Topic: Garmin GPS Units... Nuvi 350 or C550...

[UmroAyyar]

You can buy the Europe data on a SD card which is what I did.  It worked great last year in Spain and France.

I removed the Europe SD card and keep it at home.

WHERE did get the SD card?

You can buy it from Garmin directly or any of the GPS retailers (shops or online).

[99 Silver]

You can buy the Europe data on a SD card which is what I did.  It worked great last year in Spain and France.

I removed the Europe SD card and keep it at home.

WHERE did get the SD card?

Amazon.com.  They couldn't sell to Canada, but one of their vendors listed on their website did.

[Zoo]

DId cost you extra for the updates?

Nope! I registered my unit on the site. It was a little weird in that I had to hook up the GPS via USB (pretty straightforward) but the GPS did not automatically start to do anything. I had to download a couple of programs to my laptop for the GPS to be able to be recognized and updated. Once I did this and registered the unit everything was a piece of cake. I uploaded new cars for the display and the latest maps (normally around $49).

When I go to Europe next I will get the maps for this and I will update my Canada/US maps in a few years. I might try out my SD card from my digital camera in the unit to see how good it does as an MP3 player.

It seems to very a bit picky about the exact format and bit rate of MP3s. I have a complete set of the Beatles that I was given and it won't play any of them.  When I connect the GPS to my PC I do see that the "properties" of my mp3s are different from the samples in the machine.  I am not an mp3 guy so I have not bothered to explore further.
[/quote]

Hmmm... I just put a bunch of George Carlin MP3s into the Garmin and they were immediately playable once I disconnected the USB cable and rebooted the unit. Now, these are lower bit rate MP3s so I have yet to try higher bit rate MP3s. Apparently the unit will not play MPA and MP4 coded songs.

Heck, with a 16 gig card this unit can be my MP3 player as well! Man am I ever happy with this unit. I have easily saved an hour or more this week with not having to fight with maps etc. I find my driving way less stressful as well as I am no longer trying to find unit #s etc on buildings (which is a serious pain in the rump in commercial areas).

This has to be the best purchase I have made in some time (the new digital camera we got last fall would be a close second).

[Zoo]

If I recall correctly, Nuvi 350 can accept SDHC cards, which means any size would work. You can get a 16gb SDHC card and load your music on it. Advantage is less gadgets, you can plug your Nuvi to the Aux input on your car stereo, listen to music (Garmin will lower the volume and prompt when needed).

Unless you really do need an iPod.

I have been putting some MP3s into the unit and it is pretty intuitive. With a large SD card this Garmin will do a great job as an MP3 player for me. Would it make any difference whether I had a fast SD card like an Ultra II versus a "normal" card? I wonder how many gigs I need to have a large enough music library?

[tpl]

My MP3s were made in the late 90's and I have no idea with what programs they were made.

the "properties"  of the files are     MPEG 2 Layer 3 CBR   0 channels   56 kbps

[UmroAyyar]

If I recall correctly, Nuvi 350 can accept SDHC cards, which means any size would work. You can get a 16gb SDHC card and load your music on it. Advantage is less gadgets, you can plug your Nuvi to the Aux input on your car stereo, listen to music (Garmin will lower the volume and prompt when needed).

Unless you really do need an iPod.

I have been putting some MP3s into the unit and it is pretty intuitive. With a large SD card this Garmin will do a great job as an MP3 player for me. Would it make any difference whether I had a fast SD card like an Ultra II versus a "normal" card? I wonder how many gigs I need to have a large enough music library?

Well, with my Garmin iQue3600 PDA, used a 2gb SD card. Had selected tunes, books etc on it.

I've transferred everything to my Nokia N95 now, bought an 8gb microSD card (the max I could find). Still in the process of loading music on it.

8GB is pretty good, but the price difference with 16GB isn't that much. I would go for that.

I'd personally prefer a Class 6 speed card. As long as you have the latest firmware in the Nuvi, you should b ok.

[Zoo]

Dang!

I just read through my owners manual a bit and the max size for an SD card is 2 Gigs. Sure I could buy a multi pack but I really dislike having to manage multiple memory cards, sticks etc. I would rather get a nice 8-16 gig card.

Looks like i-pod land or another alternative to get an MP3 player for the road.

[UmroAyyar]

Dang!

I just read through my owners manual a bit and the max size for an SD card is 2 Gigs. Sure I could buy a multi pack but I really dislike having to manage multiple memory cards, sticks etc. I would rather get a nice 8-16 gig card.

Looks like i-pod land or another alternative to get an MP3 player for the road.

Don't despair, the manual was printed when the product was launched. Most of the GPS review sites etc mention that it can use larger memory cards as long as the firmware is latest.

To confirm, you can email Garmin.

My Garmin GPS/PDA is about 4 years old, that can use 4GB SD cards.

[UmroAyyar]

Found this on Garmin's website FAQs.

Question:  What is the largest SD card that my nüvi can use?
Answer:

If your nüvi has the latest version of operating software, there is no limit to the size of SD card that it will read. The nüvi units are compatible with both normal Secure Digital (SD) data cards and Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) data cards.

If you need to update the software in your nüvi, you can do so using our WebUpdater program.

[Zoo]

Thanks so much for the info (and PM) UmroAyyar. I am very pleased to hear that my Nuvi might be able to handle a 8-16 GB card.

This is such a cool device!