The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

WoWasis product review: Garmin nuvi 1350 LMT GPS Navigator

Written By: herbrunbridge - Sep• 01•11

Here at WoWasis, we were early adopters of GPS technology, and probably the first travel site to include GPS coordinates for many of the out of the way and hard to find places to which we travel. But our trusty Garmin GPS III Plus, which we’d had for 13 years had been all over the world with us, was getting a bit long in the tooth. So we moved to the newer Garmin nuvi 1350, and what a difference! The first difference is in price: in 1998, our GPS III cost us $370 USD. The nuvi 1350 cost us $143, $227 less, for a bigger, color display, voice-prompting, and a few other updated features. We did have to buy an international MapSource CD for $116, but even then, we’re ahead $111, for better technology. 

Here’s why we bought the Garmin 1350, and why we recommend it. First here were our criteria for purchase:

1) Low price, we don’t want to spend a fortune
2) Light and small, so we can carry it while we’re walking and hiking
3) Legible, good display, big enough that we can read it sitting on our dashboard
4) Lifetime map updating service, free (essentially, we want to pay once, and never have to pay anything ever again)
5) World maps. We go to a lot of countries, so need maps for virtually the entire world
6) AC adaptor, so we can charge it in our motel room when we don’t have a car 

The price was a major factor in buying this unit. The fact that it was initially inexpensive was a huge selling point, as there are GPS units that sell for hundreds of dollars more We needed lifetime U.S. and Canada maps that were free. Ultimately, the cost of ownership of the 1350 is low relative to the market. 

Road test 

Compared with our old unit, this one is amazing. It’s much easier to use, especially when dialing in a destination (a touch-screen qwerty keyboard is a great feature), and the text-voice prompts and road calculations change instantaneously when you make a non-programmed turn. Both voice and screen prompt for every turn and exit well in advance. The 4.3” 3-D screen is easy to see when mounted on the windshield, and the detail is spectacular. The display can easily be changed from auto to walking view, which provides more minute detail. 

Want to see nearby gas stations, restaurants, etc? Just touch the car icon with your finger, and the display pops up with nearby locations. It’s so easy to use that you really don’t need a manual, and just a few seconds of playing around with it will make you an expert. 

What the kit contains 

1) Garmin nuvi 1350 GPS Navigator
2) Suction cup that will mount the unit on any windshield
3) Automobile power cable
4) USB computer cable
5) Lifetime U.S. and Canada maps (via one-time product registration) 

What you’ll need to buy extra 

1) AC power adaptor ($12.59 USD)
2) Travel case ($7.95), nice to have when packing your 1350 in luggage
3) World Map CD ($116 USD. For the nuvi series, available only from Garmin). Make sure you buy product number 010-10215-50, as previous MapSource CDs won’t work with the nuvi series 

Additional comments 

It does take a while to load new maps from Garmin to your computer, and then load them from the computer onto your GPS device, so we recommend starting the download process before you go to bed. 

If you’re like us, you’ll want to remove the annoying pop-up advertisements. To do this, you’ll need the unit plugged into your car, and disable “Traffic.” Go to Tools>Settings>Traffic, and uncheck the “Enable” box.

Overall, this is an outstanding GPS unit at a terrific price point. We’ve road tested it here at WoWasis and highly recommend it. Buy it now at the WoWasis eStore.

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2 Comments

  1. Intersting, Vic. We’ve been using ours for months on a daily basis, over several countries, with nary a problem. Works great for us…

  2. vic says:

    The garmin Nuvi 1350lm is a glitch-happy piece of garbage. Read more reviews online from people such as me who have purchased this gps and had it completely lock up due to software glitches, rendering it completely useless

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