GPS Reviews and Prices

Model: 1300LM with Lifetime Maps

909 of 922 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars good but . . . ., October 16, 2009
By mitch53 (Bridgewater, NJ) See all my reviews () This review is from: Garmin nvi 1350/1350T 4.3 Inch Widescreen movable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics) I have the unit for ten days now and in general I’m happy with it. For its mainstream feature, navigation, it’s excellent. I had a Garmin 350 before this which I loved but it was stolen from my car. I had a Magellan after that which was crap. The price on this unit was great ($247 Amazon).

I chose it over the 1390T because I opted to not get bluetooth. It’s the only difference between the units. I felt the bluetooth quality could be poor depending on other reviews of bluetooth overall on GPS units. The major reason was in the way majority of people use bluetooth. In a common day I’m in and out of my car frequently. I generally need my bluetooth now in case I get a call. I do not generally need my GPS. And since my last unit was stolen, and theft of these units is a big problem everywhere, I keep the unit hidden or on occasion remove it from the car. If you’re like me but you get this unit for bluetooth, you’ll have to stop and mount your gps everytime you get in the car if you need it or not, just to have blue tooth capability. If you forget and the cell phone rings, you dont have bluetooth. So I bought a separate bluetooth speaker phone from Jabra (very good unit# which is generally attached to my visor, pretty good quality, and generally there when I need it. I saved about $75 by opting for the 1350T over the 1390T.

A not many minor disappointments. The Lane help feature works great but isn’t available everywhere. I used it around NYC and it was useful. I drove through Pennsylvania and upstate NY and it wasn’t available. Marketing material hypes this feature but they neglect to tell you this one point. But when it’s available, it’s a great feature. That brings me to traffic. Same story here. I drived through PA and hit a one hour traffic jam. No warnings from the traffic feature because it wasn’t available in that area. When I got to the Scranton, PA area the traffic alerts started working. It alerted me of a big traffic jam ahead and it rerouted my trip automatically. The reroute could have been a important addition in miles but could be worth it to avoid the traffic, right? I decided to disregard the re route just to test the unit to see if the alert was correct and I was wanting to endure the traffic. As I drove my original path, no traffic anywhere. So had I listened to the traffic alert, I could have driven 50 miles out of my way for nothing. Bottom line is, do not let the traffic feature be a deal breaker for the unit you decide. But then again, I got the 1350T for about the same price as the 1350 #same unit without traffic). Updating the map was more hard than it should have been. I think about myself a technical person with computers and gadgets but the map update didn’t go smoothly and took me some number of tries. I could see where many people will have difficulty with this if they try to update the map.

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605 of 614 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of five stars charging issues, July 25, 2009
By mark goresky (New Jersey) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Garmin nvi 1350 Series 4.3 Inch Widescreen movable GPS Navigator (Electronics) I have used this GPS for some number of weeks now and when it’s completely charged it’s totally great. The voice is deafening and clear, the maps are correct and in depth. It acquires satellites quickly, in less than best situation with trees overhead or tall buildings close. It’s easy to program and the onscreen menus are convenient. It’s thin and reasonably light and movable and the screen is big. But it has one big problem: the cigarette lighter charging system doesn’t supply enough current to charge the GPS while it’s turned on. It’s unbelievable that Garmin could let their unit to be sold under these conditions.

When I received the unit I totally charged the battery (by connecting it to my computer using a USB cable which Garmin doesn’t supply, but I happened to have one anyway). Then I used it in my car, generally plugged into the cigarette lighter. It turns on automatically whenever you start the car, and it turns off automatically when the ignition switch is turned off. But, over this two week period the battery gradually discharged (without my knowledge) till it reached a point where the unit could not turn on, when plugged in to the car charger. Presuming the unit was faulty, I called Garmin and (after 20 minutes on hold) learned that the car charger isn’t up to the task, and that the GPS will gradually lose its charge when it’s turned on, if you have it connected to the cigarette lighter adapter. I believe that means that if you have a long drive, possibly eight hours or more, then the unit may not remain operational during the full trip. Other people have made alike complaints about many of the other Garmin GPS units.

The tech support people clarified how to recover from the low battery situation: you do a “soft reset” which simply involves holding down the on/off button for ten seconds. Then the unit will turn on, but the battery will need recharging. I was told to do this by connecting it to my computer using a USB cable, which Garmin doesn’t supply with the GPS (fortunately I already had one), but I assume you could do the same by connecting it to the car charger and making certain that the unit is turned off while it’s charging.

What a shame that Garmin has made a superior product with a deadly defect. I’ll keep mine for now, but I am going to investigate other charging solutions. Possibly after reading this review, the wizards at Garmin will redesign the charging system for this GPS.

Update (Aug 1/09): I discovered the reason for these charging issues: In the User’s Manual, under “Troubleshooting”, Garmin states that the Nuvi won’t charge if it’s in direct sunlight or if the temperature is more than 113 degrees F (45 deg C). Since I had my unit attached to the windshield, and since I only drive throughout noon, it’s generally in sunlight. This charging rule applies to many other models as well; for any given model you may be able to download the manual from Garmin, turn to the Troubleshooting section, and see if or not they describe a alike charging rule. (The rule is meant to avoid overheating the battery: lithium batteries can sometimes catch fire if they’re overcharged or overheated.) I think this explains why many people encountered charging problems and others have not: it depends on if or not the unit is generally in direct sunlight while you’re driving. Many people use the friction mount and their Garmin sits on the console. Others drive afterward in the day or at night.

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323 of 325 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars usually remarkable But many Quibbles, June 30, 2009
By R. Anderson See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) () This review is from: Garmin nvi 1350 Series 4.3 Inch Widescreen movable GPS Navigator (Electronics) Overall, I’m pleased with the Garmin nuvi 1350 but I do have a couple of minor complaints.

First of all, I do recommend that owners/potential purchasers visit the Garmin website to read through all of the product info and to review the FAQs. Many people have made an issue of Garmin not as well as the USB cable with the device but this didn’t matter to me. The obliged cable is a regular type “A” to mini “B” USB cable. Many other devices use this same cable and I already own a couple of them. (I also heard that if you contact Garmin buyer service, they may send you a cable at no charge.) Other reasons to visit the Garmin site: to register the product, to download the full PDF manual and to install the “my Garmin broker Plugin” for web updates.

Next, my quibbles:
When the 1350 is plugged into a charging device (PC or vehicle), there’s no way to find out when the unit is completely charged. This is inconvenient. To view the charge level, you must unplug the device and turn it on. Only then can you see the battery level. As indicated by the Garmin FAQs, charge time is about four hours using the car cable and eight hours using the PC cable.
One of the features of the 1350 is the speed bound display. But, I find this to be of restricted value. The speed display is usually five to ten mph too high compared with the real posted speeds on the roads being traveled. Consequently, this throws off the estimated destination arrival time.

Finally, why I’m impressed:
When driving with the 1350, I never had any doubt where I was at any given time and I never had any doubt what my next maneuver could be (and is not this the bottom line of any GPS?). The voice commands have lots of volume, are easy to understand and they also give you adequate lead time for forthcoming turns. The commands will also repeat but the voice isn’t annoying. Some number of times, I intentionally missed a turn to test how the 1350 could react. It quickly calculated a modified path depending on my current place.
I also found the screen to be clear and easy to see while driving (in bright sun, shade and at night).
The full manual states that a PDA type stylus may be used for the touch screen. I found this to be convenient (I’m really using a stylus from a Nintendo DS.) While you may be able to surely use your finger on the screen, this will leave fingerprints and smudges on the screen.

Other notes:
I have the 1350 sitting on my dash with the Garmin “Portable Friction Mount” greatly suggested.
My 1350 came with a free case the Caselogic MGPS 2. This case adequately guards the 1350 when it is not being used.

Overall, this was a great buy for my business travels and I could rate the unit as four and a half stars.

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