Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
116 of 125 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Waiting for "Service Pack 1", 10 Jan 2008
I bought the S90i to replace an old "AA Navigator" PDA sat nav as a Christmas present for my wife. Over the Christmas period, we travelled about 500 miles on a break to Cornwall and used the journey as a test & familiarization for the S90i. I also took my VDO Dayton sat nav (Navteq maps) and we completed the whole break using the S90i with the VDO Dayton as a comparison.
Dave Matthews has already given a good review of the S90i and I support pretty much all of his analysis, so I will just add a few additional thoughts. I will look at two aspects (i) does it do a good job at getting you from A to B and (ii) how usable is it, including the additional software such as TMC, TTS, POI & Bluetooth.
Point (i) does it do the job? - the answer is yes. Directions are very clear and timely which, coupled with the great display, makes for stress free navigation.........but there are a few niggles that detract from an otherwise great performance:
When compared with the accuracy of the Navteq maps, the S90i Tele Atlas maps do not seem to be as accurate. 500 miles around the South West is not a definitive test, but a couple of incidences of incorrectly identifying the number of exits at roundabouts and an attempt to direct me across a field to join the A30 in Devon had me worried. As a comparison, the Navteq VDO unit (map date early 2006) gave me all the correct data for the roundabouts and A30 junction. To see an example of the poor information, take a look at Bondhouse Lane (Devon) on Google Maps in Satellite View - this is also Tele Atlas based - and you will note that Tele Atlas thinks the road goes straight into a farmer's field! At least the map data stops the road in the field - The S90i compounds the problem by thinking the road actually joins the A30. Luckily, the VDO Dayton (with 2-year older maps) got me back on track and onto the real A30 junction 5 miles away. This particular map error has been submitted to Tele Atlas for resolution.
Another small niggle is that the S90i seems to regard dual carriageways as Motorways - so joining a main carriageway such as the A30 is accompanied by an instruction to "join the motorway". Surely, the Navman programmers could use "Motorway" for motorways and something like "Main Carriageway" for other arterial roads?
The route calculation is fast enough but I consistently found that the estimated time of arrival was over optimistic - unless, of course, you are the Stig or Lewis Hamilton. This is the opposite of the VDO unit which is highly pessimistic. Splitting the two ETA's at the start of the journey actually came close to the real outcome!
My final comment on the "getting from A to B side is the address search facility which requires the selection of the country you wish to drive to before entering an address. This is fine if you are travelling around Europe, but if you spend most of your time in the UK it would be considerably more convenient if a "Home" country could be nominated as default address base but with an option to select a different country if travelling abroad. Removing all but the UK map (via the Navdesk software provided) significantly reduces boot-up time and makes UK the default map for address input. The euro maps can be added again later when travelling abroad.
Now for point (ii) - the additional functions:
I noticed (as Dave Matthews did) that the Text To Speech (TTS) function was not working on the S90i. I could not find any ON/OFF setting for TTS and so left it until my return home to find out why. The answer came from an Australian website - which told me that only some of the Navman voices have TTS capability. The English female voice does not provide TTS whereas the English Emily voice does. Switching voices to English Emily gave me full TTS functionality. The TTS service now works really well, with good pronunciation of upcoming streets - but WHY do Navman not include this useful snippet of information in their instruction manual??. I guess there may be a number of "out of the box" users of the S90i that are using a non-TTS voice and just resigned to the TTS service not operating!
The TMC service also worked well and provided traffic information faster than the VDO unit. The setting that worked best (for me) was to limit warnings just to events occurring on my programmed route.
Similarly, the Bluetooth telephone function worked well. Pairing with a Nokia 6111 was quick and the S90i automatically pulled in the address book from the phone as soon as it paired. This function worked as well as any dedicated Bluetooth hands free unit.
The NavPix camera also "does what it says on the box" but I found the wide-angle (non-adjustable) lens just a bit too wide angle. I think that maybe the NavPix concept just does not work for me - I am happy, in hindsight, to store addresses in my favourites rather than pictures. However, if you like the concept, then yes - it works.
The inbuilt safety camera warnings only operate when travelling at a speed above 80% of the legal road speed. Travelling at 55mph along a 70mph dual carriageway will result in no safety camera warnings. This initially made me think that the notification system had an intermittent fault. As with the Text To Speech service, Navman has decided that it is not worth telling anyone about this in the instruction manual; however you can find this out if you dig around in the support section of the Navman website. Personally, I would like to be informed of ALL upcoming cameras irrespective of the speed at which I am driving, but I guess that Navman has undertaken considerable user opinion on this and concluded otherwise.
A follow on from this is that even when the safety camera warning is provided, the sound is much like the gentle tinkle of a fairy wand and not particularly attention grabbing. Driving along at 70mph with wind noise, tyre noise and passengers in the car, the warning sound can easily be missed. The on-screen warning is similarly missable being a small speed indicator in the bottom left hand side of the screen. The AA Navigator (which had many faults) at least had a full-screen visual warning which quickly alerted the driver even when the sat nav screen was positioned well away from the driver line of sight.
Something that I am still checking is that the S90i does not appear to filter safety cameras on the opposite carriageway. Travelling on the A30/A303 there were many instances where the camera warning was picking up opposite carriageway cameras and not just the ones on the direction of travel. Maybe this is just a POI accuracy issue.
POI accuracy also came to my attention when driving to a POI Petrol Station. Even though the unit is equipped with data only a few months old, the petrol station had long since been demolished and the site was overgrown with weeds and waiting redevelopment.
I have now abandoned the Navman safety camera database and disabled all the Navman built in camera POI's. Instead, I have a subscription to a third-party camera database and have installed this camera data as additional POI's. This is quite straightforward but does require connecting the S90i to a PC with internet access. Using the Navman Navdesk software, the option is also provided to install your own warning sounds. This has enabled me to abandon the standard Navman "tinkling fairy wand" sound with a decent voice warning along the lines ("Warning, Speed camera 500 yards ahead!"). Anyone wishing to do the same can record their own WAV warning files with a microphone directly on their PC.
Conclusion - the S90i is good at its main job of providing voice & screen based navigation within the limitations of the Tele Atlas map accuracy. The TTS, TMC and Bluetooth additions all work well and make this a good all-round machine. Abandoning the inbuilt camera POI's in favour of third party ones with better (home made) warning messages considerably improves the safety camera warning ability. As with other reviewer comments, the overall feeling is that this has been rushed to market with poor supporting user documentation. Assuming that Navman release "Service Pack 1" based on feedback then this has the potential to be a really good navigator, shifting from 3 stars to 5 stars. If Navman would only change to Navteq maps then all would be perfect.
I have sent a copy of this review to Navman and suggested that they might like to add their comments.
|
|
|
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great in parts. Not really good enough, overall., 30 Jul 2008
I have been on the search for a sat-nav that meets all my needs for a long time, now. I already have the Garmin 670, the TomTom 920T and the Sony NV93, and my quest has now included the Navman S90i.
But I'm afraid that the search will have to go on...
Parts of the NavMan are excellent -
1. I really like NavPics. I found two uses that were very helpful. First on a trip to a theme park, I took a pic of my car and then used NavMan to locate it for me in the car park later that day. Second, I took pics of scenic views and so on, and have been able to use them to return on sunnier days.
2. The mapping is clear and easily readable, and you can customise screen content.
3. The windscreen mount is excellent - far superior to the current TomTom offering, and includes the power link.
4. The TMC works well (subject to the usual comments about signal strength) and is clear. The estimated delay is not included, however, which suggests that it is the 'basic' service, rather than the premium one that Garmin and TomTom use.
5. I found NavDesk 2008 (the software that was included) worked well under Vista and XP. There were niggles, but nothing too bad...
For me, however, there are some very large drawbacks
1. Bluetooth support is VERY patchy. Every other unit I own can pair with all my family's phones. Not so the NavMan. It refuses to connect with most recent phones at all (for phonebook transfers and data use). You can make calls, but only if you can remember their numbers. Phones that don't work include the I-Phone (both generations), the Prada phone, the Samsung G600 and most phones released in the last 18 months. For this reason alone, it's going to e-bay. If Bluetooth matters to you, check compatibility on the Navman website and if your phone isn't listed, then don't just assume it will work - my own experience suggests it won't. NavMan released a software update (SP2) in April, but it didn't include anything that helped with this. To me, the Bluetooth screens look like an 'add-in' programme, written externally and patched into the main operating software.
2. The speed camera database is only updated monthly, costs more than ALL competitors, and doesn't include many fixed cameras I have seen (and then reported dutifully through the website) that ARE on Garmin, TomTom, Sony, PocketGPS, SCDB etc etc etc. It also misses almost all temporary cameras (e.g. on roadworks on motorways). To charge 150% of the competition for it just seems strange...
3. The unit is very sluggish. The map moves in 'steps', rather than smooth scrolling and key presses are not always 'received'. If you load your own POIs on, this gets RAPIDLY worse. (It's not too noticable at first).
4. The unit has an absolute maximum of 12,000 POIs that are 'recommended' to be loaded onto it. It will accept more, but the speed of use becomes so slow (10 second button-presses) that the unit can't then be operated - and you have to remove them. Now that might not seem important - after all, why would you load 12,000 POIs? Well, the issue is back to that Speed-Cam database. If you use a third-party solution, they come in the form of POIs, and there are more than 12,000 cameras in the UK.
5. The TMC antenna is pink, which against black and dark grey dashboards looks a bit odd - it resembles one of those antennas you used to get with radio units that you were meant to put on your wall, but never did because they looked too strange. All the competition use black ones...
6. There's no MP3 player. Maybe I'm odd in liking those, but I link the unit to my radio (with one of those adaptors) and I miss it on the NavMan. Every other top-of-the range unit (other than the Sony) has this.
7. Text-to speech is OK, but it actually says less than the competition, in terms of directional information. Only you can say whether that is good or bad - for you.
So there you have it. In its favour stands price, clear maps, an OK (2MB only) camera and it works. It seems to be constantly offered at a price below the top-of-the range systems of others. If you have a compatible phone, then the Bluetooth works well (and sound quality is good). Against comes poor Bluetooth support, sluggish software, dodgy speed-cam data (as an example, check the M60 in Stockport for 3 missing cameras that have been there for almost two years - that are in everyone else's database, and that I have reported to NavMan. Twice.
If you need a basic sat nav, have an oler phone, and aren't worried about cameras, then it's a good unit to go for at the price quoted (factory refurbs can also be got from NavMan's own site).
|
|
|
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic, 19 Jan 2008
Fab sat nav from Navaman.
Easy to read screen.
Tells me when to turn in good time.
Can change the map colours for easy reading.
Camera is great, I just take a pic and use that to navigate to when I want to go again until I am familiar with the route.
Traffic updates got me a good re route the other day.
Easy to operate
Fixes nicely to the windscreeen
Overall really pleased with it and glad I got it.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
See all Product Description
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home