review: navigation device affordable but sluggish - sharp interactive touch screen

(CNET)--
We 've reviewed several of Navigon's portable navigation devices and it always seems the same: great features, affordable prices, but not enough performance.
Company's latest entry-
Navigon 2000 S level model is another chapter in the legend, although it is closer to a complete ending than the previous model.
2000 S provides advanced navigation functions such as textto-
Voice features and photos
Street view of reality-
It's all cheap for $199. 99.
We are also encouraged by the general response in
Car GPS, because it feels more agile about tasks such as searching for interest points and planning trips.
Unfortunately, the acquisition of satellites takes a long time, which is a frustrating problem.
Despite its value, we are willing to pay a little more for better performance with models from the TomTom One family or the Garmin Nuvi 200 series. .
The design navigation 2000 S has a very simple design.
Small unit measures 3.
8 inch wide by 2.
9 inch high by 0.
7 inch deep, heavy 4. 3 ounces.
It is compact enough that you can put it in your pants pocket, or use it as a handheld navigator, and there are walking mode and bike route options.
Be careful when using the system for the transport system or outside the car, because the portable navigation device has a plastic housing that feels easy to break if it falls down.
There is a 3 in front. 5-
Inch touch-screen with 320x2 40-
Pixel resolution.
It is full of vitality and sharp, there are always some better products in Navigon products
The map we see on other PNDs.
You can adjust the brightness of the screen and choose between the color of the map during the day or night, although we recommend setting it to auto mode so you don't have to consider it.
The touch screen is responsive, but we found the keyboard on the screen a bit cramped.
Navigation 2000 S has a feature called SmartSpeller that displays possible search results after you type in a few letters, but even so the smaller keyboard can cause some errors.
There is also no option to switch it to QWERTY format, only ABC.
The user interface of Navon 2000 S is similar to other products of the company.
The main menu page offers four clear options: new destination, my destination, take me home and display the map.
There is also an option menu at the bottom of the screen where you can adjust various settings such as routing preferences and map display.
While the user experience is not as smooth or streamlined as Garmin or TomTom, it is still intuitive and performs well overall.
There is a microSD expansion slot on the left, a reset hole on the right and a mini USB port on the bottom.
Most of all, you will find a power button, but it is slightly wobbly and set deep in the surface of the device, so it is a bit difficult to press.
The Navigon 2000 S is equipped with a car charger and a vehicle holder (
Dashboard and windshield)
And references.
The car holder needs some assembly, but it is simple and in our road test the attachment Securely holds the unit in place.
Features Navigation 2000 S is a great value to offer a lot of the price of navigation features.
The system is equipped with a SiRF GRF3i GPS chip with InstantFix II and comes pre-installed with Navteq maps for the lower 48 in the US.
Planning a trip can start in several ways.
You can enter a specific address, choose your favorite location or nearest destination, or search for a point of interest.
The 2000 S supports multi-destination planning, so you can stop for more than one stop on the road. The points-of-
The interest database includes all major categories, including gas stations, accommodation and ATMs.
There are also subcategories for certain POIs.
For example, for restaurants, you can learn more about finding food by type of food, or you can search for shopping by type (
Bookstores, sporting goods, etc)
Or if it's a big company, by brand (
Best Buy, for example, 7-
Eleven, Safeway, Walgreens).
Navigation 2000 also has something called direct access that gives you-
Touch access four-
Predefined categories (
Parking lot, parking lot, restaurant, accommodation, etc).
However, unlike navon 7100, Zagat reviews and ratings are not pre-installed on the device, but you can purchase this additional service for $19. 99.
You can view the map in 2D or 3D mode and the system will track your travel direction north.
The map screen shows your current street, distance to the next round and street name, estimated arrival time, remaining distance, compass and signal strength.
For complex intersections, navigation 2000 provides some auxiliary tools.
First of all, there is a realistic view that gives you a "realistic" view of complex intersections, such as major highway exchanges, as well as 3D images of roads.
You'll also get something called Lane Assistant Pro, the first time we 've seen it on a voyage of up to 2100 m.
Again, the idea is to provide better visual cues for complex communications, so for places with multiple lanes, 2000 will cover arrows on the street, show you which lane you should want to take and which direction you will eventually turn.
Of course, you can also hear sound prompts in addition to visual aids.
It's an entrance, though.
Level system, 2000 text-to-
Voice function, so you will hear the name of the street instead of the general direction.
Other GPS features include automatic route recalculation, turningby-
Open the text direction list, route simulation, and speed warning.
Finally, like Garmin's "Where am I?
"Features and TomTom's" Help me "tool, Navigon has something called DirectHelp, it provides you with the location and contact information of the nearest police station, hospital, roadside assistance and other emergency services according to your current location.
This is a good security feature especially if you are in an unknown area.
In the past, we have noticed the slow performance of navigation GPS products, and with the launch of navigation 2000 S, we have good news and bad news.
First of all, the totality has been greatly improved.
The system responds faster to commands, and we rarely encounter any delays, that is, except when we are on the road.
We tested Navigon 2000 in San Francisco and from a cold start it took about 15 minutes for the unit to determine where we were.
While cold start usually takes longer, it's quite a long time and we get impatient in about 5 minutes and totally frustrated after 10 minutes.
The subsequent start time was up to 5 minutes without any improvement.
All of this can also see the Sky clearly.
While driving around the city, 2000 people did a great job tracking our location, although it could be about half a block behind.
We also planned a standard trip from the marina area to the CNET city center headquarters.
Although the acquisition of satellites may be slow, navigation satellite 2000 soon returned to its direction.
We looked at it. by-
Transfer Order, satisfied with the prescribed route.
Once on the way, we found the textto-
Speak loudly and clearly.
The street name is only a few mispronounced but not bad and we cannot understand the instructions.
We also missed the opportunity to test the rate of recalculation of hybrid routes several times.
Sometimes we get back on track very quickly, while other times we get instructions to turn right when we pass the street.
We would also like to have some kind of sound notification that the system is recalculating a route for security, as there is no such warning now.
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