Recently I reviewed the Magellan RoadMate 3000T, TomTom GO 910, and Garmin StreetPilot c550. All three units use SiRF's latest high performance 20-channel receiver, the SiRF StarIII. So you would expect all three units to have similar GPS performance. I did a side-by-side comparison, and found some surprising results.
Figure 1: Clockwise from the top-left, the Magellan RoadMate 3000T, Garmin StreetPilot c550, TomTom GO 910. The units were setup indoors, close to a window. Look at the difference between the TomTom 910 and the Magellan and Garmin -- both the Magellan and Garmin get 4 out of 5 bars signal strength, while TomTom's GO 910 only gets 2 out of 5 bars.
Figure 2: A closer look at the Magellan. Although the Magellan is considerably less expensive than the Garmin or TomTom (and not really a fair comparison here, since the Magellan 3000T would really compete more with the Garmin c530 and TomTom GO 510), it had considerably better signal reception than the GO 910, and was on par with the Garmin c550.
Figure 3: The Garmin c550 had similar GPS performance to the Magellan 3000T, and considerably better performance than the TomTom GO 910.
Figure 4: The TomTom GO 910.I was surprised at how much worse GPS performance was on the TomTom GO 910. Signal reception was almost half as strong on the 910 as it was on the Magellan 3000T or the Garmin c550.
Figure 5: A more detailed info screen on the Magellan RoadMate 3000T.
Figure 6: A more detailed GPS Status screen on the TomTom GO 910.
Conclusion: I would not have guessed it, but it turns out the TomTom 910 was the under performer here. The Magellan 3000T and Garmin c550 both had comparable performance, getting a strong 4 out of 5 bars even indoors. The TomTom GO 910, on the other hand, fluctuated between 2 bars and no signal at all.
just a thought, maybe comparing the mini bar graphs is not the best way to compare reception. It looks like the more detailed charts show similar reception between the Magellan and the Tomtom, though I'm not exactly sure if those screen shots are showing all the available information.
I agree - Unfortunately, Garmin's c550 does not have a detailed GPS Signal view, which is why I was only able to go on the mini bar graph for that one. Also, the larger issue was that the TomTom's signal strength fluctuated constantly, whereas the Magellan and Garmin locked in a solid steady signal.
--Fletch
The nuvi has a detailed GPS signal page and so I would assume that the c550 does as well (since they are basically using the same firmware/software).
In the nuvi, you hold your finger down (or make a good hard press) on the mini bar graph and then the GPS signal page pops open.
You should give that a try on your c550 and see what happens.
-- MIKE
The bar graphs have almost nothing to do with signal reception. Each company (and even each firmware update) has their own algorithms to determine what to display for reception.
On many recent GPS systems the reception bars almost always show five out of five bars.... That information is not useful so therefore "dampening" the results shown on the graphs can be advantageous. It is highly unlikely that each company uses the same algorithm to determine how many bars to display so this information is useless.
MIKE - I tried holding my finger on the mini bar graph on the c550 -- no luck. There doesn't seem to be a way to view a detailed GPS Signal page. I'm going to call Garmin Support tomorrow and confirm.
--Fletch
Fletch and MIKE, the Garmin Nuvi 360 has the GPS Signal Information, the Garmin StreetPilot c550 DOES NOT. I checked this via Garmin's website and checked the product manual for each. On the Nuvi 360, you do tap the signal strength bar to get to the screen, tap it again to return. The c550 does not do this, a limitation to the unit. I recommend getting a Nuvi 360, very compact and comparable to the TomTom GO 910 without all the issues and the large hard drive (although it has large internal storage memory). I personally do not like the antenna that sticks out of the Nuvi 360 and previous generations, but that is what you get for a slim design, and it also serves more than just a flip up antenna. I also find the reset button is easily accesible, the c550's reset button is underneth the faceplate cover which is a nuscence.
Fletch, do a review on the Nuvi 360, you can buy one on this best selling GPS website - http://www.tigergps.com - I think you will like it more than the c550. The power to the Nuvi 360 comes from the mount, not to the unit directly. The traffic receiver is not included with the Nuvi 360, but it can be purchased from the said website for around $130-$140 with a 15 month traffic subscription. Overall, you ARE getting more bang for your buck if you opt for the Nuvi 360 + Traffic Receiver instead of just the c550. The Nuvi 360 comes with only 1 speaker (it looks like there are 2 from looking at the back, but if you get it in the right light, you only see 1). Besides a lot of the GPS systems have 1 speaker, which is fine.
I would go for a Nuvi 360, it is comparable to the TomTom GO 910, but it works SOOOOO much better and with built in memory, not hard drive, you have no hard drive crash issues to deal with :)
That really is too bad about the missing GPS signal information on the c550. I would have thought that Garmin would of added that feature in since they already had it setup for the nuvi and since it really is quite useful information to have at your disposal.
Perhaps if c550 owners request it, Garmin will add it into a future firmware release???
BTW, I'm really loving my nuvi 360, but I'm a bit bummed about the new Zumo unit that Garmin has just announced since I probably would have waited for that one instead. Especially since it has itinerary planning (i.e. multiple stopovers) and tracking (i.e. breadcrumb) capabilities and the nuvi does not. Oh well, what'cha going to do. :-)
-- MIKE
I have Garmin c530 and I have trouble acquring the satellite signal. Sometimes the satellite signal is quick when you first turn it on, but there were times that nothing happens! I don't know if I have a defective unit or what, but when it doesn't get any signal for maybe 5-10 minutes (while driving), I'll turn it off and on and that usually does the trick. Does anyone else have the same problem?
One strange thing that happened just yesterday when I turn on the unit, it displayed firmware update!!! Does it update itself through satellite? We got to our destination and I left the unit in the car for less than an hour. And when we returned and I turn on the unit and it stated that it was updating the firmware with percentage going up until completion. If anyone can help me with the signal and this strange firmware update incident I'll much appreciated as I can't find anything on the web. Thanks.
Jenny -- Sounds like your unit might have failed in the middle of a firmware update. I'd suggest you do a hard reset (take the face plate off and use a paperclip to press the reset button), and then connect it to your computer via USB and run the Garmin webupdater software. That should do the trick.
--Fletch
I have a unrelated question regarding C550. I have a C320. When I did a side-by-side drive-around with a TomTom One, I found that the the TOMTOM refreshes it's map image at a much fast rate, about 4 frames per second. In comparison, C320 does it at about 1 frame per second. The result is the map image in the TOMTOM move much more smoothly, especially when you make a turn. The map rotates smoothly. With C320, the map just rotate 90 degrees in one jump.
I am wondering how fast is the image on the C550 updated.
Thank you.
Hello friends
do you know how reset the pin in gps pilot C550
thank you
Tim