it has the route coordinates wrong. It readjusts quickly.
– Routing/directions. Generally I think the calculated directions are very good. The program takes you on intelligent routes that are not always the absolute fastest but are pretty close. They could get annoying if you’re living near an area in which they’re inefficient or just wrong. In Harrisburg, PA it told me repeatedly to turn left on an expressway/bridge that you can’t turn left on. If I were living close by (as I once was) this would be enough to return the unit. However, around my area they’re fine.
– Prompts/info: I suspect Garmin is getting all its routing info including prompts from Navteq, so these are really Navteq problems common to many GPS devices. Often neither the voice prompt or the screen gives adequate info on which lane you should be in or which particular exit/street you should be taking. This is the most frustrating problem with this unit. When you’re downtown, or going past a complicated set of highway entrances and exits, the combination of the voice prompt (“Bear right in 0.5 miles” – there are no voiced road names), the screen text (“Right on Dobbs Highway”), and the map is inadequate to determine where you should be turning. I’ve heard the StreetPilot i5 has a somewhat better Navteq route info system than this unit does.
Some very, very common situations:
– Road curves right and also exits both left and right. You’re told to “Bear right”. Which is it, follow the road or exit to the right?
– Two exits both to the right for the same highway, one North and the other South. You’re told to “Turn right in 0.5 miles”. The screen says “Right on Dobbs Highway”. Which is it, exit North or exit South?
– Map Storage: Loading the software and maps was a bit buggy and slow for me the first time. If you intend to bring this on long trips or on air travel it might make sense to pay the extra money for the i5, which has maps preloaded – otherwise you have to load new maps for where you’re going.
– Points of interest. Some of the points of interest are out of date or just inaccurate. This seems to be a common problem with GPS’s, but it’s really aggravating to drive someplace and find it doesn’t exist, or that the GPS hasn’t provided good enough directions to locate it.
Also, I have no idea if any competing product offers this, but if I’m driving on a route and I want to find a gas station, I obviously would prefer one that is ahead of me along my route. I probably don’t want one that is behind me, and one that’s off to the side somewhere isn’t particularly convenient. But all I get is “Shell 3.5 miles”. Could be behind me, ahead of me, anywhere. As far as I know that’s 3.5 miles as the crow flies, too. It could be 3.5 miles away but across a river for which there’s no bridge close by. This is a commonly used feature that gets annoying – you have to look at where each POI is in relation to your route rather than just picking the first one.
All in all I’m still quite happy with it. I certainly wouldn’t pay double the price for a slightly improved one! The advantage at this price is that you can trade it out when newer technology comes out. Can’t do that easily with a $2500 in-dash manufacturer nav system.
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|Bill M.
July 23, 2011Excellent Unit For its Price Range,
I received this unit yesterday and have played with it for a few hours. Prior to this unit I have used a Magellan Sportrack for Geocaching and for my car I have used my Dell Axim pocket PC with Ostia mapping software which is terrible, and more recently I have been using Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005 on my laptop. Streets and Trips is excellent however it does not have voice prompts for turn-by-turn directions and viewing a laptop while you are trying to drive can be tough.
This Garmin I3 has excellent routing capability, very similar to MS Streets and Trips and has plenty of points of interests( POI). The screen is small but it is readable in both daylight and night. The suction mount holds very well on the windshield.
The voice prompts are loud and clear.
There is not much detail shown on the screen because of it’s size, such as some street names and no POI’s. The map will zoom in more as you are nearing your turn and the voice prompt’s will tell you you need to turn in .5 to .3 miles and 400 to 500 ft before the turn.
On the display is also shown the distance to your next turn and an estimated arrival time to your destination. The unit will automatically re-route if you take a wrong turn.
Satellite acquisition time is pretty quick, and the manual states that you should keep batteries in it so that it will find satellites faster. The unit also comes with a cigarette lighter adapter. I do not think that the unit will recharge batteries though, and the battery level indicator is located on the “where to” screen only.
The only controls are a scroll wheel that doubles as a button and a back button and a power button. It is fairly simple to use and easy to figure out.
The included 128mb transflash card is more than adequate for my needs, I fit all of NJ, NY and PA and still had plenty of room.
You can store places in your favorites by adding them in your address screen, or you can store your current position simply by pressing and holding the scroll wheel button in.
Some cons to this unit is that it does not show the total distance of your trips, it just shows distance to the next turn.
If you want to add a stop on your destination it only allows 1 via point, after you visit that point you have to add your next via point. As I mentioned before there isn’t too much detail on the screen but it does show you where you need to go.
I would highly recommend this unit above a pocket pc navigation, at least with Ostia software anyway.
For the price of this unit you really can’t complain about the cons. This is a simple GPS unit that does what it is supposed to do, get you from point A to point B.
********update 6/15/06***********
Nearly a year and I still love this thing – navigation works great. Now that I am an experienced user I want a fancier touch screen, the scroll wheel is a pain in the neck. I also want a unit that you can put in multi-routes, like if you want to go to garage sales you can put in all the addresses and let the unit decide the best route. However, I will keep this unit longer before I thrown down a few hundred more for an advanced model.
I still haven’t found the need to get a larger memory card, I’ve driven in New Jersey, New York state, Pennsylvania and Washington DC, and Connecticut.
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