Garmin StreetPilot c330 Car GPS Receiver

I bought this gadget after getting lost one too many times...
Now I can set my mind at ease while I let the navigation system plan my route instead.

There are some great features that this particular model offers that other's don't. I was looking at comprable Garmin devices as well as the TomTom. The reason I went with Garmin is for its reliability of Maps and their establishment in the US. The TomTom is a European based company, and from what I hear, their US maps still have some kinks. Garmin apparently uses the most trusted sources of maps. Based on the routes that I've taken, the routes are comprable to the results that I've gotten from MapQuest.

Pros:
**Intuitive- I was able to use it out of the box
**Maps- Uses MapSource, a reliable provider of Maps
**Areas of interest- You are able to find restaurants, shops, gas stations, etc. based on name or distance. Great feature!!
**Small- easily transportable from vehicle to vehicle
**Map Views- You can select from 3 different views- I prefer the 3D view
**Battery Power as well as Car charger
**Clear Directions

Cons:
**Unit doesn't take Traffic into consideration- This unit does NOT have the option to add XM NavTraffic
**Quickest route does not take into account traffic lights
**One voice to choose from

Overall I think the unit is a great buy, and I'm hoping it will save me time driving in circles as I just moved to a new area. The TomTom apparently is a little more "fun", but lacks reliability. I think that you are making a solid purchace by picking up this Garmin unit.

Very good GPS unit. The touch screen menu is very easy to use, no need to read the manual and you already know how to use it. It connects to the satellite very quickly. Once you go off route, it will automatically recalculate for you. Unlike some GPS units that comes with the car, where you have to drive to the starting point, this unit will calculate right on the spot. One cool feature is that it has a built in rechargeable battery, so you can use it approx 8 hours without connecting to the power supply. You can also detach it from the cradle and carry with you. Input all your favorite locations without having to sit in the car to do it. You can use this on a motorcycle or in the car. Also, there are no external antenna required. The unit itself is very small and can be mount just about anywhere.

I did quite a bit of research before deciding on the Garmin C330 and I have not at all regret buying it! Here are my likes and dislikes:

Likes:
1) Compact with built-in battery that seems to last a long time.
2) All the maps are internally loaded so no need to upload any maps, yet there is a SD slot in case I want to load other maps. From what I understand the internal drive is not hard drive base but a flash drive so less prone to failure with daily use.
3) Turn by turn voice prompting, this is the reason I bought it. I tested it many times and the unit works like a charm. One still need to pay attention to turns since they can come up pretty quickly.
4) The additional features of finding restaurants, gas station, attractions... at a touch of a button. And did I mention the touch screen? Very responsive and easy to use.

Dislikes
1) The reflective screen do bother me some. Though one should not need to constantly look at it while driving!
2) Yes, I debated rather or not to get the higher end model with text to speech function so instead saying "turn left in 0.2 mile" to "turn at so and so street in 0.2 mile". It would be great to have but not at another 100 bucks or more.

So all in all I love the unit. Not getting lost and making the wrong turns are the reason I purchased the GPS unit. It is portable so I can take it from car to car and the suction mount that came with it works well and sticks to the windshield and removes fairly easily. I don't need all the bells and whistles on the newer models like MP3 player, voice recording... functions. To sum it up, I would definitely buy it again!

This is great on long road trips, just set it on your destination and go. It did fail me a couple of times though.

When looking for gas in PA I ended up at the end of a dirt road, in the middle of an astonished Amish farmer's corn field, because I kept figuring the Garmin couldn't be wrong and this must be a short cut.

One other time in Huntington, WV it directed me to turn the wrong way on a one way street. I now pay closer attention when I make my turns!

I found in familiar territory that the directions were frequently taking me out of my way only to double back to my destination.

All in all, the convenience of not pulling over to read maps has made this item very useful, despite a couple of quirks.

I sell all kinds of GPS systems, for car and boat. I love this one. It does not take up a whole lot of space, yet it is richly packed with features!

Even though this unit was produced a few years back, Garmin continues to update it and update mapping to current versions. This is still a favorite as for someone just looking for a GPS without all of the bells and whistles this one is priced right and a very good accurate GPS.

Upstate New York Police Dept Rookies purchase these from me, they are popular with the force for their low price and ease of use. I have been told by the officers that these are "Dummy Proof". I have to agree, very easy to use!

With Gas prices soaring a GPS can be a real asset to save you time and gas. Don't waste your time and money being lost! Garmin continues to amaze me as they put out a sturdy, functional top notch product. I have very few returns with Garmin and they offer outstanding customer service.

It works great. However, There are several businesses locally that are not on the "where to" list. They have been in business for many years. It makes me wonder how much it will help on a long trip. AAA POI,s are downloadable for the Magellan. Too bad I didn't have that information before I bought. Since Garmin is a US company (unlike TOM TOM) they should also work with AAA.
Floyd Brown

I purchased a Garmin Street Pilot c330 GPS on E-Bay about a month ago and I can't believe I waited so long. This is the greatest device since the fax machine.

Being a guy, I can't tell you how many times I've gotton lost on a trip and drove miles out of the way before I would admit that I was lost to my wife! This was always a topic of discussion anytime we started out on a trip via an automobile. The fact of the matter was my wife relished telling our friends every detail of every time I strayed from the right course. Triple A Trip-Tiks and Map Quest never worked for me because I couldn't look at either of them and drive at the same time. Finally out of frustration I looked into a GPS system.

I found out a friend had gotten a Garmin c330 Street Pilot as a Christmas present and asked if I could borrow it for a few days. He agreed and I stuck it to my windshield and plugged it into the cigarette lighter. After about one minute of following the simple touch screen options I had successfully entered a destination that was on the other side of town. Allow a sudden this thing starts talking to me in a very nice female voice and tells me in what direction I should proceed. In addition to the verbal instuctions the display showed exactly where I was with an arrow pointing in the direction I should go and showed every street along the way as I drove. Each time a turn was coming up it would announce it about a tenth of a mile , then at 500 feet and finally she would say turn left right where you needed to turn. The arrow also indicated the turn.

If you happened to pass the turn without turning the nice lady would announce the she was recalculating and low and behold she would directly you back on course. This was too good to be true!! When I was almost to the address I entered she announced that I was nearing my destination and then announced when I arrived at my destination. I knew right then and thre that I had to have my own GPS system. I entered my home address and followed the lady's directions right back into my driveway!

No more would I be the subject of endless stories of my mis-adventures. Never again would I have to ask for directions and still end up lost.When I got home I searched for Garmin GPS and looked through a good amount of used, refurbished and new c330 Street Pilots. I ended up purchasing a new one for $389.00, including shipping, on a buy it now option.

I had my very own GPS in about a week and just in time for our trip to Little Rock to visit our daughter and her family. The last time we drove there it was a disaster. Map Quest left much to be desired especially around any city you had to go through or around. This time however I can tell you that the Garmin took us exactly 936 miles, as it had predicted, exactly into our daughters driveway and exactly at the time it had predicted! It was such a pleasure to drive without that tension or worry about missing a turn or a road sign. My wife was also extatic that this was the first trip in 42 years that we didn't get lost on!!

While in Little Rock we were able to take our grandchildren to all sorts of fun places by simply entering the destination address. Before having the GPS there was no way we would have been able to do this. We had a great time taking the grandkids everywhere they wanted to go.

When it was time to leave for home I simply went to the recent destinations screen and touched my stored home address and we were on our way, flawlessly!!!!

Having a job where I needed to travel to remote parts of the state was the deciding factor in my purchase. I was trying to save a couple bucks buying one "good as new", and it was few a week or so. Now every address I enter, it asks me if I wish to travel to my original desination by way of my new directions. It has a trip stuck in it that I can't clear and it's a pain. More painful is that a friend of mine just bought one new and paid $10.00 more than I did and has no problems at all. Do yourself a favor and get a new one. You won't regret it. They are a wonderful tool that will save you gas money. Just watch out it for when it tries to send you up a one way street in the wrong direction!

I do not own one of these yet. But, let me tell you my experience. My sister and her husband own this unit, and swap it between their vehicles. So, if they sell their car, they can keep it. I bought a slightly used vehicle from EBAY in West Virginia. I live in Georgia. My plan was to fly from Georgia to West Virginia, pick it up at the dealer, and drive it back while stopping along the way to visit relatives in Tennessee. So, I asked to borrow their C330 unit. They told me it was a breeze to use out of the box. Keep in mind my sister drives a Lexus with built-in navigation system. They say it is too difficult to use, and use the Garmin instead. So, I took it with me, and picked up my new ride and hooked up the GPS. I entered the address of my family's home in Tennessee, and let the GPS take over. We called the family when we were about 20 miles out of Tennessee to get precise directions. They were very long and detailed. My wife and I looked at each other, and decided to continue listening to the GPS, since it was perfect so far. We never made a wrong turn, and went right to the front door. On our way back, we started seeing familiar territory, but decided to enter names of restaurants to find the closest one to the restaurant we wanted to go to. It took us a new shorter way than we had been before. I would highly recommend it for ease of use, especially since my wife could work it right away with no directions.

Very quick delivery and the product was as advertised. I got the product at a bid price which was lower than I had anticipated. Yes, I would deal with this seller again and would recommend their product.

Good and easy to use product. Unit is factory rehab, but works just fine. Map is an older version, and I will update later when newer version comes out.
Only problem with Garmin in general is the cost of map upgrades, when other vendors provide free. Same with other garmin Marine units I use. Otherwise a good and robust unit.. dp

This product is great, the price on Ebay was about half the price of the product in the store. The Street pilot works great in the city and in the country. I would recomend it to anyone who is looking for one. A+ review for a A+ product

ibought this GPS about a month ago and am impressed about the way it 's navigation is and also the price was cool. For now every thing is working fine

Gone are my maps, my scribbled notes of directions, and my anxieties about getting lost (and, as a man, having to ask for directions ;-) )

Now my Garmin takes care of me. My only challenge is to not try to think that I know better than it does. On a recent trip through a city unfamiliar to me it said to continue on the Interstate when I would have exited. In about a mile it took me along a back route right to the other Interstate I was seeking . . . but without the 30 minute traffic snarl on the exit I would have chosen.

Just put in an address and it gets you there. Obscure back road on a point of land behind a Naval Air Station on the Florida Keys . . . right into the house's driveway!

And what if you have to suddenly change your route . . . detour, traffic, construction . . . in a matter of seconds it recognizes you are off the original course and recalculates a new route. No more sitting on the side of the road trying to decipher maps to see what alternate routes there might be.

And this is not to mention the millions of waypoints - gas, food, etc - that you can instantaneously find as you travel. No more worrying about where the next rest area is, or how to find some decent food (i.e., something other than fast food).

So, after 50 years of traveling with a road atlas, I've left my maps at home. If I feel a residual map urge coming on, my Garmin has all of them right inside as well.

Why did I buy it? Well, I hadn't planned to do so. I loved my manly map-lugging ways. But then a dear friend from Ottawa (that's in Canada, eh?) visited and I experienced her Garmin. One ride with her in my own home territory convinced me. And my wife!

So, a little research about models and features, some review of reviews, and then to e-Bay to find the best price.

Yes, there are limitations in the c330 - you don't get the street onto which you will turn pronounced to you, but the name is right there on the screen. Not worth another US$100 just for spoken names. And, you will have to purchase updated maps every two years (hey, roads change). But, that's about all the short-comings I have found.

But (as the TV ads would say) there's more!!!!

One of the useful features is the travel time estimate. Now, this won't predict how long you will spend at "South of the Border" buying trinkets, but it will tell you how long you can expect to be on the road moving to your destination. I scoffed at this feature at first, given all the variables of traffic, road speeds, etc. But the Garmin knows! On two recent long trips (each over 4 hours) the Garmin initially predicted time of arrival was within 10 minutes of my actual arrival. Takes some of the worry out of travel knowing you will get there on time.

AND, since it attaches with a removable suction cup and powers with a power outlet plug (not like a built-in unit) I can take it with me when I travel . . . use it in any rental cars I might have (saving me about US$10 a day). And the internal, rechargable battery means I can even use it while walking around in unfamiliar places. Never lost in a big city again!

My unit was a refurbished one (hence the WOW price) but its was new in appearance, accessories, warranty, and operation. Out of the box, into the car, off without worry.

Gotta love it!

Garmin c330 is perfect for GPS needs. This model does not have options like BlueTooth and MP3, but who needs that? Save hundreds and trust this model as it is reliable and easy to view, does not give out upon hitting bumps in the road, and is easy to use with it's touch-screen options and voice navigation. If you are thinking about getting someone a GPS, this would be a great gift that will not disappoint!

I like that it has the whole U.S. in the built-in database. No hard-drive to crash and no memory cards to swap in and out as you go across the country (although it does have a memory card slot for if you ever want to download a newer version of the map database). It also has turn-by-turn voice directions, so you don't have to look at the screen and be distracted from driving. Extremely easy to use touch screen user interface for entering destinations. The suction mount that comes with the unit is probably the most versatile, but I didn't care for it because mounting it to the windshield puts it too far away from me and blocks some of the field of view (not to mention that it is illegal in a few states). I purchased a car vent mount which puts it within easy reach and much easier to see since it is closer. I did my research on all the other GPS units in this price range and my opinion is that Garmin is the best value. I like this unit so much and it's such a bargain that I got one for my Dad too!

This product is very easy to use and pretty self explanatory. With its easy to use touch screen and simple commands it makes traveling a lot easier. There are preset places you can choose to go such as food, lodging, recreation (this feature shows all in the area you are traveling within 50 - 100 miles. You can choose between shortest distance and faster time, avoid highways to take a more scenic route etc. It has just been a great companion with its fully loaded map, be prepared to use it right out of the package, this was definetly a plus. Its voice prompt turn by turn is great. The only thing that could have been better with this is if it would give the name to the street you were turning on when telling you to turn. ( it does show it on the screen).

This is a wonderful item it helps out alot being that I am a truck driver. Some of the streets can't be found during a search but while driving the street does appear. The only thing I don't like is when you want to update your maps you have to pay another fee which is alot more than paying for a road atlas.

What great value for an item which is almost a must with most people. I have saved so much time and trouble. Even avoided problems with my wife about which road to take. Bernie, Upstate NY.

I like almost every thing about it, I wish I got the next model that names the streets not just turn "right in .1 mile".

I saw one in another car and it worked great and is a big time savings when you are driving in an area that you are not familiar with.

OPEN THE BOX AND YOU'RE ROLLING IN 60 SECONDS. ALL THE BAD REVIEWS YOU ARE READING ARE IDIOTS WHO HAVE NEVER READ THE WHOLE 4 PAGE MANUAL (WOW 4 PAGES). 1. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TURN THE NAV ON
2. YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF SHORTEST ROUTE OR FASTEST ROUTE.

FOR BEING THE CHEAPEST GARMIN, IT IS ABSOLUTELY GREAT AND REFRESHES AT A PHENOMENAL RATE. JUST A GREAT PIECE!!!

If you take the time to sit down and research mobile navigation, the first realization you should come to is that there are a lot of choices out there. The important thing to know is what features you're looking for. If you are looking for blue tooth or mp3 playback, for instance, this product isn't for you. However, there are other Garmin units that have these features if you so desire. Garmin is a well established company in the field of mobile navigation. They are a name you can trust and a product you can stand behind. The Garmin c330, I believe, is the pinnicle of design and ease of use. With simple design on the unit itself; a power button, a volume control knob, and a USB port for easy link up with your computer and the Garmin website, it couldn't be easier to use. I mentioned the Garmin website, this site holds a plethora of advice, product information, and even free software for many of the Garmin units. POI software, or points of interest, which is a free download allows you to customize specific locations and add them to your unit. For instance, school zones, speed traps, traffic cameras, etc. are just a few of the options available to you. The reason I chose this unit over others is simple. If all you are looking for is a navigation unit that has many features of the more expensive units, but just doesn't have some of the additional features, (i.e. blue tooth or mp3 playback), then this is or you too. I've owned this product for a relatively short time, but I thought long and hard on which unit I was going to choose before my purchase. I couldn't be happier with the results.

I love this little device. It finds every address I enter and gets me there the same way I would have drove on my local trips. Every turn is clearly told to you so you don't have to look at the unit. You can also plan your trips in advance, even from indoors, and save for future use. The only problem I have had is the suction cup sticking to the window in hot weather, but only after sitting in a spot for a prolong period of time. Of course, I don't leave the unit attached when not in the car. The directions say it can harm the battery if left in the heat too long. I would recommend this unit to everyone, especially to anyone who drives for their job. Don't need maps anymore.