Made the right choice
Pros:
Many features that actually work, great display and sound.
Cons:
No external antenna jack, but a re-radiating antenna works wonders.
The Bottom Line:
Worth ever penny! By far one of the best electronic gadgets I've bought so far.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The iWay 350c is better than I imagined... which is impressive since I'm kind of a gadget junkie.
Even with its size it's still very easy to read. The voice is very clear and it's 'read' to me most of the streets I've been to so far.
Tested it last night of course... to my surprise my soon to be wife was more than willing to go along for a ride (she usually doesn't care much for anything I do to my truck). It was nice, and I could tell she enjoyed it too, which says a lot for this thing. Anyway, we went out to some familiar areas first... ok, it's cool and seems to work, time to really test it. We then ventured out in the boonies about 10 miles into the country, dirt roads and all.
Got good and 'lost' then selected Home (which I programmed in first). Had us all set to make the next turn within 2 seconds I'd say. About half way home we decided ice cream sounded good... within a few 'clicks' we had the closest Dairy Queen lined up and added to our route, quick re-adjustment and we were headed to get ice cream!
After our drive I brought it inside and looked up a few addresses, none of which took more than 30 seconds to find. So now I'm all set to drive to the wedding, the reception, and our honeymoon destination.
VERY impressed... this isn't my first GPS device, but it IS my first unit like this with maps and everything. I don't think I could have picked a more perfect unit for me.
-- Optional Read / Custom Mounting Idea --
Spent some time today cleaning up the install... never planned on leaving it mounted to the windshield with wires hanging.
First thing I did obviously was to find the ideal location and made sure my re-radiating antenna would work there (more on that later).
Next, figuring out how to mount it while still having the ability to move it to another vehicle or in the house (it has a built in battery for portability).
Once that was done it was time to get to work...
First, I marked the location in the dash where the power wire was going to come through. Next, starting with a small bit and working my way up, got the right size hole drilled. The hole size was determined by the size of grommet needed to go over the power supply. Once the hole was drilled it was time to fish the power wire through, which surprisingly was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
With power to the unit it was time to run the re-radiating antenna. This antenna works wonders for GPS units without an external antenna input. I went from 6 satellites to 8-9 plus WAAS was enabled! The antenna is mounted by my 3rd brake light (same location as my XM antenna). The wire then routed over my headliner and to my overhead console where I have a 12v cigarette lighter plug-in (the antenna is a powered antenna). From there, the second antenna goes down my mirror to send the GPS signal to my iWay.
Now it's finally time to mount it! I ended up using the stock mounting plate, it was just to perfect to not use. All I did was cut the gooseneck windshield bracket off and clean it up. Then, lined the bottom of it with 3M double sided adhesive (cut to size and shape), this gave it the stick and height I needed to be able to unmount the iWay.
All-in-all I'm very happy with everything, works as planned and even better than I expected.
