Navigon 5100 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator by Navigon
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List Price: Our Price: $329.00 You Save: $170.00 (34%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Navigon 5100 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Digital camera Review: 5100 Opinion
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had the 5100 for about two weeks now. Also tried the 7100. After using both, the 5100 serves our needs better. Both have excellent maps, visually second to none (and I've looked at all brands - my mother has a garmin). Route accuracy and calculation speed is close to Garmin. On inner cities, the unit can make mistakes, but they all do. Reality view is great, pronunications are ok. The turning reminders are really nice - similar to other brands, but add a final reminder just as the turn occurs. Very nice.
Interface seems much quicker than the 7100. We didn't find the need for bluetooth or the larger screen. The 5100 seemed much faster. All I can figure is it is a newer revision of software, but not positive.
What could be better? Volume could be louder, and it would be nice to simpify the map screen with less information (even with some elements removed it is cluttered on the bottom). While the maps are much nicer, the garmins have an easier to read display of distance and time remaining.
All in all a very nice unit for the price. Or other finalist was the Garmin 260 but as noted gave it to my mother and kept this one for us!
Digital camera Review: A Feature Rich GPS Device
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently purchased the Navigon 5100 GPS device after some research. I went to some retailers and tried the devices out physically as I wanted to get a good idea of the interface they provided.
First of all the Navigon is loaded with functions, this might overwhelm some, but of course remember that changing these are optional. The default settings are good enough, but it is great to have the choice and freedom to alter certain settings.
Let me first start with the things I am not too happy about, or feel could be better.
- Device periodically lags (doesn't happen often but I would like it to be more responsive during those few times)
- There were also a few times that the route had to be recalculated and it took longer than I expected
- Takes a while to display the turn by turn list (only seems to happen when you have lengthy directions e.g. those spanning multiple states)
These weaknesses really for me was not enough for me to be dissatisfied with the unit, especially with all of the positive attributes it had going for it.
Here are some of the features I love:
- Multiple Transport Settings (Car, Bicycle, Pedestrian)
- Displaying the speed limit (quite accurate too, I was amazed at how the Navigon changed the speed as I was driving past the sign)
- 3D Reality View (HUGE PLUS - it really helps, especially in metropolitan areas)
- Says the name of street in addition to distance from the turn e.g. "In 1/2 mile, turn left onto Omaha street"
- Multiple Route Settings (Fast, Optimum, Shortest, Scenic)
- Night and Day views (contrast/brightness settings can also be adjusted)
- Option to Allow, Avoid, or Forbid toll routes
- Can allow or disallow U-TURNS (great to enable if you do not like taking U Turns.)
- Free Lifetime Traffic Information - It was amazing to see these traffic information popping up, alerting you to an accident ahead or construction on your route - then prompting you to avoid, after which it will automatically reroute you around the traffic. Oh, did I mention FREE for life!!
- Smooth user interface, other GPS devices simply can't come close to how beautiful this interface and user experience is - could almost pass for an Apple product.
- Speed dependent volumne - Wow, this will increase the volume depending on how fast you are traveling. Some users may have said it automatically reverts to a lower audio setting, if you wish turn this feature off and keep it on high volume.
- Points of Interests (POIs) - So many POI, and very accurate. It may be overwhelming, but what is great about the device is that you can select what POI categories you want displayed. Initially all 31 categories are selected, I went in and cut the list in half - I really didn't care to see Car or Motorcycle Dealers in the area.
- Accuracy, it gives great directions, and also allows you to block certain roads if you prefer to take another route.
- Tells me which side of the road my destination is on (pretty helpful)
The Windshield Mount:
Something else I should mention - the Navigon comes with a windshield mount that at first I thought was extremely distasteful. I didn't know why it had to be so long. But after using it I realized that it allowed me to mount the device and have it come out closer to me, so it was easier to reach and see, and it gave me some more flexibility with where to mount it. Though it lacks the ability to tilt UP and DOWN, it does rotate and turn.
The Navigon 5100 also has a "Route Planner" which allows you to plot multiple destinations - this is great, but I think this could be improved by optimizing the route - meaning tell me where to go 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.
Overall, I am more than satisfied and quite pleased with the device. I would highly recommend this as a GPS device to invest in - especially for those new to GPS and are not fixated on the interface functions of other GPS devices. This is an important point to note, if you are used to using a Garmin, then pressing the screen will bring up different options than what happens when you press the screen of the Navigon.
A friend of mine had a Garmin nüvi 350 and we actually tested both products side by side in the city. The only thing I would say that the Garmin had over the Navigon was that it allowed users to connect their phone to the device via bluetooth. Other than that the Navigon excelled in some many ways. The Navigon gave better directions from the start, whereas the Garmin had to recalculate after forcing a different route. The Navigon interface was way better, with 2D/3D options. I also loved how the address and POI entry operated, it was similar to "Google Suggest" where as I typed, matching responses would appear.
I am currently more than happy with the product, it's not perfect, but in sure comes close, with innovative features not found in other devices.
Digital camera Review: A good navigation device, but not good enough
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this device after comparing many units and looking at the decent Cnet online review. I tested the device for two weeks and did a side by side comparison with the Magellan 3250. While I would recommend this device for its decent navigating abilities, I give it a mediocre score for its traffic features and for its point of interest database. In terms of navigating, it fares as good as most top of the line Garmins that I have tried out. It does take awhile for the unit to recalculate if you miss a turn. Also, the unit does have wonderful graphics and is very helpful when navigating on and off of complicated highway exits...On the flip side, I purchased this unit primarily for the free traffic feature. After I did a side by side comparison of the Magellan and Navigon, I concluded that the Navigon's traffic updates are highly inaccurate. The Magellan was far better at ideintifying traffic and accidents that the Navigon did not even detect. Therefore, the free traffic subscription was useless to me....
In terms of points of interest...it seems to have all gas stations and restaurants, but was severely lacking retail stores.... Also, the graphic interface is not as user friendly as most Garmin devices or the Magellan that I compared it to....I would recommend that the company improve the interface in future models...
This item is recommended if you are only going to use for basic navigation. However, if points of interest or the "free" traffic feauture is important to you...I would suggest lookign at the Garmin units or higher end Magellan units like the 3250 or 4250..I will be returning my Navigon 5100.
Digital camera Review: A good value
Summary: 4 Stars
Living in SoCal traffic is a way of life, so I was looking for a GPS unit with TMC. My old GPS had the connections but, it isn't sold in the US, so I decided to upgrade. So I'll list my pros and cons (other then what is stated by Amazon or Navigon), so naturally the cons list will be longer.
Pros:
The screen is very responsive. Scrolling the map and button pressing only need a light touch.
For me the initial GPS lock was slow, but later GPS fixes were much quicker.
Cons:
The major concern is the processor is a bit on the sluggish side. I can see the refresh when map scrolling and re-routing can take some time.
The text prompts are fairly tiny, but the text to voice feature makes this a small issue.
The routes sometimes isn't the shortest route or routes I would normally take.
Day/Night mode isn't automatic, not by time, nor does it have a photo sensor.
Some screens just has too much going on so press the right button has a learning curve.
Navigon's selections for POI are odd.
Digital camera Review: A great GPS!
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been looking at GPS units for a long time, unable to decide based on all the hype. Along came Navigon. The free map upgrades and lifetime free traffic service really piqued my interest. This unit is simply great so far. I tried it on two trips this last week, one a short 200 - miler and the other a 1300 mile adventure to Oklahoma. I had been on both before, sans GPS, so this was a test. "Miss Daisy" ( that's what I call her ) did very well on both. She got a little flummoxed when I took alternate routes locally, as I know my local roads, but the "recalculating route" feature worked very well. I really like the Reality View on major interstates - showing upcoming exits and lane changes that way is superb. The traffic alert worked great, even without the external traffic antenna. There is major construction ongoing around Indianapolis and she took me on the exact alternate I had already used before, no problem. The so-called "hockey stick" windshield mount is rock-steady and actually looks great - much better than all the other mounts that hang right in your vision next to the mirror, with ugly wires dangling all over. The only real negative so far is the volume on the voice alerts. Even at maximum loudness it's hard to hear with the radio on or any traffic noise. The pronunciation of some roads is a little off, but whose isn't? Every area has different accents and no computer-generated voice could ever perfectly duplicate regional speech ( think New York versus Georgia for example ). The battery is listed to last 4.5 hours and I got just under 4, but I think that after "exercising" the battery a few times it'll be fine. Even so, if you only need to plug in the DC cord every 4 hours I see no problem. I'm planning another long trip next week and I'm sure Miss Daisy will do fine. A note to those who don't read the setup instructions : you really should -- even if you "know it all" about every GPS out there. After setting my preferences ( POI, etc.), it does what it's told. All in all, I think Navigon has a winner here.