0ur opinion:

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The Garmin nüvi 360 GPS Navigator and Personal Travel Assistant is a GPS navigator, personal translator, multi-media entertainer and tour guide all wrapped into one. ln addition to all the advanced features of the Garmin nüvi 350 -- including automatic routing, turn-by-turn voice directions, an MP3 player and audio book player, JPEG picture viewer, and much more -- this pocket-sized personal travel assistant comes with hands-free Bluetooth wireless technology, making it the hands-down go-anywhere travel companion.

Which nüvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators

The nüvi 360 comes with hands-free bluetooth wireles technology. See side view.

Browse your stored pictures with an easy-to-use JPEG viewer.

The device sports a handy MP3 player, letting you play songs stored on SD memory cards.

Make Hands-Free Calls
The nüvi 360 integrates wireless technology with a microphone and speaker that lets you make hands-free mobile phone calls using your compatible Bluetooth-enabled phone. Simply dial numbers with the nüvi's touch screen keypad to place a call, and to answer calls, just tap the screen and speak directly into its built-in microphone.



ln addition, you can easily look-up and dial numbers from your personalized phone book or from your phone's call history log. Don't know the phone number for your destination? Simply find and dial it from nüvi's database of more than six million points of interest -- including hotels, restaurants, stores, and attractions.



Navigation and Entertainment with Ease
For starters, the nüvi 360 includes a high-sensitivity integrated GPS receiver that offers exceptional performance and reception. The unit's flip-up antenna includes an MCX-type connector for optional external GPS antenna connection. Preloaded software features maps of Europe or North America, and it includes automatic routing, 2D or 3D map perspective, turn-by-turn voice directions that speak street names, and a fingertip touch screen interface -- making navigation as easy as it gets.



But navigation is just the beginning. Like the nüvi 350, the nüvi 360 also includes many entertainment and travel tools including an MP3 player, audio book player, JPEG picture viewer, travel alarm, and currency converters.



The nüvi 360 features a bright, 2.8 x 2.1-inch TFT display with white backlight for easy readability. At 3.87 x 2.91 x 0.87-inches (WxHxD) and just 5.1 ounces, the unit is small enough to be placed on the dashboard with the included suction mount, or into your pocket for easy transportability. The unit also features Garmin Lock -- an advanced anti-theft feature that disables the unit from performing any functions until you type in a specific four-digit PlN or take the unit to a predetermined location. A built-in lithium ion battery will give you up to eight hours of power, and an included 12/24 volt adapter cable will let you run the navigator off your vehicle's power. An AC battery charger is also included.



A built-in Travel Kit that includes sample MP3s and audio books will get you started with entertainment, and with the unit's SD memory card expansion slot you can add optional software, such as language and travel guides. A USB port is also included for loading and updating data.



What's in the Box
Gamin nüvi 360, Preloaded City Navigator NT North America or Europe (full coverage), vehicle suction cup mount, AC charger, 12/24 volt adapter cable, dashboard disk, USB interface cable, carrying case, owner's manual, and quick reference guide.

Which nüvi is Best for You?

Screen Size inches (w x h)

lncluded Maps

P0ls

Directions in Real Street Names

Traffic

Bluetooth

Media

FM Transmitter (audio through car stereo system)

Multi- Point Routing

Cont. U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico

AK and Canada

Europe

capable

included

nüvi 200

2.8 x 2.1

6 million +

Photos

nüvi 200w

3.81 x 2.25

6 million +

Photos

nüvi 250

2.8 x 2.1

6 million +

Photos

nüvi 250w

3.81 x 2.25

6 million +

Photos

nüvi 260

2.8 x 2.1

6 million +

Photos

nüvi 270

2.8 x 2.1

6 million +

Photos

nüvi 350

2.8 x 2.1

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

nüvi 360

2.8 x 2.1

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

nüvi 370

2.8 x 2.1

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

nüvi 650

3.81 x 2.25

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

nüvi 660

3.81 x 2.25

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

nüvi 670

3.81 x 2.25

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

nüvi 680

3.81 x 2.25

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

nüvi 750

3.81 x 2.25

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

nüvi 760

3.81 x 2.25

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

nüvi 770

3.81 x 2.25

6 million +

Photos, MP3s

Piece Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating:

Buyer's feedback: - * cryptic instructions, where is cust support? ...
Had my Garmin 360 a couple weeks, and the suction cup keeps falling off the windshield, dumping the whole thing on the floor. So I decided to go to the Garmin web site to see if I can get a new suction cup. Somehow I end up downloading a new map.
Well, thats fine - I'd like the latest map. So, about an hour later (totally tying up my PC) it's downloaded and ready to install the update. Now the install window is asking for my product code that comes with the "Install disk". I don't know what they mean by the "install disk", there was no such disk - there is a CD with the owner's manual - but it has no "product code" on it. What is the stupid "product code"? All I find in the plethora of paper that came with this unit is a serial number, a registration code, and an unlock code. None of these worked in the update install. This is very frustrating and I can't find a number for customer support.
Anyway, hence the 2 stars.

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Buyer's feedback: - Garmin Nuvi 360 GPS
Great! Love the text-to-speech feature. Compact; fits in my purse. Works unplugged long enough for most trips. I just sit it on the dash or console. Get one!

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Buyer's feedback: - * Great functionality, poor support ...
I purchased a Garmin Nuvi 360 from Amazon in March 2007 and my wife and I have used it extensively for a year and a half. I have tried other GPS devices such as a Loox which I purchased for our second car. I would say that the Garmin is about the best unit out there in terms of its ease of use and functionality. It's easy to find addresses and points of interest, the speaking feature works pretty well (less a few mispronunciations here and there), and it has pretty good battery life.

As others have mentioned, the Bluetooth speakerphone feature is overrated and I would advise skipping it unless you have a compelling need. It's handy for dialing up a business such as a restaurant while you're navigating there (assuming you own a bluetooth phone), but honestly how often do you need to do that? Maybe it's good for a restaurant reviewer who eats out seven days a week. Plus, I have found that my cell phone's speaker is clearer than that of the Nuvi 360.

Now when it comes to updating the maps, you will need to pay Garmin $60. I consider this a rather steep price and I think they should charge more like $20. Furthermore, and more serious than that, is the infamous power switch problem. If you search on the web for "Garmin Nuvi power switch" you will discover a lot of irate Garmin owners with units that won't power on because of stiff power switches. Apparently it's a design defect. When our power switch started getting hard to use, I emailed customer support and was told that it would cost $199 to repair it (no, I'm not kidding) because it was out of warranty. When I wrote back and informed them that this appeared to be a common problem, and so maybe they could consider it a warranty repair, they wrote back and said no.

Now, for $199 you can buy a comparable GPS (we paid over $400 for this unit way back when). Obviously I wasn't about to send them this kind of money to fix a factory defect. Words to the wise--unless Garmin has fixed this problem, I would consider some of the alternatives.

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Buyer's feedback: - Never works when needed
My Garmin Nuvi was working fine for an year and stopped acquiring the satellites whenever I want to use it. I upgraded the software to 4.7 and it started showing wrong time. It neither shows the maps nor does not show time. Waste of money.

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Buyer's feedback: - * Garmin Nuvi 360 ...
Great product, I had a Nuvi 350 before and it had issues. It was stolen so I replaced with this one, the 360. Much better and much faster at locating satellites. Also not as many issues with the keyboard. I would highly recommend this to anyone that travels often.