Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Navigon 7100 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Navigon 7100 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I've been using the 7100 for 3 weeks and have been very pleased with the functionality to date. Mine is version 6.5, build 77.
My main complaint HAD been short battery life, similar to many comments I had seen here. Upon calling Tech Support , I found out that I'd been unknowingly putting the the unit in standby mode rather than shutting it off. Turns out that one must press the power button for 10-15 seconds to shut off. Anything short of that blacks the screen but you are only in standby. When powering back on, the power button must be held for six seconds. Quirky, but at least now I understand it. I was needlessly charging the unit every day or two because in the first 10 days I had never completely shut it off!
Now, with THAT out the way here are my pros & cons. I have been using this so far on routine driving on the Seattle Eastside, so performance may vary elsewhere.
PRO:
Elegant appearance, nicely designed case. Similar in size/style to Magellan 4250.
Beautiful screen, clear images, nice interface, intuitive to use. Option for day or night view, and 2D or 3D.
Clear, pleasant voice quality.
Charger indicator light changes from orange to green when fully charged.
Ability to key in zip code rather than city name. Possible matches appear as you type, so 5 digit often not required.
When searching for nearby POIs, starts inside one mile, and allows to you manually expand radius - great when searching for restaurants.
Free traffic reporting for life! (text; must hit icon to display). Extensive detail on nature of incident--accident vs. construction--along with length (miles) of slowdown. Thus far, I've not used the supplied antenna, but it does take several minutes for the icon to appear when starting up. Perhaps the antenna would speed it up, but want to avoid the clutter.
Extensive settings menu re: visual options, type of detail on screen, choice of route profile (I find "fast" works better than "optimal" or "short". There's even an option for "scenic".
Can choose to be warned when exceeding speed limits, 5, 10, or 15 mph over.
Very fast reaction/recalc time when choosing different route.
Seems to have some level of intuition based on travel signals: it selects a commute route for me that is 1 mile longer (on a 9-mile commute) than google maps, but due to fewer signals, this route is faster most of the time.
Ability to factor in current traffic when plotting route. (applies to major highways)
Good POI detail - includes many "mom & pop" restaurants & small retail that I hadn't expected.
Easy handling of interim stops or itinerary changes (**need to select this option in settings menu)
Three modes - car, bicycle, pedestrian.
Canada and Alaska included. Canada is part of US map, no need to switch when crossing border.
CON:
Comes with only a soft felt pouch as protection. I ordered the "hard case" for $20 which really isn't that "hard", but is adequate.
No printed user guide.
Lengthy shut down. Standby is nice option for brief stops, but a separate standby button would have made more sense.
When unit hits low battery warning, map freezes behind warning icon. Verbal routing continues. Only way to restore live map is to completely power down & reboot after connecting charger. Tech support says this is due to deliberate trickle charge requiring time to build power back.
I'd like to note that I was VERY impressed with Navigon's Tech support. Short prompt menu, no nagging troubleshooting suggestions, live person right away. Rep was very articulate, conversational, and professional; really interested in being helpful. Felt like I was talking to Management rather than some bored low-level "tech". Tech support located in Indiana.
This is my first GPS, so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I'm very pleased thus far and cannot think of anything lacking in the 7100. The routing is occasionally a little off what I might choose, but not unreasonable. Did a wonderful job on a recent trip to Alaska, even in remote Kenai peninsula.
Update 3/29/08: Having used the 1.1 software update for about a month, it seems response times are a little faster.
Navigon 7100 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
BUY Now Navigon 7100 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment