Garmin NÜVI 360

The Garmin Nuvi 360 is a great GPS navigation system that has some useful extra facilities but some niggles which I will explain more about.

As soon as you see it you realise it is only 1/2 inch deep, much thinner than most competitors.

Navigation.
The menu system is very easy to use. When you turn the device on it takes around 20 seconds to load maps etc. It comes with a complete set of maps for Europe.. When ...
...using the free software from Garmin which enables you to check your device is up to date. They have fixed a number of problems since I got mine 6 months ago. Just check the Garmin website.

Speed cameras.
These are not loaded as standard but you can easily get them on the internet - eg PocketGPS. Some suppliers bundle them with the NUVI.

Summary
A very powerful piece of kit with a wide range of extra facilities. ... more

The Garmin Nuvi 360 is a great GPS navigation system that has some useful extra facilities but some niggles which I will explain more about.

As soon as you see it you realise it is only 1/2 inch deep, much thinner than most competitors.

Navigation.
The menu system is very easy to use. When you turn the device on it takes around 20 seconds to load maps etc. It comes with a complete set of maps for Europe.. When you select "Where to" it gives you various options for selecting your address.
These are;
1) "Address" which allows you to enter either a street address or a full postcode and house number.
2)"My locations" which is either Home, recent selections or favourites you have stored before.
3) "Food" - selection of eating places by type of food.
4) "Lodging" selection of places to stay, in order of distance from either your current location or chosen place.
5) "Fuel" Petrol stations arranged as per "Lodging"
6) "Spell name" - enter any name and it searched its database for a match.
7)" Intersection" Enter one road and Town ( Eg Bedford A6) and then it gives you a list of other roads that intersect that one to choose from.
8) "Attractions" A list of categorised attractions eg Museums, organised in distance from current location or other selected place.
9) Similar categories follow - Shopping, Parking, Entertainment, Recreation, Community ( eg banks, Library, Police Station etc) , Cities ( ie a list of towns),Hospitals, Transit ( Bus, train and airports), Auto Services ( Garages) and Coordinates.

Having selected your destination the Nuvi quickly calculates the way there and gives you verbal directions in a selection of languages, and displays a map of your route. You can zoom in or out on the map, or "move" it with your finger on the screen.

Assuming you have got satellite reception ( see section below) it will then guide you through your journey, both verbally and with the map. If you leave the intended route it will recalculate quickly and carry on from there. I find with local journeys that it does make rather odd choices of local roads, not apparently understanding that B roads are generally quicker than unclassified roads.

You can enter a second (but not a third) destination as a via point on your route. I would like to see the facility to use many more waypints and to download these from a PC, this would enable me to use route planning on other software on my PC and then download.

The use of street names - eg "Turn left in 100 ft into London Road" is not that common in GPS units but makes it very easy to find your way around, I really like this function.

Vehicle options.
You can change the options so that it thinks you are a pedestrian, lorry, bus, Bicycle, or Taxi. This changes the expected speeds for you and hence your route. I think it also allows for roads which are restricted access, eg No lorrys, or taxis only, but have not tested this. The internal battery life is about 4hrs so its no good for walking or cycling beyond that unless you have a 12V supply!

Satellite Reception
The aerial is a small piece on the back of the device which you have to unfold to allow it to start finding satellites. If you have the aerial closed the device will assume you are where you were last time you used it, and give you the option to simulate driving the route. Generally the device will locate itself within 20 seconds of turning on, but this can take up to 10 minutes some times, particularly if you have moved far from the last time it was in use, or a long time has elapsed. Some times ( about 1/10 times) it will completely fail to locate itself and I have found I need to use the small reset button on the back to restart it when this happens.

Car Fixings.
The NUVI comes with a device to fix via a suction cup to the windscreen. This enables you to remove it quickly leaving the cup alone on the windscreen although this would be a sign to any passing thief you are likely to have a GPS unit in the glovebox. Best to remove the whole thing and wipe the windscreen cleen. This worked well for me until the very hot summer when the suction cup welded itself to the window. The force needed to removed it has meant it has never been easy to gain suction since.

Power
Uses the 12 V from the car or will run for about 3 -4 hrs on its rechargeable. If it is running from the car supply and the voltage is removed it will display a message saying power lost and then turn itslef off within 30 secs unless you tell it to switch to battery power. this is rather annoying if you have a car like mine that briefly cuts the power to the cigarette lighter socket when the ignition is operated.

Extras
the Nuvi has a wide range of extras, most of these require an extra SD card, either with the software, or to store data.

Language Guide
Allows you to look up translations to various European languages. The NUVI comes with these enabled as samples but for seriosu use you have to buy a data card with the full databse on it. I haven't used it but looks useful since the translation can not only be seen on screen but also read out by the NUVI.

Travel Guide
Again , only loaded with a sample but has lists of places of interest in selected cities. The locations can of course be easily made into destinations for the satNav

MP3 Player
Not going to replace your IPOD but could be useful. To store a reasonable range of music you would have to buy a memory card. Output either by the speaker or the headset socket.

Audible book player
Just a function of the MP3 player as far as I can see.

Picture Viewer
You can display your holiday snaps on the screen - again you would need to buy a memory card if you want to use seriously. handy if yoor camera uses the SD card too though.

Currency and Measurement convertor.
As it says

Calculator
As it says.

Connectivity
Blue Tooth
The NUVI is equipped with Bluetooth, which means you can connect it to your mobile phone if that too has Bluetooth. This allows you to use it as a hands free device, and to see your contacts list on the screen, dial from the screen, use the full screen to enter texts etc. This is a powerful utility but I find people say they cannot hear me well when I use the handsfree option.

Software
Its worth using the free software from Garmin which enables you to check your device is up to date. They have fixed a number of problems since I got mine 6 months ago. Just check the Garmin website.

Speed cameras.
These are not loaded as standard but you can easily get them on the internet - eg PocketGPS. Some suppliers bundle them with the NUVI.

Summary
A very powerful piece of kit with a wide range of extra facilities. Available for around £300. I got mine via Ebay from Purely Gadgets for £290.

Footnote - a year later the price has dropped to around £250. Mine has performed well although the on off switch has stopped working - not as tragic as it sounds since I only use it in the car and it is stuck in the on position. So i plug it in to the power to turn it on and unplug to turn off!
Does throw the occasional oiece of madness - instance this morning sent me through the Mersey tunnel and back to get to a place on the side of the river I was already on. Wasted 1/2 hr and £2.60! 

...less