Old now, but still a good performer

This was the first GPS we purchased primarily for Land use. My wife's requirement was Speech Enabled Directions so it could tell her how to get where she needed to go without having to look at the screen. The Street Pilot III fit the bill and was, at the time, "expensive but not insanely so." Prices for this unit on the Used and Refurb market make it a low priced alternative to the more modern units.

The screen quality is quite good, and is larger than some of the more modern Garmin offerings like the Nuvi or 330C. One of the neat (or annoying, your pick) features is that it changes the display mode depending on local day or night conditions, changing the map colors to be less intrusive at night.

The controls follow the usual practice with the Garmins, though the CPU feels slow and control response can be a bit lagging. Changing menus and selecting addresses, waypoints, etc., is straightforward and reasonably intuitive. I still us it over the 330c we got to replace it.

Mapping functions and directions are derived from CD based mapping software. The software originally only came with one region (of 11) unlocked, and was dated at time of purchase. The current mapping software includes all 11 regions (US, Canada, and Mexico) but still means an $80 upgrade. The built in base maps have all the main highways and cities, and will get you roughly to your destination anywhere in the US - but lack detail. The map packs add considerable detail down to the street level and are very accurate - as long as there hasn't been major construction since they were made.

The map data is held on a separate proprietary cartridge that's only 32Meg. With full details, the carts don't hold a large area of information. Getting a larger 128Meg cart will let you hold much more information (obviously) - for example nearly all of California. If you're planning a cross country trip, consider bringing a laptop to change maps as you go.

Spoken directions are put out through a standard headphone jack on the back by the Garmin connector. You can use the included Lighter-Socket/Speaker, which is very bulky, or use a standard lighter socket and pipe the spoken directions into your car's stereo from the speaker jack. My wife likes the spoken directions, while I leave them off completely and just use the turn by turn directions displayed on screen. The turn by turn directions can get a little confusing if you are in a complex area at highway speed.

Battery life is only marginal, and plugging in with the cigarette lighter doesn't charge the batteries. Fortunately, they are standard AA and you can use rechargeable batteries if you want.

Installing it safely on your dash can be a challenge. It comes with a mounting bracket and there is an adhesive "puck" you can mount to your dash and then attach the mount to that. Kind of ugly. We got the bean-bag mount that works well but can slide around in corners. The StreetPilot III is -heavy- and doesn't always want to stay put if you're cornering at all hard.

The quad helical antenna seems more effective than the flat patch in a couple of the other units we have. the SP3 picks up sats quickly and can be ready to navigate in only a couple minutes.

While It's intended for automotive use, it does have a navigation page with fairly complete information.

Updating the firmware is easy using Garmin's Web Updater, and updating the firmware will cure the niggling bugs that some have reported. Updating the maps, as noted, is easy, but requires Garmin's current mapping software.