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March 26, 2007
Garmin C340 StreetPilot GPS Car Navigation System ReviewGarmin has been designing GPS equipment since 1990 - which is a considerable timeframe for the relatively new GPS consumer market. Garmin’s products are well worth considering if you’re looking for the best car gps system for your money.
The C340 Garmin StreetPilot GPS Automotive Navigation System is a top model of Garmin’s C300 StreetPilot Series. The C340 has a 12 parallel channel WAAS enabled (which improves accuracy to about 3m) GPS receiver. In 2003 Garmin was actually first with a WAAS/GPS navigation certified integrated avionics unit. The GPS receiver is rated as having warm and cold acquisition times of approximately 15 seconds and 45 seconds respectively. The C340 has an internal GPS antenna however, it also has an MCX-type connector for hooking up an optional external GPS antenna. The C340 has a 3.5 inch transflective TFT touchscreen display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. It displays 64K colors and has an LED backlight. 2D and 3D perspective views are available for viewing maps. The touchscreen is used exclusively for GPS operation with an on/off switch and rotary volume control knob being the only other controls. The unit can be color customized with separately purchased color faceplates. For clear voice prompts the StreetPilot C340 has dual integrated speakers.
If you want to plan your route while out of the car, the C340 has an internal lithium-ion battery with a very respectable 8 hour life. A 12-volt power adapter adapter is included for in-car recharging. Users can search for addresses and points of interest (POI) and can also upload their own POIs. A useful selectable feature is a proximity alert which notifies the driver of upcoming custom POIs. Up to 500 waypoints with name and graphic symbol can be entered. Software features include a trip computer, resettable odometer, timers, average and maximum speed outputs. Operation and GPS MapsGetting started with the C340 is easy as it comes preprogrammed with highly detailed City Navigator NT street data of the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The detailed maps contain information on highways, interstates, business and residential roads with attributes such as turn restrictions, speed categories and other navigation features There is an SD expansion slot for adding other maps. The map database features some six million points of interest including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, attractions, entertainment, shopping, emergency services, post offices, camp grounds, movie theaters and ATMs. One way to navigate is to select a POI by touching its icon on the display screen. To make life even simpler Garmin has provide their free POI Loader software (which can be downloaded from their website) for you to import customized POI. It provides the ability to upload POIs created by others from your PC to your Garmin unit. Having selected a destination from the touch screen interface, one is directed by Garmin’s text-to-speech functionality which tells users the name of the street, when to turn, and in what direction. Missing a turn is not a major problem as the c340 automatically calculates a new route to the selected destination. GPS Traffic AlertsA traffic alert option is available with the C340. Users see congested areas color coded on the map displayed. Avoiding a traffic delay is as simple as pushing a button to calculate a new route around problem spots.  To receive traffic alerts a GTM 10 FM TMC receiver is required. The GTM 10 is a small, FM-band traffic receiver which is connected to the car radio/antenna system to provide real-time Traffic Message Channel (TMC) data. TMC data provides swift, accurate notification of situations impacting traffic such as accidents, road construction, police and emergency services. Digital traffic data is available from specific FM broadcast stations in a fast growing number of major metro areas throughout the United States and Europe. Traffic alert service subscription costs vary with different locations. Comparison Garmin StreetPilot C340 vIt’s important to note that the C300 StreetPilot series don’t have the following features which some might regard as important for their particular circumstances including:
These features can be found in the C500 StreetPilot models. The Garmin StreetPilot C300 Series consists of the C310, C320, C330 and the C340. Differences between the different models are detailed below: C310:
C320:
C330:
c340:
Garmin StreetPilot C340 Package Includes
Price Comparisons and Customer ReviewsAmazon has competitive prices and user reviews for Garmin StreetPilot c340 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Newegg.com also have prices and customer reviews for GARMIN StreetPilot c340 3.5″ Automotive GPS Navigation Check out Buy.com as well for Garmin StreetPilot c340 Mobile GPS Receiver Butterfly Photo always have competitive prices Garmin StreetPilot c340 GPS Vehicle Navigator 0100040120 ResourcesStreetPilot c340 Owner’s Manual StreePilot c340 Quick Reference Guide 
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Further ReadingOur review of Pioneer’s AVIC-S1 Portable GPS Navigation System Lorrance iWay’s 350c GPS Automotive Navigator Review. TomTom’s GO 510 GPS Car Navigation Unit Review. Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007 with GPS Locator [DVD]
StreetPilot C340 Specification:
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