The lowdown
Garmin has been in the GPS game for a good long while now and its products continue to push boundaries. The nüvi 350 aims to escape from the confines of the car and demonstrate its worth when you're out and about on foot. These GPS devices can now play MP3s and audio books, show JPG images and calculate currency conversions on top of ordinary navigation functions. Optional extras include a language guide that has a phrase book, word bank and text-to-speech interface, and a travel guide which automatically points out useful travel tips such as points of interest, restaurants and reviews from information provided by Marco Polo.
What's good?
As you would expect from a GPS manufacturing veteran, the basic satellite navigation tool is excellent. The on screen 3D maps are of great quality and the accompanying voice instructions are clear and easy to follow.
The nüvi also looks pretty smart, so you won't worry about being seen carrying it around and a reasonably impressive 700MB of internal memory certainly helps it double up as a personal entertainment device.
What's bad?
The nüvi's biggest technological flaw links back to its in-car GPS roots. We found that it needs a decent view of the open sky to link up to the satellites. Whilst that is hardly surprising, it may result in you carrying it in your hands for longer than you would like when you're out and about.
Its second Achilles heel is the price: we're talking £600 for the unit itself which already makes it a little more expensive than some of the competition, but then you'll need to fork up extra if you want the language and travel guides which are sold separately for £75 and £150 respectively.
Do you need it?
It is hard to justify that kind of outlay when basic GPS devices can be bought a lot cheaper and, well, books can cover you language and sight-seeing needs for a whole lot less than £225. However, if you are able to justify spending that much on a GPS, Garmin's nüvi 350 delivers much more than its rivals and all put together in very smart package. It might also be worth waiting until the nüvi 360 launches with its added Bluetooth connectivity.
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| Useful Links: |
Zoodex
, http://www.garmin.com |
| Features: |
City Select NT map data
Text-to-speech voice instructions
MP3 and audio book comatibility
Language Guide and Travel Guide available separately
700MB internal memory
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| Verdict: | 
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