Review: Navigon 2100 max GPS
Navigon’s GPS offerings have been a favorite of ours and we’ve recently covered them in our GPS feature. While the entry level Navigon 2100 continues to be sold at bargain prices, there’s a new version, which we briefly highlighted in our Father’s Day Gift Guide: the Navigon 2100 max.
We recently had a chance to further road test the Navigon 2100 max and came away very impressed.
Display
First off, Navigon made a number of noticeable improvements on the original 2100. Most notably, the display, which is now a 4.3″ widescreen, compared to the 2100’s 3.5″. In addition, it’s super thin.
Software
The company also managed to upgrade the software and worked out a bunch of the kinks that we highlighted in our feature, including a more responsive touch screen, and zippier interface. They also managed to update the POI (points of interest), though I’m still not finding basic things like PetSmart or even a McDonald’s that was down the street.
DirectHelp
One new feature on the 2100 max is called DirectHelp and it provides the user with instant access to his/her exact location and a screen that lets the user immediately route to the nearest hospital, police station, road side assistance, or pharmacy. This is a must-have feature if you ever find yourself in an emergency and need to not only guide yourself to the nearest emergency center, but more importantly communicate exactly where you are.
Lane Assistant
Another new feature, Lane Assistant, shows lane guidance to give the driver a better view of what’s ahead.
As with the earlier 2100, you still have the feature that I like best from Navigon: 3D Reality View. Just check out the picture below. Nothing beats a graphical representation of what the intersection ahead might actually look like.
The only thing I found lacking this time around was Bluetooth connectivity. It would be great if I could pair my mobile to the 2100 max and use it for hands-free calling and also direct dialing from the DirectHelp or POI screens. I know that those features exist to some extent in higher models, but I’d like to see it as a standard going forward.
Overall, the 2100 max is a great improvement on the original, though the 2100 is still worth purchasing, too, especially at its substantially discounted prices.
Original Source : http://www.geek.com/review-navigon-2100-max-gps-20080613/
