| Garmin Talking StreetPilot III GPS Receiver, Map Compatible |
Technical Details
- GPS receiver with turn-by-turn navigation for major North American cities
- Includes MapSource City Navigator CD-ROM with street-level maps and points of interest; unlock capability for one region in US or Canada
- Automated voice prompts tell you when to turn
- 16-color display with backlight for dim lighting
- Compatible with optional Garmin MapSource software for downloading maps and waypoint data
Product Description
Imagine never being lost while driving. Garmin makes it possible. Meet the Street Pilot III - the ultimate traveling companion and guide. Create a route and then put your mind on cruise as you follow clear, accurate, voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions to safely reach your destination.The simple, intuitive menus of the Street Pilot III offer access to the shortest and fastest routes, directions, and estimated arrival time of your intended destination. Automated voice prompts alert you to upcoming turns, course deviation, and distance to final destination. At the touch of a button, view the locations of all the nearest highway exits, gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, hospitals, and rest areas on a full-color LCD.The StreetPilot III comes with MapSource City Navigator CD-Rom and everything you need to download street-level mapsets from your PC. Then, just place the portable system on the dash of any vehicle, and enjoy stress-free driving and peace of mind - without any costly service charges or hook-up fees.This product includes a 32MB data card.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.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.
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. For our next stop we knew the exact address 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, like restaurants, shops, and parks. This allows you to tell the StreetPilot to find the closest fast-food restaurant and then be presented 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 a salesman always heading to new locations, 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 available. --Ken Feinstein
Pros:
- Compact, portable design
- Easy-to-read color screen
- Auto routing and voice prompts
- Optional external antenna will get better satellite reception in some cities than the built-in antenna
Customer Reviews
2004-07-22By Darwin (Redmond, WA United States)
I've had my SPIII for about two years now, during which the pricing has come down some and the package offerings have increased, so this review may not match the exact contents Amazon offers here. My unit came with a 32MB memory cartidge, the serial port connection cord, the USB programmer cord, the 12V power cord for the cigarette lighter, the "sticky" dash mount, and a MapSource CD with codes to unlock one region (the US and Canada consisted of 5-6 regions, IIRC). I have since bought the beanbag dash mount and a 128MB card and purchased the "unlock all regions" option for City Navigator--probably already included items for a new purchase in today's package. Additionally, I downloaded the "British" voice package from Garmin's website to replace the default "American" voice--the British lady's voice seems less harsh and less like a drill sergeant when giving directions!
I love this unit because it makes navigation so easy--isn't that the idea behind a GPSR? With the CityNav map information loaded into the memory card (and with 128MB it fits all of PA, DE, MD, and D.C. and good chunks of WV, OH, NY, and NJ) I am able to get turn-by-turn directions to nearly any street address. If you ask it to route you to a given destination, the unit actually tells you when a turn is coming up, e.g. "In point two miles exit right," or "In 500 feet turn left." If you are driving without a destination selected, the unit will display the cross streets by name as you approach. You can zoom the map in for street detail or zoom out to see more of the countryside. If you have a destination selected, the unit will zoom in automatically as you approach and zoom in even more for a detailed overview of approaching intersections as you near a turn.
If you are in an area for which you do not have the MapSource detail loaded, the unit still has an internal base map that contains cities, highways, interstates, and major bodies of water, so it can still route you from city to city using the major roads. This makes driving long distances cross-country feasible and you can load up the memory card with the areas you expect to spend most of your time in if you don't have enough memory for the entire route.
However, in those areas for which you do have the map detail loaded you can get turn-by-turn directions to an address or even select various destinations (restaurants, attractions, banks, shopping centers, etc.) listed by name and/or distance. The unit also displays address and phone information for those destinations, which is useful to call ahead and make reservations or check for vacancy if you're the spontaneous weekend tourist like I am.
The 16-color display is beautiful--major routes are in red, arterials in thick black, minor streets in thin black, rivers and lakes in blue, parks and golf courses in green, and the background will change at sunset or sunrise to yellow (daylight) or black (night) as appropriate (the black streets will also switch to white at night).
Please note that the map detail, which includes streets and popular destinations, is a feature of the map software, not the unit itself. Garmin seems to issue updated map software on an annual basis, but you must pay for those updates. I'm still using CityNav 4.1, although Garmin's website states that 6.0 is coming out this summer. The new 6.0 software will probably contain more business listings and reflect more recent road construction, but I'm doing fine with 4.1 and don't see a need yet to pay for the upgrade. One reviewer complained about the lack of Starbucks locations with his map, and I expect Garmin will be adding more and more types of businesses like that as time goes by.
Enough babbling--in summary, here are some pros of this unit:
o Cheaper than most in-dash GPS systems
o Portable, so you can share the unit with your "fleet" or take it along in a rental car (and you'd best hide it or take it with you when parking so it doesn't get stolen)
o Voice navigation, so you can anticipate an upcoming turn without having to take your eyes off the road
o Color display--so much better than a gray scale map!
o Accurate and helpful when driving somewhere unfamiliar
o Automatic route recalculation if you miss a turn or have to detour
o Address and phone info for listed businesses/sites so you can call ahead
And the cons I've experienced:
o Voice navigation could be somewhat improved for confusing intersections--do I take a right or sharp right at this five-way?
o Eats batteries--but this unit is too bulky to walk around with, so there is no reason it should ever be used without being plugged into your cigarette lighter.
o Awkward interface--entering street names or address numbers is awkward with the rocker button
o Loses signal in built-up areas with tall buildings--usually when you are downtown and *really* need directions the most, unfortunately! However, this is a problem with all GPS receivers and due more to the nature of the GPS system than the unit itself.
All in all, I love my SPIII. It has all the features I really need. There are units out there that are newer, have more features, and may be easier to use, but they're also more expensive. As long as Garmin keeps releasing updated map software compatible with the SPIII, this unit should serve my needs for many more years.
2003-12-18
By Jeffrey A. Campbell (Lemoore, CA United States)
Pro's: Overall good unit. Great color, well built, very detailed.
Con's: I live in a new development and my home street is not on the map. Software updates to the unit must be done with a serial port (included in box). The problem is that my new laptop does not have a connector for the included cable. Had to spend an additional $13 on a USB to 9 pin serial cable and Garmin said its only a 80% success rate that it will transfer the neccessary data. The Mapsource CD's which contain detailed information on cities can only be used one time. In order to use the CD's initially, you have to go to the Garmin website and get an "unlock" code. Therefore, if you purchase a newer computer, you have already used your unlock code and would have to purchase an addition code and these can range from $80-$100.
Since installing the Mapsource data, my comp has crashed 3 times. I do not think it likes Win XP.
2003-05-10
By K. Parry (Olathe, KS, USA)
Please allow me to preface this review with the fact that I have absolutely no sense of direction. For those with excellent sense of direction, this may seem like an extravagant purchase until they come down in cost.
I had to travel to California recently (I only lived there my whole life before 1999), but since I had never driven in California before, I was quite nervous about doing so. The rental car had a GPS very similar to the Street Pilot, and using that gave me a great sense of confidence in driving around.
Shortly after my return I realized how badly we needed a GPS in our car. The Street Pilot was the best option for us because it has all the features of a factory-installed auto GPS, but the added convenience of being portable- now when I head out of town I can take the Street Pilot rather than having to rent a car with a GPS. Not to mention the Street Pilot is about 1/2 to 1/3 of the cost of a factory-installed system.
Some of the other reviewers have complained about how long it takes the Street Pilot to recalculate a route once the vehicle has gone off-route. I have intentionally gone off-route several times just to see how it performs, and I have been very pleased. It does take a few seconds, but from my experience it did not take so long that I got any further off-course than I already was.
A feature that I found to be very helpful in the Street Pilot which was not in the rental car's GPS is a search by company name. If you're looking for a department store, but you can't remember its address, just search by the name, and the Street Pilot will navigate you to the closest one. If you're looking for that great Chinese restaurant a couple of miles away, but you can't remember the name, you can search for Chinese restaurants in your area and find the correct one based on its address. Want to order ahead, or put your name on the seating list? Once the Street Pilot finds the restaurant you're looking for, it displays their phone number on the monitor as well.
About the only two complaints I have about the Street Pilot are very trivial. On the rental car I used, the GPS would automatically lower the volume on the stereo when the GPS needed to announce an instruction. Being an external unit, the Street Pilot does not have this luxury. Since I tend to listen to music, well, at ear-splitting volume while driving, it does take a little getting used to lowering the volume when using the Street Pilot around town, but again, this is a very minor complaint given all of the positive features the Street Pilot has.
My other complaint is that occasionally it does give directions which are not the most direct route. I used this on a trial basis in areas I was familiar with just to see how it performs, and I did find myself thinking on occasion "why is it telling me to go this way, when that way is much more direct?" Especially since I live within a half an hour of Garmin's world headquarters, it would seem to me that they would at least know the most direct routes around here! But even at this, the Street Pilot DOES get you to the correct destination every time, even if it sometimes takes an indirect route.
I noticed that the package includes both a beanbag mount and a permanent dashboard mount for the Street Pilot. Since Street Pilots have a way of being swiped, my suggestion would be to always use the beanbag mount, since a permanent mount could cause thieves to break into the car to find the GPS that is no longer in the car. I drive a new Jetta, and I did not want to get sticky stuff all over my dashboard, so I chose to try out the beanbag. It does not slip, even when making sharp turns. I suppose if I were in a collision this would not be the case, but in normal driving, the beanbag is great.
Of course, as others have advised, do not leave your Street Pilot in the car unattended for any reason. But given the fact that you're going to be spending around $1G for this puppy you probably already knew that.
And one other safety feature that I think is great, but others might be annoyed by it: once you are driving, you cannot change the destination; it goes into a secure mode. To change the address, you need to stop the car. This may be a nuisance to some, but given how badly people drive while talking on cell phones, it's probably best that Garmin tries to curb people from pressing all sorts of buttons on their GPS while zipping down the road at 75 MPH.
2002-10-01
By (Newtown, CT USA)
I recently bought the SPIII Deluxe package, and I'm really impressed with its capabilities. The route calculation feature when using the "shortest route" option has shown me new ways to travel between points that I've driven for years. The fastest route option is excellent also. The included software (City Navigator) amazes with its complete listing of restaurants, services, points of interest, etc.. I'm sure there are many places missing, but there ane plenty available.
The 128 Mb memory card is large enough to hold several Mapsource files at the same time, so you might have City Navigator, USA Roads and Recreation and Topo all loaded on the card and choose the appropriate one for your needs under different circumstances.
The instruction booklet could be better. For example, there are optional settings for car/motorcycle, truck, bus or emergency equipment that will give routing best for these vehicles. There should be some description of what the differences are so a large RV or car towing a trailer could choose the best one. There is also an interesting "detour" feature that will give alternate routes if a detour is needed for various distance ahead - not described in the book.
The unit can do so much that Garmin would do well to have a users' forum.
2002-09-21
By D. Burnham (Washington, DC United States)
I bought my SP3 when I moved to the Washington DC area, and have to say it works great. I am never lost and it can find nearly everything. There are a few streets that have no numbers in Arlington, but otherwise it is pretty good.
I have also used the SP when traveling to other areas. The one issue that I have is that it has a hard time keeping a good signal in the city because of all the buildings. DC is not too bad, but I have had bigger problems in places like NYC and Toronto with the tall skyscrapers. If it is plotting a course for you, you might miss a turn because it loses the signal for a few seconds. To make things worse, since there is such a grid in the cities, it often takes a while to recalculate the course, by which point you might be lost again. I find times when I need to pull off and wait for the GPS to catch up.
I would highly recommend it if you travel a lot, or are unfamiliar with an area, just be careful if you are using it for large cities.
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