Review on 🗺️ Garmin nuvi 1350 Series – 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator (Discontinued by Manufacturer) by Ben Boulanger

The Garmin nuvi 1350 is a very good GPS overall. A full owner's manual is not included and must be downloaded from the Garmin website. The package includes a quick start guide. One thing that isn't clearly explained is that you really need to take the device outside and get a satellite signal before attempting to do anything else. Mine was unable to receive a signal inside or near my home due to trees and other obstructions. When I tried to view the map, the map insisted I was in Taiwan, when I was pretty sure I was still in New Jersey. Apparently, a temporary map is installed ex works for testing, which disappears after the first reception of a satellite signal in the USA. I almost sent the device back because I thought it was either defective or not an American design. None of this is clearly explained in the quick start guide. You are entitled to a free download of the map for the first 60 days to ensure you have the latest map. With a DSL connection it takes 4.5 hours to download the map and another 2 hours to transfer it from the PC to the GPS. The step-by-step instructions are excellent, they are fully automatic and you can pause and continue later. Generally this is not a problem. The 1350 can use optional cityXplorer maps in walking mode. This feature, along with a thinner, lighter design that makes it easier to carry, adds about $100 to the cost of a similar model (e.g., the nuvi 255W) that has most of the same features but no extras cards used. If you buy the 1350 primarily for the cityXplorer features, you may be disappointed. When paired with an optional city map, Garmin says the 1350's walk mode allows you to navigate around the city using a combination of walk mode and public transportation such as subways, buses, local trains, and ferries. It's not like this. I bought and installed the $14.95 cityXplorer map for New York, the most expensive add-on map in the US. Introducing several additional routes to choose from. City buses are not recognized and not taken into account when calculating the route. Nor does it recognize the existence of commuter trains or ferries connecting New York City to outlying areas or to New Jersey. Promotional literature on the Garmin website indicates coverage includes all of New York City and New Jersey west to Morristown and south to Tinton Falls. Once you leave New York City, don't use public transportation, just walk. It cannot calculate a route from a major transit hub in New York to anywhere in New Jersey, such as Jersey City, which is across the river. There are actually at least 4 options using buses, the PATH subway, the ferry, and the NJ Transit commuter train. According to GPS, the only way is to walk or swim about 25-30 miles. In the New Jersey Covered Area, transportation hubs such as bus and train stations are listed as points of interest, but GPS cannot calculate any form of public transit between them. If the only way to get around New York City is by subway, that's a very good thing. Other forms of public transport (bus, PATH, ferry, S-Bahn) are simply not supported. Maybe other city maps are better. I'm not expecting anything very sophisticated or exotic for $14.95, but I'm expecting something within Garmin's specs. However, it is a fantastic device and I have no regrets buying it.