Garmin StreetPilot c580 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct by Garmin
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Digital camera reviews of Garmin StreetPilot c580 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct
Digital camera Review: Best Value for your $$$
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll keep this short and sweet....... You should consider this unit when buying an automotive GPS. It has been discontinued by Garmin but just a short time ago it was the BEST unit they had to offer. On Garmin's website they still show their price for the C580 at $ 589.27
Even though this lil' baby plays MP3 and has a picture viewer (you will probably NEVER use these features - but they are there) you need to remember, you are wanting a GPS that does what a GPS is supposed to do and this unit does it and ease of operation CAN'T be beat.
I get GPS signals on my C580 even in my basement!
My vote, 5 thumbs up!!!!!
Digital camera Review: Best bang for the buck
Summary: 5 Stars
I just purchased the c580 on Amazon for $169.00. Free shipping, and arrived in 3 days. My prior GPS was a Magellion 800.
The c580 is a great buy!
Considerations:
The unit is not a flat unit, however it will sit up much better than a flat unit if you are not attaching to a windshield.
It really does operate right out of the box. "plug and play".
As others have stated, there is a free map upgrade, but beware...it took over three hours on a high speed line. (no..I really mean 3+ hours..)
The Bluetooth connected to my Palm Treo without a hitch. It is really cool to see an incoming call come onto the GPS screen, and be able to answer by touching the screen. You can also make calls from the screen.
The text to speach work great. You can just listen to the verbal instructions instead of looking at the screen.
The speakers work ok. They are at least as good as others I have used.I have not had a volume issue, and there is a choice of voices.
The POI are very good. They do require you to leave the screen, but they also include a phone number link to an establishment, so if you are using the Bluetooth, you just push the call button, and it connects you.
The MSN direct...well it works really well on a major freeway, in a major city. Most of the time it just says "no service available". But in a major city, it really works pretty well for the traffic. The gas prices and movies info. also works well in a major city. If you are travelling on a major interstate, the weather will show many of the cities that you are travelling through.
THe MP3 player...well, why would you want to play anything through the GPS?
This unit has all of the great features than many more expensive models offer, but for $160.00 bucks. GO BUY ONE!
Digital camera Review: Best bang for the buck; Feature loaded, low price
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered this before driving halfway across the country. This is a fantastic deal, I had my reservations buying it because it is a slightly older model & I prefer the look & size of the NUVI product line. Putting that aside, this model has all of the features I wanted (and a couple more) for an absolute bargain price. I love the gas price feature of MSN Direct, I was able to avoid the just-off-of-the-freeway high priced gas stations and find the best deals on fuel.
The POI is very good, and the text to speech works better than many other GPS units I have used. Overall, I am very happy with the purchase & would recommend it to anyone looking for real value.
The c580 did send me on a couple of wild-goose chases, I am not sure if the unit was at fault or the map program. One example was that it kept telling us to exit and enter the same freeway for several miles. Another example is that it took us on some tangents through residential streets when there was a straight road that it should have directed us to.
I have noticed that the MSN Direct when used where I live, the movie times it shows are for theaters 40+ miles away. Since I live in a metropolitan area of Los Angeles, this service seems lacking.
The touch screen on this unit works very well comapred to other units I have used, it is very easy to use and is very accurate.
Aside from some rare occasional glitches, I am still very happy with this unit and would buy it again & recommend it to anyone.
Digital camera Review: Beyond Expectation
Summary: 5 Stars
This GPS is so good that if you purchase one you can be confident it will do everything it says and easily. I have owned numerous handheld gps's for marine use but never had one for my car. This is so user friendly and works much better and easier than the ones that I have used in Friends autos that are built in and 10 times more expensive. The MSN direct works ok and you get it for free for the first twelve months to see if you like it and renewals are cheap. The display and voice directions are easy to understand and the bluetooth for your hands free phone is a nice bonus.Digital camera Review: Big disappointment
Summary: 2 Stars
First off this is my 3rd Garmin GPS. I purchased a C340 for myself and my girlfriend and then after reading some of the positive reviews for the C580 I decided to purchase it and give my C340 to my daughter. What a mistake that was. I can't really knock the unit while it works. But after 6 months of usage my original unit decided to die. I tried to power it on and it was just dead. Now comes the part that I dreaded and that was to contact the Garmin support. I called around 4pm one day and was given an estimated wait time of 30 minutes which turned out to be 60+. Ok so not everyone can estimate. I got a guy who obviously was having a bad day and proceeded to describe my problem. I was then asked to do several tasks that I had already tried a number of times. With the same result. He then gave me a RMA and asked me to return my "new" unit for repair. I received the replacement "Factory Refurbished" unit about a week after and wasn't too keen on it being a refurb but gave it a chance. The GPS worked fine but when I tried to get the bluetooth function working it would display "Enabling Bluetooth" then die. I would then have to power down the unit to get out of the screen. I called the Garmin support line again and waited about 40 minutes for a tech. He then asked for my email and sent me a few things to try and ways to reset the device. I downloaded several versions of the software for bluetooth and all of them failed. A version of the bluetooth firmware actually caused the unit to digress even further. I contacted Support again and he gave me a RMA and asked me to send the unit back....again.
I got another "Factory Refurbished" unit sent to me about a week and a half later. This time it was dead out of the box. I actually started laughing. The Garmin product support was worse than anything I had ever dealt with and that goes for Microsoft or even Verizon cause when you get those clowns they actually help you. It took me close to an hour to get another real person on the phone. This time Katy was the rep. I explained all that had happened and that I was ready to take all of my Garmin products and run them over with my truck(I also have a handheld Garmin Etrex Vista). She asked me to do another reset of the unit and when nothing happened she told me to hold on and talked to her supervisor. When she go back on she asked me to send the unit back to Garmin and that they were going to send me a "New" Garmin Nuvi 780 as a replacement for the C580 and for my going through hell over the past 6 weeks. Its 3/25/09 and I have to send back the unit, which they're paying for this time, by the way. I also have to have them transfer a "Lifetime Map" Update License I purchased for the C580. That should be fun ya think? I'll keep you posted.