Just bought Garmin C340. Is it a right choice?

Just rec c340 for Christmas -tried it around town and 40 miles from St Louis,Mo and so far it does the job installed red light cameras and it warned me of 2 in the city area.

Found this site and down loaded a few from here

Best Holiday Wishes
rberr

What about simulated route and dragging the screen to the sides. Anybody tried this?

You mention some good points about features that are missing on the C340. But from what I've gathered in my bit of research on the pros and cons, the positives you get from a Garmin brand system, and specifically the C340, outweigh the features the system lacks.

For example, the map database of the Garmin systems is far myre detailed and up to date than many off brand GPS unit map databases from what I understand. My soon-to-be mother-in-law bought an offbrand unit from the NEX for $50 cheaper than the Garmin C330, and has nothing but regrets, mainly because none of the maps around the Wake county, NC area where she lives, are at least 5 years old, missing her neighborhood and my parents' neighborhood (which is 6 yrs old). Garmin recognizes these neighborhoods.

i definitely agree though, being able to scroll using the touch screen would be nice. As would simulated routes.

Out of curiosity, what brand were the GPS units of your friends?

I also just received one for Christmas. It did simulate a route for me but I'm not sure how I did that. I was messing with it in the house and it asked if I wanted to simulate a route. So far I like it.

I literally just got my c340... and I'm absolutely dumbfounded. I didn't really think about getting one, but Santa seems to think I'd benefit from it. I managed to turn the thing on, but the only map it shows is Australia (kinda far from Detroit). I have no idea if it's the right one, because I have no idea what to do with this thing!!

The way that I have done this is to turn off the gps. On a garmin - go to wrench, system, gps mode. Then go and choose a place to go. When you hit go, it will say GPS is off, would you like to simulate the route. Choose yes.

I have a c330, and wish it was a 340. They are great units for what they are. My thought is $250 is too much - as you can get them for under $200 if you look around (or you could several weeks ago). They don't have all the bells and whistles of mp3 or bluetooth, but they navigate well. I have loaned my c330 to my parents and other family as they travel all over the country. They have all been able to use it with no problem.

As for the austrailian maps, was the unit purchased in the US? If so try and go back to the store and exchange it or call Garmin.

Daniel

I have a c 340, and bought two as gifts for others. I think they are really good for the price, and it has been very reliable, with a great database of POI built in already, too.

I did my "research" at Amazon.com. Customer reviews are very highly favorable for this unit.

Be Happy!

I don't have a C340, but I have played with the simulated routing. I thought it would be very useful, but its really not. It simulates in real time, so if I want to test a 500 mile route, I'd have to sit and watch it all day. I actaully haven't been able to find any good use for it other than testing proximity alerts. For that I set up a simulation of a couple of miles before the POI that I set the alert for.

I use the simulated routing just to look at a route.

After the route is drawn/compiled, I touch the green bar at the top of the map, and then touch "view map" at the bottom of the list box. That lets me visualize the route. Then, I will either use it as is, add a waypoint/poi somewhere to get it to recaculate the route, or change some of the settings, such as shorter route instead of faster time.

But you are so right about it being in real time: pretty tedious!

For kky29, I'd recommend going to the Garmin web site and downloading and reading the full manual. Much more information there than in the quick start manual that comes with the unit.

IF you are looking for a GPS to get you from point A to point B, the C340 does a pretty good job. I have 2 for my wife and I and have purchased one more for a gift.

The map will drag in map mode so I usually switch to that if I want to move the map around.

I've had one for about a month now. Paid about $199.00 for mine. Does a good job for the price. I just wanted a unit to get me from here to there. The C340 does that fine. Not many frills. Does a good job with downloading POIs. Very pleased with mine so far. Of course, if I had more money I probably would have bought a fancier model and wasted a lot of money to meet my basic needs.

My c340 thought I was in Kansas. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto. We're in Minnesota. Once I put it in my vehicle and started driving, the satellite picked up my real location. Now it works like a charm. Could be that the satellite reception at your house is so poor that your c340 thinks it's in Australia. Try driving it around.

I think Kansas is where the Garmin factory is in the US, and all units made there initially display that as the current location. As you found out, once you link to the sats. and get a real fix the unit functions fine.

I would not worry a bit about the purchase. I have the same model and travel a lot for work and I love it. I have created a custom POI file for my GPS and my coworker's C340, is a list of customers that we work at across the Midwest and eastern usa and the C340 works flawlessly. I have loaded a few other POI's as well for the traveling pleasures.

I paid almost that same price for my C330 last June and it doenst do as much..and I got that much out of it already..The 340 is still a great unit..It was a Best buy before Thanksgiving.and one of the Top 5 GPS units in the Must buy category, Use it and learn from it then you can upgrade later. I never use the simulated driving on my NUVI..if I want to see the route I either Zoom out..or Touch through the turns..
Enjoy it...

the c340 does have simualtion mode

1- touch WHERE to

2- chose one of the items like FUEL

2- chose a station

2- tap GO

3-Do uou want to simulate driving this route?

4- touch yes

SIMULATION WILL START

IMPORTANT GPS MODE MUST BE (OFF) FOR SIMULATION

GOOD LUCK

RBERR

jenmaxslp

U had the GPS mode set to off thats why it asked U if U wanted to simulate - since U were in the house it couldnt access satilites so it may have turneg off GPS mode if it asked U if U were in the house and U answered yes it atomatically turns off GPS mode

Happy New Year

rberr

sarafina

did U do initial set up by turning on your GPS outside or in sight of open sky.

allow the GPS turned on to stay aprox 5=10min
where it is in full view of open sky so it can
have full access of the satillites - U need to do this one time =it should activate and show your
actual position and address .

Good Luck
rberr

This site is great. I got so many responses and I am satisfied with all the answers. I agree C340 is a great unit. I paid $250 on Dec 20. I think I paid more. Why is this unit discontinued then?

I have used the Garmin map76 for trail riding and I really like the c340 for the truck. I have used it for two days and the screens are really easy to understand. We travel to remote areas for trail riding and it will be nice to be able to find places to eat and the nearest gas. Very happy with the way it works so far.

It is no different than why few have 8 tracks, cassette tapes or VCR's. There are other GPS companies making new products. To attract new customers or make old ones buy something else you make a new product. I was reading the other day that the c330 started out over $800 or so. Now it is less than $200. Not that the product changed, but technology advanced and chips got cheaper.

The reason the c330 and c340 are discontinued probably has to do with a new chipset for receiving the gps signal, increasing the flash drive space and slimmer units.

There is nothing functionally wrong with those units, but the public demands more features in time. That is why car companies redo cars every 3-5 years.

Daniel

Good question KKY29..why did they discontinue it? I thought of same when I saw the unit on the discontinued list on Garmin's website. I am a c340 owner as well and love my GPS. As long as Garmin continues to provide updates and my unit continues to work, I am happy.

You definitely made a good choice especially since the price has come down so much and the features that come along with it make it all worthwhile.

Has anyone checked out www.tigergps.com? They seem to have good weekly specials. I kinda keep an eye on them. I got my wifes c330 from WalMart the day after Thanksgiving for $128. Should have bought 2. Oh well.

Anyone know why Garmin discontinued the C340?

I guess we won't be getting any updates for it any longer, or will we?

My guess is that they are using different chipsets and larger flash drives in the newer units. The c330 from what I have read was the first touch screen GPS on the market. It is not cost effective to retro engineer them to current specs.

From what I see on the web page, Garmin at least posts all their old products and software for them. They may not make radical new releases, but they don't seem to act like they never existed. Some companies I deal with - when a product is dropped will no longer sell any parts / software or manuals.

Daniel

Below is what Garmin told me about updates.

Thank you for contacting Garmin International, this model has been
discontinued which means we are no longer going to manufacture it. We
will still fully support it with software updates and mapping updates.

The 330, 340 and 530 have been discontinued..But are still great GPS units..I gave my 330 to my son and he loves it..They have been discontinued because they don't have the Sirf 3 Chipset..But I have never lost Sat signal with it Unless I brought it in the house. But then I really dont need GPS to navigate inside my house...I would guess as long as they dont change the Sat's they will be fine

... from my wife... she was a bit pissed to hear that it was a discontinued product (not that anyone at Best Buy bothered to tell her), however it came with the City Navigator North America NT 2008 - All mapset and was completely up to date with the software releases. I'm happier than I thought I would be... aside from my routine daily route choices being confirmed by the unit as the best ways to go (my wife still doesn't agree), it took us door to door from our place in Vermont to the in-law's place in a Montreal suburb without a hitch (although the Aussie gal's pronunciation of some of those French street names is a blast!) Enjoy!

I've had one for almost a year now - it's been a great unit to use. I did a ton of research prior to purchasing the unit, and the most important aspect of this model is it is extremely easy to use. I've worked in the IT industry for over 20 yrs - technology changes constantly (usually for the better), and you can't fight change.

All in all you should be happy with the C340

I love my C340, and as long as the map updates still continue, and probably for a good while thereafter, I'll be happy with it. The main drawbacks I've seen are 1) the older chipset, which precludes use indoors and may not be as good in skyscraper canyons (which I seldom have to deal with), and 2) the audio goodies require the mp3 player feature, which the C340 doesn't have. On the whole I'm more than satisfied with it, so long as you're not fixated on everything being the latest & greatest. I'd buy another at the right price. Sometimes products are discontinued for being too good a value.

I see where the 340 and 530 are discontinued but nothing on Garmin page about 330.The 320 has also been discontinued.

i got one for christmas as well and have enjoyed it

i havent downloaded anything yet. i dont like how it doesnt show u on the screen where restaraunts and gas and stuff is where on the tomtom there are symbols on the screen. when i download poi's then it will show up on the screen?

If you zoom in on the map, you'll start seeing individual points of interest (POIs). From too high a view, everything would be a confusing mess!

Geoff

i can see favorites i saved but if im driving down a road with a gas station for example i dont see the gas stations

You have to zoom in in order to see them on the map screen. And for many models, you must be in a 2D mode not in 3D mode.

I have found that you must be 400 feet or less for your favorites or custom poi locations to show on the map. If you go less than 200 feet, then the map database icons will show. This is in the track up mode. I don't do 3d....

The reason you need to zoom in so much I would assume for the map database is that there are so many of them.

Let me know if this helps.

Daniel

im always in 3d mode so maybe thats it
i will try it

they still dont show except in "browse map" mode
my favorites show in navigation mode but not POIs

My wife has C330 and it simulates routes. Your's should do it. Turn off GSP function first. If you want to spend $50 more get Nuvi 350 at Walmart.com. In store is $100 more.

I love the C340. The main reason is the website CNET.com gave it a great review, and so did the people. If both CNET and the average Joe give something a high rating it must be good.

I am glad I found this POI, as I am a Starbucks addict.

I also suggest you invest in the FM Traffic. I know $150 is a high price for 16 months (I thin it's a bit over a year), but after that you just pay a renew fee of I think $60 BUT FOR A LIFETIME. I was about to enter the Lincoln Tunnel (I live in NYC) and it told me to go another route as the traffic warning came on. A better route then popped up, so I took it.

Turns out there was a stuck car in the Lincoln tunnel. I got this through my Garmin/Traffic, not the news. The news reported the stuck car 15 MINUTES AFTER MY GARMIN UNIT warned me, which by then I was already heading to NJ via another tunnel. If not, I would have been stuck at that tunnel entrance and been an hour late for work.

So yes, the C340 is a good model. Let us hope they keep sending map updates! However I am sure we will need to get another Garmin model by 2010 or 2011?

~L~

Everytime I look at other models and think I am going to upgrade, I soon here of the cons of other models and as you can see I am still with my original model so yes you made a good choice. It is a good model.

I bought my c340 when the unit first came out in 2005 or 2006 and have not stopped being happy with it. The c340 is a solid performer - reliable and accurate.

I don't want a GPS to use as a toy. I want it to give me directions as simply as possible and the c340 does that. It has all the features I need without being distracting.

Bill, this thread is 3 years old to the day + 3...

Bill, I completely agree with you on this. I've had mine for a number of years now. I replaced the battery a few months ago, and now I have about 10 hours or so of battery life. Took a 6 hour round trip, and still had half of the battery remaining.

My GPS is a tool and not a toy as well. It simply works and does it well. Currently 3033 hours or so since the last "hard reset".

I'm thinking of buying up a few for spare parts, if anyone wants to part with theirs let me know. I'd love to keep mine running for as long as possible, I just don't see anything I'd want to replace it.