Garmin StreetPilot III 6.8-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

by Garmin

Product Details

Product Manual [934kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 12 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000058AKR
• Item model number: 100023200
• Batteries: 6 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Color: StreetPilot III

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.

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.

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. For our next stop we knew the exact address 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, like restaurants, shops, and parks. This allows you to tell the StreetPilot to find the closest fast-food restaurant and then be presented 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 a salesman always heading to new locations, 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 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

Amazon.com Product Description

The Talking Color StreetPilot III from Garmin is like having your own personal navigator in the passenger seat. This StreetPilot III 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 Talking Color StreetPilot III comes with a PC cable, 32 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.

The City Navigator CD-ROM comes with access to one region of your choice. To unlock additional regions, visit the Garmin Web site or call Garmin customer service.

Other GPS features include a trip computer with resettable 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.

View map information on the Talking Color StreetPilot III's backlit display with 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 two hours at the highest setting. It comes with mounting hardware, a PC interface cable, 12-volt adapter cable with an external speaker, a 32 MB data card, USB data programmer and MapSource City Navigator software on CD-ROM. The Talking Color StreetPilot III is covered by a one-year warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some things to know..., May 26, 2001

By 

Dennis Mabrey (Whitehouse Station, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Garmin StreetPilot III 6.8-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

First I want to say I am very happy with the talking SPIII. It is does a pretty good job routing and if you drive off the route it will autorecalc a new route for you. I have used numerous GPS's in the past and this does a great job for driving (for biking or hiking I HIGHLY recommend the Garmin 12 Map, my favorite GPS).

Now there are some things to know about this product however. First you get a CD that allows you to download maps from your PC to your Steetpilot. It works over either serial or USB (USB goes to a 32MB memory card that you can plug in). The CD contains maps of the US BUT... you only get to select one region of the US for free. The rest of them you must pay for from Garmin for approx $116 a shot ($291 total for the total US). You can purchase this online at Garmin's web site and they will give you a key to open up the different regions. The base map. the one built into the Garmin, on the GPS is still "good" for the whole US but the CD give MUCH better detail. I am not complaining about this since the maps seem pretty up to date. The road I live on is 2 years old and no other mapping software to my knowledge has it as part of their data but the Garmin software did.

Another thing to note is the form factor for the StreetPilot III and the older street pilots are different. this can be important if you order from Garmin direct accessories like the bean bag mount (as I found out).

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Portable Navigation, Period!, January 6, 2002

By 

Nathaniel Thomas (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garmin StreetPilot III 6.8-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

Before I bought the StreetPilot III I did a lot of searching around on the internet for a GPS system for my car and all signs pointed to Garmin. I bought my StreetPilot on e-bay for a considerable amount under the retail price. I also purchased the unlock code to all the DCAs because I am going to be heading down to the South in March. I was able to purchase the Streetpilot and the unlock code for less than the lowest advertised price for the StreetPilot by its self.
Does the Streetpilot III work? It is simply amazing. I thought that the screen would be a bit small but it seems the perfect size for the dash. The mapping is extremely exact; even my street, which is a dirt road, was on the basemap. The voice commands are very helpfull, especially in heavy traffic when I do not want to take my eyes off the road. The voice commands are at times are a bit misleading, though. For example, at a rotary, which the GPS refers to as a roundabout (trying to be British?), the voice sometimes says, "take second right," when the correct direction is either first or third right. However, the map is always correct and I just follow the route that I have programed by looking at the map. Except for instances at "roundabouts" the voice has been very accurate for me.
Other than the voice commands at times being misleading there is not much wrong with the Streetpilot. The buttons on the unit are easy to use and their functions are easy to learn and follow.
The tracking is amazing. Location is usually within 20 feet of my location. When driving, distances seem to be given just a bit sooner than they are. For example, when aproaching an exit the GPS voice will say, "Exit in 400 feet," when the exit is 500-600 feet away. However, this is much better than being a bit off in the other direction. The GPS also gives speed and is always about half a mile per hour under what my spedometer reads, which seems extremely accurate.
Programing with the Mapsource took a little while to learn, but that is the case with most new software. Once the data is loaded to the data card one can access it from the GPS unit. Finding locations is simple. Entering an address takes a couple of minutes or one can search for a city or town by pressing the menu button and choosing from a variety of ways of finding a location. Everything on the Streetpilot is layed out very well. Garmin did an excellent job designing the streetpilot and it is amazing that they can offer the StreetPilot for half of what Magelen charges for their 750, which I never really considered buying.
I recently used my StreetPilot on a New Year's trip to Quebec. On the entire trip I never once had to consult a map or ask for directions; the Streetpilot took me from Boston to my hotel in Quebec City with ease.
I would strongly recommend the Streetpilot III to anyone considering a portable GPS for their car. I'm sure that within a few years this unit may be half the price. However, the Streetpilot seems to be a unbeatable value to me. The Streetpilot can do everything that an in dash nav. system can do but at half the price. I definatley have no misgivings on purchasing my Streetpilot and look forward to the next time I head out on the road, knowing that I probably won't get lost again.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars StreetPilot III Review, May 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Garmin StreetPilot III 6.8-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

StreetPilot III is a keeper! After quickly entering your destination whether it is a address, city, or point of interest such as a restaurant or shopping center, in a matter of less than a minute, the GPS tells you exactly how to get there. Not only does it tell you to make left or right turns, but it will notify you for instance to "bear right in 300 feet". What is great about the directions is that it compensates for when you are driving faster such as on the highway and tells you you have to make a turn longer beforehand.
I find the antenna satisfactory for acquiring satellites in a short amount of time. If you place the GPS on the dash, it is usually no longer than a minute to acquire enough satellites to be sufficient for navigation. Sometimes when I use it while driving under heavy cover of trees, it has no problem with keeping satellite reception.
The color screen is pretty good. I have had a previous GPS which was grayscale which was difficult to read. StreetPilot III's screen which can be adjusted in terms of brightness and contrast is great. Though I must mention that if direct sunlight hits the screen, it does make it difficult sometimes to read.
The route fuction is incredible. It takes for a general route anywhere from less than thirty seconds to a little over a minute to calculate. If you are planning a longer route (such as 100 miles or more), it takes from about forty-five seconds to under two minutes. Sometimes, I would be unable to complete a direction due to construction or I would simply miss the turn and the StreetPilot III would easily and quickly recalculate a route to the destination (you can configure it to ask to reroute or it can reroute automatically for you). Just the other day, I got caught in traffic. Luckily the StreetPilot III has the detour function, which allows you to get off the road you are driving on as quickly as possible and eliminates that road from your route for the distance you tell it to (either 1/2, 1, 2, 5, or 15 miles). It told me to take the next exit and provided a route taking me on main roads that led exactly to my destination. Also, you can look at your route on a detailed map page showing each direction and the time and distance until that direction is executed. This way, you can look ahead and see what roads you will be taking and how long you will spend on them.
One thing I must mention is the need to plug it in the car power adapter when using it. If you don't use AC power or the car adapter, this unit will use up batteries very quickly, especially if you adjust the backlight to be on a high setting. When they state in the specifications that the battery life is 20 hours or so in the lowest backlight setting, they are not lying BUT the lowest backlight setting can only be used at night and even then it is very hard to see because it is so dim. I have the brightness setting at almost the highest level which when I am not using the car adapter lasts from 1 to 2 hours.
The 32 MB data card that comes with the unit is enough for most people. I can fit all of New Jersey and half of Pennsylvania using the detailed map coverage from City Navigator included with 32 MB. This is sufficient and if I ever have to change my map coverage, I simply rewrite over the card. The number of routes and waypoints allowed seems to be sufficient for my needs (I have about 30 routes and 200 waypoints). Finally, there is a page that shows a lot of helpful numbers which includes your mileage, current speed, driving time and overall time as well as average driving speed and overall driving speed, and my favorite number, max speed. It also shows you the battery strength which is always very accurate.
Overall, this is definately the best portable automotive navigation unit currently on the market. Not only does it have a color screen and is portable, it creates turn-by-turn routes and will reroute you if you miss a direction.

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