Garmin StreetPilot c580 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct
by Garmin
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List Price: Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin StreetPilot c580 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct
Customer Review: good GPS but questionable software/durability
Summary: 2 Stars
This is my 3rd Garmin GPS device ... and I'm disappointed in both the reliability and the support. After 5 weeks, the Bluetooth feature worked only sporadically and then the unit just died. I called support and after close to 45 minutes on hold, talked to a rep. He finally agreed to have me return the unit via UPS overnight and that a new unit would be returned to me via UPS overnight. I sent it in and they received it on a Friday. I had to call again to determine when it would be returned ... and received a replacement unit about a week later after sending it in.
That second unit worked for five days and then died. Called support again and after a 40 minute wait, talked to another rep. That rep thought it was a software problem and recommended I download new software. But first I had to wait 48 hours for the internal battery to fully discharge ... apparently there's a software bug that blocks the screen from displaying data. Why they shipped a replacement unit with "old" software is a complete mystery to me (and to the rep).
It seems to be working now and we'll see if it remains working for more than a month. I'm surprised about this as both Garmin devices I'd owned previously were pretty much trouble free. And I'm really disappointed in the lack of "service recovery" that Garmin displayed.
Customer Review: Wow - this made life easier
Summary: 4 Stars
Being a District Manager for Avon Products - I decided go purchase a GPS system for my travels. Living in Kansas, I don't have the problems of big city living - I have problems of which dirt road to turn down to get to my location. I have been extremely thrilled with this product and the ability to show roads that I didn't even know existed. I recently attended conference in Dallas last week and that was the best trial run for me. Remember, the area I am from, there is not traffic - unless you consider getting behind a combine on a two lane road. This item made my commute thru Dallas much less stressful! No wondering about where I had to turn or when - it was all right there for me! I loved the options of finding gas stations and other poi. We used to have the Grandy's restaraunts here in Kansas many many years ago. On our travels home, we managed to find a Grandy's in Ardmore Oklahoma. I was thrilled!
The only issue that I have right now is that the voice sometimes takes a while to update when you have quick turns to make. I won't have this problem on a daily basis, but when traveling to big cities - it was sometimes last minute when I was told to turn if just coming off of another turn. Not a biggie - I absolutely love this product and would highly recommend it to anyone who travels alot.
Customer Review: great for getting there when you don't know where 'there' is
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this product for about a month now. I purchased this particular product because I liked the idea of the msn service for traffic, weather, gas, and movies. I haven't made a lot of use of this yet, but the weather, gas, movies, seems pretty accurate. I think that the traffic reports aren't very realistic in that delays are usually longer than reported or not reported at all. I live in Boston though so that is a pretty hard area to report on in real time. The unreported delays would usually be expected by someone familiar with the area, but don't seem to be accounted for in the calculated ETA.
In terms of directions and finding where I'm going, I've found the product to do a really good job of finding the best way to go. In some cases it has actually found better ways to go than the ways I'm used to going to familiar places.
It would be nice if the turn instructions were relative to the speed of travel or complexity of the maneuver, but I expect that this is a fairly common problem for these devices. You can select from a number of views which include a map as well as a direction list.
I think that it is cool that this can act as a bluetooth speaker phone, but I haven't put that capability to the test yet.
I would buy it again.
Customer Review: Nice GPS !!
Summary: 5 Stars
Got the product on a Friday. Took about 6 hours to load the latest US maps. Gave it to my wife the next morning for a trip to downtown Chicago, along the way picking up a friend. Never been to either location before. This baby got her to each location without a hitch. She used MSN Direct to locate a parking garage when they arrived downtown. It couldn't have been easier with very little instruction on how to use the GPS. The GPS links up quick. Re-calculating directions seemed around 5 seconds, in those few times when I knew better. MSN Direct is good around large metropolitan areas. Being just outside of Chicago, the MSN Direct signal is not too strong but it gets stronger as you get closer to Chicago. The information is reasonably accurate. I've easily linked 3 bluetooth phones to the GPS. Only 1 phone can be active with the GPS but it's easy to select which phone. The mic and speaker work well. The screen shows when a call is coming in. Just touch the screen to answer or hang-up. The C580 took me to central Missouri and back exactly the way I've driven it many times before. I would definitely recommend it. No one's been able to match the Amazon price on a NEW C580 with a 1 YEAR WARRANTY. Others match the price but it's typically for a re-furbished unit with a 90 day warranty.Customer Review: Garmin c580
Summary: 5 Stars
Regarding the Garmin c580 GPS features;
The mounting mechanism was well thought out and well made. The controls are intuitive and easy to operate. The GPS is easy to read and it very accurate. This is our second Garmin and the first unit has been working for a few years without a glitch.
Although the MP3 feature and the MSN Direct Service were not factors in the purchasing decision, I will comment on both. The MP3 player turned out to be a winner and the MSN Direct Service was a loser.
The MP3 portion is great to use for podcasts and audio books. If you use an MP3 player for books or podcasts you'll like this unit. It 'book-marks' where you stopped when the power is terminated, and when you get back in your auto, it 're-winds' about a half minute from where you left off. Nice. I wouldn't recommend the unit for music, unless you use headphones.
The MSN Direct is a disappointment. I find the weather and traffic reports to be less than accurate. If the service wasn't free for 12 months, I would be a very unhappy camper.
In summary, the sole purpose of this purchase was to obtain a well made, easy to use and accurate GPS at a competitive price and that is what I received.