GPS Sat Nav Systems

Sony comes very close next to Apple when it comes to innovations and revolutions, now, who can forget their signature Walkmans and Handycams? Right now they have made a brilliant move with the merging of the successful navigational system in to Sony’s own in-dash A/V units. The series comes with two products: the XNV-L770BT and XNV-L660BT. In the following review, we will see about the advanced Sony XNV-L770BT GPS system. In this case, Sony has actually joined hand with the GPS market giants, TomTom to assist the clueless European and American drivers. Both the navigation systems of the series shared most of their features. The major difference between the both is that, while the XNV-L770BT had a display size of 7 inches, the XNV-L660BT has a step down size of 6.1″. Read on to find more about the Sony XNV-L770BT GPS and comparisons with its siblings in the series.

Sony is actually not the name that comes to your mind when it comes to GPS. Instead, it is TomTom and we think of Sony only with words such as great displays or attractive PSP like user interfaces. It is good to know that instead of rivalling this brand perception, Sony has embraced it with this XNV-L770BT in-car AV/GPS receiver. Most would think why Sony did not choose Garmin, which is the usual choice of most manufacturers for such products, but TomTom sure has a lot of extras, and Sony would love to prove the sceptical wrong.

Design:

Stunning display:
A little while back, Sony had bought its double-DIN car audio receiver into the market, which managed to provide the company some success. With the XNV-L770BT, Sony has decided to stay with the looks of its established receiver gadget, with a motorised fascia with over 90% of its real estate dominated by a huge 7″ LCD display.  Needless to say that the display is absolutely stunning with a resolution of 800 x 480 WVGA pixels. This resolution is heaps higher than what you will usually see on a car’s dashboard.

Ports and slots:

Most of controlling of the device is done through the touch display, however there are some physical controls too along the bottom edge of the display bezel, they include: source selection/input, volume up/down and a strangely labelled “Top” button that takes you to the main menu. In the rear of this motorised panel, there is a single slot CD/DVD optical drive and unlike most of the all in one GPS units in the market, you will not find any SD card slot for media playback or even updates for GPS maps. We also have to mention here that Sony has got quite an interesting way to provide its consumers with the later of these features.

All in all, at the rear, you will find 2 video and audio inputs, 2 stereo audio outputs, a video output, a single USB connection, a monaural subwoofer output and you will also two other ports for stuff that are not included in the package: one for an external satellite radio tuner and also a dedicated input for a rear-view camera. Note that, these connections can be configured in ample ways to support whatever device you wish to use. For instance, the included 30 pin dock connector allows you to bridge the USB port and even the video input to allow for the iPod video playback.

Remote Control:

There is also a small infra red remote control that comes in the package. In the remote, as always, there is the power button, and the other controls include Monitor off button, Position button which is to switch the listening position (front L, front R, front, all, custom and off), return button to go back to the previous display, a equilizer button to select curve from 7 music types (Xplod, vocal, edge, cruise, space, gravity, custom and off), number buttons, clear button, ATT button, play/pause button, forwards and rewind buttons, DVD playback settings buttons, zap button, enter buttons, source buttons, mode button and volume buttons.

Installation and Set-up:

At the time of installation, the external TomTom GPS module and cradle has to be installed in a used accessible place; for instance, the rear of glove compartment or footwell. This unit is actually the heart of the processing of Sony module’s navigation functions. It displays an interface that is same as that of TomTom’s PNDs on the touch screen display of the XNV-L770BT. You can just remove this GPS module from the cradle and connected to a PC with the help of a USB connection for updating with TomTom’s famous Home suite. After the updates are done, the GPS can be put right back into the cradle and the device resumes navigation. It is just that the XNV-L770BT will be functioning even without the GPS unit in its location, but the navigation features is not available until that module is connected. Depending on how you do the installation, an external magnetic GPS antenna might be able to provide you with some superior positioning sensitivity. And, the vehicle speed sensor connectivity aids the car tracking while the satellite signal goes unpredictable. At the time of installation, there is a sun visor-mounted microphone that can be even placed on the external dashboard. With the help of this microphone, you will also be able to make hands-free calls. This mic is connected to the rear panel of the L770BT, that comes with a great deal of connectivity points for the sake of audiovisual inputs, outputs, pig tails and wire bind.

Being one of the do it yourself installations, we would rate the difficulty level of this installation to be moderate. You may have to put in some effort to mount the external GPS module’s cradle, tap the car’s speedometer and route connections for the external mic, parking brake sensors, and GPS antenna and also make some standard connections for ground, power, speakers and external amplification, that is, if it is available.

Features:

Both XNV-L770BT and its sibling have rear USB ports for the sake of iDevice connections, with support for multi-channel audio playback and, what is to be noted is, about 45 European countries maps, thanks to the TeleAtals Maps. You will also be treated with the familiar extras of TomTom such as about six million POIs, IQ Routes, Advanced Lane Guidance and MapShare.

Interface:
As far as the User Interface is concerned, the menus and audio source information comes on very crisply. However, considering the fact that you will be able to input only standard definition videos, the ultra high resolution display simply seems to be a gimmick or simply needless. Anyways, this resolution of 800 x 480 pixels seems just great for the 480p encoded DVD video and we would have complained even more if the pixels were too little too. Since the screen is of the resistive touch sensitive type, you have to press really firm to register you input and we also have to mention here that the display is responsive enough for you to get through with finger swipes. The main menu of the unit has three main options including Navigation, AV Source and BT Phone.

The only thing that we were left wishing for on the Sony XNV-L770BT  integrated Sat Nav Unit and in-dash A/V Receiver is its menu control and structure that needs some tweaking. For instance, while enjoying music, if you liked to make a call, you have to go back to the main menu and enter the phone menu. Same is the case when you wish to change audio tracks at the time of navigation. Hence, it is a whole lot of button pressing to be done for a gadget that is to be used on car on motion.

AV sources:

When you get on to the AV sources menu, then you will find a nice bird’s-eye view of the video and audio entertainment sources available. The sources available include USB/iPod connectivity, auxiliary analog audio, Bluetooth audio streaming, CD/DVD playback,  and video input and AM/FM radio. Out of these, the iPod connectivity is the most fun. When attached properly with the help of a dock connector, you will be able to playback video on Sony’s display while the car is parked. However, we did not know why it did not coax playbaxk out of the iPod Nano and Classic sans issues, and the iPhone 4 came up with a “Device not compatible” message. In spite of getting this message, you will be able to get the Sony XNV-L770BT playback audio from the unit.

BT Phone:

The entire hands-free calling functionalities are handled with the BT Phone option. Once you have paired the phone, with the help of a four digit PIN number, you will be able to sync your GPS’s phonebook. As soon as this is over, you will be able to manually search with the help of touchscreen interface. You will also find an option to browse the phonebook residing on the device that is not capable of syncing and also that of the latest calls along with a physical numerical dialler. You also get to save the frequently accesses contacts to one of the 6 available predetermined buttons on the menu screen of the phone. In the main display of the BT Phone menu, you will find a button for voice dialling that provides commands to the paired handset’s voice dialling processor. We were left wishing that this control was not left deep inside two levels in the main menu. As with everyone, we are not so keen on having to do multiple presses to access the voice command; a simpler access to this voice command will be appreciated in the next version of the device, even a small physical button on the bezel of the device will be great.

Navigation:

As far as the Navigation option is concerned, that is produced by the exterior TomTom GPS module which actually mirrors the TomTom PND of akin vintage, like that of the TomTom XL 550. The main menu of navigation has two major options for selecting destinations using either an array of menus and searches or by just browsing a map with the graphic Point of Interest icons. In the second row, you will find smaller icons that allow you to adjust and fine tune the options that have things to do with navigation.

A separate interface:
Since Sony seems to be importing the navigation interface of TomTom on wholesale, the GPS functionality seems to be completely separated from the other functions of Sony. This will be odd when you wish to do other stuff except for navigation, like changing radio stations at the time of navigation or just selecting a different song in the playlist of iPod. Hence, if you wish to access any of these functions, then you will have to go back to the main menu and back to the audio source menu, which seems to be a little clunky. You can even overlay an optional audio source window onto the navigational display in any of the screen’s 4 corners. However, this solution too is clunky because the new window always seems to be in the way of some part of the map or the onscreen address entry keypad. We also found that, TomTom’s navigational interface runs at a lower resolution than the native resolution of the 7″ display of Sony. The difference is visible and would not have been noticeable if not for the contrast with Sony’s stunningly crisp interface graphics. Though this is not a big deal, it is just worth noting.

Zappin:
Having Sony’s Zappin technology, it allows you to easily select your music and can also be connected to a wide range of digital music players such as iPod, Walkman, USB Memory drives and iPhone.

SensMe:
There is also a feature known as SensMe which will help you in choosing the songs to be played that is based on the places you drive on. For instance, the XNV-L770BTwill play you a few upbeat songs if you are driving on a highway and slow songs when you are driving slow in hectic traffic. This feature is fun and useful too, keeping you entertained during the entire trip. SensMe has to be set up before it starts to work. Connect the registered USB device to your computer and drag and drop tracks from Windows Explorer or iTunes, etc to “content transfer”. The SencMe has a list of channels options which includes three main channels list: Recommended/ Shuffle All, Basic Channels and In-Car Channels.

The Recommended or Shuffle All option plays tracks that are recommended for each time of the day. The options include Morning (5:00 – 9:59), DayTime (10:00 – 15:59), Evening (16:00 – 18:59), Night (19:00 – 23:59) and MidNight (24:00 – 4:59). The Shuffle All option plays all of the analysed tracks in a random order.

The Basic Channels option plays tracks according to the music type. “Energetic” option plays high spirit tracks, “Relax” plays calm tracks, “Mellow” means melancholy tracks, “UpBeat” as you can imagine plays happy tracks to enhance your mood, “Emotional” plays Ballad tracks, “Lounge” plays Lounge tracks, “Dance” plays rhythm and rap, rhythm and blues tracks and the “Extreme” option plays you the intense rock tracks.

Finally, there is the In-Car Channels that plays tracks that are suitable while driving. The “Freeway” option plays speedy and high sprit tracks, “Chillout Drive” option plays intoned, healing ballad tracks, “Weekend Trips” plays delightful, bright and happy tracks, “Midnight Cruise” plays jazz or piano-featured tracks with a mature mood, “Party Ride” plays up-tempo and lively, “Morning Commute” plays bright and breezy tracks and there is even “Goin Home” playing you warm and relaxing tracks.

Local Search:
Having been built on the same platform as that of Sony’s popular XAV-70BT, the XNV-L770BT too enjoys the Local Search with Google that allows you to look for restaurants, local shops and other businesses with the Google Map option. The best part is, with the BT Call function, you will be able to make a call to book a table or whatever, right from the search page.

HD Traffic:
The HD Traffic information is updated every three minutes, so that the drivers are kept updated about the incidents on road and delays.

MapShare:
As always, the TomTom MapShare means that you will be able keep the maps up to date, with corrections made from other drivers through your system and TomTom’s free Home software.

Safety Alerts:
The Safety Alerts on the GPS provides advance warning of safety cameras and dangerous places.

Performance:

Irrespective of how good the design and features might me, the performance is what is essential, especially if the device has the job of driving you around. In that case, Sony XNV-L770BT all-in-one GPS catches the satellite immediately and drives you properly even through the most complicated junctions. The Audio is very important for such as device. Being able to playback all types of formats, it produces some powerful sound with its built-in amplifier and seven band equaliser. You will be able to experience a 5.1 surround sound experience by the centre stage optimiser as well as the advanced sound engine.

Warranty:

The Sony XNV-L770BT all-in-one GPS comes with one year warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

Overall, XNV-L770BT Satellite Navigation System does a great job in playing to its strengths and also outsources its alleged weaknesses with the external TomTom GPS module that engulfs the dazzling seven inch display with the complete TomTom navigational experience. It can be said that it is quite a novel approach that manages to keep Sony from going through the trouble of reinvent the wheel with its own navigational software and put it into test with its valuable consumers.

The display of the GPS is a real treasure. If you are one of those who like watching video inside your car while being parked, you will not find a better GPS than this. In addition to this the device has a great deal of inputs and outputs that make it an amazing starting point for, say, a video game. The external GPS module of the device does add some complexity to the installation of the device. Yet, you do get an established interface that is familiar as well as functional. It also takes advantage of TomTom technologies like IQ Routes as well as Map Share, which is a great additional effort. Though there is a minor quibble with the menu, there is a lot to love about Sony’s latest all-in-one GPS. It is a high performer on features, design and performance, hence, it gets a “highly recommended” from us.

Sony XNV-L770BT Sat Nav System – Product Specification Details

Manufacturer	Sony
Model Name	XNV-L770BT all in one Start Satellite Navigation system
GPS Application	In-Car
Colours Available	Black
Dimensions (W x H x D)	178 mm x 100 mm x 189 mm
Package Weight	2.7 Kg
Display	Wide LCD colour monitor
Display screen size	7 inch
Display technology	TFT active matrix
Display resolution	1,152,000 pixels (800 × 3 (RGB) × 480)
Navigation views	2D and 3D
Memory type	Internal flash memory
MP3 Player	Yes
Maps included	UK and Ireland
Voice	Navigation instructions Voice command recognition
Compatibility	Windows and Mac OS X 10.3 and above
GPS Module	Highly sensitive GPS chipset
GPS Receiver	Highly sensitive GPS Receiver
Features to save time and money	HD Traffic IQ Routes technology Safety Alerts QuickGPSfix
Enhanced safety features	Help me – emergency menu Safety preferences
Radio	Yes
Included GPS Software	TomTom HOME
Included accessories	Remote Commander: RM-X170 Parts for installation and connections (1 set) Microphone CD-ROM (Application disc) GPS antenna (aerial) Navigation module Car dock Plastic stud (3) USB cable
Outputs	Video output terminal (rear) Audio output terminals (front/rear) Subwoofer output terminal Power antenna (aerial) relay control terminal Power amplifier control terminal
Inputs	Telephone ATT control terminal Illumination control terminal Remote controller input terminal Antenna (aerial) input terminal Parking break control terminal Microphone input terminal Reverse input terminal Camera input terminal AUX audio input terminals AUX video input terminals USB signal input connector
Optional accessories	USB and Video connection cable for iPod: RC-202IPV Rear View Camera: XA-R800C
Battery type	Internal lithium ion
Battery life	Up to 2 hours autonomous battery life
Guarantee	One year

Most hype in the market of satellite navigation has always been about the mobile data enabled, the so-called ‘live’ services and also the increasing importance of the smartphone apps. However, the standalone PND devices have been cursed to be chunky and they remained to be quite heavy for a long time now. But, with the latest Nuvi 3790T, Garmin has put the PND into a serious diet. Not only has it managed to make it the thinnest and lightest, but also to be on par with the iPhone on the ramp. It has a set of specifications that screams that “I am the next iPhone”. We cannot stop raving about its stylish designs in the introduction itself, so the “style” factor of this sat nav is guaranteed; read on to find out to find if its features and performance too compliments its style factor.

Design:

Seriously thin:

For most part of their existence, the stand alone navigators have retained their same form factor; each one looked like the other, with the major differences being just a fold-out or an integrated antenna and just a big or small display. With some intense competition from the smartphone space, the biggies of the GPS market like Garmin and TomTom keep coming up with ways and means of innovation to retain their stakes in the consumer PND battle. The Garmin Nuvi 3790T has its looks very similar to that of the iPhone 4 (but with better reception), and it is seriously thin. Here are its dimensions to give you an idea on how seriously thin the GPS is; (H x W x D) 75mm x 122mm x 8.7mm. being thin does not mean that it compromises on the build quality by any means; it feels quite sturdy and well made when held in hand.

Display:

So, what is new with the display? To begin with, it is a capacitive multi-touch display. While Garmin’s “older” Nuvi screens came with some of the finest resistive displays that we have laid hands upon, this one surpasses its predecessors. The 10.9cm glass WVGA display of the Nuvi 3790T is quite bright and easy to see even at bright sunlight. The fact that the glass is reflective will not cause any issues while at the road.

Buttons, slots and ports:

The rear of the Nuvi 3790T GPS device has a mixture of black brushed aluminium and plastic finishing. This is where the speaker has been placed and the edge of the unit has been given shiny chrome covering with a power switch placed over it. As with all the traditional PND devices, the bottom edge houses all the ports, such as a USB 2.0 port for syncing to your PC or Mac using the supplied software, along with a proprietary windscreen mount. For additional storage, there is also a microSD card slot at the right edge.

User Interface:

Once you get over with amazing hardware of the device, Garmin blows you all over again with its incredible user interface which is simple, smart and jam packed with features; each better than ever before. From the start-up menu to the sub menus, Garmin has offered you with huge, bold buttons and beautiful graphics that makes the user interface an absolute breeze to find your way around. We think that the whole interface had been designed by somebody with a strong fetish for iPhone; the difference notable is that, the results seem to be simply spectacular. And it all gets only better when combined with the high resolution display. For instance, you get details of the terrain in 3D namely the valleys and hills, Photo Realistic illustration of Junctions depicting what the road ahead looks like along with loads of eye-candy buttons.

It is a fairly smart move from Garmin to have taken advantage of the extra pixels – the 800 x 480 pixels WVGA resolution allows for placement of 4 information boxes alongside the map, both during navigation and with just plainly browsing through the map with no route plugged in. Things like driving direction, elevation, current speed, time and speed limit, time and distance to destination all of which can be arranged and selected with the option to priorities info as per your choice, all with a single press.

Features:

Features wise, you are offered with free lifetime traffic alerts, which is appreciable but not a new concept, text-to-speech for spoken street names, lane guidance, junction view, Bluetooth hands-free, speed and red-light camera alerts, lane guidance, speed limit display, and map. It does not have MP3 playback or internet connectivity.

Accelerometer:

The insides of the Garmin Nuvi 3790T Satellite Navigation System is equipped with all the usual suspects, along with a few unusual ones too, including an accelerometer to be used with a full capacitive touchscreen that we had mentioned earlier. This accelerometer helps you to use the device on the windscreen mount on either portrait or landscape mode and works like a real charm with the orientation changes in the screen occur in mere seconds upon being tilted.

nuRoute:

But, Garmin Nuvi 3790T is not all bells and whistles. Going deeper into the user interface, you will find the nuRoute with Traffic Trends and myTrends, which are nothing but Garmin’s version of IQ Routes and HD Traffic. The nuRoutes option will work out the best route for you depending on the destination and time of the day, and in fact, it also takes in to consideration your preferred driving style. The good news does not end here, as the route calculation is pretty quick and the system is actually intelligent enough to adapt in case you had chosen to go off-route. And as soon as it realises that you are actually ignoring all its nagging requests to get back on the route it had chose for your previously, it then plots another based on the current route that you had decided to pick; not many sat nav systems are actually as quick as this one on the uptake. There is also two specific ways to route; you can select automobile or pedestrian, and then customise options within each.

Address entering:

When entering a destination, you can search for an address by street only across an entire country without needing to know the town, and you can search for a Point Of Interest by keyword across an entire country. Nevertheless both of these are separate entities wherein certain Satnav’s allows search of both the databases concurrently like the Mio Navman Spirit devices.

Point Of Interest:

The Garmin Nuvi 3790T Sat Nav Unit excels at Point Of Interest too and scores really high. While the low-end Sat Navs are quite happy to just serve you with a list of fast food establishments when you ask for the local restaurants, the Nuvi 3790T actually goes to the extent of asking you what kinds of food you would like to eat; from American, Indian, Italian to Mexican. The POIs have also been presented in logical categories; for instance, the Transit one is very handy if you are in search of a train station or airport. And, since you are subjected to switch between being a car driver and pedestrian at times, the device will continue to plot your route on foot. It can even assist you find your car again using what Garmin calls as ‘Park Position Recall’.

Voice Command:

Coming to the Voice Command feature if the 3790T we have to admit, it is fairly robust. With Microsoft’s SYNC system having left us with sore disappointment Garmin sure did come to our rescue with their markedly superior implementations. You will have to be fairly slow in your speech and it just proves to be handy only with locating nearby address/places that is already saved; meaning you cannot voice out a full address if you are doing so for the first time, but well it sure does seem to be a nice addition. So long as you are clear and audible, you get to control majority of aspects like POIs, postcodes and addresses. There will barely be instances where the system misinterprets your instructions and even by chance if it does so, backtracking is fairly easy. To such an extent entering the address manually would begin to feel clunky.

Extras:

There are heaps of other goodies too. One of the license saving feature is that, they way the Nuvi 3790T Portable & in-car Sat Nav pulls out Cyclops safety camera alerts on the display. They are actually a black dialogue box if you are on the speed limit and it pops up again in red if you are overdoing the limit. These dialogue boxes are actually very informative, it tells you whether the camera is a red light one, mobile camera or fixed camera that you have to be worried about.

Performance:

Garmin Nuvi 3790T’s exceptional design and features is very well complimented by its performance, which impressed us the most. Both the 3D and 2D maps are striking with impressive load times when compared to the slower and older versions. Likewise the street and town names auto-populate at phenomenal speed. We were actually surprised at the route that it took to the destination, going through roads we had never dreamed of travelling on before. The best part was that, it was actually right and the route it picked was pretty clever as they were practically empty and hence, managed to miss most of the jams. The PhotoReal representations of some of the most complex junctions are very clear and easy to understand. The entire gadget is such a doodle to use and anybody will fall in love with it so easily. If you are an existing Nuvi user, then you might find the navigation functionality pretty much familiar, but having said that apart from the on-board EcoRoute function, enhanced pedestrian options and lifetime alerts on traffic, there is nothing much software-wise to encourage an upgrade.

The Garmin Nuvi 3790T Sat Nav is absolutely a gorgeous gadget loaded with features that goes on to include a capacitive touchscreen, a display boasting a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels and a UI that seems pretty much akin to Apple’s playbook; just a thousand times better. The TomTom Go 950 Live sure is one of the best satnavs around, but the Garmin Nuvi 3790T has managed to surpass it by a great deal.

The speaker and voice:

The only real complaint that we have with the Nuvi 3790T is that, it has the same curse as that of the Mio Navman 575. It has the horrible robot lady voice that comes out through a really poor speaker that seems to distort easily if you turn up the volume even a little bit. Even weird is the accent used, it is part west country, part German and part Geordie.

Battery:

The battery life of the Nuvi 3790T is hugely impressive with its lack of space for a bulky cell and also the very fact that it remains On for the entire span of navigation. Also we would be glad to support Garmin’s claims that it can run up to 4 solid hours with a full charge.

Package:

The box contents of the Garmin Nuvi 3790T includes the device itself, a 12v power adaptor, a USB 2.0 cable and an FM antenna that can be attached to the windscreen to receive all the traffic information and these updates are absolutely subscription free. But, it is on you to locate a screen protector of some sort if you think this will end up in your pocket, backpack or purse on a semi-regular basis.

Verdict:

You are asking us for a verdict after all of this? Well, we do not mind saying it all again. Garmin has done it again with the Nuvi 3790T. It is already renowned as the maker of some of the best known GPS devices, now it has completely wrong-footed its competitors by coming up with something that is in shouting distance of the iPhone 4, both for its touchscreen and its interface’s ease of use too. What else can we say? Its design is brilliant, looks fantastic, excellent ease of use, an awesome set of features and absolute performance. What really stands out is just how amazingly simple, well thought out, insightful and hassle-free the entire thing is. Features such as PhotoReal Junctions, swooping, swiping and the finger-pinch zooming has a geniuses’ touch to them. As we had mentioned earlier, if there is anything at all to be grumpy about this magnificent state of art Sat Nav, it would be the quality of the speaker and the iffy accent of the lousy robot. Overall, the 3790T is possibly the best in the current GPS arena.

If you ask us that if it is worth its hefty price tag, well! In case you are looking for a standalone navigator, the answer is a big yes. Then again, if you are an existing owner of an Android that successfully gets you from point A to D, then the 3790T could be a tougher sell really. Is it worth an upgrade? If you are using a TomTom unit, the answer is an emphatic “yes.” Then again if you are an existing user of a fairly new version of the nuvi, then the answer would be a no because there are no bells and whistles in terms of mapping changes  here and you are still stuck with the familiar robotic gal who just gets you ready for an approaching turn.

Check other Latest GPS Sat Nav Systems, TomTom Sat Nav Reviews in this website.

Garmin Nuvi 3790T Sat Nav – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer	Garmin
Model Name	Garmin Nuvi 3790T
GPS Application	In car and pedestrian
Dimensions (W x H x D)	4.8″W x 2.9″H x .35″D (12.2 x 7.5 x .89 cm)
Weight	4 ounces (113.4 g)
Display	Glass, dual-orientation, WVGA color TFT with white backlight
Display screen size	3.7″W x 2.2″H (9.4 x 5.6 cm); 4.3″ diag (10.9 cm)
Display resolution	800 x 480 pixels
Memory type	internal solid state
Memory card	microSD card (not included)
Map provider	Preloaded City Navigator® NT data for the UK and Ireland
Maps included	Base map, preloaded street maps
Ability to add additional maps	Yes
Waypoints/favorites/locations	1000
Voice	Voice commands
Connector type	USB
Compatibility	Windows and Mac OS X 10.4 and above
High-sensitivity receiver	Yes
GPS Module	High Sensitivity with Hot Fix
Water Proof	No
Includes lifetime map updates	No
Ability to add maps	Yes
Included GPS Software	Preloaded City Navigator® NT data for the UK and Ireland
Features	Voice prompts Speaks street names Voice-activated navigation Lane assist trafficTrends™ myTrends™ 3-D building view Auto sort multiple destinations Auto re-route Choice of route setup Route avoidance Bluetooth® wireless technology FM traffic compatible Speed limit indicator Where Am I? Garmin Locate™ ecoRoute™ Qwerty or ABC keyboard Custom POIs Garmin Garage™ vehicles compatible Garmin Garage™ voices compatible Photo navigation World travel clock, currency & unit converter, calculator Picture viewer Garmin Lock™
Included accessories	Vehicle suction cup mount, Vehicle power cable, Dashboard disc and a Quick start manual.
Battery type	Rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life	Up to 4 hours
Warranty	One year

Navigon might not be a big name in the Sat Nav industry, but it has managed to continuously lead in one area of the technology; the 3D enhancements. Navigon has meant real innovation with its latest Navigon 8410; which in fact, is the first GPS that proposes a modelling system of the cities in full 3D, just like a video game. Navigon was the first manufacturer to introduce 3D landmarks with its 7210 model and even the first ever to offer City View 3D with its 7310. And, just as we mentioned, the latest 8410 has come up with the Real City 3D. This Sat Nav system seems to have most of the premium elements along with the inclusion of 2 years of FreshMaps Service from Navigon. The 8410 is very much of a premium device, a fact that is well complimented by its premium price tag. Read on to explore its design, interface, features and performance.

Sleek with large display:

Design wise, the Navigon 8410 is larger in comparison to the conventional widescreen Sat Navs, since it makes use of a 5” display. With a sleek profile and brushed aluminium bezel, the 8410 looks at home in the interior of your precious car. The metal finishing gives it a very high end look. The screen is vivid and clear with wide viewing angles. Additionally, the screen size gives ample room for the Real City picture-in-picture 3D mapping. The display screen has glossy finishing which is a big nod to the media player functionalities. This gives more reflections than one with matte finishing, but at the same time it is bright enough to cope with most driving functions. You will find a single power button lying discretely on the top. An almost invisible mic port can be found in the front that aides with linking the Bluetooth to your phone, and towards the bottom edge is the mini USB charging socket together with the microSD card slot and the 3.5mm headphone jack. The micro SD card that was shipped in the 8140 was 2GB and had a little bit over 490MB of free space. Right next to the MicroSD Card slot there is a reset button.

Overall, it has been excruciatingly well designed making the curvy plastics of the market leader TomTom look like a toy. The device is industrial and sophisticated by its simplicity.

Mount:

The mount design has been well executed too and the clip also incorporates all the necessary electrical contacts with the added bonus of also including a mini USB, and you plug the car power adapter into the mount and easy to remove. Navigon devices used to have a beast of a window mount with some previous versions, but this mount is a solid one that is easy to attach and secure. This set up means, you can just attach the 8410 and go with one action.

Interface:

The company is positioning the device as something more than a SatNav. Diving into the controls, you get greeted initially by a resistive touchscreen with fairly chunky icons. Likewise the initial responses from the control menu looks to be fairly prompt and good. Only occasionally will be the second presses required. Though the layout is relatively simple, it will take some time to drill down into all the options that are on offer.

You can save destinations, including those that you can import from Outlook or mobile phone connected through Bluetooth. Be warned, there addresses should be in the right format, including country in order to get the right result. Keying in a destination is made easy thanks to the smart recognition keyboard and with keying a destination the whole keyboard gets displayed. Simply key in the town, postcode, number, town or crossing and the 8410 promptly calculates the route, sketching the map offering you as many as 3 route options to choose from along with providing the time estimates and distance. The difference in these routes is normally the length of the route in kilometers compared to the length of the route in Minutes of Hours. When you select a route the Navigon 8410 gives you directions of the selected route.

Media player:

When the Navigon 8410 GPS Sat Nav System is switched on for the first time, instead of going straight into the navigational software, the device presents you with a menu having a few other options. The options include a media player, supporting video, music and still images. But, do not be overjoyed, because if you wish to watch MPEG-4 based formats like DivX, you will have to get a £15 Digital Codec Package. Navigon has also provided you with a hands free interface for your phone, which can be connected through the usual Bluetooth mode. However, all is not as rosy as it seems. In fact it is kind of basic and you might have to delve into the internal memory or the microSD card in the files/folders in order to fish the files that you wish to play. Again, it really doesn’t scan cards, get the library updated or offer you video, audio or photo options that is a default option with others. And finally, the third option for you is the TV, which will be greyed out until you install an optional TV module. This is fitted on to a dedicated slot at the side of the device.

Real City 3D:

The navigation feature of the Navigon 8410 Sat Nav gives you a complete 40 country Europe mapping. The navigation is not just a two tone map. While the 7210 has 3D landmarks which includes realistic models of only the key buildings, the City View 3D in 7310 managed to approximate the dimensions of city blocks, the Real City 3D attempts to give life to its title by mimicking what you are likely to be seeing via your car’s windshield as believably as possible. The detail level and quality is similar to an early first person shooter video game, and graphics wise, it is somewhat similar Doom 2. However, your route will still get projected in front of you as a line, and since the tall buildings on the street will be blocking your view around the corners, there is also a small top down 2D map too, which will be superimposed over the bottom right hand corner of your display. It is not surprising to find that the screen updates are quite jerky than what you can get out of usual map. But do not worry, as it is not as bad as you might have expected it to be. Since you will not be usually travelling over 30Mph within most cites of UK; whatever the case might be, we are pleased to inform you that the maps keep up with your real positions quite well.

That is all the boons of the Real City 3D, now, let us move on to its banes. Even though the building models might look real, they are nothing like the ones you will be actually seeing. One of the main reasons for this is that, most of these textures applied are generic, with very few matching with the true building facades, which might have a very distinctive colour. Though there seems to be duplication of unusual buildings, like that of concave fascias, there seems to be some negligence of couple of eye catching features. This in turn makes, Real City 3D more of a distraction than hindrance. It is like, it sounds amazing on paper, but it requires being even closer to reality to be of any true use, and only the central parts of the major cities have been covered too.

Voice Recognition:

Though all the buzz is about the Real City 3D, the Navigon 8410 has a few other new features too. Another major area of enhancement is the Voice Recognition capability of the device, which has been extended quite a deal and the company calls it as the Voice Interaction Pro. When this option is enabled, you are supposed to be talking in normal sentences and find your intended destination. The main difference was found to be the Voice Command option in the main menu that gets activated with a finger swipe across the display. Well, it seems kind of inconsistent and it is up to you to get it up and running because from what we saw it just doesn’t care to recognise couple of words, regardless of the pronunciation or volume. When voice control is offered, a green icon appears in the corner accompanied by a sound.

A correction procedure is available for this when it makes a mistake, so it will ask you if the town is correct, etc and you say “no” to change a part. Try talking again and it offers you yet another set of options that sound similar in the correct area and you will have to pin down the right option by just picking a number in the provided list. It is not a perfect system, but it is pretty clever. You can also use voice commands to dial a number or answer a call too. It lets you speak numbers in phrases and waits for you to say “call” before you go; If that person is in your address book, it displays the contact name too, which is tidy. The same is applicable to incoming calls and all you need to say is “accept” before taking a call. Smart huh!

With a complete European mapping and the default language as English, you might find the spoken interpretation of names of foreign places getting kind of Anglicised. Depending on your interest in European languages, you will either love or hate this.

Points of Interest:

The Voice Command now allows you to search for the POIs and then select from your saved MyDestinations too. Both POI and address options get drilled down via conventional routes of cities, streets, numbers for addresses, and via categories for Point Of Interests. The POIs in particular just offers a list of nearby options. As you can see, both of these options are quite limited, but that also makes their recognition abilities more dependable. You can add POIs on your route as you go too. There is a possibility to include interim destinations en route, thanks to the the Destination tab. With fewer choices, there are fewer options for the recognition system to look out for. We still give Garmin’s nuvi 860 the crown for voice functionality. POIs like Banks, restaurants, parking and shopping is richly displayed and seems comprehensive.

Panaroma View 3D:

Panaroma View 3D is also one of our favourite features as it is more like driving over a topographical map. You will be able to see the ridges of mountain ranges and have a sense of perspective. The whole navigating experience feels kind of visceral. Well, if you are not a great fan of this, just go ahead and turn it off.

MyRoutes:

Apart from this, the 8410 has all of the other new features of the last generation Navigon. These features include MyRoutes, which is nothing but Navigon’s version of TomTom’s IQ Routes. In MyRoutes, once you choose your destination, you will be given a selection of three routing options calculated based on the real traffic speeds for that specific time of the day and day of the week. Additionally, there are other useful functions such as the real signs, lane guidance indicators along with a couple of questionable inclusions like sharp bend notifications. Commands for turn-by-turn navigation is pretty much timely and accurate with the map providing every single detail needed especially for junctions that are complicate. Route recalculation is very fast too. Overall, navigating with the Navigon 8410 is a real pleasure.

The General tab shows options to change the view from 2D to 3D, change the day and night view and go to the general device settings.

TMC:

Traffic takes the form of TMC in this system and sports spoken delay notifications too helping you with your route alterations. The 12V charging cable has the built-in TMC antenna and when the charging cable is connected to the windscreen mount you will receive current traffic information. The TMC-antenna is not really perfect. The TMC reception sadly was not stable all the time and we got the feeling that the fact that there is not a separate antenna is the cause of the lack of the quality of the TMC reception.

Clever Parking:

The Clever Parking feature in Navigon 8410 allows you to find somewhere to park off your car near your destination. You will find a P icon popping up on the map screen as and when you approach, listing a number of car parks available nearby. Instead, you can even choose to reroute to a nearby parking instead when you first find your location.

Other features:

Apart from this, you also get the usual widgets. The safety camera warnings keep you informed as to when you are approaching a speed trap, with a year’s updates that costs you about £25. The polite announcements of the Navigon inform you to be beware when you are speeding over the limit and also when a sharp curve is soon to be encountered. You are offered with full screen graphics on the complex multi lane junctions. The device also includes a radio receiver for RDS-TMC traffic updates.

Overall, when it comes to the features, the Navigon 8410 GPS Sat Nav System keeps up with the fierce competition for the latest and everyday navigational needs.

Speaker:

The speaker on the device is pretty loud and clear. The volume can also be adjusted using voice control, even though you might have to touch the speaker icon to get this to go. The voice quality is also very acceptable.

Box contents:

The package of the Navigon includes the 8410 SatNav device itself, screen protector, pouch, windscreen mount, wall connector, USB cable, the 12V charging cable comes with an in-built TMC antenna, a 2GB microSD card with about 490 MB free space.

Battery Life:

Battery life is not the best unfortunately given the large screen, so you will only get a couple of hours from it. Try using the standby mode instead of shutting down, but then again watch out or you might get back to a drained device with being careless.

Warranty:

The Navigon 8410 Sat Nav comes with one year warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

The Navigon 8410 Sat Nav is a well designed premium device. In case it had been released a few years back, it would have been extremely competitive. But now, unfortunately the war zone has moved onto the mobile data enabled features. The device that is offering these is the 8450. Even though this one is a 5” widescreen device, the cost of the gadget looks too steep next to the cheaper Garmin 1690 that includes one year’s live enabled services. Navigation seems to be top-notch with timely and audible instructions along with rerouting, which is blazing fast. The voice commands wouldn’t seem everyone’s cup of tea, but once you realise how to make the most of it, you cannot keep yourself far from it. It comes in near the top of Navgon’s range of satnavs, that is topped only by the 8450 Live that brings the high end features such as Live Traffic, Weather and Local Google search to the mix, pitching it against the top of the range TomTom HD Sat Nav. Though the Navigon 8410 is a very capable Sat Nav with two years of map update as standard, we still have the feeling that it is quite overpriced.

Navigon 8410 Car Sat Nav System – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer	Navigon
Model Name	Navigon 8410 GPS
GPS Application	Car
Dimensions (W x H x D)	138 mm x 83,5 mm x 18.,7 mm
Weight	225 g
Display	Touchscreen with a surface made from genuine glass
Display screen size	Extra-large five-inch
Display resolution	480 x 272 pixel (WQVGA)
Navigation views	2D and 3D
Memory	4GB Flash 256MB RAM
Memory slots	microSD card socket 2GB Max
MP3 Player	Yes
Maps included	Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Vatican City. The map coverage also includes the connecting roads of Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and the Russian Federation
Free TMC Reception	Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden. Premium TMC reception is charged for in Germany, France, Finland, Norway, Sweden and UK
Voice	Navigation instructions Voice command recognition
OS	Windows CE
Languages	Czech, German, Danish, Spanish, French, Finnish, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Romanian, Swedish, Slovenian, Latvian, Slovakian, Russian, Greek, Turkish, English
Processor	Centrality SiRF III (600 MHz)
Audio	Optimised integrated microphone and speaker
Compatibility	Windows and Mac OS X 10.3 and above
PC system requirements	Windows XP / Vista, USB port and (micro)SD/MMC card reader (recommended), Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0
GPS Module	SiRF Star III + Instant Fix II
Chipset	SiRF Star III, SiRf InstantFix II
GPS Receiver	Built-in antenna
Features to reduce driver’s stress	Latest maps Advanced Lane Guidance Realistic map views
Features to save time	Traffic assistance Navigon MyRoute Route Safety Alerts Reality View Pro
Included GPS Software	NAVTEQ
Battery type	1410 mAh lithium battery
Battery life	Two hours
Guarantee	One year

The smartphone friendly GPS software have become a big threat to the stand alone sat nav devices. Some of them include the Nokia Maps, Google maps and CoPilot Live. However with the recent release of TomTom for iPhone, some of the bulk still is going to TomTom. However, the small screen and fiddly controls did not help the smartphones.

Beyond doubts, TomTom has been a prevelant name in the SatNav arena for quite sometime now and have grown to such an extent that consumers, for that matter, have started taking this name to mean any GPS system. Despite having a full range of options, none of TomTom’s products have ever been the cheapest available. Well, now TomTom has decided to conquer that part of the market too with their new Start. Following suit the famous ONE, this new model sports a 3.5” display (non-widescreen) with lesser features. But, you have to know that the “Start” has all the basic features you will really need and very less that you will not. Yeah, we can see the grin on your face.

Design:

Sleek and Simple:

TomTom Start puts you in a pleasant mood from the minute you see it. It is quite sleek and tiny, with a 4:3 colour display. Just like the ONE and XL, the Start has a mount, which is integrated into the device itself, and you can fit the whole thing into the carry pouch. We found this mount rather hard to be mounted on a windscreen, especially with the weather being cold. Again, this mount can entirely be detached and be reversed. It has quite a clean casing, sporting  rounded edges and sans any LEDs or hardware buttons except for the power button.

Not only does TomTom look to enter the budget consumer market, but it is all set to target and pamper the high-end crowd as well and offers the Start in a wide range colours allowing users to choose between blue, black, yellow, red, green, orange and purple. Each comes in an elegantly finished grey coloured carry pouch that is touched up with a colour coded to the system. Then again, the wrap that is a wrap around model used to secure this shut was kind of tricky.

USB Enabled:

At the back of the device, there is a power button and beneath a USB port which does multiple jobs of recharging the built-in battery and syncing the device with the TomTom Home app on your Mac or PC. Well, there is also a mains charger included in the box.

Interface:

Icons:

Tapping the map pops out two chunky icons along with a string of smaller ones towards the bottom that give you more choices; Sound, Night, Help and Options. The Sound icon is to switch the volume on and off, the night mode switches the display from day to night mode and Help provides you a map along with a list of emergency options that you can either drive to or call; like breakdown or the nearest police station, doctor, hospital, dentist and so on.

Options:

As you can guess, the Options icon goes deep into the Start’s settings from where you are allowed to choose a language, set your clock, make your pick from a variety of in-built voices, colour schemes, and so on, as well as set your ‘home’ base and favourite destinations. There is yet another Advanced mode within this that helps unleashing this SatNav geek by tweaking keyboard preferences, switching maps, enabling/disabling safety alerts, so on and so forth. But this doesn’t really seem overwhelming as the menus that are further divided into sub-menus are neatly laid out for your convenience with chunky text labels and colourful icons. TomTom’s Map Corrections is also included under Options giving you the option to make note of areas on the map that differs from reality. These get uploaded into the TomTom servers and the same gets verified upon being updated using TomTom’s very own software – the Home desktop PC.

That is all we have with what you will be able to do with the TomTom Start. It doesn’t allow you to watch movies, listen to music, get immersed in your photos or for that matter do any other gimmicks that engulfs the other Sat Nav’s of today. And, trust us, that is really a good thing.

Maps:

This being an entry-level unit, it does not come with any overseas maps that is found by default in TomTom’s high-end models; all you get are the local UK and Ireland maps. Nevertheless, there is the option to buy them through TomTom Home, that is if you have a fetish for driving down on a holiday abroad.

Navigation:

We had mentioned that it was simple, and sure it is. For starters, the Start’s homescreen offers two options namely Browse Map and Plan Route and these icons do exactly what their names suggest – helps you plan a route or return to map view.

Planning a route calls up a more familiar TomTom menu.  Just hit the touchscreen and pick your route, and as always, type in the city, then the postcode, a physical address or a Point of Interest (POI).  You can also pick from the list of recent locations, something that is very useful indeed in a SatNav. Even as you are done choosing your option, TomTom’s Start manages to find a lock and clings on to a satellite’s network whooshing above your head in the planet. This simply means that you are very nearly good to go.

Multiple Route Planning:

One thing that this TomTom will not be able to do is that, you cannot set up and save multiple way points, which is a common feature in a lot of other brands. But that is not the end of the world, because, once as soon as you had set up the main route, you can add additional destinations through which you can route to the place you want to reach. As soon as the route is running, the Plan Route icon will change into a Change Route button, hence, the ability to add the way points. You also get the roadblock avoidance feature accompanying the alternate route calculation option. There is TomTom IQ Routes which has a route that is based on real road speeds, taking into consideration the traffic history in that place.

TomTom Map Share:

TomTom Map Share is not a new feature, but it sure is worthy.. This feature makes sure that you do not commit the same kind of mistakes that the other consumers had made earlier. With the help of this feature, TomTom is informed of the errors on the maps and after it verifies the fault is that the map is updated and these changes are made available to its users to TomTom Home. This is not just another gimmick as in the twenty weeks since the device was last updated, TomTom has made a mammoth 32500+ corrections.

QuickGPSfix:

The QuickGPSfix is quite a standard feature in TomTom’s lineup. This feature actually quickens the process of searching for a satellite signal while booting. Hence, suppresses the amount of time you have to wait for the device to calculate your route.

Postcode Entry:

As far as the postcode entry, you do get the complete seven digit entry. You can also enter the house number. Hence, if the postcode indicates a complete street, you will be automatically taken to the right point. But the Start does not support keyword search for addresses.

Point Of Interest:

Search facility is essential in Point Of Interest database and TomTom has got it. But the issue with it is that, you will not be able to use it across the country. Instead of this, you will have to search only near to your current location in the city. However, it does save you the scrolling time through the range of POI categories to find the right one even though this is still on board if you wish to make use of it.

2D and 3D map views:

The Start also facilitates switching between 2D and 3D views in the Map. While voice prompts sure does help, they at times seem kind of tinny and distorted. The map view is very much identical to that of the previous TomTom sat navs that came before the GO x50 LIVE. The latest updates are just cosmetic, which has every piece of information in the bottom strip, you will ever want to know about your route. The data include your current speed, the speed limit of the road, next turn, time and distance to destination along with estimated time of arrival.

Performance:

We did note that the Start gets a little bit confused, particularly with roundabouts. While the voice instructs to turn left, the map shows a right on roundabouts and gets into a momentary haze forgetting how to count. This will dawn on you when the voice instructs to take the 4th exit on a roundabout while there are just three and you will be going in circles for sometime.

Then again, in the middle of all this confusion if you decide to pullover reaching for the handbrakes to take a different route, you hear the TomTom prompting “Do you want to leave where you are? Yes/No? God you wish it could read your mind, don’t you?.

Guarantee:

The Tom Tom Start comes with one year manufacturer’s Guarantee.

Verdict:

TomTom has trimmed down the features list to a bare minimum in an effort to design the Start; nevertheless it still manages to do the job seamlessly well that it was designed for – help with getting from point A to point B. There is yet another thing that keeps your worry wrinkles at bay now – the stripped back interface along with the feature count makes it a literal joy to use the Start. Well, there is also the option to choose from colourful swappable colours, if you fancy that! Now for some cons – it sure does get kind of annoying to put up with the Start’s confused state of mind making it go whipping around the streets, well the bright side – you really can’t blame the hardware for it, can you?. Again, we would appreciate better quality loudspeakers in the Start. Given the price tag and its features that has been kept amazingly simple, the Start sure seems does seem to be an achievement. Frankly, you are better off being a proud owner of the Start as against some other complex and geeky unit. If you are new to the GPS world and looking for a decent product, the TomTom Start and you will make a match made in heaven.

Check other TomTom Sat Nav Reviews in this website.

TomTom Start Sat Nav System (UK and Ireland Maps) – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer	TomTom
Model Name	Tom Tom Start Satellite Navigation system
GPS Application	Car
Colours Available	Black, blue, green, red, purple, yellow and orange
Dimensions (W x H x D)	94 mm x 81 mm x 20 mm
Weight	125 Grams
Display	4:3 LCD widescreen
Display screen size	3.5″ (9 cm)
Display resolution	320 x 240 pixels
Navigation views	2D and 3D
Memory type	1GB internal flash memory
MP3 Player	No
Maps included	UK and Ireland
Voice	Navigation instructions Voice command recognition
Compatibility	Windows and Mac OS X 10.3 and above
GPS Module	Highly sensitive GPS chipset
GPS Receiver	Highly sensitive GPS Receiver
Features to save time and money	HD Traffic IQ Routes technology Safety Alerts QuickGPSfix
Enhanced safety features	Help me – emergency menu Safety preferences
Included GPS Software	TomTom HOME
Included accessories	Tom Tom Start,Tom Tom Home Software, Quick Start Guide and User Manual
Battery type	Internal lithium ion
Battery life	Up to 2 hours autonomous battery life
Guarantee	One year