Garmin StreetPilot C310 In Car GPS Satellite Navigation With UK Mapping
Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First
(4 out of 5)Garmin C310 (new model)
As a first time buyer of a GPS system I trawled the net for reviews, specifications and prices of the bewildering array of units available. I decided on the C310 because of it being a new model with features I wanted and of course the right price. Incidentally, I found Amazon to be about £50 cheaper than most other retailers and in stock - so well done Amazon!
The unit is a doddle to set up straight out of the box with easy and clear instuctions - all entered by touchscreen. I found the windscreen suction fitting sturdy (if a little fiddley) and it seems easier to remove the whole assembly from the windscreen if the unit display viewing angle needs to be securely adjusted. This is because the locking screw is not really easy to get at. Also the release button for removing just the display is at the rear and can be quite difficult to find by feel - especially at night.
In use the C310 is terrific - very clear audio and visual instructions. The voice is very realistic and certainly not irritating. The information is just right, clear and concise without overdoing it and making you feel like an idiot. I don't think it could be bettered. Updates are easy to download and again instructions are clear. All hardware needed is supplied and Garmin's website is simple to use.
However, a couple of niggles. Unless the destination is first saved, a quick stop for petrol or similar will result in the unit turning itself off - unless you are quick enough to remove the display from the cradle. You get about 30 secs. to do this but, as mentioned, its fiddley to get off and if not removed fast enough your destination settings are lost and have to be re-entered. This will NOT happen if your car's power socket stays connected while the ignition is turned off. Mine doesn't and the C310 turns off. Battery power seems quite good and mine stayed on for over an hour while disconnected from the cradle.
Also using the postal code to find the destination address could be better. The first part of the postal code is entered easily but for the second part its necessary to scroll through a list to choose. There are sometimes dozens and it can take a while. A carry case in not supplied for the display but is available as an extra (about £20) I would think most users will want a case as its obviously preferrable to remove the display when away from the car.
Overall its a really good piece of kit and at £279 a bargain.
(5 out of 5)A cracking entry-level Sat Nav system
I'm also a first time buyer of a Sat Nav system and I settled on this one after seeing a demo of it in a High Street shop.
It's not the cheapest on the market but it's far from expensive either and it's better than the really cheap ones. It's a dedicated system which means there are no software conflicts or fiddly menu systems to get through. If you can dial out on a mobile phone, you can use this!
It has a Touch screen for ease of use, and apart from needing your greasy paw prints cleaned off every so often it couldn't be simpler to use. There's a few multiple choice settings you can play with, including a 2D or 3D view, level of map detail displayed, screen brightness, units of measurement (Imperial or metric), Time Zone, route sellection criteria (Faster Time/Shorter Distance) and language selection. The map can track your movement and gives you plenty of advance warning of every turn.
Out of the box it comes with the lithium battery fitted, a holder for the car which can be easily fixed to the windscreen (in my opinion) or the dash (although I do find the dash fixing difficult to get to stick), UK street-level map including all MAIN roads in the rest of Europe and a USB lead and PC drivers. The fixing mount also contains a power cord with a cigarette lighter connection.
Selecting a destination is easy, you can either use:
1) The FULL postcode (unlike a previous reviewer claims, although you do need to change the data mode to numbers instead of letters and then back again) and house number.
2) A street name and/or number
3) You can spell an entry, such as Plymouth Argyle (for a footy trip) for example.
It also has some hotels and most petrol stations on it. So, you simply enter a destination and press GO and that's it, you're off with clear visual and audio directions in plenty of time for any turns. If you deliberately go a different way or take a wrong turn it knows and simply recalculates a new route from your new position. You can also save favourite destinations and your Home address for quick route selection. Indoors it will turn off the sattelite tracking and even simulate any selected route for you to play with. To date it hasn't sent me down a one way road yet and has been dead easy to use and follow.
The BEST thing about this product is that it can be updated with software updates and especially POIs (Points of Interest) using the software freely available from the Garmin website. Using their software, POIloader you can obtain databases containing the positions of all speeding cameras from certain websites and download them to the unit which then gives you audio and visual warning of any that fall on your travelling route, including temporary and handheld camera locations!!
My main niggle, and it's a small one, is that the car power lead trails over the gearstick but I can live with that. Also it only comes with a quick start guide, which although useful and easy to follow doesn't fully tell you everything about the unit. You can get a full comprehensive manual from the Garmin website in pdf format though.
Apart from those two small niggles though, in every other way it's been a cracking buy and a boon on long journeys!! I'd HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking for a good, relatively inexpensive Sat-Nav unit.
(5 out of 5)Garmin C310
I just bought this unit, the latest in a long line of Garmin units, and like all the others, it impresses in its build quality and ease of use. Its also very accurate and easy to use. I have used a PDA with TomTom 2 and a TomTom 500. I dont really trust either of them to get me to where I want to go without them trying to send me down dead ends or do U turns on motorways ( TT 500 and TT2 respectively) But I trust Garmin 100%.
Two other reviewers pointed out "problems" which, I think could have been solved by reading the quick start guide. When you turn the ignition off with the unit still running ( getting petrol, comfort stop etc) it asks if you want to run it on battery power. Just press yes, no need to take it out of its holder. The installed battery is charged while connected to power, you will only lose your route if you stop for more than about 6 hours ( fully charged battery)!
And, if it freezes or locks up, press the reset button. Simple.
I certainly wouldnt hesitate recommending this unit to anyone. In my opinion, much better than all the competition at its price range, and better than many more expensive ones. It has a great display, pleasant voice commands, takes you to where you want to go and recalculates very quickly if you stray off route. The unit looks good and feels good, others look and feel cheap ( TomTom especially) and works brilliantly. Garmin has a great reputation going back many years and deservedly is the best at all it does.
You cant go wrong really. Go buy one!
(5 out of 5)Garmin StreetPilot c310
My wife gave me one for Christmas. I was pleased with the way that I could use it straight from the box. It is very simple to use.
One issue is that I find entering a destination address via a post code to be long winded. Most systems (Internet, Call Centers) ask for house number and full postcode eg. 15 AB10 2CD. On this device I need to put the first part of the postcode, the house number and then part of the street eg. XY12 15 HIGH.
I have found that the device has frozen whilst on a journey -this has happened twice since Christmas. When this happens the screen is left showing the last map image and I cannot do anything. I cannot use the menu keys. It will not power off - so that I can reboot the software. It stays frozen until all the power in the battery is exhausted - which can take 5 or more hours. Anyone know a fix for this? The software level out of the box was at 2.60. I have just downloaded the newer 2.80 level software - I hope this might fix it. I cannot find anywhere the list of fixes/updates/changes that are in 2.80
Update - Nov 06 - the freezing problem has not recurred at sw level 2.80.
I have also used the POI Loader to download the Speed Camera sites for the UK. I found that this was easy - and free. My testing over 200 miles of motorway and local roads in the last week has shown a comprehensive coverage and accuracy. So far I have not found a camera that is not in the system. There are some old camera sites on motorway roadworks that have now gone. I also like the way I am warned of travelling too fast as I approach a camera. For someone who has a lot of speeding offences (not me I hasten to add) this feature could save them lots of money!!
I am waiting to try this system in France. I am not sure about the level of Europe coverage that is standard in this version. My initial dry run testing is not proving good. But I wait to see what happens when I get there.
Update - Nov 06 - this unit only has the major roads in France. For example our journey from Geneva into the Alps had us tracking to one side of the Autoroute (rather than on the road) and when we turned off the Autoroute there was NO information at all.
(5 out of 5)Garmin C310
Very useful device having used it in London and to go to places outside of London. I find it very useful when travelling by taking routes that I am used to and then allowing the re-route function to work out the rest of the journey that I am unsure about.
The only problem I have encountered was entering a destination whilst inside a car park then driving off without enabling the 30 seconds or so for the unit to get a satallite reception fix. Found that it was unable to establish exactly where I was located and plot a suitable route. Best thing is to always allow it to get 100% fix before driving off. It will detect wherever you are, even on a pathway within a field (dirt track) which I had to drive through to get to a particular destination.
I would recommend buying a battery charger for the unit, which saves you the hassle of having trailing wires from your cigarette lighter.
Having never used the TomTom can't make a direct comparison. Although having read about customer service and satisfaction from a number of reviewers who have had to contact TomTom, lead me to buying the Garmin C310.