In an earlier post I compared the C320, C330 and C340 GPS units.

At the time the prices were
C320 - $275
C330 - $320
C340 - $387

The current prices are
At the time the prices were
C320 - $275
C330 - $261
C340 - $329

It looks like have been significant price drops on the C330 and C340 but not the C320. I’m not sure why anyone would even consider the C320 at these price points.

In the US there are three choices in the Garmin C3XX series. The Garmin C320, C330 and C340. It’s a little confusing to decide which one to buy.

I can say pretty confidently to cross the C330 off your list.

The main features that are different on these three units are:
- A built in hard drive to store maps
- Unit Speaks Street Names and POI Names

So here’s how I see it. The only difference between the Garmin C320 and C330 is that you will need to upload maps from your computer to the SD card on the C320. You can buy a 1GB SD card for about $20 which will hold the entire US. That brings the total price of the C320 to $295. Which is $25 cheaper than the C330.

Now that we eliminated the C330 the choice remains of it’s worth $100 to have the C340 say “Turn Left Onto High Street” as opposed to “Turn left in 50 feet”. In very informal surveys friends have said they prefer the unit that would say the street names. Some feel it’s a waste of money.

Personally I live the idea of the unit that speaks the street names. It would mean I could keep my eyes on the road and have some feedback that I took the correct turn if the roads were close to each other.

According to CBS News a company is ready to launch footware with embeddded GPS technology. The inventor is Isaac Daniel.

I think this is a pretty cool use of GPS especially for concerned parents or hikers. The shoes start at about $350. This is a nice step up from the Digital Angel RFID chips. It looks similar to the Global Pet Finder technology only for sneakers. Cool.