Pros: cheap, fast route build, good visual and voice guide, many interesting features
Cons: too simple, slow route rebuild, very slow address input, very slow satellite tracking
The Bottom Line: It can be a fine "entry level" GPS given the current price level, but useful only if you do all planning before hand. I won't recommend it for daily use.
valleyman's Full Review: Garmin StreetPilot i3 Car GPS Receiver
The purchase
This is our second attempt to acquire an automotive GPS system. We went from rather expensive (see previous review here) to bottom cheap. Costco.com had Garmin StreetPilot i3 (hereafter SP i3) on sale for $225 plus free ground shipping. (Not available in stores.) Decisions were simple: a basic navigation system at reasonable cost. I checked Epinions and believed that i3 would fit the bill. The order took more than two weeks to arrive, much longer than any other online stores I used, even exceeding posted delivery time of 6-10 business days.
The first thing that impressed us when we opened the package was the remarkable small size and light weight. SP i3 is no bigger than the fist of our 2-year old child (half an adult fist). Another noticeable feature is the shape: SP i3 is shaped like a fist (rounded) rather than a palm (flat) like most other GPS systems we have seen in stores.
The package includes
- GPS receiver
- 128 MB MicroSD card (installed but blank)
- Car charger kit
- USB cable
- Printed quick start guide
- Installation, map, and manual CD
- Windshield suck cup mount
- Dashboard stick disc
Our test drives were mostly in and near city, in flat terrains.
Initial set-up
Unlike the Initial X72 and other higher end GPS, SP i3 comes with only a basic North America map, so for practical use, you must first load some detailed maps. Without detailed maps, SP i3 won't allow you to enter navigation mode despite the signature "Where to" menu entry. The initial screen is a reminder that you need to load maps first. But you can play with some of its menues after clicking through this screen. The entire North America street maps come with the CD.
You insert the CD in a Windows computer and follow the quick start guide to install software, then install a device driver, then load selected maps into the GPS. The maps are loaded into the MicroSD card that comes with the system. The 128M card is pretty small for detailed maps. Most neighbourhoods in California and entire Nevada filled the card.
The process was reasonably pain free (takes about half an hour if no glitches), but the device driver did not install on one of my PC's.
Once maps are loaded, a colourful splash screen with the phrase "StreetPilot i3" is displayed after power-on, followed by an initial screen containing a warning about not to operate the unit in a moving vehicle.
Satellite tracking
I did not have the same amount of trouble to get initial fixing that some other reviewers described. It actually went through in a moving vehicle, although it took more than 2 minutes. But initial location was off by half a mile, showing me on a parallel street. After power down, it generally takes 1 minute or more (up to 4 min) to relocate. We tested this in two vehicles. To us, SP i3 feels rather slow to relocate itself. We also had relatively frequent signal losses.
I have to admit that we didn't give SP i3 a fair chance in satellite reception. We couldn't use the suck cup due to state ban on window mount, and didn't want to use the sticking dashboard pad during the test drive period in case we needed to return it - we did. So the unit had to sit low in the vehicle. Once my wife figured out a way to "mount" it on the dashboard using an anti-slip pad (SP i3 is really light), initial satellite tracking seemed to have improved. But we still feel it's inadequate for practical use.
Features
Having used a more expensive GPS guide, I am impressed by many nice features of SP i3 designed for automotive use. Some are amazing considering the small size.
* Easy to understand visual display and route indication. In navigation mode, a top window displays names of current road and next road most of the time; it occasionally displays name of the current road plus driving direction. Two information panes at the bottom display estimated arrival time on the left and distance to next turn on the right. In map display mode, top window displays name of the current road, lower panes display direction and speed, respectively. But bottom panes can block potentially useful information due to the tiny screen size.
* Supports map view (North up or track up) and 3D (perspective) view (track only). I always use track-up; especially on this tiny screen, North up is not very useful. In track-up settings, your current location is represented by a bold, easily visible arrow head near the centre. In navigation road, an extended arrow will indicate route ahead. When you approach a turn, the extended arrow covers the turn area. My wife particularly likes the 3D view, which feels realistic when you approach a turn.
* Very quick initial route calculation. For city driving we tested, SP i3 always finishes within 10 seconds, mostly under 5 seconds. Very impressive compared with the Initial GD-72 we had.
- Two routing preferences are available, quickest and shortest. Most people use quickest so that's the default.
- You can easily review turns - just two clicks using the scroll wheel. The display is bold and clear.
- SP i3 also has a detour function. Again, just two clicks. It tries to avoid the next turn if possible.
- Many "avoidance" options to optimize route. You may want to avoid toll, carpool, U-turns, highway, unpaved roads, and so on. It even has a "vehicle type" selection, which includes car, truck, bus, and so on.
* One VIA point. Some say SP i3 doesn't have VIA point, but if you set up another destination while the current route is active, you have the option to make the new address a via point. If you say yes, SP i3 will recalculate the entire route. Only one VIA point is available.
* Multiple location methods. You can input an address by state, number, then street name. You can also specify your destination by intersection, city (centre), or POI's ("Food, Hotels, and More"). The recent list and favorite list help quickly locate a frequent destination.
- You can save an address or a POI as favourite. Interestingly, you can also assign an icon out of a wide selection.
* Rather up-to-date road map. It has all the roads in a new community (completed last year, was a swamp site five years ago), even though it has no knowledge about any shops inside.
* Route simulation. The map will scroll as the route "progress", and voice prompt will be given just like in real motion. (Stores often set several GPS models to demonstrate simulated routes loudly in order to attract attention.) I found route simulation to be a good way to familiarize with the operation, especially if you are unfamiliar with GPS navigation.
- You can set any address as current location for route simulation. So this is a good tool to study its capability to find the best route. Note: your current location changes as simulation progresses - just like in real motion. This may or may not be desirable.
* Indoor/outdoor indication. If SP i3 loses satellite signal, or if it cannot track a satellite in a reasonable amount of time, it asks if you are indoors. You can also set GPS to "Off" mode for simulation. This setting is only for the current power session. SP i3 always starts in GPS "On" mode.
- In GPS off mode, SP i3 enters simulation mode automatically. Even when GPS is on, you can ask it to simulate a route.
* "Statute" (read U.S. - eh, imperial) & metric unit support. This seems to be (should be) standard among most vendors, but the Initial GD-70/72 doesn't understand metric.
* Use of replaceable (AA) battery. This makes it practical to change batteries in the field and economic. Frankly, I didn't consider this to be a distinct advantage until I read reviews about StreetPilot C320 and C340 that use a built-in rechargeable battery. Even at all available discounts, GPS is still an expensive purchase, so you don't want to throw out your machine when the battery dies - rechargeables of all types are typically rated at 400 charge cycles.
-- With SP i3, you can indicate whether you are using alkaline or NiMH so the unit can decide whether to recharge your battery when on external power. (There is a slight risk of overheating and explosion if you keep charging a non-rechargeable; non-rechargeables will eventually leak when frequently recharged.) External power include car charger or computer USB. (The car charger uses the USB jacket instead of its own.)
The impressive and unimpressive
* POI list is impressive but not quite complete. There is a Staples on the lot next to a Costco. SP i3 finds the Staples but not the Costco. i3 cannot find the Fry's store near the original Fry's, although it finds the new store by the side of its current headquarters. These missed stores must have been there for over 10 years. It also misses several other Fry's stores in the area. Of course, a new (4 years) shopping centre near my home is completely missing.
* Route build is very fast - for a city address it takes less than 10 sec. (Mostly 4 to 5 sec.) Route rebuild not bad but still difficult in city - may miss next best turn if streets are dense, or may misguide when ramp is close. ("0.5 mile").
* Not fully knowledgeable about some street addresses - It gives incorrect street side of a destination where the building faces side road. Incorrect side is also given to a building facing the road. There is one community we often go. It has a permenantly closed gate one an adjacent street, but i3 thinks that's a valid access. (But at least i3 attempts to determine side of an address. Several others simply offer no indication.)
* Voice prompt understandable. But helpful hint tones must be turned "on" - default is off.
* Somewhat unhelpful turn behaviour: i3 seems to "think ahead" when we stop at traffic light. Probably designed to give apparent speedy response, this can actually lead to missed turn, and may result in recalculation.
The bad
* Very slow address input. Thanks to Epinions, we are prewarned of the lack of a touch screen. But as we cope with the scroll wheel, the associative input is intolerably slow.
The StreetPilot i3 is the color version in the i-series StreetPilots—a new line of small, inexpensive automotive GPS navigators that make driving...More at eCOST.com
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