Customer Reviews

Garmin StreetPilot c320 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(168)
4 star:		(87)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

If you are a first time GPS buyer and want an easy to use unit with intuitive touch screen controls and the best unit you can get for under $300, I recommend the C320 (or C330 which comes with pre-loaded maps). I bought this unit for much more a little over a year ago and so far I am quite happy. It has saved me many miles of extra driving! It also makes me a braver night time driver as I have difficulty spotting a sudden turn in the road at night time. But with my GPS I know exactly when to turn and it even tells me 'stay right' etc. This was confusing at first but now that I know what it means I find it very helpful to not have to change lanes at the last minute. It makes me feel safer on the road at night in unknown places! I can easily type in addresses on the touch screen with it's large display or look for a place of interest (a restaurant, library etc.) if I change my mind while at an intersection and then continue on the specified route. I often type in store names like "Target" or "Borders" on a whim and it takes me to the nearest one in the area. It just made a couple of mistakes so far once for a Kroger and once for a Walmart as the store had moved to another location about half a year ago but even Google maps had shown me the wrong location for that Walmart. It is also convenient to be able to specify the cuisine and locate the nearest restaurant to your current location or near your destination. However the restaurant choices are by no means exhaustive, it may miss a couple of good ones here and there but may show you ones you never knew existed.

I chose the C320 as you can load whatever maps you need by just getting a larger SD card, especially as SD cards have come down in price.
Before using this unit, I had used the Magellan Roadmate 300 for a few days, and Garmin's routing is a definite improvement over Magellan in terms of speed of route calculation and accurate routing. The Magellan locked up a couple of times although it was a new unit and I had to pull off on an exit and power it down for several minutes before it started reading the correct route. The Garmin C320 has never frozen on me. If I do not take the prescribed route or miss a turn it takes just about 2-3 seconds to figure that out and recalculates my route, this is way faster than Magellan or any other GPS system I've encountered so far. This is great feature as the next turn might be just 5 seconds away and you may miss it again if the unit takes too much time to recalculate!

Some reviews complained about the maps saying the unit said that they had reached the destination even though they were 100-200 feet away and sometimes confused between left or right of the street. But if you have used other GPS systems you would know that no GPS navigation system is perfect and I generally prefer Garmin navigation over Magellan.

The C320 allows you to specify your preferences such as - Avoid highways, avoid U turns, avoid toll roads etc. And you can set it to "Shortest distance" or "Fastest time". I've found that the shortest distance can sometimes take you on backroads or unusual roads which you normally may not take. This option gave me a great new route between office and home which avoids traffic but when I used the same option on a longer drive it suddenly detoured off the highway ans took me through bumpy back roads, a most unpleasant experience! But with experience I have learned the best way to calculate my route using the options. There is a bit of a learning curve with all GPS systems and the more advanced GPS users have rated Garmin navigation very highly in the several comparisons I read on the web.

The C320 does get a bit confused in situations where -a) there is a small roundabout (like in apartment communities) and may keep missing the exit turn and b) when there are intersecting highways over and under the highway on which you are traveling, especially if it takes you more than 15-20 seconds to cross that area where the highways intersect c) In very long tunnels. But now that I know this I just stay on route and as soon as I've crossed that area it starts showing the earlier route.

Some reviewers complained that the unit does not show the complete route turn by turn text instructions - that is not correct- as it will show you the turn by turn text instructions if you touch the green text bar over the route map.
If you want to take a detour at any point in your route it will calculate an alternative route for you if you touch the detour button, but will try to get you back on the original route very quickly. You can create points of interest in the route through the software and you can also save your favorite locations or most used addresses on the unit.

I prefer having a portable GPS than an in-car GPS as the software update is cheaper than in car GPS and I can carry it with me to use in rental cars when I travel. I tried out the in car GPS system in my friend's Honda and Garmin had better routing and a better "voice". The Honda GPS's high-pitched "Chinese Schoolgirl" voice drove me to distraction....!

January 7, 2007 update: I've gotten so used to my GPS that I don't know how I lived without it. The only complaint I have about the unit is that it is very hard to read in bright sunlight and I have to depend on the voice instructions. Also, please don't leave it mounted in the car if it's above 90 degrees as my unit's battery died after it was out in the summer for a few days at 100 degree temperatures and now it takes time to read satellite signals when I start out as it starts from a "cold" state.
May 7, 2007 Update: I called Customer Service last week as my internal battery died and the unit started falling off my windshield as the heat exposure reduced its grip. Hold time was very short, 3-4 minutes each time I called. They offered to have the unit repaired for $150 which is more than half the cost of a new unit, so I refused as it wasn't a critical problem. However, they offered to send me a new mount (including the windshield mount piece and car adaptor) for free despite being out of warranty . It was FedExed and reached me in 3 business days. That's good customer service!

Overall I am satisfied with C320. Better GPS systems exist (some made by Garmin) but this one is the best bang for my buck by far!

I've been using it for about 1 week now. Great little unit, easy to use, superior to the Quest and 2610 that I've also owned because of its faster calculation times and ease of use. Does indeed update arrival time depending on speed (at least mine does). Seems to be accurate within a couple minutes on my daily 35 minute commute. Starts the estimate based on it's internal average speeds for highways, etc, then adjusts depending on how fast you are actually driving. I would not spend the extra money on the 330. Spend a few bucks on a 512md sd card, I've tried but can't possibly think of how to use more than that on a single trip. And I would assume the sd card is a little faster than the HDD. You get more batter life, like 2x. Also, I like being able to upload favorites from the pc using the software, so the sd version is actually preferable to me. And it looks like the price is still too high here so until it comes down check out pricegrabber or nextag.

Pros
-large touchscreen
-easy to use
-portable, 8 hour battery, pocket sized (in loose pants or jacket
-fast calculation times & map drawing.
-nice mounting

cons
-no route saving or transfering, hence no waypoints can be stored in route but this is remedied simply by saving favorites and touching your favorite in route, just a little more attention requred.
-weak software.

I bought the c320 the middle of October, 2005, and have updated the software to version 4.8 and the map data City Select North America NT version 7.0. This is the latest software and map data as of the date of this review. I really like this unit and would buy it again. I would have given it 5 stars except for the Map Data being just a bit too much out of date. Still, this is an amazing device. Here are some quick pros and cons for those who don't want to read the whole review:

Pros:
- It will get you to your destination.
- Easy to use; you can figure out how to do most things just by playing around with it.
- Calculates new routes very quickly.
- Lots of Points of Interest (POI).
- Map database shows even very remote roads, i.e. dirt paths out in the middle of nowhere.
- Long battery life: about 10 hours.
- Small enough and accurate enough to use while walking.
- North American NT V7 is compact enough to fit ALL on a 1G SD card.
- There is no itty-bitty hard drive to wear out.
- Pleasant British English voice.
- Knows when the sun sets to switch screen brightness.
- ETA is updated in this software version.
- Does not have any problem picking up satellites in any car (or train) I've used it in.

Cons:
- Map data is too far out of date; data must be at least 2 years old.
- Screen is hard to read in direct sunlight.
- Complex process to unlock new map data DVD.
- It's a little fussy about street names when looking up an address.

Nits:
- No altitude indication.
- Does not know when you cross time zone to change clock.

I've used this now for a couple of months, including a train and car trip from Iowa to Arizona. I've also updated the unit software and the map data so I have an idea how easy that is to do.

You can indicate your routing preference (shortest distance or fastest time, no toll roads, no unpaved roads, etc). This will at times produce some funky routes. For example, shortest distance and allowing unpaved roads can send you down some pretty rough roads. If you use it in a place you know well, you will probably disagree with some of its routes. That is to be expected because it does not know about busy roads or traffic lights or other things like that. On the other hand, since using this locally I have found some good routes I have not known about before.

I took this on a train ride across 6 Western states. It had no problem picking up satellites if I kept it up against the window. If you set the unit to show enough detail, it will show you traveling right down the middle of the railroad tracks. Since this is a car navigation device it has a preference for roads, so if there was a parallel road near enough to the tracks the cursor would jump over to the road. Crossing those remote areas showed how much detail is in the map database; some roads that were no more than two dirt ruts showed up on the screen.

We used it in the rental car when we got to Arizona. From the middle of nowhere to Phoenix it worked great. We were able to use it to avoid some heavy Phoenix traffic by just getting off the interstate and driving city streets. Even though Phoenix is pretty much laid out in a grid, I don't think I would have tried to navigate around the traffic jam without the c320. The out of date map data problem showed up in Phoenix in particular. The city is growing so fast that there was several times where the map data did not show a new street.

I've used this in 7 different cars (and 1 train) so far and never have had a problem picking up satellites. Just to try it out, I bought an external antenna that I have mounted on my truck roof. With an external antenna, the signal is a little stronger and maybe it might take a little less time for the unit to first acquire satellites, but the external antenna is not really necessary.

Sometimes looking up a specific address can be difficult. If you don't spell the street name exactly as it expects, it won't find the street. For example, if you are looking for "East Park Ct" and spell it "E Park Ct", the c320 won't find it. The solution is to be less specific; just search for "Park" and pick the correct street from the list it will give you.

I received a free map data update since the new map data was released before I bought my unit. Unlocking a new version of the map data is too complicated. After getting a new DVD, I had to visit Garmin's web site several times to finally figure out how to get my "unlock code" for the new data. Once you get the data unlocked, loading it into a SD card is easy. The "MapInstall" software Garmin gives you is simple to use.

The City Select North America NT version 7.0 map data is the same data as is in version 6.x, but V7.0 is more compressed. As a result, all of the V7 data will fit on a 1G SD card, including all 50 states, all of Canada, and Puerto Rico. Since you can now get all the map data on one SD card, why buy the c330? (The c330 is exactly the same as the c320, except the c330 has its map data preloaded on a little hard drive.) Here is how I see the c320 and c330 compare:

c330:
- Map data is preloaded.
- If the internal hard drive crashes you are screwed; it's not user replaceable.
- Some reports of the c330 not working above 10,000 ft, but will start working again when it's moved below 10,000 ft.

c320
- Map data must be loaded onto a SD card by the user.
- Even if you consider in paying for a 1G SD card, the c320 is still about $100 less than the c330.
- No moving parts.
- If the SD card fails (not likely) you can just replace it with a new one and reload the map data.
- About twice the battery life of the c330
- Works above 10,000 ft.

Overall, I think I would buy the c320 over the c330. I don't know why Garmin doesn't sell a c320 with map data preloaded 1 G SD card and discontinue the c330.

I've had this for a few months. I didn't get it from Amazon and when it arrived it was DOA. I called Garmin tech support (I did have to wait a while) and they were extremely helpful. I was concerned that since I didn't buy it from an authorized dealer, I would have some problems. But I didn't. I didn't even have to pay for shipping. They sent me a shipping label and I had the unit back within a week. I bought the 512mb card and could load quite a bit of of the mapquest. It did not take too long and is probably calculates more quickly than the hard drive of the 330.

I've had no problems with the window mount. It's been there for over a month and not loose at all. I put a screen protector on it to avoid any scratching. One thing with the screen, if you wear polarized sunglasses, the screen can be difficult to see, so when something important is coming up, I'll take off the sunglasses and the screen is very visible even during a bright sunny day.

I love the 3D mode. I think it is easier to see how far ahead a turn is going to happen, especially when dealing with a bunch of ramps.

The software is quite good too. I commute to Philadelphia and I have learned some shortcuts with the 320 which was especially helpful during the transit strike. It was also great when driving to Newark, NJ airport. It had the different terminals listed and the directions were right on. It recalculates when you go off route quite quickly. One time I had it set for shorter distance rather than faster route and I was not going the way Darla (my anthropomorphic name for the 320) told me to and there were quite a few exits close together that she was trying to get me to go on plus there were roads above me too. She was having a nervous breakdown and kept saying "recalculating, recalculating, recalculating..." Finally I just turned it off to give her a break. When I turned it on again, I changed the mode and there were no more problems and it worked just fine.

I recently got a new car and was debating on getting an onboard navigator but decided against spending close to $2000 for it when I had the 320. I can move the 320 to other vehicles with no problem.

Unfortunately you can't put in waypoints and save routes. For the waypoints I use my GPS for geocaching.

If you're looking for a car navigation system, look no further. This one is great. I used to use my GarminV which just beeped when a turn was about to happen and it was harder to tell where the turn was especially if there were a couple of exits close to one another. Darla talks to you and she speaks quite a few different languages or with a British accent.

Folks, I have used several and this is simply the BEST GPS unit you can buy for under $300. I travel a Southeastern sales territory and use this device every day. NO GPS from ANY manufacturer is 100% accurate, but this one is pretty dang close.

The interface is very intuitive. The controls are simple. The accuracy is stunning. It just WORKS. You can easily find addresses, hotels, gas, food, entertainment, etc. near your location, WHEREVER you are.

You DO have to load your own maps with this unit ,which is fairly easy, but obviously you must have a computer and web access and know how to use it. You'll need a 1 GB SD card ( about $20) to get the whole U.S. The included 128 MB card will store a few states.

You can go to FREE POI sites on the web and download your own "points of interest" and items like the location of "traffic cams" and many others.

My only commment would be that if you are somewhat computer and web savvy, then get the C320, load your own maps and save some money. If you are computer deficient or unsure, buy the C330 ( only a bit more ) and it works right out of the box with pre-loaded U.S. maps. Later, if you gain computer skills , you can add your own points of interest.

If you don't need the higher end features ( Bluetooth, traffic radio, MP3, etc.) then you can't beat this unit anywhere. It performs the functions you REALLY want from a GPS on a par with the $700- $1000 units. They only add features you probably won't need or use. ( Even the higher Garmins).

I bought mine for $248. Why pay $800 for a GPS ???!!
Don't let your wife see it unless you want to buy TWO !


*** UPDATE *** *** UPDATE *** *** UPDATE ***

APRIL,25 2007

Had a little difficulty with the windshield mount. If you stick it without a little moisture first and leave it for a long time, it can adhere to the windshield and it is VERY difficult to remove and will leave part of the rubber on the windshield and render the mount unusable.

A single call to Garmin (you get to talk within 2 minutes to an actual,live English-speaking PERSON!) and they sent me a new one out 2nd day Air!!!

I am now a Garmin fan for life. Great GPSs AND super service!

Also, I just used the C320 on a trip to the Smoky Mountains. Even with all the mountains and the very dense tree cover, I NEVER lost the sat signal. This thing just keeps amazing me.

I bought the StreetPilot c320 in July 2006 when it was $320. In the past few months I've been using it, it has been very reliable and easy to use, and definitely worth the money. I noticed that the price has dropped even more since then, so that's an even better reason to purchase it. I turn it on even when I'm driving somewhere I'm familiar with because I like it so much. So far I have only used it in the city of Chicago, IL and the surrounding suburbs, but it has found every address and point-of-interest I have entered. I still haven't gotten over the novelty of being able to confidently drive 2 hours away to a concert, or 10 minutes away to an unfamiliar part of the city.

Here's some information on the unit based on my experiences over the past few months:

Inside the package you'll find the c320 GPS unit, a 128mb SD card, a USB cable, an AC charger, a windshield mount (including a plug for your cigarette lighter), and the software discs. It's also equipped with a battery so you can take it out of your car and walk around with it. Note: this is not Mac-compatible.

You can save your favorite locations in the "My Locations" list, type your address in on the touch screen, select a location from a list of recently selected locations, or select a point-of-interest from the c320's huge database. The addresses are usually pretty accurate. It thinks my apartment building is on the opposite side of the street though, so be warned that you might encounter that problem.

The maps are not preloaded. You need to hook it up to your computer via the included USB cable and load the maps for the areas of your choice. When I purchased it, United States Version 6 maps were included. I was able to get a free upgrade to the Version 7 maps. You must install them all onto your computer, and load them onto the included SD card. It's not any more difficult than putting songs onto your iPod, but if you're technically challenged, you might want to buy a GPS with the maps pre-installed.

It comes with a 128mb SD card to hold the maps. 128mb will hold about 5 US states. That's plenty for me, but if you do a lot of traveling, or you'd rather not have to load maps every time you travel outside a 5-state radius, just buy a bigger card. 1 gig should probably hold the whole country.

The screen size is 3" x 2". That's probably as small as you should go for a GPS unit. On the c320, everything is easy to read in a quick glance. There are several units with smaller screens for a lower price, but then you'd have to do more than a quick glance at it to see where you are, and that wouldn't be safe. The 3D map view is very easy to read, and the on-screen (and audible) indicators make it almost impossible for you to miss your turn. I think there's also a bird's-eye-view map if you're not comfortable with the 3D map.

I have one complaint about the screen. I wish there was a compass on it so you could see what direction you're driving. Instead, there's an Estimated Time of Arrival indicator, which is usually inaccurate because of traffic, so it's pretty much useless. You can view other statistics about your route by hitting a few buttons, but that's more time my eyes aren't on the road, and I can't spare it.

The voice is loud and clear. There's also a handy volume wheel on the right side of the device so you can quickly lower the volume if you have to take a phone call. The voice does not tell you the name of the road you will be turning on though. I believe the c340 unit does that. I was debating on getting the more expensive c340 for that feature, but it turns out I'm fine with "Make next right." The name of the street is displayed in large type at the top of the screen anyway.

The reason I give this unit 4 stars instead of 5 is that it takes a while to pick up a satellite in the city. Normally it finds one in the suburbs pretty quickly, but I guess all the buildings block the view of the sky downtown. In general it'll take about 3 minutes to find one in the city, but today it took it 3 miles for some reason. That's just one of the reasons you should take a good look at a real map (I use Google Maps) before you head out. But after the unit finds a signal, it holds onto it pretty well unless you're stuck under an overpass for too long.

Another reason you should be familiar with your route before leaving the house is that, as with any GPS, it doesn't always select the best route. For some reason, the c320 always likes to try to get me on highways when side roads would be faster in some cases. So it's always a good idea to be familiar with your area. You can specify in the unit's settings to avoid highways, toll roads, u-turns, etc. if you want.

So there you have it. The StreetPilot c320 is a great GPS unit, with a few basic flaws that are easily overshadowed by how useful it is.

I bought this GPS for my 60-something year old mother as a birthday gift. I bought it specifically with her in mind because of its simplicity. Many GPS systems have a multitude of buttons, confusing menu systems and exotic options. The StreetPilot series is very simple and straightforward, and having the large screen (for a unit of its size) was a big selling point for me.

The unit is about the size of a baseball and reminds me of a tiny version of Apple's original iMac computer. There are very few external controls; only a power button and a volume dial. Every other function is controlled through the large (for its size) touch screen. There's also a "docking port" on the back which mates to the mounting arm and provides power, a port for an external antenna, and a mini USB port for connecting it to a computer. The unit contains a (sealed) rechargeable battery which is good for about 3-4 hours -- handy if you suddenly find yourself stuck on the road and need to walk to the nearest gas station or hotel for assistance.

It ships with a suction cup swing-arm thing that you can attach to your windshield; the GPS mounts to the arm so you can position it to your liking. It also ships with an adhesive pad if you want to permanently mount it on your dashboard, a DC adapter for your cigarette lighter, a 128MB memory card (good for two small states or one medium/large state), a Windows CD containing the application and maps, and the owner's guide. No surprises there. It is my understanding that Garmin now offers a Mac OS X application although I have not tried it.

Setup is a piece of cake. Charge up the GPS (mine shipped with a half-charge on the battery already) and insert the SD card. Install the software on your computer, connect the USB cable, select which states you want on the GPS and download them. When it's time to go, mount the unit in a location in the car where it will have good outward visibility (e.g., the base of your windshield) and plug in the power cord. One really clever/useful feature: The unit will automatically shut off (after asking you if you want to continue on battery power) when you turn the car off, and will automatically power up when you turn the car on. It does this through a simple voltage check through the power cord. Not very high tech, but effective and useful.

There's one bad thing about the physical design of the StreetPilot which has been mentioned by others before me: The screen quickly gets washed out in everyday lighting conditions. You often find yourself adjusting the GPS so you can see SOMETHING. There are two solutions to this problem. Solution #1 is to fashion a sort of hood for the GPS. (I worked with a local shop to make a small opaque plastic hood which I Velcro'ed to the top, which works flawlessly.) Solution #2 is to put the GPS off the dashboard (up near the rear view mirror works especially well) and then run an external antenna. The problem is bad enough that I'm removing a full star from my rating of this product; had Garmin put a better screen in this unit I would have given it a full five stars.

One thing I thought was particularly nice: At sunset, the GPS automatically shifts colors to a "night mode" which uses darker colors so as not to blind you during night driving. At sunrise it switches back. This isn't a Garmin-specific feature but it's nice to see nonetheless.

You can preprogram a number of favorite locations into the GPS which makes it a lot easier to work with. You also program your home location into it so that at any time you can "GO HOME" with the click of a single button. It also contains an astonishing amount of information about regional businesses; you can tell it to locate gas stations, restaurants, hotels, shopping, amusement parks or virtually any other type of business in your area, and plot directions to those locations with a quick button press or two. Very simple.

Directions are called out clearly in a mechanical-yet-female sounding voice. You quickly learn to pay attention to the verbiage in use; "turn left" is different from "stay left" or "merge left", for example. Directions are given according to speed and location. When you enter a highway, for example, you are told how long it will be before you get off the highway ("in 12.2 miles, keep right") and then as you approach the turn you're reminded again ("in 400 feet, keep right"). If you're caught in traffic it won't drive you insane with mindless repetitions. One REALLY nice feature: If you miss a turn, the GPS will automatically announce, "off route; recalculating" and within a second or two plot you an alternate route based on your current position. It bears mentioning that while the C320 does not call out street names or exit numbers the screen does display this information, so the GPS screen may show "Bear right at exit 17A" but the voice will say only "in .5 miles bear right". Many of Garmin's higher-end systems will call out the street names and such so if you must have that feature you'll need to look at something other than the c320.

Of course, any GPS is only worthwhile if its maps are accurate. My c320 shipped with version 6 of the map software which were not flawless but were quite good. On 10-07-2006 I updated the maps to version 8 and found that several minor errors that existed in the version 6 maps had been corrected, and a number of points of interest had similarly been updated. It is my understanding that Garmin ships the most current map software as they're updated. (The 2820 that I purchased in 2006 came with version 8 of the map software which is the most current as of this writing.) Note that you will need at least a 1GB memory card to install all maps; a 2GB card is recommended (by me) so that you can have all maps and as many custom points of interest that you want. The c320 uses a standard SD card; as of this writing a 2GB card can be purchased for less than 40 bucks. One minor annoyance: The c320 has a USB 1.x interface rather than the faster USB 2 interface. Transferring all maps -- about 950MB -- takes between 45 minutes and an hour. Fortunately you only need to do this once.

Garmin also has a very nice and painless method of updating the software in the unit. Connect the GPS to your Windows PC (no Mac support) via USB, then download and run Garmin's free WebUpdate application. It will detect your GPS model and then contact Garmin's servers for any applicable software updates. (You may need to run the updater several times to get all of the updates.) My c320 shipped with version 3.2 of the system software; after running WebUpdate it brought the Garmin to version 5.3 which contained a number of bug fixes and performance updates.

I would definitely buy this product, or another Garmin product, again. In fact, I did! I purchased the Garmin StreetPilot 2820 for my own personal use. (You can see my review of it here on Amazon as well.)

EDIT Dec 25th:
One thing I want to point out is that A Gordon is wrong about the map upgrade to the latest version 7. I bought my C320 a couple of weeks ago and the map upgrade is 100% FREE. You have to go on the Garmin site and order the DVD, but it's totally free and you use your existing reg. to unlock the maps. Done deal...ok, so read below for my review.

This GPS rocks for the price I paid. (I paid 399.99 with free shipping here on Amazon). It's easy to learn how to use, the text is big enough for even a blind bat like me to be able to see it easily, and the included suction cup locks her right onto your windshield until you remove it. Make sure you clean the area on the windshield as well as the bottom of the suction cup for best results.
I live in MA and I've got all of New England loaded up and it fit quite well on the 128MB SD card. IF you want to be able to load up alot of states at once I'd recommend a 1GB card.
It has been very accurate and always gets me where I want to go, but I have noticed it doesn't necessarily choose the shortest route but it does tell you the ETA. If you mess up and take a wrong turn then the unit quickly recalculates another route for you. I've had a much different experience than others who said their unit took a long time to acquire satellites. Mine is very quick to locate satellites and I've never lost a signal nor have I had to wait for it to recalculate a route if I took a wrong turn which I have done intentionally just to see how quickly it will provide me with a new route.

Only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is because it came with outdated unit software as well as map software. The unit software you can download right away, the updated map software they will send you on a dvd. Once I placed the order on for the version 7 map upgrade, I received it in 4 days. You use your original registration code to unlock the maps and it IS A FREE UPGRADE for the V7 Maps on the C320 Street Pilot.
I shopped around and looked at many GPS units such as Magellan, Lowrance, and Tom Tom. THis one has everything I need and then some. I believe it uses the same maps as the more costly Tom Tom Go 300. Some cool features that I really like is the ability to show you a list of eaterys, entertainment, movie theaters, airports, hospitals, and many other important points of interest. Additionally, with a touch of the screen you can instantly navigate to these places. Oh, and I almost forgot about the favorites. You can save any route to a favorites list instead of having to retype in your destination address or scroll through the categories.
For the price I paid as opposed to the cost of others in its class, I think the C320 is a great unit and I'm 100% happy with the purchase.

Update: I put this thing to a good test yesterday as I had a service call in Boston at a new clients home. I am happy to report that it works well helping you navigate the busy streets of Boston. The voice navigation will tell you how many miles before you have to turn, example: "turn right in 1.2 miles". As you get closer to taking the turn, example: a right turn, the voice nav will begin telling you, "stay right". Then when you are coming up on the turn, the voice will say turn right. Now, you do need to use some common sense a bit. IF there are several streets one after the other, then just look at the screen and it will display the name of the street that you should be turning on and the approximate distance it is from you. For best results seeing the screen on a sunny day, mount the unit in a spot where it's easiest to see. You can be creative. I removed mine from the windshield and now have it mounted on the shelf area above my steering wheel and its totally visible during the day. Read some of the other reviews on GPS units that cost 200 and 300 more than this one...I got news for ya, all of them have the LCD screens and all of them can be tough to see if the sun is shining either in your eyes or on the unit. It got me to my destination in the middle of Boston so its already worth it to me. You can change the way it plans a route in the settings by choosing either fastest route or shortest route. For my trip to Boston I found that the fastest route took me down the expressway, and the shortest route took me through the back roads. I let it take me the fastest on the way in town, and the shortest on the way home. Both were clear and got me to my destination with no problem. The fastest was 19 miles, the shortest was 14 miles. I love this thing and think it does a great job for a 400 dollar color GPS unit. Despite it's few imperfections, I find it 100% better than jerking around with map books, mapquest, or trying to read written directions from a piece of paper while you're driving!

This was my first car GPS and my first Garmin product. The unit is well built, easily figured out and functions top notch. The mount is great, screen easy to see and the sound good and crisp.

I am a bit put off, however, by Garmin's greed by selling the unit with outdated maps and database, then asking for $50 for an update disc on a brand new product! This is unacceptable. Here's some examples of bad data I've found in just a week of local use. I dread using the unit in an unknown city.

Local map data not updated:
Two freeway onramps changed 4 years ago.
Freeway bypass loop opened 3 years ago.

Database data not updated:
Missing large mall 6 years old, but the Mall Loop Rd on map.
18 stores opened 3-6 years ago missing.
19 restaurants opened 3-6 years ago missing.
K-mart closed 4 years ago still in database.
Major park opened 8 years ago missing.

All these found in just one week of use. I would have rated this a 5-star had it not been for the abismal map and database and the greed of Garmin wanting $50 to update it on a brand new product. They had a great product, then messed it up with the lack of a simple update of the data.

Pros
- Easy to use. Almost no brainer
- Small enough to carry around
- Has alot of useful features like fiding nearest parking lot, restaurant, entertainment places, and etc...
- Bright and clear screen

Cons
- LCD is easily scrachable! put a screen protector
- Window mount sometimes fall off from the window (about 1 hr driving)
- Occational lost setalite connection. It would be good to display the predefined direction even though it lost the connection.
- Gets confused on the road when you're on a bridge and there's a road below it
- 3D is cool but I doubt anyone will use it. It's harder to see how far the next turn is.

Overall, I still think it's great GPS and will keep it for very very long time.