Navigon 2100 max 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review
October 29th, 2009
Navigon 2100 max 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review from Young Professional. Good value, has some drawbacks, Background: I had always rented vehicles with a GPS until recently my frequency of travel to unfamiliar cities had reached a point where it made sense to purchase my own. I was not looking for a GPS to play MP3s, make phone calls, take photos, or fill out my taxes. I simply care about its ability to navigate from point A to B and to get around an unfamiliar place, and so I’ll limit this review to those features. I tried two devices: the Garmin nuvi 755T (same as the 765T minus the Bluetooth) and the much cheaper Navigon 2100 max with the bundle that included lifetime traffic.
Garmin Nuvi 755T
Pros:
-Could use all the features right out of the box
-Always got me from Point A to Point B
-Map very pleasing to my eyes
-The lane guidance is useful, but not as useful as I thought it would be (I find that keep right/left voice commands can stand alone).
-Considerable more Points of Interest than Navigon 2100 Max. Also many more Points of Interest categories and the ability to simply enter a category if it’s not listed and still get good results (e.g., Salons or Dance Studios were not categories, but I entered them and the device retrieved many nearby options [you can also search in a different city]).
-Really good recalculation, it doesn’t waste time just trying to get you back to the original route if a different route from your current location is better. It also recalculates at blazing speeds (I had a new route before I made it to the end of a 800 foot block).
-Text to Voice is really good (far more useful than I would have guessed). This really allows you to keep your eyes on the road and gives you peace of mind that you’re turning in the right place.
-Very useful visual layout indicating direction of the turn and the street onto which you should turn (but the voice prompts, especially with Text to Voice, are so good you never need to look at the display).
-Local speed limit always posted with your current speed nearby (more useful than I imagined)
-Good volume and easy to change volume while in use.
-Easy to turn on or off with an external power switch.
-The traffic feature was extremely useful and the information was easy to access during use. The much discussed ads will not be an issue for you, trust me.
-The 3D navigation created a nice view, but honestly, even in strange areas with tall buildings, I didn’t find this feature to be of any additional value.
Okay, But Could Be Better:
-The screen could be more sensitive, but it’s a lot better than the Navigon 2100 Max.
-The device did not always properly locate me (this can be avoided by turning it on and setting the route about 45 seconds before actually leaving).
-The power source plugs directly into the mounting cradle, but it’s still such a chore to remove the device from the cradle (pressing a button on the bottom on the cradle, which is mounted on a moving ball, while tilting the device forward) that the time advantage of a direct cradle plug in is lost.
Cons:
-The turn warning distance is way too short (only 0.2 miles)
-There’s no ability to exclude particular streets from a route (you can set it to avoid highways, tolls, etc. though).
-Initial estimate of arrival time was a complete farce in every single test. It estimated a standard 45 minute trip to be only 25 minutes and pushed back the estimated arrival time nearly every minute never reflecting the accurate arrival time until I was at the final destination. Easily bested in this category by the much cheaper Navigon 2100 Max.
Navigon 2100 Max
Pros :
-Always got me from Point A to Point B without deep confusion
-Always correctly located me
-As in the Garmin Nuvi 755T, the lane guidance is useful, but not as useful as I thought it would be (I find that keep right/left voice commands can stand alone).
-Good turn warning distance (0.5 miles)
-The recalculating is quick, but not as quick as the Garmin Nuvi 755T
-Ability to exclude particular streets from route (a hidden feature: after the route is initially calculated, open the turn by turn and simply x out the streets you don’t want to use).
- As in the Garmin Nuvi 755T, the Text to Voice is really good (far more useful than I would have guessed). This really allows you to keep your eyes on the road and gives you peace of mind that you’re turning in the right place.
-Very useful visual layout indicating direction of the turn and the street onto which you should turn (but the voice prompts, especially with Text to Voice, are so good you never need to look at the display).
-Warnings when speeding (And the ability to set how far above the speed limit [separately for city streets and highways] triggers the warning)
-Ability to have local speed limit either shown constantly or when a speed warning is triggered
-Good volume and easy to change volume while in use
-Initial estimate of arrival time very reliable. Estimated a standard 45 minute trip to within 1 minute and pushed back estimated arrival time only once (adding a minute).
-Easy to turn on or off with an external power switch.
-The traffic feature was extremely useful and the information was easy to access during use.
Okay, But Could Be Better:
-Screen sensitivity
-It sometimes took a couple of minutes to initially locate me, but was always spot on when it did.
-The power supply is plugged into the device which is mounted on a cradle, but the cradle provides such limited range of motion that it’s difficult to get the device in the most desired position and I was forced to accept it slanting slightly during every use.
Cons:
-Thin Points of Interests (more important than I thought) and no ability to search categories not already listed (a real problem). You also must select a city each time you search; it doesn’t just automatically pull up nearby locations like the Garmin Nuvi 755T.
-It’s hard to see ALL of the display icons including information on speed and your current speed
-The dull, mostly gray, maps with an orange route indicator are hard on eyes.
-The keyboard takes up only half the screen making it chore to type in anything. This is especially problematic when trying to switch states or from letters to numbers (or vice versa) as these display buttons are extremely narrow and it was difficult to select them without long fingernails.
-The recalculation kept trying to send me back to the original route even if it was no longer the best. For example, it took the device 15 minutes to stop trying to reroute me to 16th St. (in DC) after I had purposely driven up Connecticut Ave. Had I taken its recommended rerouting (thus backtracking), my trip would have taken 20 minutes longer.
-You can’t use all the features out of the box. I was forced to register the device and thus provide an email address in order to use lifetime traffic and fresh maps features (but, in all fairness, you can opt out of spam, and I’ve yet to receive an unwanted email).
Conclusion:
The Garmin Nuvi 755T was about $350 versus the $160 for the Navigon 2100 Max with lifetime traffic included. I think both devices performed solidly, but the edge can only be given on personal preference. All said, the Navigon 2100 Max is probably the better value for the buck, but such a statement is relative to what’s important to you. I personally went with the Garmin Nuvi 755T because: 1) the map coloring and icon size was easy on the eyes, 2) it was much easier to type on the Garmin Nuvi 755T, 3) the number of Points of Interest, and the ability to type in your own category, are of particular importance to me, and 4) I personally find not losing time on rerouting to be worth the additional costs. Hope this helps.
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