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: Garmin c580 review
Summary: 3 Stars
The database is not the most up-to-date. The directions/route-planning is decent but not the most optimal at all times - sometimes, it makes you go through way too many turns just to shave off a few yards. I would've liked it if the algorithm was a little smarter. Overall, the GPS part works reasonably well. The screen is clear and bright and very visible even when viewed through polarized sunglasses. The text-to-speech and street name announcement is nice. However, the MSN Direct receiver takes a long time to download information. I would call it an OK product. I like it slightly better than the Tomtoms I've seen in other people's cars - primarily because of the TTS. But I expected more out of Garmin - especially due to the glowing reviews they get. My experience with some built-in GPS nav units has been much more positive. Although for $2-3K, they are 10 times the cost of this portable little unit! With pricing the way it is on this unit, it's not a bad gadget to have around. I'd suggest it primarily for finding stuff in an unfamiliar city. However, pay attention to your general sense of direction and location and do not blindly follow the GPS' directions. None of the portable units I've seen so far are perfect.Customer Review: Garmin GPS C580
Summary: 5 Stars
All I have to say is awesome product. So awesome I bought another one for my other car and then my dad saw it work and he bought one. If you buy this make sure you go to any electronic store and buy a wireless FM transmitter so you can hear the gps through the car speakers. Another cool thing is that you can download over 5000 songs into this little creature. Say you are driving and listening to the music then the gps says turn here the music stops so you can hear the gps also you are driving and listing to your tunes and your cell phone rings. The music stops so you can hear your phone and then it tells you who is calling on the caller ID. Call me old fashion but this product is just awesome and it also will tell you when there is traffic ahead and route you another way. It does so much more, but I do not work for Garmin and when they want to pay me for my opinions I will share more about their products. I hope this helps you in your decission.
Only con I have about this is the speaker on the unit but once you get the wireless FM transmitter you can make it as loud as you like through the car stereo. One more thing the C580 has internet and the C550 has none. Both models are awesome.
Customer Review: Great cost-benefit ratio
Summary: 3 Stars
I've owned this receiver for over a month now and it has definitely not let me down. For the price it's offered to the market now a days you get a fine navigator with great features.
I must say the Bluetooth connectivity hangs the receiver from time to time, but nothing you cannot bear for such a price. The navigation software is very simple but intuitive. The Spanish text-to-speech directions sound awkward from time to time, but once you get used to how the voice talks, you can manage the directions.
As for cons I might say that it lacks a couple of features I've seen in other GPS receivers, such as stop-overs, creating itineraries, rather than routes, and I have not been able to find the "Show my coordinates" option up to now.
On the other hand, the pros make it up to you. I have tried it with open source maps for Argentina and it works perfectly well, which the other brand I was talking about does not support. There are open source map projects all over the world, so if you're somewhere Garmin has no official maps for, you might be lucky enough to find one of these around, and still profit of a great gadget.
This definitely made up to my decision on buying this unit.
Customer Review: I'm a Los Angeles Limo driver who could not live without my Garmin
Summary: 5 Stars
I drive airport shuttle vans and Limo's in the Ventura & Los Angeles County, and the Garmin C580 is the best GPS I have ever owned. What I like most about the Garmin is that it is very user friendly, I have owned this unit for five months, and I have had to look at my Thomas guide only once. The bluetooth works great, and depending on which phone you have the garmin will download your entire phone book, "names & numbers". you can use the garmin to text message and it will read your text messages using the text to speech feature. I make many stops and the garmin will let you program two stops, if you have more than two stops you can input the address and then delete it, the garmin will store your last 50 previous destinations, this way you then just recall whatever address you need. If I were to buy another unit I would probably buy the C550 because the only difference is the C580 has MSN direct, this service in my opinion is worthless and the msn support personnel are very rude. If you do not need all the bells and whistles then I would recommend the Garmin C340. I give the c550 & c580 a 5 star and MSN Direct -1 star.
I hope this review helps.
Kirk Pendergras
Customer Review: A GPS with all the bells and whistles
Summary: 4 Stars
The StreetPilot c580 is for the GPS navigation fan who wants it all. You get easy to use navigation, built-in Bluetooth, traffic alerts and MSN Direct displayed on your screen.
I previously owned a c530 with just the basic GPS features so I was really impressed that I could add all those features for about the same price I paid for the c530 just 9 months ago! The StreetPilot 500 series have a brighter screen and faster satellite connectivity than previous models.
The Bluetooth is a safety feature if you own a Bluetooth cell phone. This enables you to talk hands-free while you're driving.
The MSN Direct is cool but limited to only 4 functions: weather, gas prices, movie times and traffic alerts. A minor complaint is that the gas prices usually have a one or 2-day delay and are not necessarily current. This is OK if you are driving through an unfamiliar area and want to know approximate gas prices.
The StreetPilot c580 is a feature-laden GPS that not everyone would need. With current prices, the basic StreetPilot is $200 less than the c580. Whether you need all the bells and whistles for $200 is a decision only you can make!