Product Description
Package Includes: StreetPilot i3, windshield mount, 12V power adapter cable, USB cable
The Garmin StreetPilot i3 is a compact, affordable GPS that makes any trip easier. The bright TFT color display and built-in speaker let you follow along with mapping directions, while having instructions read to you, so you never have to take your eyes off the road. Offers 3D mapping perspective or overhead 2D view Up to 6 hours battery life on two AA batteries Includes vehicle suction cup for easy adjustment and quick release USB interface Dimensions(WxHxD) - 3 x 2.74 x 2.15 Weight - 5.3 oz.
Amazon.com Product Description
No larger than a baseball and priced with affordability in mind, the StreetPilot i3 GPS navigation system is a great fit for commuters, college students, and corporate travelers looking to experience the ease and enjoyment of satellite navigation for the first time. Don't let the small size fool you; the i3 boasts many of the same powerful functions as Garmin's premium vehicle GPS navigators. The StreetPilot i3 features a unique and convenient click-to-enter scroll wheel and a Back button that makes it easy to select a destination from the unit's menu-driven interface. It also offers voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions through a built-in speaker, and should you miss a turn, the i3 will automatically recalculate the route to put you back on course. And perhaps most conveniently, the unit moves easily from vehicle to vehicle thanks to the integrated suction cup mount, so you don't need to go through a cumbersome process each time you change cars.
To get you from point A to point B, the StreetPilot i3 includes a MapSource City Select North America NT DVD, which contains mapping detail of the entire U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. The DVD's nearly six million points of interest range from hotels and restaurants to gas stations and ATMs, along with local attractions such as amusement parks and museums. Simply load the City Select data onto the included 128 MB Transflash data card via a fast USB connection and you're set.
As an added benefit, you can now import customized points of interest with the help of Garmin's free POI Loader software. For instance, you can upload safety cameras or school zones, and then receive a warning if you are traveling too fast in these areas. In addition, an optional proximity-alert feature notifies you of upcoming custom POIs. Maps are displayed on the i3's 32,000-color, sunlight-readable TFT, which includes a backlight for difficult lighting conditions. Motorists even have the choice of multiple perspectives--either a 3-D mapping angle or an overhead bird's-eye view. For added convenience, drivers can power the unit with either two AA batteries (six hours, typical use) or the included 12-volt adapter cable.
The StreetPilot i3 measures 3 by 2.74 by 2.15 inches (W x H x D) and is backed by a one-year warranty on parts and labor.
What's in the Box
StreetPilot i3, America's Lite Routable base map, City Select North America DVD, PC/USB cable, 12-volt adapter cable, vehicle suction-cup mount, dashboard adhesive disk, 128 MB Transflash data card, setup guide, user's manual.
Customer Reviews:
A good, basic GPS that needs a significant price cut........2007-12-08
I've reviewed other Garmin GPS units; please see my other reviews for comparisons. Also, my star rating is largely dependent upon price. See the last couple paragraphs here for details.
This is one of the lowest-end GPS units available from Garmin, though at the time of this writing the Garmin "i" series (i2, i3, and i5) has been officially discontinued. (Note: When I refer to the "i3" in this review the same information applies to the i2 and i5 unless otherwise noted.) Still, this is a decent enough inexpensive GPS, particularly if you shop around for a bargain. The three "i" series Garmins are identical but for basic features. The i2 has a monochrome screen and no preloaded maps. The i3 has a color screen but is otherwise identical to the i2. The i5 is identical to the i3 but contains preloaded maps.
Included in the box is the GPS itself, a 128MB MicroSD memory card, the MapSource DVD (version 8) containing maps of the United States and surrounding areas, a suction cup mount, 12 volt power adapter cable (for your car's cigarette lighter), an adhesive dashboard disk, a USB cable (A to mini), and a reference guide and some other bits of paper.
Physically, the GPS is downright puny. Occupying about as much volume as a tennis ball, the i3 looks like a tiny original iMac computer. The face has a clickable scroll wheel, like pretty much any computer mouse today, and operates in the same way. This is your primary interface for the GPS. Flanked on either side of the scroll wheel is a "back" button on the left and the power button on the right. The right side of the unit has a mini USB port, slot for the MicroSD card, and a cover for the battery compartment (it takes two AA batteries, not included). The single speaker is on the bottom.
Initial setup is easy. Install batteries, make sure the MicroSD card is installed, and turn it on. Install the software on your PC (alas, full Macintosh support is STILL not available from Garmin) and plug in the USB cable when prompted. The first thing you'll need to do is download maps into your GPS. The 128MB card is really pathetic, but I was able to fit three or four of the smaller northeastern states into it. I found a cheap 2GB card which allowed me to put all of the maps on it, so I recommend anyone who buys an i2 or i3 to do likewise. Once the maps are installed you may also want to run Garmin's online updater which will update the system in your GPS. Mine came with the most up-to-date system but had a few other updates, mainly for the different voices, which took about 15 minutes to download and install.
Once you're done you can unplug the Garmin and start driving. Because the i3 uses batteries you can either keep using batteries and replace them (or use rechargeables) when they're dead, or you can use the included power adapter for your car's cigarette lighter. The i3 draws power through the USB port so in a pinch you could even power it off your computer's USB port. If you use rechargeable batteries, the i3 will not charge them when connected to a tethered power source.
I've previously used other Garmins (2820, c330, c550, and Nuvi 310) so I was expecting much the same interface. I was right, but I was also wrong too. The i3's biggest drawback is a lack of touchscreen; all selections go through the click wheel. You can think of it sort of like moving through an iPod. You scroll to the next menu, click to select, scroll to the item, and click to select. You use the "back" button to back up one menu, like the MENU button on an iPod. It's a simple enough navigation system which won't cause any difficulty for most people, but at times it can be laborious.
The real effort comes when it's time to put in an address. Imagine having to "type" your address on an iPod. Scroll to select a letter, click, scroll to the next letter, click, etc until you're done. It works but it's clunky. To Garmin's credit they did a sort of "auto-complete" with this process; as you enter letters (and numbers) the Garmin displays a list of possible matches on the side. At any time during the text entry process you can stop entering text and move to that list of matches. Then you just scroll to the one you want and select it. There's some delay involved in this process, particularly if you don't enter a lot of characters and/or if the region you've selected has a lot of similarly-named streets or cities. Even so, it's usually still faster than typing in the whole name through the scroll wheel. Users of the i3 will definitely want to make use of the "Favorites" function to store commonly-used addresses.
Once you've got the address in, the Garmin's navigation system takes over and it's quite nice. Being a low-end system you get no fancy features; you get no street name announcements, no traffic uplink, no Bluetooth, no MP3 playback, etc. It DOES give you voice prompts (e.g., "turn left in 400 feet"), automatic route recalculation in case you go off route, and route avoidance (you can tell it to avoid highways or toll roads, for example) which are all basic GPS features. Given that the i3 uses the same map data as the higher-end Garmin units, accuracy is very good.
As a test I put the i3 next to my 2820 and entered the same destination into both, and as I expected both units gave me the same directions to my destination. I did notice two things in that test though. The first was that the i3 took significantly longer to pick up the satellites than my 2820. It took about 20-30 seconds for my 2820 to pick up satellites and begin calculations for the course, but it took nearly three minutes for the i3 to do the same thing. In fairness this may have been due to motion vs non-motion; I was parked while the 2820 was calculating but once it was ready to go I started driving. The i3 was still calculating while I was driving so that may have caused an increase in calculation time with the i3.
The second thing I noticed was that the i3 got a little confused as to my current location than my 2820. While sitting at a traffic light surrounded by 5-6 story tall buildings my 2820 didn't even flinch, but the i3 would occasionally jump around and put the vehicle as much as a block and a half away from my actual location. Once I started moving, however, the i3 caught up fairly quickly. I am guessing that the satellite antenna isn't as sensitive in the i3 as the 2820 (which would also account for the longer delay in finding satellites).
The biggest downside to the i3 is the quality of its screen. Like the StreetPilot c300 series (see my previous review of the c320) the i3 tends to wash out in even mild sunlight making visibility difficult at best. Worse, the i3's screen is highly reflective; it is impossible to read in bright sunlight due to the glare. Fortunately there's a great product called GlareStomper which adds a shade to the GPS unit that cuts the glare down to nothing. The i3's viewing angle is also far narrower than the c300 series. Having the c320 on the dashboard and angled towards the driver, the passenger can easily see the screen. Not so on the i3, where the screen gains a noticable blue cast as your viewing angle increases. If you're going to use the i3, make sure you can see it "head-on" or as close to it as possible.
All that being said, let's summarize.
GOOD: Inexpensive, particularly if you check out a certain auction web site for remanufactured units (and GlareStompers). Color screen (personally, I'd avoid the i2's black and white screen altogether). Good speaker volume. Accurate maps. Solid basic feature set. Battery power to take it with you if the need arises (e.g., if your car breaks down and you have to walk to the nearest service station). Small size makes it highly portable. Uses industry standard MicroSD cards.
BAD: Terrible screen if you don't have a sun shade and/or if you're not looking at it head-on or as close to it as possible. Kludgey scroll wheel navigation system really makes you want a touch screen. Slower acquisition of satellite signals and route calculation. Batteries don't charge in the unit so you'll need to make sure you always have good batteries in it. Cheap 128MB MicroSD card is lame; Garmin should have AT LEAST a 256MB or 512MB card in there. Historically terrible customer support from Garmin, including a lack of promised Mac OS X support.
Overall, the bad things don't really overwhelm the good things so I would judge it an "okay" basic GPS. HOWEVER, I have to give it low marks simply because of the cost issue. As of this writing Amazon is selling this unit for $270. At the same time Amazon is also selling the higher-end StreetPilot c340 for $60 *LESS* and the higher-end StreetPilot c330 (refurbished) for almost half the cost of the i3. Either of those c300 series units is far superior to the i3 in every measurable way, so why would anyone buy a less-capable i3 instead?
In my case, the answer was simple: I didn't buy mine from Amazon. I bought a remanufactured unit through a very popular online auction site and paid less than $100. For that price, and likely not a penny more, the i3 is worthwhile. Otherwise, not so much. That being said, if you can buy this unit for under $100 then I give it four stars. Otherwise, I give it two stars. Therefore it balances out to three stars.
Garmin is great.......2007-11-26
This is the second garmin gps our family has bought ( for two seperate cars) They are quick to respond to everything. This was a refurb and it is totally fine.
Not That Great.......2007-11-07
I bought this a few weeks back after I got a job working as an EMT on an ambulance. Since it is in a county I am not familiar with, I figured this device would save me a lot of time helping me get to where I needed to go, especially in the dark. After only a week of use, I am ready to get rid of it in favour of a better model. Most of the time, I can find where I'm going faster on a map rather than relying on this Garmin.
When I first got it, the "starting point" was stuck in Kansas, even though I had deleted all info off of the device and loaded my desired maps. Oh, and if you have a Mac, forget using this Garmin. Go with the i5, not the i3. I had to use a friend's PC to load the maps because it didn't work on a Mac. It took an hour for the GPS to realise that "we're not in Kansas anymore" and finally load up my real starting point.
The sattelite reception blows. It loses the signal constantly, even while I'm in the middle of driving a navigated route. Now, when I'm responding to an emergency in my truck, I can't have that. I need a device I can rely on. It wouldn't be so bad if it picked up the signal again quickly but it doesn't. It takes several minutes.
Also, I can't figure out why it tells me to "keep left" and then "turn right" in less than a mile. It's on crack.
The battery life is pretty poor. Unfortunately for me, the car adapter that came with my Garmin is a piece of crap and frequently decides to just die. With the batteries alone, your Garmin will last about 3 hours. Understandable, but it would be better if the device had rechargable batteries.
The device does not register "michigan turnarounds". At a light where you can't turn left because you have to turn right first and then go into a turnaround to go the opposite direction, the device still tells you to turn left. The roads aren't brand new. They've been this way for a while. The maps should try to keep up with the times. Like when I tried to find a McDonalds from the menu, I followed the directions given to me by the device and ended up at a gas station. It's just not very up to date. And mine is a 2006 model.
So my final advice to anyone looking for a GPS system, fork up the extra $100 or so to get a better model. Because the Garmin Streetpilot i3 just isn't worth it. It's nice if you have time to wait around in your car for 10 minutes while it tries to find sattelite reception but I, unfortunately, do not. Once it does work, it is efficient to a degree but not efficient enough.
Great Little GPS.......2007-09-18
I won't rehash all the reviews here. Basically, this GPS is small potatoes compared to my brother's do-everything GPS that is 3 times the width. But my wife can operate this GPS with no help from me and the audible directions are good enough that you don't have to look at the tiny screen if you don't want to.
Some features are not well-explained or documented. Three handy tid-bits from my experience:
1) It's easy to roll the wheel while pressing it to make a selection. Your experience will be much better if you plant the bottom edge of your thumb first (so it won't slide) and then continue to engage the top of your thumb to press the wheel in.
2) You can add waypoints to your trip. Start by adding your final destination first, then work backwards. As you add each new location, the GPS will ask if you want to add the new destination as a waypoint. If you say "no", the new location will overwrite the previous destination.
3) Get a faster microSD card, if possible. You'll thank me when you search for something and your GPS tries to give you a gazillion hits. microSD cards usually have no speed ratings listed at all, so this can be a problem. However, I've noticed that the Japanese made Kingston 1GB cards tend to be quite speedy and 1GB should be big enough for the lower 48 states. The Taiwanese-made Kingston 1GB is quite slow, but the 2GB I have is quite fast. Go figure. I've heard that the PNY cards are pretty fast as well. This is as of mid-2007.
Great product..even in Canada.......2007-08-09
We used The Garmin StreetPilot i3 on a recent trip to Canada. Although it did not give us the exact route we wanted, it compensated well when we missed a turnoff. This unit does not allow for heavy traffic areas which we were anxious to avoid. We used back roads which were navigated well. We were very pleased with the unit and its performance.
Product Description
Sony ICF-C212 Clock Radio - Time is of the essence. This alarm clock with radio is an essential way to make sure your time is managed wisely. It's appealing design is suitable for virtually any night stand and any decor. Sleep Timer mode Cabinet Color - WHITE
Customer Reviews:
You get what you pay for. Don't expect more........2007-08-01
This replaces a similar 20 year-old GE model who's buttons are getting flaky. I hate buzzers and like a cheap radio alarm clock to wake me up.
PRO: Larger numbers and battery backup. You also get both an AM and PM LED indicator.
CON: No LED alarm indicator. Instead, a small, recessed, non-illuminated color bar on the left side that is barely visible. You can't see it in the dark to double-check that you set the alarm. You have to do it by feeling the alarm switch.
As for the other complaints people have:
BATTERY: Any 9V battery will do. Alkalines are best as they last longest for the money.
SOUND: This is a clock radio with a small 3" speaker and no bass-boost. Whaddayawant for the money?
TUNER: Analog tuners are a bit touchy - we've been spoiled with digital tuners. Usually, you only get the strongest stations. You also have to make sure to retune occasionally as the setting drifts and sounds harsh. You might have to move the antenna wire to get change the FM reception or twist the alarm clock itself to change the AM reception.
BUTTONS: Cheap clock radios that use mode buttons work the same way. Simultaneously press the mode button and the hour or minute button to change the time. This 2-finger method is a fail-safe so you don't accidentally change something.
Compact efficient and well priced........2007-04-12
I purchased this little SONY after my original SONY alarm clock died after nearly TWENTY years.
There's not much to review honestly. The large time display works well, is illuminated in green, and does cast a bit of a glow. The alarm, is of a higher pitch then most. This works well for me as I am a deep sleeper.
This unit is perfect for me as a basic alarm clock. I expect this one to last as long as my previous one.
Does Exactly What You Expect Very Well.......2007-01-10
This is the third one of these in our house. It was time for my youngest child to have her own alarm clock and she figured it out right away. The large green numbers are easy to read from a distance. The alarm is easy to set. The time is easy to set. The radio is clear. There are no frills in this unit but I would buy another if we had more kids. By the way, the other two have been working fine for several years. You can't go wrong with this.
Great clock radio.......2006-11-04
Great clock radio, the sound is wonderful, would highly recommend. I have to wake up at 5:00 AM for work and this radio makes it a lot easier.
Thank you
alarm set doesn't function properly.......2006-11-02
There is no way to set this to go off with a buzzer even though the directions say it can. The only mode is for the radio alarm.
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Garmin Friction Mounting Kit for StreetPilot i2 and i3 (010-10675-00)
SanDisk 512MB TransFlash microSD Card (SDSDQ-512-A10M, Retail Package)
Garmin Suction Cup Mount for StreetPilot i2 and i3 (010-10675-10)
Garmin StreetPilot i2 GPS Navigator
Garmin StreetPilot i5 Portable GPS Navigator
Rayovac NM715-8 Rechargeable NiMH AA Batteries, 8-Count Package
Duracell CEF90NC 30 Minute Charger with 4 AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries
Garmin Deluxe Carrying Case for StreetPilot and GPSMap 176 (010-10231-01) systems
