Garmin Nuvi 360 Review – Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech

picture of Garmin Nuvi 260

The Garmin product review tells us that “it’s a whole nü way to travel”, let’s find out.

The Garmin nuvi 360 is in effect a personal navigator, translator, entertainer and tour guide all in the same small device. The Nuvi 360 is the more recent cousin of the super popular Nuvi 350 which was the best reviewed electronics product on Amazon in 2007 and was a Consumer Reports Best Buy. Our overall view is that the Garmin Nuvi 360 is a high-sensitivity all-in-one GPS receiver that offers great performance and reception.

The Nuvi 360 is pretty similar to the Nuvi 350, except there are no bluetooth features in the 350 model – the Nuvi 360 will call the number using the touch screen keypad to make a call on a compatible Bluetooth phone. The Nuvi also has the antitheft ‘Garmin Lock which the 350 doesn’t.

Upon unpacking, the first thing to notice is how small and stylish the nuvi 360 is compared to many other units on the market. The nuvi 360 is compact enough to take with you wherever you go. Despite its strengths over other units, the Garmin nuvi 360 does have some limitations but for point-to-point navigation, it functions as well as any GPS product that is available today.

Garmin Nuvi 360 – what’s in the box:

Garmin Nuvi 360 GPS
Carry Case
Pre-Loaded City Navigator NT North America
Garmin Nuvi 350 Suction Mount
Garmin Mini USB 12V Cigarette Lighter Adapter
AC Charger
Garmin Single Small Adhesive Plate for Suction Cups
Garmin USB PC Interface Cable
Quick-Reference Guide
Owners Manual

Garmin Nuvi 360 – What we really liked:

The Garmin nuvi 360 has been designed to be plug and play, and as such can be transferred from vehicle to vehicle with ease

The picture viewer – if you take lots of pictures while traveling it’s nice to be able to take the SD memory card from your digital camera and place it into the Garmin Nuvi 360 to preview them all.

The navigation part of the Garmin Nuvi 360, what truly matters and what everyone is buying it for, is just picture perfect, incredibly accurate and quick to locate signal

The unit allows you to choose routes, change when you make an error and miss a turn. In areas that I have become very familiar it is nice to see the Garmin 360 choose the exact same course I would have taken.

Other plus points for the Garmin nuvi 360 are that maps are available SD card which insert directly into the Garmin nuvi 360. Because it is so light, the suction cup mount that it comes with easily holds it in place on your windshield.

Garmin Nuvi 360 can add optional software that includes travel guide, savings program and language translation. It has an MP3 player and photo viewer, and can receive FM traffic information. So many things in one small device!

Garmin Nuvi 360 Specification

Unit dimensions 3.87″W x 2.91″H x .87″D (9.8 x 7.4 x 2.2 cm)
Display size 2.8″W x 2.1″H (7.2 x 5.4 cm); 3.5″ diag (9 cm)
Display resolution 320 x 240 pixels
Battery – rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life: 8 hours
Preloaded maps and ability to add maps
Accepts SD™data cards
Voice prompts
500 waypoints/favorites/locations
Speaks street names
Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.)
Auto re-route (fast off-route and detour recalculation)
FM traffic compatible
Garmin Garage™ vehicles compatible
Bluetooth® wireless technology (connect to your phone for hands-free calling)
MP3 player
World travel clock, currency & unit converter, calculator
Picture viewer
Audio book player
Garmin Lock™ (anti-theft feature)
Touchscreen