Garmin StreetPilot c550 Car GPS Receiver

Satellite GPS systems are all the rage this holiday season. In my immediate family, two were exchanged and they both happened to come from Garmin.

Why It Was A Necessity

I travel a lot on business, often having to find new addresses' generally facilitated by map printouts, which have proven to be a hazard. In addition we regularly like to try new restaurants and like taking weekend trips with the obligatory stop at the gas station to ask for directions; well, no more!

Up Close

The Garmin StreetPilot C550 GPS Receiver is a feature rich outboard GPS navigation unit with Bluetooth capability. At first glance I was somewhat put off by it's footprint measuring 4 1/2" wide, 3 1/4" high and 2" deep with a 3 1/2" screen (measured diagonally) though functionality won me over quickly. The unit has twin 1 1/4" speakers that go a long way to add warmth and fullness for the text to speech and Bluetooth capability. In the box you will find a suction cupped window mount, USB cable and multi lingual manuals.

On the case you have an on/off switch under a mini USB port utilized for software downloads of maps and updates secured for the Garmin site. A volume wheel with generous capacity assures you will always hear your turn-by-turn instructions and Mp3's; though that capability is of no interest to me personally. The inclusion of Bluetooth is a welcome addition since I can now comply with tougher cell phone laws and can rest assured to be in compliance no matter what vehicle I travel in. Perhaps one real advantage is knowing I will have navigational capability in rental cars.

On the back of the case are two ports, audio out for headphones or line out capability and a mic in port for using an external microphone useful for cell phone calls, but not really necessary. The power port looks like a large USB port connecting to your vehicle power port with a 6 ft. cable.

Plugging into the lighter/power port also charges the unit, giving the unit up to 8 hours cordless charge. The 12volt receptacle has an integrated led to confirm hookup.

On the left side of the case you have an SD card slot for additional maps available as updates from the Garmin site or Mp3's downloaded from your computer. Finally there is a MCX port for an external antenna for greater reception in difficult terrain.

Under Fire

There are a number of screens from which to choose:

? Address: Enter your Destination state, town address intuitive prompts
? Recently Found: A list of addresses you have recently navigated to for future reference though you may want to save, name and file those you want to keep.
? Go Home Self explanatory, though for security reasons, would make it security location with corresponding pin entry.
? Favorites: A list of saved destinations
? Food Hotels Food, Fuel, bank/AT< Lodging, shopping, Parking, Entertainment, Attractions, Community, Transit and Auto Services all with sub headings, addresses and navigation prompts.
? Extras: This is where you would find your Mp3 and downlaoded maps.
? Intersections: navigate from intersection prompts.
? Cities: Lists cities by state with nav prompts.
? Browse Map: takes you back to the main screen.

Under way you can elect to engage/disengage safe mode, which will not allow you to enter data while driving. Once your destination data is entered, the Garmin StreetPilot C550 GPS Receiver takes about 5 seconds to calculate the trip with voice prompts to get you under way. You can elect to have different navigators, male or female from different continents and languages to make things interesting.

While you are driving, should you make a wrong turn, miss an exit, the C550 quickly recalculates and resets the trip. This is a handy function for detours or alternate routing on the fly.

The Bluetooth capability allows you to sync up a compatible cell phone easily, prompted from the display. You can use call waiting and one touch dialing on the touch screen, view call history, dial a point of interest, see your phone book, voice dial and send text messages.

100% Right?

No. The C550 is confused by jug handles, access roads and roundabouts. It does, however, quickly recalculate and will eventually get you to your destination. Hey, how many times have you grossly miscalculated your navigation efforts? The Garmin doesn't make big mistakes, but you need to exercise a little common sense. This, like all other tools, requires the human element to make it work.

I have to say, I like the Garmin StreetPilot C550 GPS Receiver. There may be some differences with other units in features which is what you need to research when shopping a nav unit, but you can rest assured that most will get you there.

The Garmin StreetPilot C550 GPS Receiver is a great choice.