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!

This is the first GPS unit that I have bought and owned. Overall, I am very pleased with the unit. It is easy to setup and very easy to use. One thing that is nice is that all the maps are preloaded and you do not have to upload region maps if going to another area of the US. The point of interest are great. I can find anything I want and get easy directions to their location. I can add my favorites as well. The bluetooth is great, I can lookup a POI and the select to call that POI via cell phone with the bluetooth. The MSN direct is easy to use as well. The service will direct your route of travel around traffic. The gas listing I find useful as well. I am able to find what the best price is in my location and then get directions. The turn by turn is great, it tells you the street name and therefore you do not have to take your eyes off the road or guess which street if there are many close together. The only thing that I do not like about the unit is that I cannot have multiple locations selected for directions, say I was going on a trip and wanted to have multiple stops programmed, it would not be able to do it.

I upgraded my old StreetPilot c320 to the newest c580, I think it is definitely worth the upgrade.

Here are couple improvements from old streetpilot C300 series:

1. New SiRF high sensitivity chip that locks satellite really really fast, less than 20 seconds, my old C320 takes over a min to lock the satellites on a cold start. And the new chip is supposed to perform much better in downtown area as well, though I have not tried it.

2. Intergrated MSN Direct service is great!(if you live near one of the major metro area) I get movie times, gas price, weather and traffic data. That is a lot of add-on feature, eliminate my need to check my mobile phone for these kind of stuff, and those are all intergrated so once you found a movie u like, or a cheap priced gas station, or a traffic jam, your gps either takes you over or re-route the route to avoid traffic problems. This is great.

3. Bluetooth hands-free calling is also great, now I dont have to be in danger of holding my cell while driving in a busy highway or make my neck tired when on the phone, and I can concentrate more on driving.

4. Great display LCD screen, brighter and now anti-glare compare to my old C320.

5. Improved mounting method than old C320

6. A MP3 player and a picture viewer

Things I wish they'd improved:

Design is old-school, to get better design you have to pay $100-200 extra for the nuvi series...

Cannot plan multi-destinations in a single trip.

Did not come with backup MapSource DVD, if you accidently delete data in your GPS, you are screwed.

Speaker can be better for mp3 playing

This is my 3rd Garmin GPS device ... and I'm disappointed in both the reliability and the support. After 5 weeks, the Bluetooth feature worked only sporadically and then the unit just died. I called support and after close to 45 minutes on hold, talked to a rep. He finally agreed to have me return the unit via UPS overnight and that a new unit would be returned to me via UPS overnight. I sent it in and they received it on a Friday. I had to call again to determine when it would be returned ... and received a replacement unit about a week later after sending it in.

That second unit worked for five days and then died. Called support again and after a 40 minute wait, talked to another rep. That rep thought it was a software problem and recommended I download new software. But first I had to wait 48 hours for the internal battery to fully discharge ... apparently there's a software bug that blocks the screen from displaying data. Why they shipped a replacement unit with "old" software is a complete mystery to me (and to the rep).

It seems to be working now and we'll see if it remains working for more than a month. I'm surprised about this as both Garmin devices I'd owned previously were pretty much trouble free. And I'm really disappointed in the lack of "service recovery" that Garmin displayed.

First GPS unit, and I really like the Garmin C580. Very fast route calculations, though not always the quickest route. I purchased before a recent trip from Ohio to North Carolina, one that we have made before but not in several years, so I was somewhat familiar with the trip. We went down a different way than we intended to come back for sight-seeing reasons, but on the way back, there were several times that the Garmin tried to take us on a route that was not the most direct. Once I started driving the way I knew was faster, it would quickly recalculate, and sure enough, the arrival time would drop by a half hour. I did follow the directions on the unit at one point entering Ohio, and another car we were traveling with went the normal route. They were behind us at the turn off, but beat us home by nearly a half hour, and that leg of the trip was only about 3 hours total! However, it was useful in getting us around a traffic stoppage on the highway at 11:30 at night in the mountains of North Carolina, which was a blessing. The POI database was also great in looking for a hotel - we just sat at a rest area, pulled up the phone numbers and called.

MSN direct info was good for gas prices, was hit and miss with traffic data. Bluletooth feature is nice, but can be hard to hear and be heard. I would not recommend this as a primary hands free device, but can be nice for in-car conference calls, or when traveling with friends or family.

Overall, I am very pleased with the C580 - however, I think I will still be pre-planning trips as well whenever possible, to make sure I am taking the fastest route.

Very easy to set up and use. It's small enough to not block my view of the road, but the screen is large enough to make the maps very readable and the color-coded streets are very helpful. The screen has excellent resolution and is readable in the brightest sunlight. The Bluetooth connection to my cell phone was quick to set up and works beautifully. Directions are reliable if not always the most efficient, but it adjusts smoothly if I decide to take a different route or get detoured.

The only thing I'm not certain of yet is the value of the MSN traffic information. I haven't fully tested that yet, but initial results are unimpressive. At least the first year is free so I'll have plenty of time to evaluate it.

Most importantly, this GPS takes the stress out of driving when I'm going someplace and I don't know the way. No more fumbling with maps or wondering where that tiny side-street is. I feel very confident that I'll get better directions from this GPS than I can get from a local gas station attendant.

I have no way of comparing this to other GPSs, but this one does nearly everything I need and it does it very, very well.

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

I really have enjoyed using this device when it is working. It is very user friendly with its various functions, but it has failed to turn on on several occasions and I have had to return it today for repair by Garmin. I must admit that Garmin has been very responsive to my problems and so I am hopeful that I will be back on the air quickly. However, it is disconcerting since I have had this unit only 3 weeks.

I hope this is just a glitch. I really do like the 580. It has worked well with my cell phone and it has guided me to a number of locations without a hitch. It is worthwhile to get use to it because there are more points of interest that you can access than I was aware of initially.

The 580 contains MSN direct which has been not consistent for me, perhaps because I live on the fringe of the coverage area. I would certainly check to see if you live in a coverage area before paying the extra bucks for a unit which provides the MSN direct option. It has not functioned yet for movie times and places, but weather, and gas prices has been right on. The verdict is still out on traffic.

The product works great with the information is programed in. However,the local streets and establishments need to be updated. It appears much of the local data is 3-5 years behind. It needs the ability to pinpoint a current location and save it. Overall it performs like I wanted it to.

Can't say enough great things about my new Garmin 580. Volvo wanted $3,000 to replace their 5 year old technology in my 2002 Volvo S80. Check the economics Volvo. Bad business decision, oh wait they are a Ford company now...LMAO.

Garmin is excellent for field sales traveling and gets me to 99% of the places I am looking for. Love the Bluetooth phone feature.

Just got my garmin c580 few weeks and tried it everyday. First setup took about 4 mins to lock the satellite signal. After the first setup, it locks signal almost instantly without delay. Tried it on labor day holiday to the beach around some cities along the coast, it guide me to every POI clearly. Its msn traffic alert guided me around avoid traffic jam. It also directed me to a very good seafood restaurant for dinner. It has too many useful functions to list for travel. I think the msn direct service worth even after one year free trial. Garmin c580, it is a real gps navigation system that every vehicle should have. Costco has $ 100 discount on this product and ended Sept 14. Total cost me $ 400 included 2nd day shipping and tax to own this best gps device. Worth !

I have been using my Garmin C580 for a week now and I am very pleased with it's features. I have been very impressed by how easy it is to use.

The only change I would suggest to Garmin would be the ability to program multiple stops along a route. Add that feature and my rating would be 5 stars.

Execellent GPS. I really like the guided voice for directions.
I have been using this GPS for the last 3 months and I love it.
The best part is once I got my new Nokia 5300 Xpres Mobile Phone.
It took me less than 2 minutes to create the connectivity between these 2 devices. The Bluetooth works very fine and I really enjoy to talk to my friends, while driving using bluetooth in my GPS.

I recommend this product strongly.

There have been a lot of favorable reviews and while I write this, I think this is somewhat of a me too. I do have one feature that I wanted to share with other new/potential owners.

When using the MSN direct, Garmin does a good job of letting you know it will take some time to populate the data. I would like to add a little to this in the hope it saves others any angst.

Once you register for msndirect, you then need to have your power supply plugged in to a) begin charging the internal battery and b) begin receiving data. I think "a" is a forgotten aspect. Since, my commute is short, it took several trips to/from the office before msndirect began functioning properly.

Trips 1 and 2, it began to receive gas (3 days for this data to be accurate, movies, and weather. But for some reason, my commute was always a green road with no traffic accidents, delays, or anything at all. In fact, I only got traffic info when I left my map and went directly to msndirect link.

Then, on the 3rd day of use, while driving home, I got an alert in my map for the first time notifying me of traffic delays ahead.

So, it was working properly all along, and I only needed addtional patience, and enough time for the msndirect unit to get enough battery life so that it continues to download and update while you are not in your car.

Basically, as others have written, this is one great unit at a great price. I don't yet understand the draw in paying more for EQUAL features in the Nuvi line, as the StreetPilot seems to have it all at a far better price.

UPDATE: 2 months later, I still love the 580, but I am concerned with the availability of MSNDirect. It is as if the network is still rolling out. When my office location changed and I traveled a "lesser" highway, I noticed that only 5 or 6 of my 22 mile commute received a MSNDirect signal. Even while traveling Route 95/128 in the boston area, I do not receive a signal. And, I am not alone as others I work with have the sam eunit and the same problem.
So, MSNDirect while great when you get signal appears to be a network stil being rolled out or (I hope not) one being dismantled. We need more coverage.

The C580 is easy to use, full of features navigation system. It is accurate and finds the fastest route to every destination. The addition of the MSN traffic reports allow to avoid the congested roads and select less travel routes (although many times with many stop lights). The verbal directions is very useful when driving. I highly recommend this unit.

On the downside, at times (especially after parking in doors), it takes long time to acquire the satellites read (sometimes up to 5 minutes).

MSN traffic reports does not get the updates fast enough when traveling away from home, which makes this feature useless when traveling long distances.

The build-in MP3 has a flat metallic sound, unless it is connected to the car stereo, ignore this option.

The POI database is out of date; for example, on a last trip, many restaurants in the database were out of business. Therefore, call ahead to make sure the establishment is still around.

This is my first GPS so I did lots of research on the web to figure out which was the best one for me. The first step was to decide how much I wanted to pay which was no more then $200. The second step was to decide on features. I knew I wanted the GPS loaded with maps of both the USA and Canada, some systems don't come with maps of Canada unless you purchase them. The next feature I wanted was turn by turn with text to speech as I liked the idea of hearing the street names as I approached them. I also wanted a GPS that was rated as very accurate and fast. As for additional features like MP3 and picture viewer, thought it would be neat, but not essential. I began my research at CNET, Amazon, Best Buy and Circuit City plus a few other sites on the net I can't remember now. I read their reviews and also the reviews of the folks who actually bought the devices. I came down to the choice between the Garmin c580 and Garmin c550. The difference was that the c580 had MSN Direct services free which gives you local gas prices, real time traffic and movie times free for a year. Otherwise I could find no real difference. The price at the time I purchased the c580 was only a few dollars more. Now where I live there is no MSN coverage, but when I went to Las Vegas I had coverage and down in the southern part of Maine there is coverage. I have no plans to extend my membership once it expires. I have really liked the GPS as I have found it extremely accurate. The MP3 player works well, but because of the size of speakers, not really that great to listen to music. The display and voice are very clear. It has Blue tooth functionality. The screen size is 3.5 in which is right for me. I would recommend this GPS as very good. My only recommendation before you buy a GPS is to do your research and read the reviews of the folks who purchased it to get a good general sense of the product.

First-time GPS user. Had it about two weeks, and I've taken one out-of-town trip and a couple into the city. Chose the Garmin 580 because of some enhanced features, including the bluetooth/phone connection, the screen upgrade and most important, the Mac compatibility. Receiver works just as I'd hoped. It's easy to set up, is extremely fast at calculating routes; I can see the screen in bright sunshine with no problems, the bluetooth phone feature is so good I don't even have to take the phone out of my purse. It announces street names and gives me plenty of notice. When I don't follow the route it chooses, it doesn't yell at me (as I'm told some do, as in "You've made a wrong turn!") Instead it simply recalculates the route.

Only quibble is with the MSN Direct service (as a Mac person, I know, I shouldn't be surprised). In my metro area (St. Louis), information is somewhat limited, mostly to construction on the major interstates (although today it did recognize some construction in my suburban area), and it appears to be dated -- more than a week after construction was ended on a major road, it's still trying to route me through downtown to avoid it. According to the msn Web site, it doesn't monitor speed here, so I don't think I'm getting traffic slowdowns, although it does recalculate arrival time for the road construction sites.

But it's free for a year, plenty of time to evaluate, and it is offered in my annual vacation city, too.

this is an excellent product for the money! Great for convertible driving and the traffic reports rock! (if you live in a metro area)

bluetooth is loud and clear!

This is everything I expected it to be! Even though it is a discontinued model, Garmin updated the map database and the O/S. It was a great deal, and that, combined with a great company made it a great Amazon.com purchase.
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br /UPDATE DECEMBER 1, 2008
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br /The unit crapped out last Saturday. No screen, nothing. And my return period ended 12 days ago! Now I am stuck with a worthless paperweight!
br /Buyer beware!!

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.
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br /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.
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br /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.
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br /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.
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br /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.
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br /Aside from some rare occasional glitches, I am still very happy with this unit and would buy it again recommend it to anyone.

GPS functions on this unit work great, similar to other Garmin products. Don't buy this unit if you're getting it for the MSN service. The service is spotty at best and the service and the unit don't appear to work well together. A simple web search will reveal many others with similar complaints of poor or no signal in the middle of coverage areas. Need traffic info consider one of the other Garmin units that use a different traffic service. I called MSN Direct, their customer service is useless, the guy couldn't even find Redmond, WA on a map, you would think Microsoft customer service would know where Microsoft World Headquarters was. Again the Garmin piece is find, beware MSN Direct

I bought the garmin because of the additional features like traffic and the speaker phone. I love the speaker phone and the gps itself is very useful,it gives the directions in bold letters so you can't miss it. The traffic function is still a work in progress and is not reliable, at least in New York City. It misses a lot of traffic, and sometimes still shows traffic after it has long since cleared up. Over all I like it. I had a mio before this and I like the mio graphics better, but the garmin's directions are more clear, so you don't miss turns. (Which is the whole point)

I bought this item on sale at the end of the year and got a great price. The software is good and the screen size works for me. The POI's are good but could use some updates. The satilite link takes a bit of time to lock on after the unit has been off for a few days or in the rain and under cover but once locked on it works like a charm. The MSN Direct service is the best thing about this unit, I get realtime traffic updates and auto avoidance. IT also has all local weather and forecasts plus local gas prices and directions. I think this make the Garmin perfect for traveling or in your local area. The only suggestion is check the product site to see if your local area is supported, if not I might suggest a newer unit or a thinner one with a bigger screen. I think this is a best buy for travelers because of the size and features.

I bought this for my husband for Christmas. This GPS is simple to set up and get started. Maps and voice activation are on target. Finds routes and short cuts we never knew exited. Only complaint is that you have to reconnect your cell phone to the GPS each time you start the car if you want to use the blue tooth feature. This becomes a nuisance, so we dont use it.

I really like my Garmin. I personally wanted a GPS system that was small and compact. The screen is smaller than other models but I did not have a problem seeing the menu icons. It comes with a carrying case and the window mount easily comes off which is important against theft. The menu icons are easy to see and follow. I love how it tells you the street names before you approach them. The only problem I have with it is that the traffic feature sometimes loses reception and therefore doesn't work. Also, traffic does not appear on the normal map screen. It's a separate map you have to go through the menu to find. Otherwise, it's a great product.

Using these units for our fleet of trucks. Works well and easy to set up.

I've owned a c530 and was exceptionally please with the way it performed
br /so I upgraded to the c580. This unit is just as accurate but it does have
br /2 quirks that bother me. It takes a little more time to pick up the
br /satellites than the 530 model, and the text to speech voice seems fuzzy.
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Bought this for my daughter and she loves it. Easy to use and gets her where she is going very easily. Very easy to operate. Love the hands free calling feature as well. Great value.

I'm pleased with the quality of this GPS unit. So glad I got the text-to-speech feature. They should all be like that. It's easy to use, and was well worth the purchase price when I used it for the first time and it got me out of an awful mess on the highway. Note to new users: the text-to-speech feature seems to work only when you choose a language option along with a name (e.g. English Jack). Otherwise, you get just turn-by-turn directions without street names. I also like the cute car icon (better than the original arrow). I now never worry about going anywhere unfamiliar, or taking an unexpected trip off the beaten path. I also don't worry about my kids getting where they need to go, as they have GPS units also! This one has more bells whistles than I need, but these days it's hard to find just a basic GPS unit. I've not yet tried the bluetooth feature or any of the one-year freebies.

[Garmin StreetPilot c580 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct]
br /Excellent Product-I already owned a Garmin C550 and am even more pleased with the C580. Directions are precise and does quick re-calculations if you decide to take a different route than suggested. I haven't used any other brand of GPS, but I don't think any other unit could be more precise or easier to use. I like the thinner Nuvi series, but the audio is much better on these larger Street Pilot units.

I actually purchased the Garmin c580 after a lot of research and reading the reviews. I wanted something very inexpensive but a quality product. The majority of the reviews were very positive and the price was right so I decided to go for it. I do a lot of traveling (local and across the states) and I needed something reliable so I wouldn't have to continue to print maps off the internet. This little gadget is a WONDERFUL tool to have, I don't know how I survived without it. It's my new little traveling companion. I haven't had any problems getting to where I need to go, and it even recalculates my route instantly around traffic and gets me back on track without any problems. This is a wonderful product and the MSN feature is a great add on. I don't use it all the time, but I do find it helpful during traffic jams and I have used the movie time feature and the weather feature. Both have been accurate. I know there were a lot of people disappointed with the "gas price" feature through MSN, but in reality, gas prices change from morning to mid-day to night. So if the "gas price" feature isn't 100% accurate all the time, that shouldn't be the main reason you don't purchase this product. The bluetooth feature is great too...but the sound quality can be low at times. The Garmin is lightweight and easily viewable even with the 3.5 screen size. I updated the maps about the 2nd day I had it and it did take a while to download the huge file, BUT I didn't have any issues with updating it at all and the download was pretty straight forward. I would definitely recommend purchasing this one.

not much to say...excellent right from the box...won't continue the subscription service after the free year is over because most of the services (movies, traffic) are not updated on time...excellent product though...

what a neat gadget! very easy to learn and use. very accurate. almost seems to have a sense of "local knowledge".when in the chicago area the included msn traffic reporter is awesome. and when in chicago the blue tooth hands free phone feature is a real ticket saver. this little magic box can also keep track of those robot red-light cash-cows that cities love so much. the screen is bright enough to be always easy to see. the voice prompts are great, giving no reason to take your eyes off the road in unfamilar terrories. the massive data-bases are incredible, making it easy to locate gas, food, and other nesscities while travelling. this has become a trusted companion whose advise and knowledge are always appreciated.

I bought this GPS as a gift for my dad. My mom borrowed it on a recent trip to Las Vegas and it was great. It helped her get around without having to deal with all of the traffic on the strip. The announcements of street names and pre-turn announcements are great - plenty of time to react but not so many announcments that its annoying. My parents especially love how portable it is. Definitely would recommend!

I got this for my husband after we got lost in chicago for the 5th time. He just got on star but it took them a while to pick up our call and we had to tape and play back the directions. It is super easy to set and use. We look forward to using it if we take a wrong turn so we can quickly get back on tract. I love all the features and ease of use.

This is the best GPS for the price out there. It has all the functionalities you would want from a good GPS (gets me the signal from cold start in about 30s) and more (bluetooth for phone works great, traffic alerts are very useful). The same features exist in the much thinner 660 and 680, but they cost $200 more! I love the TTS feature on this one. I don't need to look at the GPS screen most of the time. I'm just waiting to go on a big trip to the middle-of-nowhere and test this thing out. Oh! and Amazon has the lowest price anywhere on the net for this.. at least that's what I found.

Garmin StreetPilot c580 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct
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br / I've bought many gps's and this is the best so far not too many needless bells and whistles Just it gets signal almost indoors and speaks well bluetooth is great It is the best in it's price range. Just buy it!

This is the second Garmin that I have owned. I like this one better that the first. I've checked out other brands, but I like this one the best.
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I was very disppointed with the Garmin Street Pilot c580 the unit only worked for 1 day and I could no longer power it back on again. I have owned a Garmin Street Pilot 330 for 2 years and never had a issue. I was suprised to recieve a defective product. I wanted to upgrade but now I will just contiune to use what I currently have.

I bought this as an upgrade to my c550, which had a failing battery and 2007 maps. After comparing the price of replacing the battery and upgrading to the 2008 maps, it was cheaper to buy a new unit. I thought the 580 would be a nice upgrade with the MSN, which according to their map, would work in my area, whereas the FM in the 550 did not. I've had it for three weeks now and still have yet to get the MSN working. Even in Seattle, it didn't work. The 2008 maps have some serious problems - it tried to send me through a BUS ONLY tunnel in Seattle and later the wrong way down a one way street! Luckily I had some idea where I was going and eventually turned the darn thing off because it kept telling me to turn around so I could drive through the bus tunnel. But one of the most irritating problems is when using the MP3 player. The screen periodically flashes - a bright white flash - sometimes as often as once a minute. This isn't so bothersome during the daytime, when the background is light, but when driving at night, it is like having a flashbulb go off in your face! I'm considering taking the thing apart to steal the battery and going back to my c550 and the old maps.

I really liked the reviews about the C580 (i.e. from CNET)- and waited while to buy it. I didn't want to spend a ton of money, but needed it mostly for Boston traffic and street navigation. It's OK - sometimes it is late in telling me when to turn so I look like an erratic driver, but all in all, for the money, it's OK.

I got this a couple of months ago and excitedly played around with it to see all it's capabilities. I live just outside Boston, and work even further away from Boston, so I always hit traffic on my way home and got this because it advertised it could warn about traffic and give you alternate routes that avoid heavy traffic. Hasn't happened yet. When I switch to msn direct, it gives me traffic reports in the Boston city itself, 17 miles away, which I'm not interested in, and although I have traffic as an avoidance in my gps settings, it leads me right into the most congested route. So I don't get what the hype is about, besides calling the street names and giving me weather report. I wouldn't renew my msn direct subscription. The navigation itself is very good; it helps out when you get lost and doesn't lose signal as often in the city, which is a plus, with all the tall buildings around. I'd recommend you buy it, just don't expect it to work miracles...

Locating Satellites. That's what appears on screen whenever you actually need it. I have it on all the time when I'm in the car for the bluetooth. It just seems that whenever I actually need to use the gps, it's always trying to locate the satellites. Sometimes this process can take up to 20 minutes before randomly spewing directions. Sometimes works great, sometimes I feel like throwing the darn thing out the window. And no, it is not a cloudy day when this happens. Just complete random annoyance. When it does work though, gives great directions.

I've had this product for about a month now. I purchased this particular product because I liked the idea of the msn service for traffic, weather, gas, and movies. I haven't made a lot of use of this yet, but the weather, gas, movies, seems pretty accurate. I think that the traffic reports aren't very realistic in that delays are usually longer than reported or not reported at all. I live in Boston though so that is a pretty hard area to report on in real time. The unreported delays would usually be expected by someone familiar with the area, but don't seem to be accounted for in the calculated ETA.

In terms of directions and finding where I'm going, I've found the product to do a really good job of finding the best way to go. In some cases it has actually found better ways to go than the ways I'm used to going to familiar places.

It would be nice if the turn instructions were relative to the speed of travel or complexity of the maneuver, but I expect that this is a fairly common problem for these devices. You can select from a number of views which include a map as well as a direction list.

I think that it is cool that this can act as a bluetooth speaker phone, but I haven't put that capability to the test yet.

I would buy it again.

We just upgraded from the Garmin StreetPilot III we had used for the past six years. Improvements in core GPS functionality and the form factor are much appreciated. Bluetooth integration with my Sprint Treo 700p phone works nicely, although I wish the GPS could access the Treo's entire phone book rather than just its speed-dial. The MSN Direct service is functional and convenient, albeit inessential thus far -- haven't yet given its traffic features a real workout.

this item has been very useful, especially the hands free calling feature. One of the main reasons I bought this particular model was the rating by CR and because it is compatible with a wide range of cellphone companies. It is very user friendly and you can understand the computerized voice. I would recommend this gps.

For the most part I love my Garmin. I have had problems with it saying left when it shows right on the screen. I have also had problems with locations in small towns. As an example, one street was stopped and started again one block later and the Garmin took me around in circles for about 15 minutes.

Garmin C-580 has all the features needed for somwone like me who wants
something simple to use and serves the purpose. I have used it to find
destinations that I did not think the system could find but it did so with
complete accuracy.

I bought the Garmin StreetPilot C580 for my husband to replace a 7 year old StreetPilot. We wanted to stay with Garmin since we have been so pleased with the previous unit. The C580 is wonderful! It is so easy to use right out of the box and has many nifty features such as announced street names, touch screen, and it is extremely quick! Very readable, too, and we love the suction cup mount. We also like the MSN Direct service. You can't go wrong with the Garmin name and this unit is a good deal here at Amazon. It was over $100 cheaper compared to everywhere else! Highly recommend this model. The only cons are it doesn't appear to have the ability to enter actual coordinates and the optional tour guides are very limited, mostly for Europe.

This is my second GPS from Garmin StreetPilot series. First one was StreetPilot c550 and now this one C580. I drove down from Michigan to Georgia almost 750m with c580 without any glitch. However, in Atlanta, I had some troubles with c580. It took me to some unknown destinations. I've updated c580 with 2009 maps now and find the issue has reduced little bit. Overall, I'm pleased with the TTS, bluetooth, 6-7 hours battery backup and above all traffic alerts and auto detour calculate feature in c580. Anyday, Garmin makes the best GPS.

Ok, my wife and I bought this because we were planning a vacation to drive from San Diego to San Francisco. The price was very attractive and it arrived very quickly from Amazon (go amazon!!!)
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br /Overall, work exactly as advertised. It is a little large and the MSN features are cool nice to haves but only really care about traffic. Be sure you have all your avoidances set. This could be a fault of our own but when we were on our way to Santa Barbara and wanted to take a more scenic drive on the coast the unit did seem to have trouble and put us in a serious loop. We had to stop, power it down, then power it back up. Also, noticed in San Francisco it did a great job getting us around the city. It did have a few problems in Union Square with all the tall buildings.
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br /Finally, it gets us where we need to go at a good price. I was considering one of the more expensive garmins but this one is perfect for us as a portable unit. It has most of the important features (bluetooth, and MSN) of the expensive guys and is much cheaper. Also, a word of advice, do not put your home address in the unit. If this is ever lost or stolen...

It's a great beginner GPS. Love the Blue Tooth for cell phone use. Like the MSN search feature, yet may not show every store in the area. Love that I can get real time gasoline movie times prices. Don't like that the case that comes with it doesn't have an opening for power cord. Don't like that you cannot always move the map around with a touch of a finger.

This is my 4th GPS, but my first for car use only.
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br /Great item, quick signal pick up. Sound quality is the only minus. Very good value.

Choose this one because of its blue tooth capability. The blue tooth works really well with my blackberry. It reroutes relatively fast and has a good amount of POIs. It sometimes has trouble finding satellites when surrounded by tall buildings. The size is a bit bulky and might be a problem for some....still able to fit it in my pocket though.
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br /Its a good GPS for the price

features wise it's a great product except the shape. it's a kind of small TV in your car.

Works well and gets you where you need to go; easy to use as well. Have not used the MSN Direct; it comes with a free 30 day trial.

This product is great for the money you spend. Very simple to use, and it obtains the satellite signal it always calculates/recalculates very quickly. The voice is very easy to understand.
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br /The only downfall is the signal for the MSN direct feed. I use this product in Houston and Dallas, two major metropolitans, and I don't always get the MSN direct feed. When I do get it, the traffic updates are amazing, and always save me time. But when I don't get the feed, I end up sitting in traffic forever thinking it's working, before I realize I lost the signal.
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br /For less than $150 it is a great buy.

best GPS around; easy hookup; Garmin site to download is great; Garmin customer service is great; go online to register your GPS

I bought this unit for my wife, & she loves it. I would buy another one. It is easy to use, easy to understand to voice commands, & it is also easy to see the screen.

i have used GPS and worked with these systems since 1985. This is the most intuitive, fully featured system i have ever used.

The c580 is my first GPS unit. I decided that now that we are retired it would work out well for traveling with our travel trailer. I found it to be quite useful on the first occasion that I used it. It guided us back onto the correct route after encountering a closed entrance ramp. The touch screen is very easy to use. Voice is easy to understand, and commands are given far enough in advance to make for easy navigation. Satellite recognition, even inside a building is outstanding, which makes it nice for programming before leaving on a trip. I am a little disappointed that it will allow only one "way point" during a route. The "MSN direct" feature is nice, but updates are too slow to be useful while driving. Overall I am quite pleased with the unit and would recommend it.

We love our new GPS system! Tells you where to go and how to get there. Has weather, traffic, hands free bluetooth. What more could you want. Microsoft is very supportive also. So far it's amazing. It has preprogrammed destinations and gets you to the nearest gas station fast. Why aren't these built into every car?

The Garmin Streetpilot c580 is very user friendly and portable. I've used it a number of times and it worked perfectly. It acquired satalites well and it recalculated directions quickly from wrong turns. The MSN connection worked well in the areas I traveled and gave mostly accurate information.

This was my first GPS system and I Love it. It is very easy to use and worked right out of the box. The MSN Direct does not work in the area that we live it but works great when we travel to a metropolitan area. The Bluetooth works great. As with any speaker phone system, if you have a lot of road noise it can be difficult to hear and be heard, but 90% of the time you can hear fine. I had no problem pairing it with my Motorola KRZR even though it was not on the list of compatible phones.

Very pleased with this product. The touch screen makes it easy to program new addresses as well as recall others from memory. The turn by turn voice directions are easily audible and provide plenty of advance notice prior to turns as well as the new street or highway name you are directed to turn on to. If one follows a different route than selected by the Street Pilot it quickly recalculates to the new route. The simplified maps are easy to follow even in city streets. I find the Street Pilot especially helpful guiding to grandson's soccer games located at hard to find fields. It has eliminated much map reading and backtracking.

I bought this for my son from amazon as a "Gold Box" deal. It has all the bells and whistles that a computer whiz kid loves. He's very pleased , therefore so am I. Thanks Amazon!

My new Garmin GPS is absolutely THE BEST investment I have ever made! I travel a lot for my job and this has made my life sooo much easier. I used to Mapquest every stop I would make--and try to drive, read (without my reading glasses) and locate my next stop. I have programmed my new GPS to be "Lee", an Australian male (you can program several different accents to make it fun!). Now Lee and I travel all over the place with NO problems! AWESOME! Also, you get a free year of MSN, which really adds value to the GPS--shows local gas stations with prices and directs you there as well. Has many other features I am just exploring! I LOVE LEE! You can be sure I WON'T leave home with him!

This is a terrific product. Out of the box into the car with no problems.
Cell phone pairing no problem but phonebook did not auto load? Waiting for answer from Garmin. The product works well as advertised.Great value with Amazon price!

aMAZON HAD THE BEST PRICE OF ANYONE IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY for that gps. I'm really happy with it.

Wow, help right out of the box. The c580 is easy and a pleasure to use. Initially it does need some time to find it's SATs and download all the latest available updates for you. As you move around it "learns". You will enjoy this little travel companion. You still have to use common sense as it doesn't think for you - yet. Best bang for the buck. Yup, I wanted the full featured babe. This one is spot on. Enjoy it!

A VERY GOOD PRODUCT ,, I HAVE THE 550 ALSO. I HAVE PURCHASED A TOTAL OF 7 GPS SYSTEMS FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND ALL HAVE BEEN GARMIN, 4 OF THEM FROM AMAZON, I DONT PURCHASE ANY PRODUCTS ON LINE OTHER THAN AMAZON, A VERY GOOD COMPANY TO DO BUSINESS WITH, VERY TRUSTWORTH, THANKS
br /JAMES

I love this little gizmo! My previous model was a C320, so this is quite an upgrade. I figured I needed a map upgrade anyway, so for the price Amazon was offering,it seemed better to upgrade the entire unit and get a new map at the same time!
br /I just use it in the car, so the size is not a problem. I was concerned about the bluetooth connecting with my cell phone, but fortunately my palm Centro and the C580 get along just great! My mp3's sound very good (connected to my car's audio system) and I appreciate the way the C580 overrides the music when its time to hear a direction. The text to speech works very well and the screen is much improved over my old C320...no more harsh glare...great non reflective screen!
br / For the price, features, and accuracy of the unit, you can't beat this little baby! I am very happy with my purchase.

Others have pretty much said it all. Mainly I love the bluetooth capability and it works really well. also i can hook the audio output to my cdplayer and my gps goes through my car stereo system by way of the aux port. great product

I have been using a Street Pilot c550 since 2003 and recently updated the maps. I liked it so much that I bought another Street Pilot. This time the Street Pilot c580 because I wanted to try out the MSN Direct. The c580 is just like to c550. They are easy to use, intuitive, and best of all they have loud speakers so you can focus on driving rather than looking at the screen for directions. Excellent features for the price! The Street Pilot C Series hooks up to my bluetooth phone without a hitch and the MSN Traffic is good but not available in all areas. Overall, for the price, features, accuracy of the unit, I highly recommend it. I wish Garmin improved on the Street Pilot C Series with QWERTY inputs with new GPS chips and 333Mhz processors instead of discontinuing the product. It would have been nice to have the new maps from the Nuvi 2x5 Series with the loud speakers of the Street Pilot. If you want the most bang for the buck with ease of use, the Street Pilot c580 is a winner. It comes with 1 year MSN Direct free trial, and if you like it you can go on the Garmin website and buy it for $60 for lifetime traffic -- just like the Nuvi 760 with no pop up advertising like the 265WT. The car charger acts as the traffic antenna.
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br /I also own the Nuvi 760, Nuvi 260, Nuvi 255, and Nuvi 265WT. Now all my vehicles have a Garmin. The Nuvi Series speaker volume is low (even in the highest volume settings) compared to the Street Pilot C Series. This is the only advantage of the Street Pilot C Series.
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I was on my way to a football game and didn't know how to get to the school. A friend lent me his GPS and I just fell in love with how easy it was to use. I just had to get one for myself.

We had the previous version of the Garmin StreetPilot and loved that item, but this one is absolutely incredible. It is one of the best navigation systems that I have ever seen. The price was an amazement for what it is capable of doing. It is a million time better than the overpriced Magellan Navigation systems that all of my friends have. They paid a fortune for theirs and they don't do the job half as good as the Garmin StreetPilot c580. After they see what mine can do, they say they wish they would have know about the Garmin. They also say, can I have yours when you upgrade???
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br /WE LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THE GARMIN AND COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT AT ALL.
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br /Priscilla Leona
br /Albert John

I recently went to Florida and rented one of these for the week. Excellent choose, very easy to use and program. I recommend this product for I just bought one for myself and my son for Christmas.

I love my GPS It's great! the bluetooth works great better then using the speaker on my phone! love the bus. listings too!

Garmin StreetPilot c580 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct
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br /This is the best money spent in a long time. No longer do I have to try and refer to a print out map while trying not to get lost getting somewhere.
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br /Turn by turn directions that are easy to follow and before the actual turn. And, if you are distracted and miss the turn, it automatically recalculates the route!
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br /I seriously LOVED this the first week I had it, but the day I had to drive around Boston...I was simply AMAZED.

The product is very easy to use even for someone like me who had never dealt with a GPS before. The start up is really straighforward and requires no expertise. When I had to install maps from other locations (outside the U.S) it was also simple and the internal memory made it possible to install other maps without having to insert a dedicated SD card.
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This GPS worked well for me! I bought it for when I travel out of town and it was a total life saver for me. On my way back to Myrtle Beach, SC from rural South Carolina for a wedding, there was an accident that had shut down the road so I had to turn off. I immediately hit the detour button and the GPS calculated a brand new route for me to follow within seconds.
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br /The text to voice feature is great, never have to take my eyes off the road to know when a turn is coming up.
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br /The MSN Direct feature, not really sure how it works as Myrtle Beach is not one of the areas that has it.
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br /I'm glad I bought, I dont know how I drove without it!

Love this GPS. Think it is to much better than the others. This is the second one I've gotten - one is a Christmas gift. BUY IT! Worth every penny! The price is right!

It doesnt do anything spectacular. But, it does exactly what I expected it to do and I believe it was worth the $150.

Although I haven't been able to yet use the MSN Direct feature as we are not in an area that picks up this signal everything else has proved to be very useful, accurate, and somewhat entertaining. I can answer my phone and make calls through the device since my cell phone is bluetooth enabled, find restaurants while traveling, movie theaters and other businesses. Had to download 2009 maps (that was a 2-3 hour process) because a new stretch of interstate through N.C. was not on the navigator, it looked like we were going through the woods and Lucille (name I gave my StreetPilot) kept saying "recalculating". I've had Lucille about 6 weeks and so far so good.

Great GPS for the money.
br /Pros: Speaks Street Names, Good Volume, 6-8 Hr Battery Life, MSN Direct Included for 12 months. Simple to use. Easy firmware updates. Easy location marker.
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br /Cons: Somewhat bulkier than newer Nuvi units. No direct co-ordinate input or output capability.

I received a GPS by garvin, It seems to be very accurate. It will be a Xmas gift. I tried it , I liked it and I think they will too.

We loved our Garmin so much that we got another one as a wedding present for our friends, and they love it too. This model was great because it came with 1 yr free MSN access, which gives you traffic updates and finds the cheapest gas prices. Just be careful where you mount it. The first Garmin we bought was stolen out of our glove box because we had the mount on the windshield. We bought another one and the removeable dashboard mount and it has been great.

I have found this GPS system to live up to all of it's noted features. I would highly recommend it.

My favorite thing about the Garmin is the hands free to talk on the telephone. It isn't something I do very often but it sure is neat; especially since it stores all of your cell numbers too. I am amazed how accurate the Garmin is.

I found the Garmin c580 to be a fine gps. It is easy to use. I have used it for a long trip and to navigate in an area that I would have been lost had I not had this gps with me. It has proven to be well worth the price. I would recommend the Garmin c580 to those interested in purchasing a gps.

It is everything and more than I had expected. I would recommend this product to anyone that travels either broadly or close to home.

Product is just as specified and purchased for an excellent price.
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br /Way to go AMAZON.
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br /Mr. Maymi

Garmin C580 is really a Very good GPS compare to others.
br /I tried so many GPS from my friends..at last C580 gave me confidence that yes you can get any place you need in USA without confusion. It will reach you the exact destination.
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We have had our Garmin C580 GPS for about a month now and could not be more pleased with it. It does have a few quirks. For one thing, it does not seem to like gravel roads. We've seen it suggest a route that is 3-4 miles longer in order to avoid going 1 mile on a gravel road. We recently had an unusual experience on a 110 mile, mostly freeway trip. It started to route us off the freeway (I 75 in Michigan) about 25 miles before we expected to exit. We ignored that and continued on the free way. However, at each exit after that, it wanted us to exit that freeway. It gave no reason why we should exit early. We knew where we should exit though, so ignored each attempt by the GPS to route us off. Finally, we passed an exit and got a WRITTEN only warning (no audible alarm or voice message) "Make a U-Turn as soon as possible". We were approaching the Zilwauakee bridge, a 2-3 mile long high rise bridge on I-75. We later learned that the bridge had been under construction but was restored to service the same day as our trip. Evidently our GPS had not gotten the word. Despite these quirks, we are very satisfied with our GPS. It is lightning fast in recalculating a new route if you miss a turn etc. We particularly like the fact that it says street names when turning ("Turn left on 8 mile road" etc.) instead of just "turn left now". Also it speaks freeway exit numbers which helps. The gas price feature (part of the MSN service) is also very helpful. We have saved money on gas purchases by getting gas price info on stations for miles around our current location. The price we paid for our GPS at Amazon.com ($149 with a one YEAR free subscription to MSN traffic control and other services) was cheap for a GPS with all these features. We highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for a full featured GPS at a very reasonable price.

I bought this for my husband for a christmas gift and he couldn't wait to get it so I gave it to him early. He's been using it for about two weeks and he loves the turn by turn instructions (with street names) and the traffic alerts. He has already used the GPS for several trips to destinations he had never been before and said it mapped him there correctly each time.

We are both also impressed with the business locator function on the unit. It is good at finding restaurants, grocery stores, etc from your given location, which is very useful if you are in an area you are not familiar with.

All in all, I think this was a good purchase and worth the extra money. Other popular GPS units below this price do not include traffic tuners (you have to buy them separately for approx $150) and that is one of the features we like best about the unit.

If you want to satisfy your curiosity and stay in a comfortable price
br /I recommend that you try any of these refurbished GPS units.
br /I have bought 5 four Garmin and 1 Navagon and am satisfied with all.

We find the Garmen 580 GPS to be very useful. We used it several times and it came through. Then my husband decided to use it for a trip he already had a route for. It took him a different way. Men can't deal with that. After a few "recalculating" experiences, he opted to pull out the written directions. Geez! I was furious and threw the GPS into the boot. I'm thinking women will find this a more useful tool than men who already think they know how they want to go. It's fine for finding places you've never been to. But if you already have a route; .... DON'T GO THERE!!!!

This is really a c550 instead of a c580 and Garmin dose not care when you tell them about it . I would like to say that Amazon cares about their customers even if Garmin does not they where willing to satisfy me.
I also would like to say that the MSN is a real joke if you want people to respect your product give them what they pay for.

I'm not impressed.
In the city, this device often takes you on side streets instead of main roads, wants you to turn where turns aren't allowed, and takes you down dirt roads with huge potholes!
Are there any of these things that know the main roads in cities?