Garmin StreetPilot c340 Car GPS Receiver

My name is Kimmie. I am a panic-stricken-get-lost-aphobe and I needed help.

I don't have the slightest idea why, but since I passed driver's ed in high school, I have been geographically challenged. Part of it is that I am a *Landmark* person. I can find anything by the nearest landmarks (i.e., "across from the hospital", "next to the Walgreens on the corner past the 2nd light", "you will see the big GM plant on your left")..I am horrible with maps, even worse with NSWE without a compass, and am terrified of one wrong turn. Maybe it is the unknown, or the fear of never returning from which I came, but I stay close to home unless I am the passenger. Even visiting friends, I have to drive down as a passenger a few times before I retain where it is. Even places I have been a dozen times, I will miss that one exit and become anxiety-ridden. It is hopeless. Or, so I thought until my husband bought me the Garmin Streetpilot c340 GPS receiver. Saving my sanity for $250 plus.


It was time to come out of my sheltered life.


While I should seek professional help for this Alice-n-Wonderland complex, I think for now I will be grateful for my GPS system. I have never had one before, so it was a culture shock. Instead of my several pages of Mapquest pages I have an electronic "backseat driver" telling me which way to go. I do not deal well with looking for road signs while I am trying to drive, watch red lights, and other drivers at the same time. This system lets me know when, where and how I am getting where I am going. This has maps already set into the system so all you have to do is type in where you are at and where you are going. As far as I can tell, it takes you through the shortest, less traffic heavy route and can sense where you are headed. It has a technology that translates text-to-speech. It is preloaded with every street in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. It is an extraordinary detailed database that is very specific with each merge. It also holds close to 6 million places of stopping, such as the nearest gas stations, local attractions, hotels, and places to eat.


TO EVERYTHING, TURN, TURN, TURN...


What I love is that if you miss your turn (which I do often) it will automatically catch that and give you a new destination. It is up to you at that point to pay attention. It can go quickly, so you have to stay on top of things if you are in an unfamiliar place. It has a large 3.5 inch display screen that is bright and colorful as to watch clearly while you are still driving. It has a touchscreen with TFT display and a three dimensional view. On the screen, it has the actual map, a huge arrow pointing the way, the time and temperature. It has a voice over that talks to you in a soothing, calm voice to relax your inner-hyper. It is easy to mount, and you want to have it swiveled in your line of sight so that you can see it clearly at a moments notice. You can choose to get the latest traffic updates to steer you clear of jams and construction routes. It also watches the weather, and gets it's information from local FM radio stations in certain cities only. I haven't used this feature yet.


RUNNIN' WILD


It runs on an lithium ion battery inside the system, so there are no wires or cigarette lighter hookups. The battery we have had for about 6 months still works fine. We don't travel far that often, but I used it recently when picking my husband up from the airport, and taking my son to a doctor that is over an hour away from our home. Thanks to the GPS I had every confidence that we would arrive without a hitch. I get so nervous with people driving crazy and kids in the backseat that if I even lose track for one second when venturing outside my comfort zone, I will have the GPS on just in case. It has a lot of memory, and comes with an additional SD memory card slot. It is like having a live mapquest on your side. It remembers where you have been and does not let you down. I don't know what I did before without it. It has unique features, and is great for a light traveler. I think of this as a beginners compass. It also has a cool feature called the POI loader, where you can program school zones in the area, and the GPS will warn you to slow down if you are going to fast in the school zone during a certain time of day.

I used to hate backseat drivers. Now, I couldn't drive without it!