Garmin nuvi 2300 Review

GPS technologies are a lot more important these days compared to earlier years because they are far more accurate and come with more useful features. With top manufacturers like Garmin revising their car GPS device offerings every year, so the GPS devices that use these technologies should definitely help you reach your destinations much faster in a more convenient manner.

Garmin nuvi 2300
Garmin nuvi 2300 GPS Navigator

Design

The Garmin nuvi 2300 features a 4.3-inch touchscreen display with a 480 x 272 resolution so the maps are quite detailed. While this is not necessarily a new addition, the form factor remains popular choice for people that find the new 5-inch devices to be too big. The display still manages to be special because it is sunlight-readable so using the Garmin nuvi 2300 during the day is just as useful as using it during the night time. The bezel resembles the typical Garmin device which is decent in its own right. Although the Garmin nuvi 2300 is advertised as a budget device, the build quality does not feel that cheap.

Interface

The Garmin nuvi 2300 gets a leading edge over the older budget Garmin devices because of its refined interface. The device still remains highly approachable for new users because the "Where To?" icon can guide you to creating a new route step by step. Once you are used to using the GPS, you can use the "View Map" icon instead so you are taken immediately to the map where you can see the surrounding area in full color along with any points of interests near your current location. The new interface adds the "ecoRoute" feature to the home screen which is new to this series of Garmin nuvi devices.

It is best to use the 3-D view so you can get a better sense of perspective and you will know exactly where you are heading. If you decide to go out of you vehicle and still need directions, you can change the icon to a person icon. Turn-by-turn directions are enhanced by voice prompts so you can stay on course without constantly looking at your screen.

Navigation Features

The nuvi 2300 is positioned at the lowest end of the 2010 car GPS spectrum but that does not make this unit inferior especially when you put the price in the equation. It is very barebones in the feature set but core functions that should be in every car GPS device remains. The ecoRoute features serves as one of the most useful features in any Garmin device because it focuses on saving you some money by minimizing fuel consumption. This feature works by gathering the vehicle acceleration and road speed data so it can tell if the route it calculates is the most fuel-efficient. As you travel around with your GPS device, the function gets smarter since it keeps track of your fuel usage. You can use this feature as long as you like and you will never go under a subscription fee.

The other main feature is the nüRoute technology which attempts to predict your next destination based which destinations you head to frequently. This technology is aware of your favorite destinations as long as you set them so you do not have to interact with the device as much as necessary. This is great for drivers that have a constant route schedule. There is no subscription fees required for this as well.

The device is prepared for immediate usage with over 6 million points of interests scattered across detailed maps that cover all 48 states in the US along with Hawaii and Puerto Rico. There are many types of points of interests including banks, gas stations, ATMs, hotels, restaurants, and stores.

Also available as Garmin nuvi 2300LM with free Lifetime Map updates

Extra Features

The "Where am I?" function is useful if you want to see where all the nearby fuel stations, police stations, and hospitals are. It also displays the coordinates of your current position so you can quickly forward the information to emergency services.

The Garmin nuvi 2300 is a very handy travel tool where you can do on-the-fly conversions such as currency and measurement converting. You can also use the calculator or check out the world travel clock to see the time in other places in the world. There is a microSD card slot present and if the memory card has JPEG photos, you can view them on the display using the JPEG picture viewer. The Garmin Lock feature also serves as a good anti-theft security measure.

Conclusion

The Garmin nuvi 2300 is a basic GPS device with a very small price tag at around $160. This makes it a good deal especially since it sports the refined interface that makes it very easy to use.

List Price: $159.99

 Click here for latest offer on Garmin nuvi 2300
Enjoy Free Shipping & Secure Shopping

 

.

MENU


Bookmark this page
BlinkList Blogmarks Delicious Digg Facebook Reddit Slashdot Spurl Stumbleupon Technorati Yahoo My Web Google Bookmarks