Caliber P-3600 GPS Navigator
By: Caliber Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 13
More Information
 On: 2007-12-11
I purchased two of the Caliber P-3600 after reviewing as much data on other units as I could stand. The reason for two units is that both of us can have one as we go in different directions at least once a week. Out of the box I charged them both. Yes, they have an AC charger included that many others do not and there also is the charger for the car. I did read the owners manual first. It is adequate and understandable. Next I tried the "DEMO" mode to a location. The directions were great and the display was exceptional. You have a choice of looking at a map(and split screen) or line by line text. The voice guidance was very clear and responded appropriately to the directions. There was always plenty of time prior to making a turn with the unit giving you a double chime near the turn. If this unit had a "text to speech", it would really be at the top of GPS units. It utilizes the "Navteq" maps in the system. Do not hesitate to consider this unit. The ease of operation and the accuracy of it probably cannot be beat by others regardless of price.
By the way, I found these on sale at PC Connection.com for half off of other sites.
On: 2007-09-25
I know this GPS doesnt have a flashy recognizable name, but it is the most awesome and user-friendly electronic device Ive EVER owned! My car widow was smashed and my first one was stolen, but Im ordering this again because I love it and its NEVER let me down. You may have some trial and error and I once had to "recalibrate" the GPS ... but read your darn manual. This product is AWESOME.
 On: 2007-05-10
All,
I purchased this product and found following issues:
1) Too slow to respond in San Francisco area
2) 50% of times it complains that SD card is not inserted properly, however, in reality it is inserted. You then have to take it out and re-insert and restart.
3) One has to go through long process for adjusting the volume
4) One has to accept the terms every time this unit is started
5) Customer service requires one to leave a message and the response is not prompt.
Conclusion, if you value your $$, do NOT buy this unit.
Alpesh
 On: 2007-04-15
I purchased the Caliber GPS for myself and then one for my daughter. We both find them relatively easy to use and accurate finding locations. The battery life when charged and not used is not the longest and could be improved. I use the cigarette lighter cord and have no difficulties with power. The window mount works adequately well but can com loose if not moistened prior to attaching. Overall I feel this is a good value item, cost versus function. Hard to find one that will do as well for the money.
On: 2007-03-17
What I like:
Good voice directions. It gives audible alerts as approaching turns. Double-audible (ding) at turn. If you missed the instructions (because someone was chattering) you can touch an icon that will repeat the last instructions. An arrow near the top of the screen shows the direction of your next turn and street name. The on-screen route indicator gives you an idea of whats ahead. I found this especially helpful when I went to a co-workers house to which Ive never been before and I was able to see in advance the winding roads ahead (heads up to slow down). Indicators in the lower & upper right corners of the screen update as you proceed to show you an ETA (e.i. 10:49 pm), time & miles to destination and current time.
You can set routing for shortest or fastest route. You can avoid highways, tolls and backroads alike.
You can touch the screen at any place and the unit will automatically zoom to that area. Sort a quick way to see whats ahead/around without changing the scale. Another icon gets you back to normal view. You can also change the scale of POIs to anywhere from 1/8th of a mile to 1/32. This was helpful when my wife and I went to pick up a car in an unfamiliar area and she went off to find the nearest craft store while I signed papers.
Unit automatically adjusts for day/night use. Helps to cut down on/adjust for sunglare and other lighting changes.
Make a wrong turn or take a different route and the unit recalcs loc and puts you back on track.
You can save & rename (e.g. Anns house) previous locations the unit has routed you to. I only wished that you could clear the old settings with one touch; instead, you need to hit a clear/delete button for each letter you want erased within the street name. You can also store your home and office address and have the unit route you in a matter of two screen touches.
Has a smart-speller. After you key in the area/zip you want to go to; you can key in the first two or three letters (depending on the names in the area) of the street name and the unit automatically populates with the street you want to go to.
Little quirks:
Only one speaking language comes loaded. Unit switches so that one is able to read different languages; however, still speaks directions in English. If you want different languages you have to use the DVD ROM that came with the unit to change voice guidance and download the info to your SD card (one comes with the unit).
If youre looking for say North Stratford street the unit wont recognize it right away. Rather you need to enter Stratford and the unit gives you options: say - North Stratford, Stratford, East Stratford, etc.
Negatives:
Time setting for unit does not automatically adjust for daylight savings time.
POIs shows auto repair shops, but do not include auto parts stores.
Have had the unit for roughly two months now and have routed roughly 6 or so trips with no problems.
On: 2007-03-16
What I like:
Good voice directions. It gives audible alerts as approaching turns. Double-audible (ding) at turn. If you missed the instructions (because someone was chattering) you can touch an icon that will repeat the last instructions. An arrow near the top of the screen shows the direction of your next turn and street name. The on-screen route indicator gives you an idea of whats ahead. I found this especially helpful when I went to a co-workers house to which Ive never been before and I was able to see in advance the winding roads ahead (heads up to slow down). Indicators in the lower & upper right corners of the screen update as you proceed to show you an ETA (e.i. 10:49 pm), time & miles to destination and current time.
You can set routing for shortest or fastest route. You can avoid highways, tolls and backroads alike.
You can touch the screen at any place and the unit will automatically zoom to that area. Sort a quick way to see whats ahead/around without changing the scale. Another icon gets you back to normal view. You can also change the scale of POIs to anywhere from 1/8th of a mile to 1/32. This was helpful when my wife and I went to pick up a car in an unfamiliar area and she went off to find the nearest craft store while I signed papers.
Unit automatically adjusts for day/night use. Helps to cut down on/adjust for sunglare and other lighting changes.
Make a wrong turn or take a different route and the unit recalcs loc and puts you back on track.
You can save & rename (e.g. Anns house) previous locations the unit has routed you to. I only wished that you could clear the old settings with one touch; instead, you need to hit a clear/delete button for each letter you want erased within the street name. You can also store your home and office address and have the unit route you in a matter of two screen touches.
Has a smart-speller. After you key in the area/zip you want to go to; you can key in the first two or three letters (depending on the names in the area) of the street name and the unit automatically populates with the street you want to go to.
Little quirks:
Only one speaking language comes loaded. Unit switches so that one is able to read different languages; however, still speaks directions in English. If you want different languages you have to use the DVD ROM that came with the unit to change voice guidance and download the info to your SD card (one comes with the unit).
If youre looking for say North Stratford street the unit wont recognize it right away. Rather you need to enter Stratford and the unit gives you options: say - North Stratford, Stratford, East Stratford, etc.
Negatives:
Time setting for unit does not automatically adjust for daylight savings time.
POIs shows auto repair shops, but do not include auto parts stores.
Have had the unit for roughly two months now and have routed roughly 6 or so trips with no problems.
On: 2007-03-09
I have had this unit for about a month and have used it many times while getting used to it. I would have to say that it would be hard to beat this unit for the price. It has performed flawlessly every time I have used it. It might not pick exactly the route I would have, but it certainly gets you there every time. The display is very good, the menu system is easy to use and, as long as you type in the correct address, it will find your destination. I had it on the windshield and working in under 10 minutes. The only negative is that the battery life seems a bit short at about 2-3 hours. Other units I have seen have a longer life, but this is not really a huge problem unless you do a lot of hiking or motorcycling. I would buy it again.
On: 2007-03-06
If I can figure out how to use it, anyone can! On one long trip, and a few short ones, it has been perfect. The battery lasts about three hours, if it lasted longer, I would give it five stars, because then I could use it on motorcycle trips also.
 On: 2007-03-02
When I took the SD card out and tried to update it... nothing happened. Long story short, the maps on the SD card got erased and I couldnt figure out how to get them back. I contacted Calibar but they replied with confusing directions and I had to get ready for a trip to New England with lots of twisting roads. I returned this to Amazon and went to Best Buy to buy a Garmin. The Garmin works great.
On: 2007-02-26
Great for navigation, have yet to use other features. The only problem I have with it is that it can take awhile to get a signal and can delay you in getting your route, other than that if you give it some warm up time and display it in a good spot on the windshield, it will not fail!
On: 2007-01-15
Great product. Very easy to use. For the price VERY competitive with more expensive models.
On: 2007-01-12
The GPS unit functions well. Ive been told that there are a few bugs to work out, but if you just go to the Caliber website there is an update for the unit on the website that you can download to the preloaded SD card. For its price, I personally think its one of the best out there on the market. My friend got a MIO on black friday and it works just the same. If you cant figure out how to use the unit after a few minutes of messing around with it, I say you are just technologically inept. Its easy to use and comes with plenty of cool features (MP3 and picture viewer). I also suggest that if you do not have a USB or built in sandisk card reader for your computer to get one as well, there are a lot of cheap ones out there and it will be pretty crucial for the software updates (unless you have the usb cable for the GPS unit.
On: 2006-12-14
Thanks to Enzo for a tip to adjust the volume and brightness:try pressing menu key for 3 seconds. You will see small menu to access volume and brightness.
I bought it from OfficeMax online store. This unit is fast, takes no more than 10 seconds to fix a spot. The sirf chip is sensitive enough to keep tracking my location even in places with high buildings or under heavy tree shade, it was even able to fix a location inside my room.
One nice feature is that it draws a dotted straight line linking your current position and your destination, so you always know which direction your destination is relative to you current position.
It gives the clear voice navigation after a ding, like what you hear in an airport, ( I like this better than the Mio C310x male voice.)
Con: unlike Mio c310x, it doesnt have volume bottons, to change the volume you have to quite navigation and go to the system setup windows, same for adjusting the screen brightness.
Also, one thing I dont understand is the adress book, why can we just have some buttons like"save" "edit" and "delect", so I can simple manage my adress book better. Now if I want to save a adress for later use, I have to first type in the address, reset it as my current location, then add it to the address book, ( Mio does this similar thing ). Im confused about this "work around" and found its very annoying. But thats really not a big issue based on its very competitive price, around $230 you cant find any better deal than this.
On: 2006-12-05
So simple to use I got the 3600 up and running without looking at the manual. Fast route calculation (about 6 sec)and great graphics.
This is an incredible value for under $300. The Caliber 3600 works as well as my friends GPS that he paid $450 for.
On: 2006-12-04
So simple to use I got the 3600 up and running without looking at the manual. Fast route calculation (about 6 sec)and great graphics.
This is an incredible value for under $300. The Caliber 3600 works as well as my friends GPS that he paid $450 for.
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