Product: Garmin Nuvi 360Manufacturer: GarminMSRP: $965 (original)
Lowest Historical Price: $218 [
History]
IntroductionIf there is one product that has surged in popularity among the gadget crowd (besides the overplayed iPhone), it is Global Positioning Systems (GPS). GPS promises to be the holy grail of never having to ask for directions when you are in unfamiliar territory. Here we take a closer look at the Garmin Nuvi 360, a contender among the slew of mid-range GPS navigation products.
SpecsHands-free Bluetooth wireless technology
Preloaded with City Navigator NT street maps
Text-to-speech capability reads real street names
320 x 240 pixels QVGA Daylight-readable display
MP3 player, audio book player (subscription required), JPEG picture viewer
Secure Digital Card expansion, USB mini plug PC interface
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
In The Box
As you open the box, you are immediately presented with the GPS unit itself – free of any distracting accessories which are hidden in a separate compartment below. The accessories include charging adapters and windshield suction mounts (which are illegal in some states). The unit itself has a flip-up antenna that has been phased out in more recent Garmin products. According to the user manual, the antenna works best when it is oriented parallel to the ground.
Test Location
I had the opportunity to put the Nuvi 360 to use in a slightly unfamiliar land – the Hawaiian island of Oahu. If you've driven there before, you know that it can be an intimidating gaggle of unfamiliarly named streets (Kamehameha, Kapiolani, Keeamoku, Waiakamilo, et al). The Nuvi 360 allowed me to deftly carve my way around the island with relative ease, although the text-to-voice interpretations of the street names were humorous at times.
Review
Basic usage of the Nuvi 360 is very straightforward. It has an extensive database of popular landmarks that you can find by name, or you can enter in a specific street address. As you type, the Nuvi constantly compares your input with its database and will automatically present you with a short list of possible street names based upon your incomplete input. Then you simply select GO and you're off. One difficulty that cropped up was in determining the initial orientation of the map. I usually had to drive a block or two for the GPS to know which way I was actually headed. The Nuvi 360 glosses over this ambiguity by simply stating: “Follow the Highlighted Route†as its first instruction to you.
Once you're on your way, the going gets much easier, with the Nuvi 360 clearly announcing directions and distances. Typically, it will announce your next move slightly in advance so that you are prepared to make the necessary lane changes and turns. If you take a wrong turn, the unit will automatically recalculate the best route for you to get back on course. Need to take a bathroom break? Use the Nuvi to find a nearby gas station or restaurant to relieve yourself. You can add the detour as a waypoint, thereby preserving your original destination so you can continue without a hitch.
While you are in destination mode, the top of the screen displays your next move, which is helpful if you forgot or missed what the GPS told you before. You can also have the Nuvi display a live map of where you are without any particular destination, in which case the display shows the upcoming street names. The integrated Bluetooth functionality is a welcome bonus, as it allows you to use the GPS unit as a speakerphone for your cell phone. If your phone supports it, the Nuvi 360 will also clone your address book so that you can dial by selecting the contact directly from the GPS.
The user interface of the Nuvi 360 is very simple – it is intuitive enough that you can recruit your passenger to enter destinations (while you're driving with both eyes on the road, of course) without directly showing them how to use it. The onscreen keyboard layout is in alphabetical order and not in a QWERTY layout, which is annoying at times.
Price Analysis
The Garmin Nuvi 360 originally came out at a MSRP of $965. If you look at the price history you can see that the price dropped by over 50% between January 2007 and January 2008, probably due to an intensely competitive marketplace for GPS (just take a look at the GPS Category). We've seen similar trends for other GPS systems, with prices leveling off at the $120 or so range before the product gets discontinued.
Conclusion
At the $250 price point that I got it at, the Garmin Nuvi 360 GPS is a tremendous value indeed. It has a brilliant daylight-readable display that maps your current location, the next move to reach your destination, the distance until your next action, as well as the estimated arrival time at your destination. The most rewarding use is when you are truly in unfamiliar territory, as it simply guides you to where you want to go without the need to pore over detailed maps. I also tried using it where I live in San Francisco, and it surprisingly revealed more efficient routes that I might take for my regular errands. It has also tried to steer me into a logjam of traffic.
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I feel like this review could apply to 90% of the GPS devices on the market.
I mean, it's cool that it was so useful for you. Just seems like mostly a generic feature list that applies to virtually all GPS navigators and a "yeah, it worked fine."
Agreed with #1.
How about specifics, like: how does it announce directions? Built-in speaker? Or must you tune your radio to a frequency (eliminating the ability to, say, listen to the radio?) How well does that work?
How does it play MP3s? quality? Ease of use? etc?
Does it do dvix?
Does it have hdmi support?
How about specifics, like: how does it announce directions? Built-in speaker? Or must you tune your radio to a frequency (eliminating the ability to, say, listen to the radio?) How well does that work?
How does it play MP3s? quality? Ease of use? etc?
At the least you and your boyfriend are misinformed, at most clinically retarded. It's a sound review of one man's experience with a Nuvi 360. It sounds as if you have little if any experience with portable GPS units. Garmin is often considered best in its class. TTS is imperative with any GPS; keep your eyes on the road and not on the unit. Over 6 million POIs, enough said. True 7-8 hours of use with the battery, important when using it in the pedestrian mode or just being mobile. Lastly it's so easy to use; it doesn't even ship with the complete printed manual (it is in a .pdf file in the unit itself though). I've actually loaned mine to friends to use so they don't have to use their cheap units (mio's mostly) they thought would work just fine on vacation. Have a second look at the review; perhaps you can glean the information you missed the first time. Maybe have someone read it to you if it's still hard for y... [Truncated]
What if I don't want to drive in circles? 360??
I don't think Ben's reviews aren't worth the bits they consume. Other sites like newegg and amazon do better. At least you know what the herd thinks on them. Ideally I want head to head shootouts done by someone who knows the type of products well and gives clear winners/losers. Reviewing a product in isolation is only marginally useful unless it bursts into flames and kills the reviewer.
I actually ordered this one but cancelled the order when Ben ran the Nuvi 750 at HSN for $300.
Based on the posts for GPS units at Bens and other sites I went with Garmin because of the high marks it consistently receives. I agree with #2 that there are some additional questions that Ben could answer in his review. Get after it Ben!
Where do you get it for $218?
I have the Nuvi 660. Took it to Vegas and came in very handy. Other brands probably would of done the same job, who knows, but I'm happy with this one.
#7, that was a refurb from Buy.com a couple of weeks ago.
I was excited when I saw this post, because I thought there was another deal on it. I've been waiting on another $250 (or lower - I'll take a refurb) deal before I pull the trigger. Oh well. They can be had today for around $270 delivered (as seen on PriceGrabber).
"It gave me good directions in San Francisco" is about as useful as your quiche-making skills at a football game.
Wouldn't those be precisely the people to benefit from, oh, I dunno. A review?
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Whether or not your friends can read directions to the bath house without looking at the manual has nothing to do with the questions I asked.
Bought Nuvi 360, used for 2 weeks, returned and bought TomTom 720. Now happy. Garmin is good for everything (g mp3, bluetooth, audiobooks, etc)except the maps. Almost no MEANINGFUL details on maps (just a mess of unnamed roads aside your trip), TERRIBLE directions on exits and road forks. Go for TomTom.
nikko, you have serious h0m0sexual desires. PLEASE leave me out of them.
Somehow I expected more than that. Or at least a real attempt. Weak sauce.
Nikko, you burp, if you had read my comments in their entirety you would know that there are questions unanswered. Curious as to whether other crystal addicts have as short an attention span as you. Please let us know.
Uhh, all you did was agree with my original post. Meth or not, I have no idea what your fat ass is talking about.
My only complaint so far with the 360 is that the voice prompts are not loud enough even at full volume. This is mainly a problem on highways. On city streets it is fine.
The real problem with this is its narrow screen. The split screen view of the 660 has a lot more info visible at one time. Speed, altitude, etc. And when map details are turned up to max, the 360 lists POI on the maps. The TomTom720 does not have as many POI as the garmin 360 so not sure what #12 is talking about...
This is an excellent, easy to use GPS system. TTS is excellent and accurate most of the time, the unit picks up satellite signals quickly, and the battery life is fantastic. The only thing I haven't figured out is the Bluetooth - specifically, how to prevent the other person from hearing themselves from the Garmin's speaker. Other than that, a fantastic machine and a good buy.
A serious feature which all Garmin units lack is the ability to make it avoid a specific street/highway/area.