“A Christmas Pudding” is the impression I got when I looked at this little StreetPilot nestling in its box. And it was to prove as much fun as Christmas too! Small, light and simple, the GPS slipped out of the box and into my car with no mess, no fuss. The plug-and-play SD card inserted quickly and easily (although getting it out was beyond my abilitiy – I only learned later that you have to push it in again before it clicks out) and all the streetmaps were loaded and ready to go. I switched it on, entered the settings, and it was ON! So quick to find my current position my jaw hit the desk – yup, I was inside at the time! How’s that for satellite sensitivity!!

Garmin StreetPilot C510The GPS unit has a clear, easy-to-read touch screen with easy to follow user-friendly operation. No difficult buttons to press or knobs to fiddle with. The volume control on the side can give you a fright, it did me! I was adjusting the unit and accidentally turned the volume control and a huge yellow sidebar popped up. I thought I’d broken it!! Visions of replacement screens that cost more than the whole unit – eek! Once I’d worked it out, I found the sound adjustment is quite extensive too, from barely audible to very loud. If you are a little hard-of-hearing, pump it up! It’s a little finicky the first time, it needs a very light touch and you can adjust it one bar at a time. Convenient.

One divine item is the choice of car icons, I adored this. You can choose from a saloon car, a 4×4 truck, a mini, and an arrow icon. Apparently you can download extra options from Garmin’s website. Oh, so cute!

The StreetPilot GPS is very simple, no bells and whistles, but extremely effective. I found the speaker was clear and the selection of languages good, although the accent in Spanish is a bit off. The screen is very easy to read while driving and you can set it to view the map in a variety of ways, 3D, 2D, North up, so you can adjust it for the way that you find easiest to understand, a lovely feature. There is a ‘+’ and a ‘-‘ button that allows you to zoom in or out for a better view of the streets (town driving) or of the surrounding area (rural or freeway driving). It was also extremely accurate, I don’t remember hearing a “lost satellite reception” message once.

The touch screen takes you through all the options, and an interesting option is the ‘browse map’ which allows you to touch-and-drag the map to find an area. You then tap on the screen where you want to go and create a waypoint, and the clever little pilot directs you there.

A nifty zip-up case allows you to carry the StreetPilot when you remove it from the car and protect it from harm before tossing it into your handbag or briefcase. It looks very stylish and I got several enquiries from people who saw the unit neatly packed away. It has a windscreen stand that it pops on and off, which you install in your car. I found it a bit of a wrestle to pop on/off, but probably because the unit is new. After a few weeks, it will probably ease up (and you will have developed the wrist flick too).

One thing that really irritated me was the constant reset to USA. At first, I had set the location to “Other” as South Africa doesn’t feature, and the timezone to Cairo (they are on the same timezone as SA of GMT +2hrs), but each time I switched the unit off, then on again, it had reset itself to “United States”. I searched the manual and online and could not find a solution to this. Eventually I learned that you have to set the location to “UK” and the timezone to Cairo for the unit to keep the settings.

There is a software upgrade according to the manual. The unit was very up-to-date so it loaded the upgrade very quickly with no problems (and no, it did not fix the location reset problem L ).

As a basic GPS unit, there were no extras, but for street navigation, convenience and fun, none were needed. An enjoyable toy, well worth every cent!

Hmm, maybe it would be a good option for delivery drivers, such as florists and couriers?

SUMMARY: (Short and snappy version)

Rating: * = Terrible / Difficult - * * * * * = Excellent / Easy

  • User-Friendliness:
    • Software/Downloads * * * *
    • Packaging * * * * *
    • Unit - Ease of use * * * *
    • Peripherals (Mounts, cables, carry cases etc) * * *
    • Bonus features (if any) -
  • Sensitivity/Reception: * * * * *
  • Accuracy: * * * *
  • Battery-Life: * * * * *
  • Portability: * * * *

Type of User: Business traveller, florist, truck driver. If you do a lot of mileage, you HAVE to have one.

Pro’s:

  • Software was easy to understand - absolutely loved the plug and play option.
  • Very easy to use.
  • Good colour touchscreen.
  • Extremely reliable.
  • Excellent battery life.
  • Excellent sensitivity/reception & accuracy.

Con’s:

  • Not waterproof.
  • Not suited for handheld, outdoor use in inclement weather.

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Product Review By:Toni Quaradeghini
(Please contact Gismap GPS Shop for reprint rights).
Toni Quaradeghini is a travel writer and business entrepreneur who has written for the BITE paperzine, the OWL newspaper and as a guest writer for Go-Multi magazine. She is putting the finishing touches to her first novel for publication in 2007 and has written several eBooks. She is also a keen geocacher, hiker, scuba diver, dancer and general lunatic.

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