Garmin StreetPilot III 3.4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

by Garmin

Product Details

Product Manual [934kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 12 x 9 inches ; 4.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000066TPN
• Batteries: 6 AA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,545 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

You don't need to buy a luxury car or spend thousands installing a multipart system to get advanced GPS navigation capabilities in your automobile. Garmin's StreetPilot III delivers all the high-end features you need--from detailed street maps and sophisticated auto routing to voice prompts and a color screen--in a compact, inexpensive, and portable package.

The Garmin StreetPilot III sports a brilliant LCD display

Setting up the unit was surprisingly simple. First we installed the software from the MapSource City Navigator CD onto our PC and connected the card reader, with the 32 MB data card, to the USB port. Then we went online to unlock one of 10 detailed coverage areas included on the disk; for instance, Area 1 covers California and Nevada, Area 7 covers New England and New York. After that we downloaded detailed maps of our city (San Francisco) and surrounding areas to the data card. We also downloaded waypoints--locations like our home, office, and other places we often visit--onto the card and inserted it into the StreetPilot III. If you don't have a USB port, you can also use the included serial cable to connect the entire unit to your PC.

The physical installation went just as smoothly. We affixed the plastic base to the top of our dashboard with the included adhesive mounting disks, snapped the StreetPilot III into place, connected it to the cigarette lighter for power, and extended the small fold-down antenna. The dashboard mount's quick release makes it easy to store the StreetPilot III when not in use or, if you purchase a second mount, lets you use it in multiple vehicles.

We turned the unit on and in less than a minute it locked onto the GPS satellites and displayed a map of our current location on the clear, bright, easy-to-read color display. As we drove along, it displayed our position and direction on the map, the name and address number of the street we were on, and even the name of the upcoming cross street. The two zoom buttons let us get a very detailed street-level view or a broad overview of our current position, and the menu button allowed us to customize the display.

By using the ‘find’ key, points of interest such as attractions, restaurants, banks, intersections and many more are easily located and routed to. Simply choose the destination from the list and press ‘route to it’. The Streetpilot III will calculate the best route and talk you through to the destination. The crisp, colorful LCD makes checking out your destination easy--even before you leave! This screen displays your possible destination of the St. Louis Zoo as well as local restaurants and emergency medical locations. It’s easy to become familiar with services provided even when you’re 244.1 miles away. Try that with a paper map!

The trip computer screen calculates all the travel data for your trip with incredible accuracy, while verbal instructions inform you of the next turn. Valuable information like distance to destination and time to destination are constantly updated--perhaps even putting an end to the question ‘are we there yet?’ Routes can be displayed several ways such as this turn by turn instruction screen, which highlights your next turn to make. The distance to go and time to go information gives driver’s the forewarning and confidence to watch for the approaching turn. The smooth verbal instructions will let you know when the next turn is approaching.

The fun really started, though, when we used the StreetPilot's routing capabilities. Using the arrow buttons, we input the intersection of a store we'd never visited, and within a minute it calculated the most direct route. The voice navigator told us where to go and when to turn, and it was simple to monitor our progress both on the map and on the text display. We knew the exact address of our next stop and entered it into the unit. The StreetPilot then guided us onto the freeway and successfully to our second destination, telling us exactly where to stop along the street and even on which side of the street the store was located. To get home, we just accessed a waypoint with our home address that we'd preprogrammed on the PC.

Even if you don't know exactly where you're going, the City Navigator maps include points of interest, such as restaurants, shops, and parks. For instance, the StreetPilot can find the closest fast-food restaurant and present you with a list of nearby options.

Testing in San Francisco, we did lose satellite lock a few times in extremely hilly areas or in areas with very tall buildings. We think this was due mainly to the fact that the unit's antenna is inside the car; an external antenna option is available for less than $100 that should solve the problem.

Once you use the StreetPilot III for a while, it's hard to imagine driving solo again. Whether you're planning a road trip or just need help getting around town, it's an extremely helpful companion that's cheaper and easier to install than anything else currently available. --Ken Feinstein

Pros:

• Compact, portable design
• Easy-to-read color screen
• Auto routing and voice prompts

Cons:

• Optional external antenna will get better satellite reception in some cities than the built-in antenna

Note about review: This review was written using the original version of the Garmin StreetPilot III. The deluxe version includes a 128 MB data card and full unlock access to all maps on the City Navigator CD-ROM.

What's in the Box
StreetPilot III with portable antenna, PC interface cable, dashboard mount, portable Mount (bean bag mount), external speaker with 12-volt cigarette lighter adapter, owner's manual, quick reference guide, USB data card programmer, Americas Autoroute Basemap, MapSource City Navigator North America CD.

Amazon.com Product Description

The Talking Color StreetPilot III Deluxe from Garmin is like having your own personal navigator in the passenger seat. This StreetPilot III Deluxe combines the power of a 12-channel GPS receiver with a detailed base map and routing functions to get you where you need to go by the shortest, fastest route. As an added bonus, automated voice prompts from an external speaker tell you when to turn, the distance to upcoming turns, course deviation, and the distance to your final destination.

The StreetPilot III Deluxe comes with a PC cable, 128 MB data card, and USB Data Card Programmer so you can download map data from CD-ROMs. This model comes with City Navigator, which contains detailed street maps for major North American cities. Mapping software allows for automatic routing and contains information like turn restrictions. Simply enter an address or intersection, and the StreetPilot will calculate a route and provide turn-by-turn directions. Points of interest, addresses, and phone numbers are also included in the database.

This version of the Garmin StreetPilot III Deluxe offers full unlock capability of all maps for the United States and Canada. (The regular Garmin StreetPilot III comes with unlock capability for just one region.) Simply install the City Navigator CD-ROM on your PC, then enter a custom code that is included with the product box.

Other GPS features include a trip computer with odometer, timers, and average and maximum speeds. The built-in base map of North America and South America contains state and country boundaries, lakes, rivers, streams, airports, cities, towns, coastlines, state and interstate highways, local thoroughfares, and secondary roads within metro areas--plus federal interstate-highway exit information with services like food, lodging, and service stations.

Garmin makes accessories to help you integrate your GPS with your life and your priorities. Keep your GPS at the ready while protecting it from knocks and bumps is with a carrying case, that has space for your hookup cable and remote control. In the car, you'll appreciate the mounting options and clear reception afforded by the Garmin GA26 Remote Vehicle Antenna for StreetPilot, III Plus and II Plus that will give you better satellite reception than if you only place your GPS on the dashboard. Using your GPS in more than one vehicle? The Garmin Dashmount is just the ticket, providing one temporary and one permanent adhesive mounting disc so you can move the unit back and forth between your cars.

Map information is viewed on the StreetPilot III Deluxe's backlit display with its 16 colors and a resolution of 305 x 160 pixels. The unit is powered by six AA batteries with a battery life of 20 hours at the lowest backlight setting, and 2 hours at the highest setting. It comes with mounting hardware, a PC interface cable, 12-volt adapter cable with an external speaker, a 128 MB data card, USB data programmer and MapSource City Navigator software on CD-ROM. The StreetPilot III Deluxe is covered by a one-year warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting Better All The Time, April 23, 2003

By 

Rick Sline (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Garmin StreetPilot III 3.4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

After using the earlier Color Street Pilot for a couple years I was delighted to have the routing and talking features in this unit. I have a fair amount of experience with Lexus' built-in GPS system as well as the Hertz Neverlost system, both of which I consider "permanently mounted". None of these are perfect and the Talking Street Pilot certainly is a great value.

Pros: Adequately accurate, adequately fast (most of the time), turn by turn instructions, audible instructions so you don't have to take your eyes off the road, generally good routing, availability of large memory cartridges so you can keep a number of geographic areas "on line" - you can pick & choose which ones.

Con: This unit seems to have trouble discerning whether it's on the freeway or the service road, especially when first entering the freeway or driving in one of the rightmost lanes after passing a major interchange - I don't recall experiencing this with either of the two permanently mounted units.

General caveats: As with all units, the most direct route is not always reported; interestingly I've had the most trouble on this point with the Lexus GPS. There is a lag time if (or the GPS thinks) you are off course; the Street Pilot seems to take a bit longer on average than the others to recalculate and you could be further off course by the time it finally catches up. The Street Pilot must have a line of sight to at least 3 signals (4+needed for 3 dimensional and more accurate positioning) and may take a while to acquire them. If you're not keeping the unit on the dash, you'll need the separate antenna (it works fine from the inside of the windshield). Performance degrades around tall buildings and disappears in covered parking areas (somehow the Lexus system kept working, I suspect through some inertial sensing devices). All GPS' I've used have occasionally gotten confused on the exact location (sometimes off several blocks, but typically corrected within a minute or two) and occasionally give really bizarre turns - a right turn, u-turn then another right turn when continuing straight would work. Not all streets are present or accurately depicted. I've noticed a couple incidents of the Street Pilot showing a street as cut through when it wasn't. As always, use common sense and good judgment when evaluating information presented by the GPS. The information is loaded from a CD and over time some information becomes obsolete; you might want to update your maps every couple years (or just get a new unit with the then current bells and whistles). And until technology improves another notch or two, your GPS will not know about construction or accidents on your route - a feature that could be available in future units.

As mentioned by others, take time to become familiar with a GPS prior to needing it in an unfamiliar area. Remember safe driving takes precedence over everything else. If you've not used a GPS before, plan on spending at least an hour becoming acquainted with it's features and functionality before trying to use it for actual navigation.

There are several additional benefits of using a GPS in familiar territory: Frequently you have to go between 2 points where you're not sure about the theoretically fastest/shortest way - the GPS can suggest routes and show you on the map. Sometimes there's unexpected traffic or construction, you can quickly determine if side streets look like they'll work - I've avoided driving down "no-outlet" areas many times by a quick look on the GPS. You can look up nearby stores, restaurants, etc.; I've found this especially useful for location Post Offices when I'm in an unfamiliar area.

Anyone who uses these gets hooked; I take mine with me when I need to drive out of town too.

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great product!, August 1, 2002

By 

Helpful Reviewer (Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garmin StreetPilot III 3.4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

For several years, I have envied the owners of high end cars equipped with navigation systems. I considered getting an aftermarket in-dash system, but the price was too steep. The StreetPilot III Deluxe is just what I have been looking for. It is a reliable, well-designed, and just plain fun gadget that will please the electronics junkie and the casual user alike.

The high resolution screen is gorgeous and remains clearly visible even in bright sunlight. At sundown (automatically calculated by the StreetPilot), the display switches to black and white and can still be read easily without distracting the driver. Operation is very easy once you get the hang of it. The 128 MB data card included with the deluxe version can store maps covering a radius of 500+ miles. It should be adequate for almost all trips. Programming the card is fairly easy, although the software is probably the system's weakest link. The interface is poorly designed but functional.

The system's autorouting function works very well, but because it cannot account for traffic volume or terrain, it sometimes underestimates drive time and thus doesn't choose the quickest route. 95% of the time, however, the system chooses the best route, and it has identified new and better directions for several of my most common trips. The vocal prompts are excellent. A sophisticated trip computer is an included feature and is a welcome addition if your car does not have one.

I cannot praise the StreetPilot highly enough. In many ways, I think it is superior to an in-dash system, in terms of price and portability (since you can transfer the device between cars). It is the rare gadget that is both useful and fun. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Directionally Challenged Rejoice, November 4, 2002

By 

Nathaniel C. Moffat "Nat" (Bethesda, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Garmin StreetPilot III 3.4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

If you have been looking at $2,000 (and up) factory-installed GPS systems, this device will look like a bargain. If, however, you are looking for a hiking-and-biking GPS device, it will seem weirdly expensive. Think of this as an in-vehicle unit that can can be used as a portable if necessary.

Factory-installed units typically feature bigger screens, don't intrude on your personal space, and don't leave a power cable hanging off your dash. However, this device has one huge advantage over them: It can be swapped between cars and taken on trips for use in rental cars. At the low end, there are many cheaper GPS units more suitable for the outdoorsman. This unit is best used an in-vehicle GPS -- its battery drain and weight might be an issue for hikers.

Test-driving this device for the first time on a commute or a trip to the grocery store, the suggested route may seem odd, crossing and then rejoining a street for no apparent reason. But it can also find shortcuts even in familiar areas.

The real value, however, is in driving in unfamiliar territory, where getting lost could cost time, gas, patience, and may even be dangerous. It can find the nearest gas station, restaurant (Italian, fast food, etc.), shopping, airport, hotel, public library, and many other categories of locations.

When I broke down on the side of a highway recently, I used it on battery power to find several service stations (it gives phone numbers) within a few miles. When I called one, I was able to tell them my exact distance from which exit, and direct the tow truck to my disabled car.

It is also valuable on trips when you rent a car. Just remember to download the maps for your destination and surrounding area -- this should take about 5-10 minutes if you're using a USB cable.

A WORD ABOUT SPEED
This GPS calculate routes less quickly than expensive in-dash systems, which should be no great surprise, given that it can run on batteries and costs less. Unlike a calculator that gives you the right answer in the blink of an eye, this unit is more like a chess computer. It seeks the best route (e.g. fastest time, shortest distance) among perhaps thousands of possible solutions for getting from Point A to point B. Deep Blue took some time to beat the best chess player in the world, but nobody calls it slow.

What does processing time mean for the average driver? Well, if you take a wrong turn or miss a suggested exit, it announces: "Off route; re-calculating." If you do something unexpected a second time or third time while it is number-crunching, it may re-calculate again. At such times, you may become frustrated that it can't "keep up" with the split-second decisions traffic sometimes requires. This can be annoying, but nine times out of ten you'll probably prefer the tradeoff its designers opted for.

The voice prompts are clear and sound more human than robotic. You can adjust the volume, which is helpful especially if you have chatty passengers. These prompts also let you keep your eyes on the road, which is a major safety and convenience advantage over units that don't speak.

The color screen is large and easy to read in all but the brightest direct sunlight. It calculates what time the sun sets and can automatically go into night mode (more black background) so your eyes can adjust to the lower light outside -- a nice touch.

You can zoom in or out on a map to see as much detail as you need, or you can let it pick the zoom level for you. This lets you strike a balance between over-frequent screen refreshing (if you are driving 65 and zoomed way in, for example), and seeing where you are relative to certain highways or exits, which you might want to zoom out a bit to see.

On multi-lane highways, as your exit approaches or lanes divide, it will tell you to keep left or right, which can keep you from getting needlessly into exit-only lanes or from having to cross several lanes.

Lest you think this is a complete rave review, there are a few shortcomings.

Battery life is fair-to-poor, depending mostly on how bright you want the screen. However, if you use the power adapter and use the battery power as backup, this should not be a problem.

You will notice from pictures that there are not many keys cluttering up the front of the device. This was a sound choice from a safety and design standpoint, but it means that you have to flip between screens and scroll to enter addresses, zipping through numbers and letters and entering each -- much the way you might enter your name or initials on an arcade game. It assumes a certain degree of patience and willingness to learn. If your directionally challenged spouse has not yet entered the computer age, this may be more technology than she (or he) is ready for.

BOTTOM LINE
Because of some minor quibbles, I give it 4 1/2 stars, but will round that up to 5 because it offers such good value compared to factory-installed in-dash units. Unless the extra money is a huge issue, or unless you rarely travel far from home, spring for the deluxe version and save the headache of buying additional maps, upgrading memory, etc.