I ordered this as a Father's Day gift to myself (from my family, of course). Got a great deal (right around $220), which is comparable to the low end of Garmin's Nuvi lineup. I have a number of friends that have the Nuvi, and so far, the only thing I can tell is different is the size. The C580 is not pocket sized, as it is about the 3 1/2 inches thick. But luckily, I don't ever need to use it in my pocket. Thickness doesn't matter when it is stuck to the windshield. Here are the positives: Bluetooth- I use Big G as a speaker phone in the car, and it works great. It immediately paired up with my Samsung blackjack, downloaded the phone book, and was ready to go. Using it as a phone couldn't be easier. Directions- isn't this really why you buy one of these? I have no complaints on any directions, and I have done the obligitory "input a location that I know well so I can see how it does" drill, and it did fine. Sure, maybe I would pick a slightly different route a couple of times, but when I am somewhere unfamiliar, knowing that I can trust this to get me to my destination is great. Estimated time of arrival- I travel a lot by car for business, and I can input my location and know, within a minute or two, what time I will arrive. That is a huge stress reliever. MSN Direct- When I am in larger cities where their is service, the traffic updates are very helpful, and usually pretty accurate (not sure I would pay for this service, however, as so far I have only used it to know how long I would be delayed). MP3 player- not a huge issue for me, as I have a Sirius and an Ipod, but nice to know it is there if I need it. Picture viewer- I have downloaded a couple pictures of the family, and it is nice to be able to see those when I am bored in the car. Garmin Extras- the only thing I have used so far is the Garmin Garage, which is the various icons you can use to replace the standard car. My kids all argue over who gets to pick the icon on each trip (the Black Pearl, Pizza Slice and Santa's Sleigh seem to be the most popular). Text to Voice- having the street names is key. Not only for directions, but for entertainment. I use Karen, the australian female voice, and some of the Native American names around here really give her a hard time. She is a valiant soldier and tries anyway, much to our amusement. Negatives- I really don't have any. Sure, the maps are missing some roads and points of interest, but they all are. I wish that Garmin offered free map upgrades, but they see that as a revenue stream. I wish that the MSN Direct service worked here in Green Bay, but it only gets a little north of Milwaukee. None of these are really a big deals in relation to this unit over others. If you need to put this in your pocket however, spend more and get the Nuvi. But to get the same features as this one, be prepared to spend a LOT more. I have had no issues with acquiring satellites, I have gotten 6 hours of battery time on the rare times I needed it, the screen is a good size, etc. I really don't have any major quibbles with this unit. Again, if navigation is the name of the game, and you are using this in a car (and not moving it around a lot), go with this one. For the price, you won't be unhappy. If size is critical, shell out a couple hundred more dollars and get a high end Nuvi. | Satisfaction | Score |
|---|
| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
|
|