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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 Cons: Optional external antenna will get better satellite reception in some cities than the built-in antenna 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. See all.

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