Navman S70 3D Satellite Navigation Unit With European Mapping

Navman S70 3D Satellite Navigation Unit With European Mapping
I purchased this for a holiday/house hunting visit to France. We had 2 weeks trouble free navigation in the UK before going to France. I set all the French post codes into the device prior to leaving and it direced me to the hotel without any wrong turns. This was a great experience as we did not have to look at a map and avoided the usual bickering with the navigator. The device was some 3.5 weeks old when the holiday started. However, mid holiday when we had planned to visit some houses it exprienced a "fatal error to the application software" which could not be reset. We had to revert to the strain of conventional map reading for the remainder of the holiday. It was just over a month old when we returned to the UK and too late fo a direct replacement from Amazon. It is presently away fo repair and I am advised this will take at least 10 days. Most purchasers expect more than a months service from a new device. It would be nice to know whether this is a common fault with this model or just a one off. If you buy one remember to always have your maps with you just in case. Can't wait to get this back for a durability run.

I bought the S70 after getting bored and frustrated waiting for stores to start stocking the S50. I didn't see the need to spend an extra £20 or so on European maps I'll never use. However, the money was burning a hole in pocket so....
I bought my S70 from a well known electrical chain who will remain nameless. While I waited for the sales assistant to find one in the wrehouse, another staff memeber asked why on Earth I'd ever want to choose a Navman. The reason is, I prefer the interface and you get more kit for your money than you do with a TomTom - and at the end of the day, Navman and TomTom use the same maps!
Mine is an upgrade from an old Navman icn610, and what an amazing change they've gone through! The touchscreen is very responsive, with crisp, clear images and day/night settings so you always get a clear view. You also get a choice of the colours used, so if you're a touch colour blind, you should be able to find a setting that works for you. The voice directions are nice and clear. It's great to see that now they direct you in advance where several junctions come together, whereas my old Navman would wait until I hit each junction before instructing me further.
The settings you can play about with feel almost endless, the directions for the most part are spot on (the McDonalds locations that come pre-installed are slightly out), and it looks and feels well built. My one niggle with it is, if you look at a route overview where you have several waypoints, while it shows them on the map, it no longer tells you which order they are in. As a multidrop truck driver, I used to find that a great help, as I could alter my route if I'd got a couple of addresses put in the wrong way round. Otherwise, after 5 weeks using it on a daily basis, I have no other issues with this at all. To paraphrase the sales assistant, why would you NOT want a Navmam?

Just taken delivery of the S70 and used it over a long weekend on the Isle of Wight. Mapping is clear and directions are absolutely spot on. Instructions are also clear and there is a helpful and quite thorough manual that can be downloaded from the Navman website.

Safety camera data is the weakness, I set mine to warn me of safety cameras at 0.6 mile distant but although it picked them up visually on the screen there was no audible alert despite it being set to give one. A phone call to Navman established that you have to be doing 8% more than the speed limit on the approach before you get an audible warning. Fine, but the maunal could have said this otherwise you think it simply does not work. That said, my S70 does not seem to give an audible warning unless you are at least 1.2 mile out from a camera. So, in summary the safety camera data is useful but far from perfect, can be annoying and should not be relied on - there is obviously no substitute for keeping your eyes on the road! Similarly you can set it to warn of excess speed. I tested mine to warn me of speed in excess of 60 mph but I actually just exceeded 70 mph before there was any warning that I was over 60 mph!!

You need a TMC cradle to access traffic functions which I haven't bought. The cradle looks neat when you see a picture but when you look at the Navman manual you realise it's not just a cradle but a rather ugly wire aerial you need to attach to the inside of the windscreen as well, so I am going to pass on this.

So, overall 4 stars as it seems very good as a directional sat nav but lose a star through safety camera and and other alert functions, which seem variable to say the least. Manual is good and there is a helpline telephone number on which you can actually speak to someone!!

I read a number of reviews before purchasing the S70. No sat nav seems to score perfectly on anything and you pay your money and take your choice. This is my first exerience with them and the S70 seems as good as anything on the market.