Amazon.com Review
You don't need to buy a luxury car or spend thousands installing a multipart system to get advanced GPS navigation capabilities in your automobile. Garmin's StreetPilot III delivers all the high-end features you need--from detailed street maps and sophisticated auto routing to voice prompts and a color screen--in a compact, inexpensive, and portable package.

The Garmin StreetPilot III sports a brilliant LCD display

Setting up the unit was surprisingly simple. First we installed the software from the MapSource City Navigator CD onto our PC and connected the card reader, with the 32 MB data card, to the USB port. Then we went online to unlock one of 10 detailed coverage areas included on the disk; for instance, Area 1 covers California and Nevada, Area 7 covers New England and New York. After that we downloaded detailed maps of our city (San Francisco) and surrounding areas to the data card. We also downloaded waypoints--locations like our home, office, and other places we often visit--onto the card and inserted it into the StreetPilot III. If you don't have a USB port, you can also use the included serial cable to connect the entire unit to your PC. The physical installation went just as smoothly. We affixed the plastic base to the top of our dashboard with the included adhesive mounting disks, snapped the StreetPilot III into place, connected it to the cigarette lighter for power, and extended the small fold-down antenna. The dashboard mount's quick release makes it easy to store the StreetPilot III when not in use or, if you purchase a second mount, lets you use it in multiple vehicles. We turned the unit on and in less than a minute it locked onto the GPS satellites and displayed a map of our current location on the clear, bright, easy-to-read color display. As we drove along, it displayed our position and direction on the map, the name and address number of the street we were on, and even the name of the upcoming cross street. The two zoom buttons let us get a very detailed street-level view or a broad overview of our current position, and the menu button allowed us to customize the display.

By using the ‘find’ key, points of interest such as attractions, restaurants, banks, intersections and many more are easily located and routed to. Simply choose the destination from the list and press ‘route to it’. The Streetpilot III will calculate the best route and talk you through to the destination. The crisp, colorful LCD makes checking out your destination easy--even before you leave! This screen displays your possible destination of the St. Louis Zoo as well as local restaurants and emergency medical locations. It’s easy to become familiar with services provided even when you’re 244.1 miles away. Try that with a paper map!

The trip computer screen calculates all the travel data for your trip with incredible accuracy, while verbal instructions inform you of the next turn. Valuable information like distance to destination and time to destination are constantly updated--perhaps even putting an end to the question ‘are we there yet?’ Routes can be displayed several ways such as this turn by turn instruction screen, which highlights your next turn to make. The distance to go and time to go information gives driver’s the forewarning and confidence to watch for the approaching turn. The smooth verbal instructions will let you know when the next turn is approaching.

The fun really started, though, when we used the StreetPilot's routing capabilities. Using the arrow buttons, we input the intersection of a store we'd never visited, and within a minute it calculated the most direct route. The voice navigator told us where to go and when to turn, and it was simple to monitor our progress both on the map and on the text display. We knew the exact address of our next stop and entered it into the unit. The StreetPilot then guided us onto the freeway and successfully to our second destination, telling us exactly where to stop along the street and even on which side of the street the store was located. To get home, we just accessed a waypoint with our home address that we'd preprogrammed on the PC. Even if you don't know exactly where you're going, the City Navigator maps include points of interest, such as restaurants, shops, and parks. For instance, the StreetPilot can find the closest fast-food restaurant and present you with a list of nearby options. Testing in San Francisco, we did lose satellite lock a few times in extremely hilly areas or in areas with very tall buildings. We think this was due mainly to the fact that the unit's antenna is inside the car; an external antenna option is available for less than $100 that should solve the problem. Once you use the StreetPilot III for a while, it's hard to imagine driving solo again. Whether you're planning a road trip or just need help getting around town, it's an extremely helpful companion that's cheaper and easier to install than anything else currently available. --Ken Feinstein Pros:

• Compact, portable design
• Easy-to-read color screen
• Auto routing and voice prompts

Cons:

• Optional external antenna will get better satellite reception in some cities than the built-in antenna

Note about review: This review was written using the original version of the Garmin StreetPilot III. The deluxe version includes a 128 MB data card and full unlock access to all maps on the City Navigator CD-ROM. What's in the Box
StreetPilot III with portable antenna, PC interface cable, dashboard mount, portable Mount (bean bag mount), external speaker with 12-volt cigarette lighter adapter, owner's manual, quick reference guide, USB data card programmer, Americas Autoroute Basemap, MapSource City Navigator North America CD.

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