Garmin Nuvi 350

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CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
Detailed editors' rating

Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 244 reviews
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Product summary

The good: The compact Garmin Nüvi 350 has a strong GPS receiver and includes lots of travel-friendly features.

The bad The bad: The Garmin Nüvi 350 is expensive, and the traffic receiver and the travel-guide programs cost extra. The Nüvi also lacks an external volume control.

The bottom line: No bigger than a deck of cards, the Garmin Nüvi 350 is more than just another voice-guided GPS device, packing in travel tools, entertainment features, and good performance; just be prepared to pay a price.

Specifications: Destination: Automotive ; Weight: 5.1 oz ; Audible assistance: Street name announcement , Navigation instructions , Warnings ; See full specs

Price range: $132.99 - $313.72

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: John R. Delaney
Edited by: Bonnie Cha
Reviewed on: 02/22/2006
Released on: 09/12/2005

Veteran navigation manufacturer Garmin International breaks new ground with its Garmin Nüvi 350. This ultraportable device aims to be the ultimate travel companion, acting as a GPS navigator, a personal traveling assistant, and a digital entertainment center. Unfortunately, you'll pay a premium for all these features. Its retail price of $969 may be more than you're willing to spend on a pocket-size GPS system, and if you want to take advantage of any of the travel tools, such as the language translator, you'll have to shell out even more money. That said, if you crave the latest technology and a big wow factor, the high-performance Garmin Nüvi 350 should be at the top of your list.No bigger than a deck of cards (3.8 by 2.0 by 0.8 inches; 5.1 ounces), the Garmin Nüvi 350 is small and light enough to fit comfortably in your pocket. The unit's centerpiece is a bright 3.5-inch color touch screen, framed by a thin silver bezel. The 320x240-resolution screen is daylight readable and has five backlight-timer settings. Other than a power switch located on the upper bezel, the Nüvi is devoid of function buttons. Instead, all commands are entered via the responsive touch screen and the user-friendly menu system, although you can use the power button as a shortcut to jump from screen to screen. While the lack of buttons gives the unit a sleek, uncluttered look, a dedicated volume control would be welcome; instead, you have to switch to a settings page to adjust the volume.

The Garmin Nüvi's GPS antenna folds neatly into the back of the device.

A flip-up antenna folds into the back of the case, right above the internal speaker and grille. Along the right side of the Garmin Nüvi 350 are an SD (Secure Digital) card slot, a USB port, and a headphone jack. The Nüvi has 2GB of internal flash memory, half of which is dedicated to the user interface and detailed maps of North America. That leaves about 1GB of storage for digital photos, music, and Audible Book files. The Nüvi is recognized as a removal drive when connected to your PC's USB port, so you can drag and drop files easily into the unit's folders. Included with this Garmin GPS is a suction-cup mount that attaches to your car's windshield and a disc for mounting it on your dashboard; a 12-volt power adapter; a USB cable; and a small carrying case. You can charge the internal lithium-ion battery in your car with the 12-volt adapter or by plugging it into your PC's USB port.

The Garmin Nüvi 350 is based on the SiRFstarIII GPS chip, which boasts fast satellite-acquisition times and improved GPS-signal reception in areas where the view of the sky may be partially blocked by dense foliage or tall buildings. In addition to voice-guided, turn-by-turn driving directions, this Garmin GPS offers all the usual features we've come to expect from today's crop of in-car navigation systems, including automatic routing, the ability to save your favorite locations, a detour function that recalculates your route when you veer off course, and 2D and 3D map views. It also has text-to-speech directions through which the actual street name is spoken, and you can hook up an optional FM traffic receiver to obtain real-time traffic alerts. Unfortunately, the receiver will set you back another $214 for the hardware, and there's a $60-per-year subscription fee.

Using the Garmin Nüvi 350 is a snap. The main screen consists of three selections: Where To, View Map, and Travel Kit. The Where To page lets you search for destinations from a massive points-of-interest (POI) database, including food, lodging, and transit establishments. You can also enter an address, spell a name, and select a specific intersection, or you can simply tap a point on the map to create a route from your current position. The View Map page displays your location on the map, as well as your heading, speed, and estimated time of arrival to your destination. Two touch buttons let you zoom in and out of the current map view, and a text bar along the top of the screen displays upcoming street names and turns. Touching the text bar brings up a written list of upcoming turns along your route. Likewise, the ETA/speed box opens up a trip-information page that displays an odometer, distance traveled, total travel time, maximum speed, and current speed.

For your travels, Garmin offers language dictionaries, travel guides, and other tools on SD cards for an extra fee.

The Travel Kit feature is what separates the Garmin Nüvi 350 from virtually every other GPS system out there, but be prepared to shell out even more money to take full advantage of it. For an additional $75, you can purchase the Language Guide SD card, which lets you translate words and entire phrases in nine different languages. Phrases can be translated from a list of categories such as recreation, food and drink, accommodations, and transportation. You can even have the Nüvi translate common problem phrases such as "Can you get me to a doctor?" and "Have you got anything for a hangover?" The language translations, which include two English dialects, two Portuguese dialects, two Spanish dialects, French, German, and Italian, are displayed in text form and can be spoken by the Nüvi's text-to-speech interface.

See more CNET content tagged:: Garmin,; GPS,; receiver,; satellite,; battery

User reviews

Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 244 reviews
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Showing 3 of 244 user reviewsSee all 244 user reviews
5.0 stars

106 out of 110 people found this review helpful

"Best GPS I've ever used"

by reechwuzhere on November 21, 2005

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4.5 stars

78 out of 82 people found this review helpful

"great gadget"

by gadgetsguy on December 3, 2005

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4.5 stars

39 out of 41 people found this review helpful

"Incredible. Simply Incredible."

by icecop on February 3, 2006

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Garmin Nuvi 350

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