Gadgets: Navman S200 GPS Unit Review

There’s nothing like an Auckland to Wellington road trip to test out a new GPS unit. Last time I did this, the GPS I was auditioning at the time decided we needed a surprise detour through the bad lands of Tokoroa township.

Luckily, Navman’s new S200 had absolutely no surprises in store, and that’s exactly what you want from a talking map book. Incredibly easy to set up (partly because of a lack of obvious options) the Navvyman (as my wife named it – hey, it’s important to personalise these gadgets) led us straight down State Highway 1, and didn’t miss a step.

It didn’t take long, however, for the unit’s obsessive beeping every time the speedometer hit 100, to start to get on our nerves. Unlike my favourite TomTom, it’s not at all obvious from the rather clunky touchscreen and menu system how to change such settings. In the TomTom’s case, you can set it to make a (much more pleasant) sound when you exceed the speed limit, but it won’t keep nagging you relentlessly either.

Unlike the TomTom, this top-level Navman reads out street names. While this has its advantages, the Australian-accented voice we chose managed to mess up all the Maori pronunciations. Weirdly, sometimes it would get the emphasis wrong on simple words and create odd pauses, like: “turn left onto the high…way.”

The S200 has implemented some quite cool features, such as the one that at the push of a button will give you an alternative route should you, for instance, be stuck in gridlock. It will wirelessly pipe its voice commands through your car stereo, if that turns you on, and I like its new Glidescroll feature which allows you to look for businesses by name.

While it’s a sleek looking beast and it gets most of the basics right, the S200 is just lacking that je ne sais qua that I was expecting from Navman’s premium model.

GARY STEEL

Navman S200 GPS Unit

$649

Pros

• Does what it does without any glitches

• Doesn’t speak until it needs to

• Plenty of features/options

Cons

• Less than intuitive
• Lacks the sheer practical application of the TomTom

Verdict

• The S200 is steeply priced for a GPS unit that is as unintuitive as this, and I would recommend assessing the competition. I gave it 3/5.

Tech Specs

www.navman.co.nz

• Weight: 150g
• Size (mm) 78 x 130 x 13.5
• Memory 1GB internal Flash memory
• 128MB SD-RAM
• Processor 400 MHz
• Battery rechargeable integrated Li-ION battery – up to two hours life

Features:

• FM transmitter
• Bluetooth hands free calling
• 4.3-inch wide-screen
• Touch-screen
• Spoken street names
• Preloaded safety alerts