Garmin StreetPilot C550 Touch Screen Navigation System With European Mapping

 

 

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just recieved this item today really looking forward to trying it out, tried it out twice today already,really easy to use, took about 2-5mins to get sat signal on start up,then away to go. really pleased with results and if you detour away from track it suggests, very quick to recalcalate to get you back on track. screen is crystal clear and very easy to read and very smooth when giving directions. takes you right to the door excellent piece of kit. tried the traffic receiver but couldn,t get a signal but don't think i live in an area that gets a signal, will have to wait till i go further afield to try that out, will let you know at a later date if i encounter any problems with this unit, to early to say now but really pleased with this so far.

For some people a GPS unit that is built for even the most technically challenged person would at first thought seem to be a dream. In fact if you can't even work your DVD player then this is the GPS Unit for you.

Myself, well I have used the Garmin Ique and GPS 10 along with a Tom Tom 700 and all of the units while great, lacked something. What I really looked forward to was the 3D maps that I enjoyed on my Tom Tom on a Garmin. I also wanted 'real time' Traffic information, I have used the Plus Services that Tom Tom provide but that soon racks up the GPRS charges on a phone and abroad it is just horrific what some phone service providers charge.

Anyway I noticed the release of the Garmin C550, 3D maps and an integrated FM Traffic receiver with lifetime RAC Traffic subscription. I couldn't wait and ordered it immediately. It arrived last week and has been a let down from day one.

First of all I noticed how much the screen 'jerks' (I have been used to a smooth motion on the Tom Tom 700) so bad is this at times that I have made a turn before the screen has even caught up.

The Traffic receiver is worse, built in to the power lead the Traffic Receiver (GTM21) is about the size of a small USB memory stick. It has a long wire (less than 1M) that has two suckers on so you can stick this wire to the screen. However if you have a heated screen like I do you will not pick up the traffic signals. In fact I've tried the wire on the side windows and still no joy. The only place I can put the wire is outside on the roof and that is not ideal at all.

This unit has the best mount of a GPS I have used ever, it is so simple. However the ball socket mount worries me, over time this could wear and then the unit will not stay fixed were you place it. It already has a little less firmness and that is after 4 days of use. The extra wire for the traffic receiver is also a pain and adds wires around you as you have to stick the two attached suckers to your screen.

Maps - Garmin are usually great with maps and information. However for a forthcoming trip to France I am staying at some hotels. Garmin had one of the Hotels listed and not the other in another part of France. You have to ask yourself why? It is not a new hotel either and has been there a while. Pre planning is a nightmare and you have to turn off the GPS signal and then tell it you are at a location you are going to be visiting to be able to even remotely pre plan.

Display - How dumb is the interface now? This was designed for idiots, keeping it simple with no options to be more complex is annoying. I cannot see what my speed is from the main map display, nor can I add anything. All you get now on the main display is the time you are arriving, the distance to the next turn and some text with a brief description of the next road you are taking. If you touch the screen over the distance to turn it shows you a 2D version of the junction. Garmin used to have this screen 'pop up' automatically as you approached the turn but have abandoned this, I used to find it really useful and I am annoyed that it is not even an option on this.

This unit also does not come with mapsource, Garmin's own mapping program for your PC. So you cannot plan routes and transfer them, this device wouldn't support that anyway. There is no backup program and no pc software to use with it (unless you count the hideous poi loader from Garmin) If you delete any Garmin files by accident then you are lost as it does not come with a backup DVD to re-install. Not so idiot proof now is it?

Satellite Status; forget it, that little screen showing the status of your reception and your longitude and latitude has now gone.

Detour - Garmin added a 'detour' button, why? Tom Tom has a great system for avoiding road blocks and it is very user friendly with many options. Garmin give you 'detour' button with very little explanation of what exactly it does. I know it makes a detour but just how much of a detour? You just do not get the option to decide.

Roadworks/traffic hot spot avoidance - Remember the way you could highlight a place/road or area on the Ique and then state a date/time for your Ique to avoid it? Forget that, this unit offers nothing like that. A simple feature that Garmin offer on the streetpilot devices but not on this. If you use your GPS and travel regularly through certain areas you have no way to avoid known roadworks or areas you know are very busy then this is not the unit for you.

Having used a Tom Tom 700 (I still have it) I have decided that the Garmin is designed for the under 5's to use and of course they will love it. For anyone that requires a little more than a talking map this is useless.

Garmin, this is a poor product. Some excellent technology gone to waste. They took a load of cutting edge software and made it into a child's toy.

How could Garmin make this better? Add some functionality; come up with a solution to the poor reception on the traffic receiver. Read my review and make chances or you'll lose out to Tom Tom who are already off into the distance with their range of GPS units that offer a lot more for the money than this one does.

I got this product after reading numerous reviews..tomtom vs garmin etc and went for this one as an impromptu upgrade from the more basic c520. I was interested in the text to voice function and that swung it for me. I tried both c520 and c550 and they are similar in design etc but the c550 has more functionality with the bluetooth (which i havent used and wont do until i get a bluetooth phone) and the mp3 playback etc. This model also has full mapping (inc europe) and not the regional mapping.

I test drove it from south to north wales and found it worked really well. I notice that it alerts to many of the safety cameras that arent there (cyclops upgrade pending as i havent got it to work yet) and that the unit didnt get the speed right for a few of the camera hot spots, alerting me to a 60mph limit when it was 70mph - which was a tad annoying. Apart from that the traffic function diverted me around traffic well and the mapping was accurate and in good time - repeating itself twice, once a bit away from the juntion and then just before it. I got there with no hassles and i was please with the unit.

I have asked in shops about the other options and the functionality you get with this unit starts at the £200 plus mark, so it gives some bang for its buck - especially with some of the prices on the web....

Overall im pleased with the unit. the points of interest menu is useful and i use it more than i thought i would to search unfamiliar towns for petrol, ATM's and places to eat etc. All in all a quality unit at a potentially good price.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing
Agree with others - very poor product. Do not buy. Traffic program very hit and miss whether you are in a rural or urban area. Read more

Published on 7 Nov 2007 by D. I. Horner

2.0 out of 5 stars rather disappointing
After owning a Streetpilot c320 since they were launched last year, I'd been eagerly awaiting the c550 primarily because of the real time traffic alerts through its TMC Traffic... Read more

Published on 9 July 2006 by D. Wood

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