My wife just had her (originally mine) Garmin StreetPilot 550 stolen, and I, my 340. As a musician frequently needing to find remote addresses in the greater Chicago area at night, I needed a replacement. Since the 550 was clearly a premium machine compared to the 340, how could the 530 possibly be priced below it? I like the reduced reflection of the 500 series' screens (at least for daylight use), definitely easier on the eye than the 300 series. The 530 may not pronounce street names, but it allows you to see them on the screen better.

But the Cnet review of the 530 is not encouraging, and Amazon consumer testimonials on behalf of the c530, while favorable, are relatively cursory compared to those provided by 330 and 340 supporters. (I personally find the smaller, Nuvi series too minuscule--additional gadgetry to carry in overloaded pockets and to lose faster than a thief can break into a car.) Even though both the 340 and 530 are discontinued, I don't see how any upgrades available to 330 or 550 owners would not also be available to 340 and 530 owners.

Having owned both a 550 and a 340, I frankly never noticed any faster, improved locking into the signal with the 550, despite Garmin's claims. It pretty much comes down to better screen appearance (530) vs. more detailed voice directions. So I'm going to go with the reviews as well as the unit I really had no complaints about, other than the wash-out factor, and pick up another StreetPilot 340.

Either way, you probably can't go wrong. If the price spread reaches 20 or more, buy low.

I remember the state of navigation during car trips when I was a child back in the 70's. My father would be driving and my mother would be trying to make sense of a stack of AAA maps. We could just about deal with the Interstates but finding an address was more about dead reckoning. The effective word there is "dead" which is how you'd be when you had to take your eyes off an unfamiliar road to read street numbers. I'm not even going to get into how many gas stations had no idea what we were trying to find. Successfully solving a Rubik's Cube was easier than refolding those huge paper maps.

My friends we are living in the future. GPS navigation in cars is a revolutionary product. Pat yourselves on the back for another great American innovation that trickles down from military research. I've used a bunch of auto, hiking and aviation GPS navigators and these Garmins are among the best.

The Garmin c530 I will buy today is the fifth Garmin GPS unit that I am purchasing. Over the course of birthdays and holidays of the last year my father, sister, girlfriend and even my 83 year-old grandmother are all using the c530. They all love it and rave about it to their friends.

I am generally very good with directions but I find that the Garmin c530 is an excellent supplement to helping navigate car trips. I've even driven cross-country with Garmin leading the way and what a difference it makes. I didn't even have to make hotel reservations. I'd just drive as long as I wanted and then, when I was done driving for the day, I'd have the c530 tell me where the closest hotels were and I'd opportunistically navigate to the one that sounded the best. Gas stations, restaurants and points of interest are similarly easy to find this way.

They've really managed to cram a lot of value and functionality into a tiny little package (computer, memory, battery, etc.). Finding an address is a dream now. Just punch it in and go. Get lost somehow? The c530 re-routes you on the fly. The interface, while not perfect, is simple enough for most. I prefer the British voice calling out the directions. I've dubbed the disembodied voice as "Ms. Hermione Jampot" and I don't even mind when she seems to get a little bit of attitude in her voice if I defy her directions. The built-in trip computer provides an interesting array of statistical information on your travel as well.

With all of that praise, I can point out a few caveats and flaws. Though the c530 is great at navigating, you do still need to exercise a little judgment from time to time. The GPS unit doesn't always take into account construction, one way streets, right turn only, etc. Sometimes, in situations where there are multiple lanes and ramps at exchanges, the instructions are not implicitly clear. Occasionally it tries to send you in unusual directions that you might have to override. In specific parts of the country, especially in the cow-paths-turned-streets that is the City of Boston this c530 unit got completely confused and sent me miles in the wrong direction. (Note: I grew up in Boston and learned to drive there but I STILL need GPS to get around) Likewise, my girlfriend was programming a destination while parked in a garage and accidentally turned off the GPS receiver. Once outside she went quite a ways away from her desired destination before she realized something was wrong.

For the most part, I've found this GPS unit to be a great value (especially as the prices have steadily come down). It is compact, reliable and easy to use. My family has found it suitable for all ages, including my granny who has made everyone in her retirement community green with envy as she successfully navigates her new town with alacrity. There is room for some minor tweaks in this unit. But as it is today it is an incredible device that will make you wonder how you ever got around without it.

This is an ok navigtor but if you want something that will tell you turn by turn prompts the C340 is for you. I have had 4 different ones & the one that I like the best is the C340. I only had the C530 for a few days & it quit working. I sent it back & got the C330. That one didn't last the day. The first C340 didn't work either. I sent it back & was really tired of all of them. I got one more & haven't had a problem with it yet so, I hope it lasts. I'll keep you all updated.

I have owned this Garmin GPS for about 3 months and it has really helped out alot. I really hate maps and I'm not the most experienced driver, but with the Garmin c530 I am driving like a pro. It's very comforting knowing that I can find my way to a long distant job interview or navigate on busy highways.

However, the c530 isn't perfect. The biggest problem (as other reviewers have pointed out) is that this unit doesn't announce street names. Second I have experienced a few glitches. There have been a few times when the unit tells you to turn at the wrong address. Sometimes the unit gets really wacky and the voice says turn right and the screen shows to turn left. Another time I used the "point of intrest" feature to get some food and the GPS took me to a residential home address. I have also noticed that the recalculating feature lags sometimes for a few minutes (leaving you without any directions). It's almost like it decides to take a nap.

I don't regret buying this model, but I would rather own something that I know I don't need to upgrade. This one does the job, but it's almost embaressing sometimes when it screws up.

I have to give it a bit of credit. It does seem to hold up in the city and sometimes through tunnels. However, if you get stuck in a traffic jam in a big tunnel in the city, this unit will crap out and lose the signal. I also like how the unit estimates your arrival time. If you go the speed limit, the time estimate is pretty acurate.

Out of the box this C530 was easy to use. I've had this for a month now and am in awe of how I can get to a destination that I never went to before without wrong turns.

There are some destinations that I am VERY familiar with and I think there's a short cut that the Garmin c530 doesn't take me through. This is inevitable. I am sure that I will not get lost going somewhere.

THe screen is bright day and night.

I can see the map and read the text very easily. I do need a wee bit of magnification to read well so I use 1.25 cheaters. I don't need cheaters to read the text.

The voice is loud and distinct.

I contacted Garmin and there is an updated full app MapSouce disk heading my way. This will enable me to see the map on my computer and input POIs (point of interest).

The menu is thorough and easy to learn.

I downloaded new vehicles from Garmin (Garmin.com/vehicles) these installed easily.

The Garmin c530 showed up easily on my computer.

This is ideal for my use.

I would buy this unit for my Dad who is computer illiterate and be assured that he would use it out of the box.

[...]

Very good tools.

I paid $[...] for this and it is well worth it. Last I saw the price was going down.

I ordered and use the "mat" to hold the unit in place. Very solid holding surface, thus far no shifting on the dashboard even in tight turns. I had the first windshield mount fall off after a bunch of hot days.

TOB9595

The Garmin StreetPilot c530 is a simple GPS navigation system. It adopts quickly if you chose to deviate from the route it picks. It gives ample warning for up coming turns so that you do not need Street Names. Its lack of announcing street names, lack of use as a cell phone or iPod makes it a pleasure to use it for the one thng it was designed for; Get from Here to There. The friction base (available from Garmin not the one Amazon incorrectly claims it will work with) is easy to move from car to car and to reposition so that it does not interfere with driving.

Great GPS for the price. While not perfect, it is surprisingly good, and a life-saver when in unfamiliar territory. Easily ported from one vehicle to another, I ended up buying another one just to keep peace in the family (and a chance to keep one in MY car!) Maps and restaurants may be a bit dated at times; it happily directed me to a restaurant that had been closed for nearly a year - not a serious problem, tho, there are plenty of others to choose from, and I suspect that this is a common annoyance to some extent among all GPS's. I switched it to the optional WAAS; the difference in accuracy is indeed noticeable. Great sensitivity and battery life; incredibly easy and fun to use.

I had a friend buy this model Garmin and he raved about it. My biggest concern was, "is it easy to use"? Yes! Less than 5 minutes out of the box it was in my car and working! ANYONE can use it and I truly mean ANYONE!!

I recently had to take my husband to doctor in a nearby town. The receptionist made it clear how hard it was to find and gave me sooooo many directions. I wrote them down, not sure if the Garmin could handle the job! A true test it was! This building actually sat back behind another building. It took me there 1-2-3 and even brought me in the RIGHT driveway!

It's great having that peace of mind that I'm not going to get lost (again).

The Garmin gets my 5 stars for easy of use and for being on the money everytime I've needed it to come through for me! Another plus is that it comes with the car kit and charger. Some models do NOT include that. This one does!!

I'm very pleased! Great value! The kids loving changing the voices...we now have a british woman speaking to us!

I bought the 530 garmin and took of for the mountains, worked perfect right out of the box. dont waste your money on the more expensive models,this one will get you anywhere you want to go.Garmin is the model that is in the Smithsonian as the earliest developer of gps,go with the leader in the field not the imitations.Larry G

The first unit I bought went dead after two days. Amazon handled the problem fast and replaced it with a new one. Unfortunately it went dead again after two weeks. It unfortunate because is a helpful tool. We are considering giving Garmin one more chance.