Garmin StreetPilot c580 GPS - North America

The must have GPS!

Strengths: Super sensitive GPS receiver; MSN direct Traffic, Gas, Weather, and Movie Information; Compatible with many Bluetooth cell phones; Intuitive and user friendly Strong window mount

Weaknesses: Dated Design, Only support MP3 format, Expensive,

Summary: Garmin is known to produce quality GPS products and the StreetPilot C580 is no exception. The GPS unit is basically the C550 with the exception of added MSN direct data service. With the same features and functionality of the C550, the C580 premium over the C550 is worth every penny. The C580 comes with 1 year of MSN direct data service, $50/yr after that. You can pay for the lifetime service for $150, but the service is not guarantee after 2012 according the MSN direct website. Within 20min activating the MSN direct service, I was able to avoid LA traffic and view gas station prices. Weather is a nice touch and the movie information is a bonus. MSN direct data service is also available for the Garmin Nuvi 680, but at a $300 premium. Bottom line: Accurate routing engine, intuitive user interface, good bluetooth cell phone computability and with the MSN direct data service, you got yourselves a road warrior's best friend.

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Garmin Streetpiolt c580

Strengths: Very realiable,compact, good battery life and clear verbal travel instructions.

Weaknesses: Slow to pick up satalite in the downtown areas of the major cities.

Summary: Bought the c580 for a recent trip to San Fran and Seattle as I have not been to these cities in years. Once the satellite connection was made I couldn't believe the accuracy of the unit. Took me to remote locations in Napa Valley as well as to locations in the cities. It even found a residence in a very private gated community in Seattle. Each instruction was clear and with ample warning prior to making any turns. It recalculated directions if I made a left in stead of a right turn of if I missed a turn. I missed the turn because I didn’t believe the instructions. It only took a couple of “recalculating” instructions before I obediently followed each instruction given.

It save several hours of trip preparation by not getting maps from AAA, reading them and then trying to locate the specific address. All I had to do was type in the address and the little genie took over. When we got hungry, we tapped in food and up came a list of restaurants.

Once set up, which was very easy, less that 5 minutes, my cell phone and address book was active. Made hands free driving a breeze without the earpiece. This is by far the greatest tool for anyone who travels out of their neighborhood, it is a MUST have! I think I sold two units as the guests traveling with us loved it as much as I did. It also eliminated the arguments with my wife as she didn’t have to navigate with a map open the entire trip. She got to enjoy the seamy as much as I did!

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The GPS with all the bells and whistles

Strengths: Loads of features, easy to use

Weaknesses: Pricey, limited MSN Direct functions

Summary: The StreetPilot c580 is for the GPS navigation fan who wants it all. You get easy to use navigation, built-in Bluetooth, accident 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 these 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 connectivity to the satellites 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 is limited to only 4 functions: weather, gas prices, movie times and traffic alerts. A minor complaint is that the gas prices 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 ballpark gas prices. The MSN Direct is free for the first year and $50 for each additional year or $130 lifetime. MSN Direct offers a special $9.95 deal for 6 months after your free period, so owning the c580 will give you the first 18-months for only $9.95. If you go for the lifetime deal, the price is not transferable to another GPS should it become defective or if you upgrade to a newer model.

The StreetPilot c580 is a feature-laden GPS that not everyone would need. With current prices, the basic StreetPilot 530 is $200 less than the c580. Whether you need all the bells and whistles for $200 is a decision only you can make!

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The 580 vs the 550

Strengths: Very user friendly, Display readable in bright daylight, multiple advance voice warnings of next turn and speaking of actual street name.

Weaknesses: Haven't found anything significant although I did find an error in MSN gas data.

Summary: Several weeks ago I drove with a friend who had a Garmin 550 and I just had to have one! I found a good price on the internet and ordered one. The day after it arrived, I had a meeting at a hotel in Buckhead (Atlanta, GA) It was invaluable in getting me through the rush hour traffic. When about three blocks from my destination on Lenox Rd, I was on a six lane road and when about two blocks from the hotel, I found myself in a 'left turn only' lane! No problem, the 550 said "Recalculating" and by voice had me make two right turns and a LEFT turn to get back on track. The LEFT turn was unexpected because my instincts told me that I had gone beyond the hotel and I would have normally turned right!

When I left the hotel, I had planned on returning to the freeway to get to my next destination. Instead I decided to let the 550 tell me how to go, and although I have lived in Atlanta for many years, I discovered excellent streets I had never driven on before and the short cuts greatly reduced my travel time!

The next week I was visited by a friend who got lost trying to find my house. After giving him directions via cell phone, he finally arrived, and I told him that he wouldn't have had a problem if he had had a GPS unit like my 550. Of course, after I demonstrated it to him, he fell in love with it and I ended up giving him my unit and ordering another for myself.

This time, after reviewing the differences between the 550 and 580 models I decided to pay the difference for the 580 model. The only difference is access to some data on the MSN site. The annual membership for the MSN data is about $50/year and the 580 includes one year free subscription. I found a price for the 580 which was less than $50 more than I had paid for the 550 so went for it.

The MSN option (which works ONLY in areas where MSN collects data) provides four functions: 1) A listing of gasoline prices, ranked according to distance from your current location. Numbers in red are higher than the average and green, below. Touching the item on the screen will direct you to the selected station. I am not sure how MSN gets its data but I assume it depends upon people supplying the data. Two days ago, I needed gas, and was surprised to find a station listed less than a mile from my location that had a price about twenty cents below the lowest price listed at any station. I was not really to surprised to find that no station existed at that location! Since I was headed home at the time, I easily located a station on my way that was just a few cents above the lowest price.

2) A listing of movies is available. You can select titles or theater. If you select title and scroll down to the title you want to see--touching the title will present a list of theaters ranked according to distance from your current location. Touching the theater will give you the address, phone number and starting times for the movie.

3) This provides the current weather and can give the forecast for the next three days.

4) This provides traffic advisories. I really haven't experienced this yet. Details shows a map showing unfavorable conditions and I understand that this can affect the routing.

In conclusion, I love the unit. I have always felt it somewhat nerveracking, driving in unfamiliar territory looking for street names and addresses. It is very comforting to know that I will have plenty of advance warning of upcoming turns.

Atlanta has a number of transition roads between freeways and some surface streets. The call these "Connectors" and abbreviate them with "Conn.". As I approached the turnoff for the "Glenridge Conn.", it was a shock the first time I heard a voice say, "Turn right on Glenridge Connecticut!".

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Gret GPS. Very Happy With it.

Strengths: Fast GPS Connection, Bluetooth, Live Traffic Information.

Weaknesses: More Points of interest needed on this machine. MSN direct service isn't available everywhere.

Summary: I spend a lot of time on the road for work and I need a GPS that gives me live traffic update so I can avoid traffic jams on the freeway. I bought this GPS unit about 3 weeks ago after extensive research. This GPS fulfills all my requirements, which include updated maps, bluetooth, MP3 player, and live traffic update. This unit works great! it automatically receives traffic updates via MSN direct and automatically reroute me to avoid heavy traffic. However, MSN direct service is not available everywhere. It's only available in major cities. The service is free for the first year and then $50 per year after that, or $130 for lifetime subscription, which is fairly reasonable.

Also, Garmin needs to update their POIs. Overall, I am very happy with it and to me, it's quite affordable.

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Great Product

Strengths: Works well even in situations with glare. Names the streets. Haven't had to use the traffic avoidance feature yet. Great Reception.

Weaknesses: Odd shape. MSN direct only works when the car power cord is plugged.

Summary: Overall a great buy. I brought this over the C550 because of the live traffic feature, but I have yet to use it, but I've only had it for a week. Not sure it it is worth the extra cost almost $150-200 extra.

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A good gps system

Strengths: Bright, easy to read screen; quick recalculation; portable; good mounting system; internal battery; large POI database

Weaknesses: Small screen; can't create your own route (although I'm not sure how many gps systems allow this); doesn't show multiple routes (shortest distance vs faster time) on one screen

Summary: This is my first gps system, and it's a pretty good one. The screen is bright and the interface is very user-friendly. I've used it several times in the last month to go to new places, and it has worked great.

I wished it showed both the shortest distance route and the fastest time route on the same screen and allowed you to choose. This is not possible; you have to select which type of routing logic you want from the menu. By default, it's on "faster time". I tried testing it going to a familiar location and it took me pretty far out of the way. This was because it routed me to higher-speed roads. However, these roads had more traffic than local ones. So there will be times where the "faster time" route will take you longer because of traffic.

I haven't really tested out the MSN Direct services. You get one year of free subscription. It'll take a while to download all the data, so you won't have access to traffic, weather, movie times, and gas prices right away. Seems like the traffic is only for major routes and I haven't seen it displayed yet on the system.

I also wished you could create custom routes to places and save them; but then again, this is my first gps and I'm not sure if any gps system allow you to do that.

Overall, this is a good gps system. I did a lot of research and it seems Garmin has better routing logic than several of the other popular navigation systems. The mounting system is good, and the unit stays in place throughout all kinds of driving. The unit is fairly small, so it's pretty portable (not small enough to fit in your pocket though). The voice directions are very clear and understandable. I would definitely recommend this product.

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Garmin Streetpilotc580

Strengths: fast response, portable, can run on battery, speaks street names

Weaknesses: screen gets fingerprints easily, does not display points of interest on screen

Summary: I have used this product for several days and am satisfied with most things. Not quite as sophisticated as my old Streetpilot 2620 as far as the display. I do appreciate how quickly it responds as far as loading maps and trip recalculations.

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Good GPS

Strengths: Very Very easy to operate and use Directions and navigations accurate upto 95% Blue Tooth and MP3 player is great plus

Weaknesses: Frequenlty falls from dashboard mount Poor voice selection list Voice instruction either too detail or too brief Slightly bulkier device - minor thing

Summary: Overall it is a very good product. It is very very easy to operate and use. Very use friendly screen and easy navigation from one menu to another. Directions and navigation are accurate most of the time. Blue tooth and MP3 player makes it very nice.

Major drawbacks include: The GPS frequently falls from dashboard mount. Poor voice selection list and voice instruction either too detail or too brief. Just a minor thing that screen is little bulkier and is not visible until you decide to put your GPS some place in your car like dashboard.

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Good one

Strengths: Full feature loaded

Weaknesses: N/A

Summary: I have Mio 310x, and this one is for my wife. It is cute. With all the feature loaded. MSN direct gives you all the information including the traffic and other useful information. With this, you never lost and get stuck in the traffic. Compare to the Mio, the live traffic does make a lot of differences.

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One of the best GPS devices

Strengths: Complete feature list. Fast satellite lock. Bluetooth, TTS, Traffic all work very well

Weaknesses: Bulky. Somehow limited MSN direct service

Summary: This is the highest model in StreetPilot C series GPS. It has all the features most of people will look for: SiRFIII chipset (fast satellite lock), TTS (read street names), Bluetooth (cellphone cell phones), MP3 and traffic information. Super fast satellite lock. Attach the power plug, enter destination, put on seatbelt and GPS is ready to navigate. Bluetooth works very well with all my cell phones. It transfers all contact information from the phone to GPS almost instantly. It pairs with cell phone automatically. Once set up, you walking into your car, GPS will pair itself with the phone right away, no button needs to be pushed. GPS interface is very easy to use, routing and re-routing is fast and accurate enough. The only downside on the hardware side is the bulky size, but if you leave it in your car all the time, it really doesn't matter. Traffic information from MSN Direct works well with the GPS. When delay detected, GPS will tell you minutes delay. You can choose to bypass or just go ahead. I found the delay minutes very useful. It's minor delay like 2 minutes, you can just ignore. If it is major backups, you can choose detour. Other MSN Direct service however is limited. Gas information only include regular gas price, no plus or premium. MSN Direct is free for the first year, costs $10/month or $130 lifetime after 1 year. In summary, it is very nice GPS if you don't care about the size. It got almost all the features high end GPS has at a much lower price. (Comparable Nuvi 680 costs hundreds more)

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Garmin c580

Strengths: good and appropriate functionality...generally easy to set up and use

Weaknesses: I have had to have several bites at the MSN set up

Summary: I bought it for a visitor from the UK while he was in the US, and it worked wonderfully well for a US neophyte in the NY tri-State area. I've also used it in Atlanta and Austin successfully. The weather feature is nice to have, I haven't had cause to use the traffic or movie features yet, the gas price feature is excellent, but the hands free telephone (after I bought the microphone accessory) is the icing on the cake. Great product - why would anyone buy a built in sat nav system?

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StreetPilot c580 GPS - North America (City/Vehicle, 3.5" LCD)

Strengths: Wonderful tool for navigating in a new area. As we just moved to the L.A. area, we are very happy with the ease of programming, and use.

Weaknesses: Does not have at least 5 locations in our area that have been open for more than 18 months in the database, some streets in newer subdivisions are either not listed, or are in wrong location on map, the pronunciation of the street names is atrocious(thoug

Summary: All of the weaknesses are very minor compared to the fact that, out of the box, this GPS was easy to update online, program, and use. Very intuitive interface combined with a bright legible screen make for a top notch product. Have already suggested this model to friends. Before deciding between the c580 and the c530, make sure you will be in one of the MSN data zones, though, if not, the c530 will be just as good, and is cheaper

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Function over Form

Strengths: MSN direct feature (traffic, Weather, movie times, gas prices). Sensitive receiver. Fast start up.

Weaknesses: Block like design. No AC power cord included (charges via usb indoors. Movie times on MSN direct are limited theaters. Most gas MSN stations names are not listed in GPS but navigation to them works

Summary: 2007-10-19 12:40:46 Had the GPS for a few days. Works much better than the old Magellon I had. aquires GPS signal in under a minute from cold start and does not attempt to navigate without a lock like my Magellon did. The MSN direct took a while to activate and the movie times were missing for the smaller local theaters in the area. Many stations were persent for the gas price but no names still you could navigate to them. It comes with a disk for a dashboard mount however which I have not used yet.

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Garmin C580

Strengths: Super sensitive GPS receiver; Compatible with many Bluetooth cell phones;Intuitive and user friendlyStrong window mount; high quality GPS

Weaknesses: MSN direct Traffic, Gas, Weather, and Movie Information, The MSN only works in some areas. Not all of the ones that they say are working.

Summary: Garmin is known to produce quality GPS products and the StreetPilot C580 is no exception. The GPS unit is basically the C550 with the exception of added MSN direct data service. It is a highly reliable unit with very quick updates. The MSN part does not live up to what they say. I live in NC and it doesn't work in the Raleigh area. It also doesn't work in the Richmond, VA area. I would buy the C550 without the MSN for less money until they get the unit to work correctly.

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