I like that story! I too have been switching to the Top Tier stations and i like how the c330 can tell you where the closest Shell is located.

Ive been debating weather to go with the c330 or the c340. The main difference is the fact the the c340 has the text-to-speech feature..."Turn right at Main street.." instead of "turn right 300 feet"...etc. (plus the traffic feature subscription).
I wish it had bluetooth so it can work with my bluetooth phone...maybe i should wait a couple months???

 

I bought the Nuvi 350 and the text to speech feature is very cool. An unexpected feature was saving favorite locations like MINI Repair Shop. Then when I navigate to it, it speaks, arriving at MINI Repair Shop in .2 miles on left.

Another cool thing about the Nuvi, not 350 specific of course, is how those saved locations are displayed on the map, so you can see in 3d the roads leading to your favorite saved locations.

Because the speaker is so small, and distorts at high volume, I also enable the bell announcement option which dings before talking, and that helps overcome that problem.

Richard

 

I just purchased the Nuvi 360 for my MCS. I had been using a much larger version with my other car and wanted something that would fit better in my new space. The 360 (if works as advertised and as most customer reviews claim) will also allow me to not add an additional BT system. I was using the Parrot 3200 LS in my previous car. It hasn't arrived yet and I'm interested to see how it does.

 

I just finished the install on my new Garmin Nuvi 660 widescreen Nav. This thing KICKS *** --- God its the coolest one out! I am so happy with how it came out looking in my mini. Also I installed the external antenna in the roof and now get 12 foot accuracy on the unit. I fabricated a really cool mount for the cup holder that allows it to swivel to the passenger if he or she wants to play with it. The line of sight and the angle placment of it is a pretty good compromise since I didn't want an after-market look by sticking in on the windshield. Also California law prohibits suction cups to be mounted on your windshield. I had a tomtom 910 and hated how big the footprint was. Who cares about a 20gig hardrive. The ipod interface sucks and its better to just do a DICE link. However, there are some cool things about the 910 but honestly after having the tomtom 910 for about 4 months and the nuvi for just a week. It is clear that Garmin is years ahead of the competition. YEARS!! Dont waist your time with others..... check out my latest pics in my gallery.

 

Nice pics!

 

toddm

I like your wallpaper on your Nuvi. Could you send me that file? It is the best on that I have seen. (I'd change the name and #) Thanks!

 

Nuvi is the best! I had one til someone broke out my window and stole it! Who would do such a thing to a mini!?!?! AHHH!!!!

 

Don't you find that's sort of low? I stick mine on the center speedo, although that's probably not practical with the 660 since it would obstruct most of the indicator lights etc. (the 350 only obstructs the turn signal indicator)

Garmin makes a dash-top mount, as well, that can be bought seperately... I was in California for a week, and, being aware of the law, brought one with me for use with my Nuvi...

 

I see that lots of folks here really like the nüvi (as do I). However, just so you're all aware of some of the things that the nüvi lacks, you should check out the document I wrote that compares the nüvi's user interface (UI) with the one in Garmin's upcoming Mobile XT pocket PC application (all 130+ pages of it!).

If you're interested in reading the document then you can download it from here:

Mobile XT Vs. nüvi - You Decide Document

There's also a good discussion on this topic going on over on the GpsPasSion nüvi forum here:

Mobile XT Vs. nüvi - You Decide

BTW, my intent isn't to put any of you off of the nüvi (as it really is quite a spectacular portable navigation device). My goal is to show folks what's out there for them and to simply ponder the question as to why Garmin decided to "dumb down" the nüvi's UI so much when compared to their other top-of-the-line products.

Enjoy!

-- MIKE

 

Todd - just curious - what model antenna did you use, and where did you put it / how did you wire it? I considering a similar install - but in my vert...

 

My Nuvi 360 arrived on Tuesday, I used it to drive the rental car to the dealership (about 3 hours) and then used it to come home in my new MCS. The nav portion was fantastic, the bluetooth wasn't quite up to the stds of a standalone Parrot system (but it's not supposed to is it?). I think with an added mic it would improve to usable. The volume wasn't quite high enough at 70 mph, there's really no way to resolve that. Navigation: 10 out of 10, BT 7 out of 10.