Garmin StreetPilot i3 GPS Receiver

Garmin StreetPilot i3 - An affordable simple GPS!

By Burt W  Feb 10, 2006 | 32 out of 34 found this Garmin StreetPilot i3 review helpful

Pros: Inexpensive, accurate, easy to use and accurate

Cons: None, really!

The Garmin StreetPilot i3 is one of three in this series by the respected GPS manufacturer. The i2 is a, less expensive, monochromatic version. The i5 is supplied with full US & Canadian maps preloaded. Ihave been waiting for a vehicle GPS to be af...fordable, easy to use and conducive to keeping my eyes on the road. That day has arrived! My i3 (MSRP $ 428.56) street price under $300.(including shipping). With taxes, rechargeable batteries & charger plus a 512MB Transflash SD card (see below) my total outlay was just over $400.00. Of course, you could get by without the additional items and get a great system for under $300.00 + tax. The manual (provided on the installation CD or downloadable from Garmin's website) is fairly well written, concise and complete. The install was extremely simple. The included CD had all the requisite drivers and the full (City Select NA {North America} vs7.01) maps for the United States and Canada. I updated the unit’s software to the newest version using the web updater tool found on Garmin’s website. The unit shipped with a 128MB Transflash SD card which cannot hold the entire U.S. at one time. In fact, as near as I can determine NY or California each require about 64MB of storage or one half the card’s capacity. During setup you work with a map to select the states, regions, or provinces to load to your i3. California is broken into two regions and the New England states are grouped into Upper and Lower regions. You cannot select parts of a region. I was able to load (on the 128MB card) NY NJ Pa Lwr NE De Md and Washington, DC. I realized that for specific trips I would have to reload. Further, the map installation process does not remember what you loaded before and for each reinstall you must specify the total geography you want. Rather than worry about this, I purchased a 512MB card. I reinstalled a new selection of maps onto this card and currently have the following on my GPS: AL AZ CA CT DC DE FL GA KY MA ME NC NE NH NJ NV NY PA RI SC TN VA VT WA WV plus ON QU and NS in Canada. I live in New York and most often stay on either of the coasts - - so, this should suffice! If you are traveling coast to coast you could not navigate to points that were not on the maps you selected. However, there is what is called a base map and that would allow you to navigate THROUGH such an area on the major interstates. Limited detail would be shown and access to services would not be on your system. You are able to add customized points of interest, speed zones, red-light cameras, points with proximity alerts, etc. utilizing Garmin’s POI loader which is available, free, on their website. Using this program requires knowledge of the Latitude and Longitude of the point you are adding. It takes a bit of effort to familiarize yourself with the format(s) required for the .csv files used in the process. However, it is nice to have your unit warn you, in time, when you are approaching known speed traps, red light cameras, toll booths, etc. The major benefits of this unit can be summarized as: 1) Small size – does not obscure vision or overly distract the driver. Lightweight. Can be carried in a large pocket. 2) Excellent Point of Interest Data Base. Includes restaurants, hotels, shopping, recreation, municipal services, etc. 3) Quick calculation of routes (20 seconds or less for local to just under a minute for coast to coast). Calculation time is more a factor of turns than of distance. 4) More than adequate customization settings. (Fastest or shortest route, vehicle and road types, multiple brightness and volume levels, day or night view (or automatically switches between the two. 5) Excellent audio 6) Uses regular or rechargeable AA batteries - comes with 12VDC automobile power cord. 7) 12 Channel reception. WAAS capable for more precise location than regular GPS 8) SIMPLE to use and almost as easy to set up (if more simplicity required, ge Read more Less