I am a fearless traveler with this GPS
Pros:
large screen, pleasant female voice, preferences can omit tollways
Cons:
Synching satellites slow, installing update > 1 hour, address entry awkward
The Bottom Line:
Great for someone who is new to a city and like to explore.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I have owned the iWay 350C for about 8 months now, having purchased it after moving to Princeton NJ.
It works pretty well overall and I have become a fearless traveler with my trusty GPS.
It has two power modes: full shutdown and standby. I prefer the Standby mode even though it runs down the internal, rechargable battery. Standby allows the GPS to remain "on" in minimal mode so that start up is instantaneous. If the unit is fully powered down, one must wait a while before it synchs with the satellite again. This can take many minutes, however, since the latest software upgrade it seems to be faster.
The unit is pretty good at finding addresses, although to enter an address for the search requires input to at least three screens, street number, street name, county or city, and state. Once you enter the data, it searches quickly and presents the results in a pickable list.
The iWay 350 also lets you search by categories, for example if you want to get Starbuck's coffee, you can have it locate the nearest store and direct you there. Nice!
I like the large screen and the pleasant female voice. The display has three modes: True North - the map is always oriented with north being up, Relative North - the map rotates so that you are always headed up the screen, while North is indicated with an arrow icon, Birdseye View - this is relative north with the perspective on the horizon. I use the relative north display the most because it gives the best perspective for my driving habits.
I've updated the software one time since getting the unit. This required a very large download of software and installation on an SD card (which I borrowed from my iPaq) then required over an hour to install on the iWay. However the upgrade did improve the human interface and ability to synchronize with the satellites, so it was worth the time and effort.
The bottom line is this: Would I buy it again? Yes. But I'm sure there are competing GPS systems that work as well or better.
