Navigon 5100 Review

If you spend a lot of time on the road, you cannot do without an easy-to-use GPS navigator with the latest technology. The Navigon 5100 is fully equipped with many features that can help manage your hectic lifestyle. This sleek GPS navigator looks great on your dashboard, it is slim and has an easy to read touch screen. Let us take a closer look at this chic and sophisticated navigator.

Navigon 5100 GPS Navigator

Product Design

The Navigon 5100 is a very attractive car GPS navigator; it has a sophisticated feel and looks expensive. This smart GPS navigator has a nice chrome finish and compact dimensions. It has a 3.5-inch touch screen that is very responsive and shows bright colors and sharp maps. Because it is small and slim, you can place the vehicle mounting arm on your dashboard or even your windshield. One good thing about this ultra-portable GPS navigator is that you can view it in various lighting conditions including daylight.

It is a very portable unit so you can easily transport the unit from one car to another, or even use it for navigation while on foot. The power button is placed on top of the device, as well as the external antenna jack. You might need to hold down the power button for a couple of seconds to power it up. It comes with an SD expansion card slot and has a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. Also, you can find a mini USB port on the bottom of the device.

Add-Ons

The 5100 comes with a SD card that has been pre-loaded with maps, a modern-looking vehicle mount, a USB cable, a car charger, reference material, and a carrying pouch. The car mount design is definitely very different from the lot and is extremely modern.

Features

The Navigon 5100 is equipped with a SIRFstarIII GPS chip and all maps of the United States and Canada are already loaded on the SD card that comes along with the package. It offers standard navigation features like multi-stop trips, speed alerts, automatic route calculation and text and voice guided instruction.
It has a comprehensive Point Of Interest database that includes branded icons for the big corporations. This GPS navigator also offers Zagat Survey rating and reviews, this is extremely helpful to find good places to dine and wine when in a new town. Although it is not perfect, it is quite handy and up-to-date.
The Navigon 5100 also offers a variety of navigation tools that go beyond basic directions. A great thing about this sleek and smart navigator is that it comes equipped with a traffic receiver that offers subscription-free traffic service. It also comes with a lane assistant function that can help you find the best lanes for your route. At complicated intersections, the NAVIGON 5100 can present you with a 3D display of the road.

Performance

It does a good job of holding on to its lock and accurately tracks locations. The text-to-speech prompts are clear and loud, also the pronunciation is pretty decent. The most impressing thing about this device is the speed with which it recalculates routes. Also, the traffic, 3D view features and the land guidance are very nice and extremely helpful.

Drawbacks

There are two drawbacks to this sleek and smart GPS navigator. Being 3.5" the screen is on the smaller side; therefore, you won’t be getting the luxury of a widescreen dislay. Also, it is somewhat slow to get a satellite fix.

Here is a summary of the features:

• It has two unique features that include Lane Assistant and Reality View
• Two million points of interest
• 2D and 3D map displays
• It comes with intuitive menus
• Landscape and portrait views are also offered

Technical Specifications

Display size: 3.5”
Touch screen: yes
Display resolution: 320 x 240
Battery Life: (Up To) 4.5 hours
Dimensions 4.2"(W) x 3.3"(H) x 0.9"(D)
Weight: 6.3oz
Map storage medium: Internal Flash Memory
Internal storage: 256MB
Removable Memory : 4 GB SD Card
Software Included NAVTEQ ON BOARD
Maps Included : North America
Built- in antenna: yes
TMC support: yes

Conclusion

Apart from a couple of hiccups here and there, the unit is very helpful and effective. Although a larger screen, faster satellite acquisition and a lower price would have put the icing on the cake, we are happy with this modern-day GPS navigator.

Actual user comments :

I did a lot of research before purchasing this GPS unit - all of my friends said to go with a better known brand, but I can't see them doing the job this does any better. It tells you exactly what you have to do - the voice is loud enough over music you may be playing, the directions are clear and the Zagat is a nice addition as well although I have yet to use that feature. What I did like was the traffic feature - FREE, by the way - that can help you avoid traffic situations in the cities listed. My area isn't covered my the traffic, but when I go down to NYC it is - and let me tell you it's a nice feature to have! - Aliza, NY, USA

After some extensive research I then purchased the Navigon 5100. One piece of equipment, traffic receiver in the unit, no subscription for traffic! I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on an expensive unit. The Navigon was a good price and has some nice features. I LOVE the traffic feature, it works like a charm. It will even help me navigate around traffic jams where possible. The maps, lane assist and views are fantastic. I can't wait to take it on vacation w/me next month! - M. Mitchell, Minneapolis, USA

List Price : ~~$499.99~~

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