Thinking of getting one for this years trip 
Any good of bad points from the guys that actually have / use one ?
Cheers, Mark
Any good of bad points from the guys that actually have / use one ?Cheers, Mark
Zumo 350LM
- Thread starter markymark
- Start date
araspitfire
Registered user
From someone who avoided the Zumo's al together...
I managed to buy into a StreetPilot 2820 as my first Automotive GPS.. (had a few hiking ones.. that I used for road use before)
When Garmin decided to do their own chipset, and started the Zumo's.. I viewed it as a major step backwards..
My 2820, however, perished in the fire.. and in any case was short on memory, and didn't allow external memory cards.. so trying to replace it with a used unit was out of the question..
My vote was to wait to see what the successor to the 660 would look like, and I have been using my phone and a hiking GPS in the mean-time... but as time went on, I decided that wasn't working so well... so I bought a 350LM
So.. for me it works... I've adopted Basecamp... it does stuff that I now value that Mapsource doesn't... I really like the silent route-points feature that basecamp and the 350 give... I like the modern road speed stuff, and the speed cameras.. not sure if I will pay Garmin for the speed cameras, or go back to my POI way of doing it..
I'm not really missing the fact that I can't load a bunch of tracks into the GPS.. I suppose I can convert them into routes if I really want someone's tracks as refrence.. perhaps I can figure a way to hack a track into the unit so it shows up as the last track... perhaps not.
What I miss the most is the remote control.. I had it mounted in my hand-guard, and changed the zoom level all the time on my SP.. (I use North-Up 2D maps to navigate) I've moved the Zumo onto my handelbar Ram ball.. in hopes that I can easily reach it and change zoom whenever I want.
But opinions are like rats around here.. people still love the 550.. and lots love the 660.. and it seems Garmin take away something "vital" every time they bring out a new one.. and people get obsessed about what they loose, and don't pay any attention to what is new...
I chose the 350 over the 660 because the 660 is over 3 years old and needs a refresh... But I've come to terms that Garmin will never build a GPS that meets my expectations, because their marketing team don't want to... they prefer manipulating the market for whatever reasons please them..
Al...
I managed to buy into a StreetPilot 2820 as my first Automotive GPS.. (had a few hiking ones.. that I used for road use before)
When Garmin decided to do their own chipset, and started the Zumo's.. I viewed it as a major step backwards..
My 2820, however, perished in the fire.. and in any case was short on memory, and didn't allow external memory cards.. so trying to replace it with a used unit was out of the question..
My vote was to wait to see what the successor to the 660 would look like, and I have been using my phone and a hiking GPS in the mean-time... but as time went on, I decided that wasn't working so well... so I bought a 350LM
So.. for me it works... I've adopted Basecamp... it does stuff that I now value that Mapsource doesn't... I really like the silent route-points feature that basecamp and the 350 give... I like the modern road speed stuff, and the speed cameras.. not sure if I will pay Garmin for the speed cameras, or go back to my POI way of doing it..
I'm not really missing the fact that I can't load a bunch of tracks into the GPS.. I suppose I can convert them into routes if I really want someone's tracks as refrence.. perhaps I can figure a way to hack a track into the unit so it shows up as the last track... perhaps not.
What I miss the most is the remote control.. I had it mounted in my hand-guard, and changed the zoom level all the time on my SP.. (I use North-Up 2D maps to navigate) I've moved the Zumo onto my handelbar Ram ball.. in hopes that I can easily reach it and change zoom whenever I want.
But opinions are like rats around here.. people still love the 550.. and lots love the 660.. and it seems Garmin take away something "vital" every time they bring out a new one.. and people get obsessed about what they loose, and don't pay any attention to what is new...
I chose the 350 over the 660 because the 660 is over 3 years old and needs a refresh... But I've come to terms that Garmin will never build a GPS that meets my expectations, because their marketing team don't want to... they prefer manipulating the market for whatever reasons please them..
Al...
Mr K
Registered user
Had a Quest for years and know it inside out.
Changing to the 350LM and liking postcode thingy and bigger screen, useable on the move with gloves.
Struggling a bit with Basecamp, but getting there... no worse than I was with Mapsource when I first started really.
Changing to the 350LM and liking postcode thingy and bigger screen, useable on the move with gloves.
Struggling a bit with Basecamp, but getting there... no worse than I was with Mapsource when I first started really.
I went from a 2610 to the 350. I like the bluetooth audio, through a cardio scala 4. I had problems finding towns with it until I went through the menu and found there's a specific icon for towns which you can add to the "find places" screen, d'oh !!!
It's way faster at recalculating routes, and has much better reception than my 2610, it's nice to see the progress since I bought the 2610 in 2007.
It did lock up on me once, don't know why, but the gps mount on the bike was loose and I think that may have caused it. It hasn't happened since so I wouldn't worry about it. I mentioned it in interest of full disclosure.
It can't pair with an iPhone so no music unless you wire the iPhone to your scala, that doesn't bother me, I've never listened to music on a bike.
hth,
Shay.
It's way faster at recalculating routes, and has much better reception than my 2610, it's nice to see the progress since I bought the 2610 in 2007.
It did lock up on me once, don't know why, but the gps mount on the bike was loose and I think that may have caused it. It hasn't happened since so I wouldn't worry about it. I mentioned it in interest of full disclosure.
It can't pair with an iPhone so no music unless you wire the iPhone to your scala, that doesn't bother me, I've never listened to music on a bike.
hth,
Shay.
The wonderful Mrs Greendale got me one of these for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I was initially very impressed - mind you should be impressed for just over £300 (from handtec.co.uk).
However it has suddenly stopped searching by postcode under the "where to" menu. I am presently waiting for the Garmin helpline to get back to me. I'll post a follow up when I hear from them.
Meanwhile if anyone on this forum has any ideas I would be very grateful.
However it has suddenly stopped searching by postcode under the "where to" menu. I am presently waiting for the Garmin helpline to get back to me. I'll post a follow up when I hear from them.
Meanwhile if anyone on this forum has any ideas I would be very grateful.
Cheers for the views & opinions, ordered on fri evening & arrived on mon, had a quick test ride & seems to be working as it should, £330 from Amazon
Good luck, Mark.
My replacement Zumo 350 worked fine out of the box. However I dutifully USB'ed it to my PC to register it and subsequently downloaded the latest firmware update. This killed the ability to search by postcode - which is exactly what the first one was doing.
So after getting a helpful guy on the Garmin helpline it's off back to them for another replacement. He actually found a Zumo 350 in his office with the same problem and admitted there must be a fault with the latest software update. I assured him I would not be updating the next replacement!
So third time lucky for me. Garmin software engineers need to do a bit more development testing before releasing updates I reckon.
My replacement Zumo 350 worked fine out of the box. However I dutifully USB'ed it to my PC to register it and subsequently downloaded the latest firmware update. This killed the ability to search by postcode - which is exactly what the first one was doing.
So after getting a helpful guy on the Garmin helpline it's off back to them for another replacement. He actually found a Zumo 350 in his office with the same problem and admitted there must be a fault with the latest software update. I assured him I would not be updating the next replacement!
So third time lucky for me. Garmin software engineers need to do a bit more development testing before releasing updates I reckon.
I registered mine online but haven't updated it yet, you've put me off now. I was wanting the latest map for my hols in 6 weeks time but I'd better do it sooner rather than later just in case I get a similar problem
Garmin have released a new firmware update for the Zumo 350, version 2.70. Fixes include "Fixed an issue with postal code searching."
http://gpsinformation.net/allory/garfeat3.htm#zumo350
Anyone been brave enough to install it?
http://gpsinformation.net/allory/garfeat3.htm#zumo350
Anyone been brave enough to install it?
As my 2710 appears to have died, looks like I may be in the market for a 350.
Couple of question, if anybody would be so kind:
- It still works with mapsource (as well as basecamp)?
- whats the form on mounts and power? I will want to use it on 2x bikes and the car, am I going to have to shell out loads on wiring and new plastic bits.
Cheers,
Couple of question, if anybody would be so kind:
- It still works with mapsource (as well as basecamp)?
- whats the form on mounts and power? I will want to use it on 2x bikes and the car, am I going to have to shell out loads on wiring and new plastic bits.
Cheers,
araspitfire
Registered user
Mapsource is a fiddle... (some setting on the device to put it into compatibility mode or something)
TBH, after years of Mapsource, I just got on with Basecamp.. it does stuff that Mapsource doesn't.. which makes it easier to live with the changes.
It's a 5V unit.. has a big block of voltage converter in the cable, so you need to buy another motorcycle mount if using it on a different bike for long periods.. (internal battery for short trips) Or if only using the 2nd bike only in the dry, you can run it like the car, with a USB power.. (if you have that on the front of the bike)
Cost of a 2nd motorcycle setup gets up there, as a friend who had to replace the mount after a motorcycle fire, tells me.
Al...
TBH, after years of Mapsource, I just got on with Basecamp.. it does stuff that Mapsource doesn't.. which makes it easier to live with the changes.
It's a 5V unit.. has a big block of voltage converter in the cable, so you need to buy another motorcycle mount if using it on a different bike for long periods.. (internal battery for short trips) Or if only using the 2nd bike only in the dry, you can run it like the car, with a USB power.. (if you have that on the front of the bike)
Cost of a 2nd motorcycle setup gets up there, as a friend who had to replace the mount after a motorcycle fire, tells me.
Al...
ive got 2.70. works fine. just be aware ive had an issue with it tricking the canbus on my 800GS to stay open and i had flat batteries, further invesitgation by BMW shows the box that converts the 12v to 5v was tricking the canbus to stay live. ive wired it directly to the battery and touch wood so far so good. also you cant use the zumo 350lm with a cigarette socket lead because the holder covers the socket on the back of the unit. nice...
microphonemike
Registered user
Hi
Just spotted your post about the 350LM. Take a look at my recent post in GPS info, General GPS News and Information entitled Experiences with a zumo350LM
Mike
Just spotted your post about the 350LM. Take a look at my recent post in GPS info, General GPS News and Information entitled Experiences with a zumo350LM
Mike
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