Customer Reviews
Old but works 
2007-09-09
Just putting this review to clear my account, I used to have this and it was great, traveled many roads with it. (have a Zumo 550 now)
Seriously Saved Me 2007-08-12
This product was a last resort in a deparate situation. Me and my friends were looking to go camping and had been lost in the mountains for some time. Our mapquest directions failed miserably. After asking for directions, which were terrible, we found this device under the passenger seat. The StreetPilot III was very simple to use and delivered us to our destination with ease and much excitement. My friends and I are so grateful for this little GPS. It still works today. Thank god. Buy this thing!
Out of date 
2006-08-26
This is an out of date GPS that has been discontinued by Garmin.
I had a lot of problems downloading the driver into my notebook and desktop (both running Windows xp). I had to try several times (I am computer savvy). The memory card that came with unit was defective, I had to get a new one from Garmin, and you can easily damage it. You have to use their 12th century card reader to plug to your pc to download the software to the unit. You cannot hook the unit directly to your pc (unless you have an old serial port-male)
The memory card (128mb) can only hold so much map data. While the LCD has an excellent resolution (that's why I am giving a one star rating), it will take you some time before you can learn all the features of the units and the map source.
To sum things up, stay away from this gps, invest a few more hundreds and get a newer version.
Screen bug-a-boo 
2005-10-19
My Garmin 2610 has long been a terrific electronic unit. Now, for no known reason, the screen has shifted to the point where the touch does not allow you to enter text. Garmin wants $250 to fix the unit regardless of the issue. I think this is excessive for a unit that has been immaculately cared for and is quite expensive. Magellan next time for me...
Nice, but a bit confusing 2005-05-06
My first GPS was a very old style that gave you longitude and latitude only. No roads. No water. Nothing. So the jump to the SP III was a big one.
Had to struggle a bit to download the info (updated from the website) onto the unit. Tough for this first timer to get the hang of it initially, though it gets easier with time. Working with the unit alone is a bit more complicated as naming waypoints and such can take a bit of doing using the toggle switches. But again, I'm still new at this and am looking forward to working with it a lot more in the near future.
My plan is to use it to have a constant knowledge of the location of gas stations between my home outside Philadelphia, and Sturgis SD for my motorcycle trip out there in August. I'm attempting to complete the 1,700+ mile ride in under two days and will need to stretch out my gas stops as much as I can. It's currently mounted on the dash of the bike for me to get used to it and play with its functions during my daily commute.
I agree with others regarding its unnecessary rerouting when I've never strayed off course. Strangely, it even gives different directions although I don't change the route I take on a daily basis. Rerouting calculation takes a bit, but I seem to remember that the calculation time can be adjusted through the menu. Unfortunately, it also continually gives me a slower route than the one I know is faster even though it's set for highway use and the fastest time. Perhaps I can adjust the pre-set surface street and highway speeds to get it to work more appropriately. Less than 5% of the time, the crossroad names are incorrect.
My other issue is the interference the unit seems to be getting from time to time from my satellite radio that's mounted on the handlebar less than a foot away from the dash-mounted GPS.
I thought this GPS would be able to take me right to where I wanted to be, using the most efficient route, ALL BY ITSELF. If I have to set up specific waypoints on a specific route in order to get it to follow what I know is the fastest way, the unit is of no value to me. The only good point is that I didn't pay over $500 for it.
Garmin StreetPilot III: A driver's best friend. 2005-04-22
Imagine never being lost while driving. Garmin makes it possible. Meet the Street Pilot III - the ultimate traveling companion and guide. Create a route and then put your mind on cruise as you follow clear, accurate, voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions to safely reach your destination.The simple, intuitive menus of the Street Pilot III offer access to the shortest and fastest routes, directions, and estimated arrival time of your intended destination. Automated voice prompts alert you to upcoming turns, course deviation, and distance to final destination. At the touch of a button, view the locations of all the nearest highway exits, gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, hospitals, and rest areas on a full-color LCD.The StreetPilot III comes with MapSource City Navigator Cd-rom and everything you need to download street-level mapsets from your PC. Then, just place the portable system on the dash of any vehicle, and enjoy stress-free driving and peace of mind - without any costly service charges or hook-up fees.The Deluxe package includes: StreetPilot III with portable antenna; PC interface cable; Dashboard mount; Portable Mount (bean bag mount); External speaker with 12-volt cigarette lighter adapter; Owner's manual; Quick reference guide; USB data card programmer; Americas Autoroute Basemap; MapSource City Navigator North America CD with full coverage and full unlock 128 MB datacard.
Piece of s....... 2005-03-16
I like electronic things that work. That is usually the measure of if it is worthwhile or not. This thing doesn't work.
1) Installation. The install wizzard immediately starts off with a suggestion to update your software. But you can't update the software because the wizard doesn't find any software installed.
2) The USB drivers that come with the unit don't work. The unit won't recognize it's own USB drive even though it is installed. You have to download the updated USB drivers after searching the garmin web site.
3) The unlock wizard fails with the initial installation. Tells you to reinstall the .dll. After 3 attempts, found a hidden link on the Garmin web page to update MapSource software to v6.5.
4) Saved maps, inserted batteries, plugged the unit in. A brief flash on the screen then nothing. Dead. Black screen.
Removed batteries, reset connections, reset memory card. Nothing. Unit won't even flash.
Save the money. Buy a Thomas Bros. Map book. It will be much more reliable.
Battery placement destroys SPIII 
2005-02-10
I just destroyed my unit by getting one or two of the batteries reversed. I removed it from my truck to update the software from my PC. I never used the internal batteries while it was in the vehicle because of temperature conditions. It was always plugged into the lighter socket. So I connected it to my PC and of course it doesn't work with out batteries. So I got some fresh alkaline AA cells and put them in. I got a low battery indication right away when I turned it on. The batteries were brand new.
Anyway it wouldn't stay powered on for more than a minute or so, not long enough to upload new data to it. So I set it aside for a while. An hour or so later I picked it up and liquid was leaking out of one of the AA cells, it had ruptured. I quickly pulled all the cells and washed the compartment down with soap and water. The unit is fairly well sealed so this is no problem.
The alkaline ate away the battery polarity symbols so I checked my manual, it had no picture indicating battery placement. I had to download a picture from a newer on line manual at Garmin. Well it seems Garmin used coil spring battery contacts for some of their + positive connections! Two of the AA cells have the + ends against these coil springs. The rest go against flat springs!
I guess in my haste to add batteries I used the old fashioned method and ended up putting the negative ends on the coil springs and the positive ends on the flat springs. Now the unit only beeps and nothing more. Garmin wants $255 bucks to fix it, flat rate, out of warranty. I'd still end up with a 3 year old GPS. Time to look for a different unit, and perhaps a different manufacturer!
Awesome Product, Highly recommend 2005-01-23
I tow a show car around the country and didnt want to fumble with road maps, so I bought the Street Pilot III. The thing works great, its very portable, and rarely gives me any problems. I load in the data for the area im traveling to before I head out, then use all the preloaded info to help me find restaurants, hotels, whatever!
I recently upgraded to a 256 MB data card because I had to drive from NY to Las Vegas, It stored the data for the whole route I chose and worked great the entire time. Driving 12-13 hours a day with it on and no problems. It also found some cool stops along the way that were worth checking out on a cross trip. The data card it comes with is fine for the normal traveler, but a cross country trip you should upgrade to the 256MB card.
Easy to work with, easy to navigate, and very accurate!
This thing is pretty cool 2004-10-20
I bought this for a 4300 mile road trip I was planning. I'm not real computer smart and did have to call the 800 numnber to help me set it up. The book isn't real clear for someone who has never had a GPS before and is not familiar with the phrasing they use. But once I got the help on the phone, it was kind of "duh". Their hours could have been a little more user friendly. We used it around town before we left just to get the feel for it. On the trip it was great. We realized we should have brought some paper maps with us, just as a reference but Gina (we gave her a name) got us everywhere without much problem. We had a little trouble in Bakersfield when we asked her to get us to LV. She said it was 2700 miles over and over. I finally realized days later that I must have missed a map and she was just routing us there the best she knew based on the maps she had. We also went off of our planned route so I learned to put as many surrounding maps in as you can, in case you want to take a side trip. The searching feature was a little weird. Not everything in the world is in here and if you don't have an address you have to just find the city. This is where the other maps would have helped. Fortunately, we stayed mostly at KOA's and had a KOA book with us. I was surprised at what was not in there. We had some trouble finding the University of Utah. There was about 16 of them in there but none seemed to be the main campus in SLC. Since we didn't have the address it made the search hard. We finally asked someone who had us follow her there. The re-routing feature is so nice. When we'd take a wrong turn, Gina would get us back on track. It would be nice to have a feature where you could put her on hold when you stopped for gas or a bite to eat. She didn't like that and kept trying to get us back on course. The rest of the time she worked like a charm. Getting us right to the doorstep of the places we were visiting. The directions are clear and come early enough that you can change lanes or whatever even in traffic. We had a little trouble also in Duvall, WA where the streets where we were going were all numbered and some were Courts, others were Streets and others were Drives, all with the same number. She didn't like that and we ended up going in circles. All in all, I love this thing and can't imagine why I never got one earlier for long road trips to new places. Even for around my town and surrounding areas I'm not familiar with. She's a permanently driving tool from now on.
