Handheld GPS Reviews - Customer reviews - Garmin StreetPilot c530 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Manufacturer: Garmin

List Price: $363.79
Our Price: $183.00
You Save: $180.79 (50%)
Refurbished Price: $88.90
Used Price: $119.00

Average Customer Rating: -

Product details

Offers (18)

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Name: J. Jackson
Location:
Date: 2007-05-20
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Portable, Affordable and Awesome for the Price
Comment: 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.

Name: sjniedz
Location: North Smithfield, RI United States
Date: 2007-08-07
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Gas stations are now just for gas, not directions.
Comment: I have used two older versions of the Garmin (c330 and street pilot) and this one is just like those...great. I have owned it for 2 weeks now and have no complaints. Satellite reception is stronger with the c530 than the c330. I was in my home away from a window when I first turned it on and to my surprise it locked in on the satellites and retrieved my position.

I do agree that Garmin should have included the speaking of the street names, however I still believe this is a good value given the price. I do not believe you can go wrong with this unit.

Name: malkie
Location:
Date: 2007-10-18
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Love it
Comment: I got it for my husband and he loves it. He uses it even when driving to work on his regular route if he hits traffic.
It is very easy to use. The fact that it does not announce street names has not been an issue.
Amazon has a 30 day price match garantee and and in that time the price fell about $30 dollars and they very nicely refunded the money when I called so after you buy keep an eye on the price.

Name: Harrington
Location: BC, Canada
Date: 2007-01-09
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Not Easily Surprised... the Garmin c530 DELIVERS!
Comment: Being a tough guy to buy for, my family gave me a cash credit to buy a GPS for a Christmas gift. Much THANKS to them! Waited for the January sales and luckily read a local flyer offering the c530 steeply discounted to $364 US. Quickly grabbed the only one they had in stock. This current best and low price were my happy and rookie introduction into automotive GPS. (My only other brief GPS experience was with a handheld eTrex a few years ago and while interesting didn't hit me with any "Wow" factor.) Previosly had already decided the c530, Garmin's middle-range StreetPilot model, was the GPS for me as I didn't want or need MP3, text messaging and other options offered in the c550. (Have also learned the best value is almost always the one with the same, core high-end features but not all the optional nuances that I rarely - if ever use.) Have an iPod and didn't want or need the Bluetooth capability as I have a Treo 700P and its own excellent Bluetooth. Just wanted the recently upgraded, SirfstarIII GPS Receiver with the latest and brightest screen technology. The c530 has the same processor and screen of the much higher priced Nuvi 660.

Speaking of "Wow" well... this has it and more. It worked literally out of the box. Didn't read the manual. It quickly found satellites and updated almost instantly. The screen is extremely readable in ALL light. So bright I have to dim it to 30% at night. Came with the current v8 N.American database installed. Had to upgrade the installed software from version 4.0 to 4.1 (More on that in a moment). There is nothing about this unit I don't like. Smart, intuitive menu's. Quickly identifies local businesses, fuel etc. Obviously these specific items have to be in the database which appeared quite complete for my area. It is smokin' quick and updates almost instantly. Different map views with scrollable access if desired. Tried to fool it with different and tricky locations that I already knew and it handled them all with aplomb. When I detoured to avoid a train crossing delay the voice became slightly strident as I passed a couple change-of-route options (still blocked by the same moving train) until finding the proper underpass. The voice lost its slightly demanding tone and became more calm with me back on track. I am surprised how excited I am with this. Cool is an understatement! All in all a very impressive package. Granted, I am still in the honeymoon period and while the receiver is well thought out and impressive in use, (here come the only cons...) Garmin's support for my Apple OSX platform is less than impressive.

Garmin has promised full support for Apple OSX across their complete GPS line in 2007 and they have begun to deliver on that with a recent sport/software release. However, to update the c530 using my PPC Mac on OSX was a bit of a dance which I was able to shuffle through, but many less sophisticated Apple users would find onerous if not impossible. The latest Intel Mac's would have little or no problem as they could run the .exe updater in Windows. Fortunately, I have the last Virtual PC (v.7) which allows the ability to run Windows in emulation and was able to update the receiver using that. As this unit supports POI (Point of Interest) database downloads it provides for custom GPS information. Garmin continues to ignore Mac users by not making a POI downloader that works on the Mac. Fortunately a fellow in the UK wrote a couple of Applescript converters that allow hard-nosed Mac users to run around Garmin's historical and extremely short sighted view of the Mac. While disappointed that Garmin has been this slow in recognizing the Apple/Mac platform - they are attempting to remedy. Its lack of Mac support is only a nuisance when trying to update software and not something you do often. Once the optional information is loaded into the receiver it really shines with well thought out performance. You would have thought Apple had built it. Highly Recommend!

Name: Fotoman
Location: USA
Date: 2007-06-13
Customer Rating: -

Summary: The Great Garmin C530
Comment: My son-in-law had one and I was going on a long trip to NY and Canada. His seemed so easy to program that I thought it might be good for me to have on my trip. I bought one. It is the best thing since sliced bread. Wow! It took me to places that I know I would never find on a map. We went to a Winery . . . I still don't know where it is . . . but the Garmin c530 got me there and back without any trouble. I almost ran out of gas at one point. I punched in fuel and it took me from an interstate to a small town and asked me if I wanted to continue my trip after. I said "Yes" and when I finished it told me to turn here and there and suddenly I was back on the Interstate with a full tank of gas. I am in awe about its performance. I highly recommend it for anyone traveling in the US or Canada. I should be a salesman for Garmin because I tell everyone about it and I don't get any commission. LOL.

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