# Garmin NUVI sat nav question



## Gabriel (29 May 2007)

I'm in the market for sat nav and have narrowed it down to the Garmin (based on their use of navteq maps which offer good coverage for Ireland).

But rather than trawl through endless reviews and specs can anyone tell me is it really all that worthwhile going for the latest and greatest (ie 660). It's €499 from Komplett...while the 350 is only €329 (the 250 is cheaper still). Is the price difference merely down to screen size and extras (games etc) that you get with the 660?? Is the actual navigational system that much better on the 660?
I'd rather save myself the €170/200 but would go for the expensive option if it's superior in some other obvious way.

[broken link removed]

Appreciate all comments and about other sat nav systems if applicable.


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## Gabriel (29 May 2007)

Okay...I'm after finding this online...

[broken link removed]

So I believe I now have a lot more info on the merits of the 660 over the 350. 

Comments still welcome though!!


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## Leo (29 May 2007)

If you go to the [broken link removed] section of garmin.com, tick the boxes for the two models and then hit the compare buton. You be presented with the list of specs for both with the differences highlighted.

Main differences in the two models you have linked are the 660 has a better screen, built in bluetooth and the FM receiver (no use in Ireland).

Got the 360 recently, same as the 350 but with the Bluetooth, and I'm very happy with it.
Leo


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## Gabriel (29 May 2007)

Thanks for that Leo...very helpful.

Am leaning towards the 660 now purely because of the wider screen...which gets great reviews. 

Is there anywhere I could hold both and compare the screens? Anywhere around town that stocks them?


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## burns (29 May 2007)

I was in a similar position a few months ago in trying to decide between the 360 v's the 660. Finally decided on the 360 purely because of its size, its a nice size for carrying around with you. 
I bought mine on ebay


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## tallpaul (30 May 2007)

Gabriel said:


> Thanks for that Leo...very helpful.
> 
> Am leaning towards the 660 now purely because of the wider screen...which gets great reviews.
> 
> Is there anywhere I could hold both and compare the screens? Anywhere around town that stocks them?


 
Halfords do the full Garmin range. 

I have a Garmin Nuvi 310D and am very happy with it. It has bluetooth functionality to synch with your mobile phone, which to my mind, is essential. It will import your phonebook and even use the device to compose and send text messages. The mapping (v9 maps) also has excellent coverage with all of the boreens around my house.

What some of the higher spec models (the 350 or 660) have is full speech i.e. the SatNav will say "turn left in 100 metres onto Pearse Street" while mine simply states "turn left in 100 metres". Personally I don't think this makes much difference, particularly if you are in a place you don't know the streetnames of anyway!


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## Gabriel (30 May 2007)

tallpaul said:


> Halfords do the full Garmin range.
> 
> I have a Garmin Nuvi 310D and am very happy with it. It has bluetooth functionality to synch with your mobile phone, which to my mind, is essential. It will import your phonebook and even use the device to compose and send text messages. The mapping (v9 maps) also has excellent coverage with all of the boreens around my house.
> 
> What some of the higher spec models (the 350 or 660) have is full speech i.e. the SatNav will say "turn left in 100 metres onto Pearse Street" while mine simply states "turn left in 100 metres". Personally I don't think this makes much difference, particularly if you are in a place you don't know the streetnames of anyway!



Thanks for the replies guys.

I'm still in two minds....friend is lending me his 660 for the weekend so I can play with it. I didn't realise there was a difference in the text speak...doesn't seem to be a big deal alright.

Think I need to hold both a 660 and 360 and see if the wider screen makes that much difference to me. 
burns...your comment is particularly interesting as I figure I'll be taking it out of the car each time I park it up somewhere so smaller would indeed be better!


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## Gabriel (30 May 2007)

If anyone knows where I can get a 660 cheaper than this...

[broken link removed]

please let me know?


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## LexLuthor (30 May 2007)

I have a 660 but am now wondering whether a 350 would have been better. 
In almost every situation for screens, bigger is better - but here it is going to go on your windscreen i.e.: its going to at least block some of your view...


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## jcos (30 May 2007)

I am in the market for a cheap sat nav - holidays only in Europe.
The Garmin Nuvi looks good value. Whats the difference between the 350 and th TomTom One - and more importantly whats the significance of?


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## MonsieurBond (31 May 2007)

LexLuthor said:


> I have a 660 but am now wondering whether a 350 would have been better.
> In almost every situation for screens, bigger is better - but here it is going to go on your windscreen i.e.: its going to at least block some of your view...




Apart from the wider screen on the 610/660 models, the viewing angle is much better on these ones compared to the 310/350.


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## redchariot (6 Jun 2007)

Got the nuvi 300 recently, it is really a basic satnav without all the gucci extras. At the end of the day, you are buying a satnav for one reason alone, to allow you to navigate properly. 

It is not the unit that makes the difference, it is the software, as long it is Navteq City Navigator version 9 or higher (version 8 is pure crap).

Yeah, if you want the extras like Bluetooth etc, by all means go for the more expensive models but if you just want the basic satnav, you can't go wrong with the nuvi 300. Cost me €300 at Halfords 6 months ago, probably even cheaper now.


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## HighFlier (6 Jun 2007)

The Garmin 350 and 300 are exactly the same machine except the 350 has all Europe maps and 300 has just UK and ireland. If you dont plan on driving on the continent any time soon the 300 is all you need. You can upgrade the maps later if you need to.


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## speedfreak (6 Jun 2007)

i was also in the market for a sat nav having recently used the garmin 660 in france (brother-in-law's).  i have to say i was well impressed and didnt realise how handy they were.  I was talking to bro in law about getting one myself for our european trips (he's big into IT and gadgets) and he recommended the Route 66 brand as being well recommended and relatively cheap whilst using the same Navteq maps as Garmin.  I did a bit more research and and it comes up well in reviews. Has a widescreen and I think importantly has the text to speech function i.e " Turn left onto Main Street" rather than "turn left".  This gives you that extra sense of confidence that you are on the right track.  got this one from Komplett ..

[broken link removed]

the UK+Irl version is €10 less in Halfords!


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## Gabriel (6 Jun 2007)

Just to update I borrowed a friends Nuvi 660 recently and thought it was excellent. Bought one on EBAY...should arrive any day now.

The screen is really excellent, I travel Europe & England regularly enough and the wireless phone aspect is top notch.

You'll get em for €500 on EBAY these days. Don't buy em in Ireland.


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## DaveD (7 Jun 2007)

Gabriel said:


> Just to update I borrowed a friends Nuvi 660 recently and thought it was excellent. Bought one on EBAY...should arrive any day now.
> 
> The screen is really excellent, I travel Europe & England regularly enough and the wireless phone aspect is top notch.
> 
> You'll get em for €500 on EBAY these days. Don't buy em in Ireland.



You'll get em from Komplett for €499...
[broken link removed]


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## Gabriel (7 Jun 2007)

DaveD said:


> You'll get em from Komplett for €499...
> [broken link removed]



511 including delivery from Komplett. 500 from ebay including delivery...plus traffic info included in bundle.


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## el diablo (9 Jun 2007)

tallpaul said:


> Halfords do the full Garmin range.
> 
> I have a Garmin Nuvi 310D and am very happy with it. It has bluetooth functionality to synch with your mobile phone, which to my mind, is essential. It will import your phonebook and even use the device to compose and send text messages. The mapping (v9 maps) also has excellent coverage with all of the boreens around my house.
> 
> What some of the higher spec models (the 350 or 660) have is full speech i.e. the SatNav will say "turn left in 100 metres onto Pearse Street" while mine simply states "turn left in 100 metres". Personally I don't think this makes much difference, particularly if you are in a place you don't know the streetnames of anyway!


I also have the 310 and it's a great piece of kit.   the handsfree bluetooth calling is very handy...bought mine on eBay for approx. €275...


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## emck (26 Jul 2007)

somebody help. I'm totally confused! been looking into Garmin satnav.Would like Ireland,Uk&European maps and think would be nice to have bluetooth aswell. I'm getting conflicting info left, right and centre. one place telling me no Euro maps on nuvi310 and another saying there are. I rang Garmin in Uk where I was told that nuvi310 only has Ireland&uk maps and NO WAY to install/add European maps that I'd need the 310d and then would need to buy the maps!!! (was so confused by all the conflicting info that I never asked how much Euro downloads are!)the guy in Garmin said he was "110%sure" of this when I asked him about installing Euro maps on nuvi310. Can anyone help clarify any of this for me (in VERY simple language at this stage as my brain's going to explode from info overload!)


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## tallpaul (26 Jul 2007)

emck said:


> somebody help. I'm totally confused! been looking into Garmin satnav.Would like Ireland,Uk&European maps and think would be nice to have bluetooth aswell. I'm getting conflicting info left, right and centre. one place telling me no Euro maps on nuvi310 and another saying there are. I rang Garmin in Uk where I was told that nuvi310 only has Ireland&uk maps and NO WAY to install/add European maps that I'd need the 310d and then would need to buy the maps!!! (was so confused by all the conflicting info that I never asked how much Euro downloads are!)the guy in Garmin said he was "110%sure" of this when I asked him about installing Euro maps on nuvi310. Can anyone help clarify any of this for me (in VERY simple language at this stage as my brain's going to explode from info overload!)


 
There are two versions of the Garmin 310: 

1) the plain vanilla 310 which ONLY includes v9 Navteq maps for the UK and Ireland

2) the Garmin 310d (which stands for deluxe). This version has the v9 Navteq maps for UK and Ireland pre-installed on the device but also includes in the box a DVD-ROM which has the maps for Europe. You install some software (also provided) which allows you to copy whatever part of Europe you want onto the device. You will need a SD card if you want to put a lot of Europe onto the satnav as the maps of Europe will exceed the unit's internal memory.


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## el diablo (26 Jul 2007)

yes tallpaul is correct. I have a nuvi 310 and it's just got the V9 Maps of Ireland and UK.   both models have the bluetooth  handsfree.


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## Leo (27 Jul 2007)

Check out the Garmin [broken link removed] site to get the full features of any model. You might be better of going with the 360 to get full European mapping and the facility to add more.
Leo


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