Garmin StreetPilot C320 - 3.5 in. Car GPS Receiver

We were in the process of looking for a new house and after getting lost numerous times following google and mapquest directions, finally decided to purchase the Garmin C320. The Garmin C320 is a low budget GPS with non of the bells and whistles found in newer models such as mp3 player and PDA functions. Since we were looking for a pure GPS system and with the price of the model dropping down to less than $300, it was a no-brainer purchase for us. We debated going with C320 or the C330 (Which has the same features except it has an internal hard drive rather than a SD card). But after reading forums on GPS and realizing that read speed is faster from the SD card than the hard drive as well as consuming less battery power. And not to mention C320 is cheaper. We went with the Garmin C320. Having had the unit for almost 2 months, I can honestly said, it one of the better purchases I have made.

Here are the specs from Garmin's website:

Receiver: WAAS-enabled 12 parallel channel GPS
Display: 2.8" W x 2.1" H (3.5" diag.), 320 x 240 pixels; QVGA transflective TFT with 16-bit color; 64K colors; bright white LED backlight and touch screen

Unit dimensions: 4.4" W x 3.2" H x 2.8" D
Weight: 9.45 ounces
Battery life: up to 8 hours
City Select NT North America or Europe DVD & blank 128 MB SD card
Fingertip touchscreen interface
Look up addresses and points of interest
Choose 2D or 3D map perspective
Upload custom POIs, including alerts for speed zones and safety cams
SD memory card expansion slot

The initial setup and loading of the map data to the GPS was pretty painless but slow(almost 30 mins) for just a few states. Since I mainly travel around the New England area, I haven't had to upgrade the 128MB SD card that came with the unit. The 128MB card holds data for 3-4 States. One quick disappointment was that the unit came with V6 of the City Select data which is 2 years old. But Garmin does allow a free upgrade to a newer map. I am waiting for the City Select V8 (which is schedule to come out this summer) to use the free upgrade. With better compression algorithm, the City Select V7 data will fit all states in a 1Gig SD Card.

The touchscreen interface is great and has the perfect sensitivity. And the menu options are very intuitive; take only a few minutes to master the unit.

I also love the charging options, the kit include a car charge, wall charger and USB charger as well.

As you attempt to navigate using the Garmin C320, you'll notice that the unit recalculate route very quickly. It's almost seamless. For the most part it navigates perfectly and picks the shortest route or quickest route. It would help if it had the latest map information.

There are a few minor issues like most products. The standard window mount that came with the box is a little disappointing as I have had the unit crashing down while driving. However there are plenty of third parties that sell compatible mounts. The car charger is also permanently attach to the mount, which is annoying. Also if you are driving on a sunny day, you'll notice a significant glare. The unit is a little larger than I would like, certainly not a carry in your pocket unit. But for the price, you couldn't ask for more. One of the coolest features of any GPS is the ability to look up POIs, but if you need to search using keywords, I found this unit to be incredibly slow.

In summary, if you are looking for a great basic GPS system that helps you get around town and won't break your bank. This is it.