Navigon 2100 max 4.3 Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech
596126
I purchased this item last week.  My son has a Garmin GPS he received as a wedding present.  Comparing the two, we both liked the features offered by the Navigon.  It was very easy to set up, I registered without a problem on the website.  The map updated automatically.  The satellite signal was quick to be captured and quick to advance.  I had no problems with the touch screen buttons they were plenty large enough and very easy to use and understand.  I would easily recommend this GPS Navigator for anyone as a first time GPS user.  I was most impressed with the ease at which I was able to figure out the Navigon without the need of detailed instructions.  I paid under 140 dollars for this system and am very happy with this investment.
1318856
After extensive review of lower end gps units with text to speech capability, I purchased this unit.  I returned the unit less than one week later after extensive testing in locations I knew well.

It has numerous good points, a few are clear and loud voice, good visibility screen, adjustable voice from main screen, good window mount, prompt return email from customer service, maps remarkably tracked what were basically gravel trails and logging roads near and just off of the North Shore Drive of Minnesota, auto change to night mode on screen, ability to drag the map from the screen to see what's ahead in each direction without zooming out, favorites for locations.

A negative was the POI's were not available for stops that were present in the location of interest, ie, coffee shop in the area wouldn't show up even though there was one in the area.  Though that's not what I purchased the unit for.

I obviously did purchase the unit for directions.  That's where it repeatedly failed, regardless of which of the four options were chosen, fastest route, shortest route, etc.  The unit failed most every time I used the device for navigation.  It continually chose indirect, more time consuming and undesirable routes to destinations.  I wanted to keep the unit.  However, it's a somewhat expensive gps purchase not to be able to use the navigation feature.  Maybe the 1412 would perform better in other areas of the country?
3314986
I've had this unit for about a week.  So far, I've only used it in the city where I know where I'm going.  The unit starts up quickly, gives clear directions, the text to speach is wonderful and the maps are clear.  I expect similar performance on routes that I'm not familiar with.  All I wanted was a good navigation system, since I already have bluetooth, MP3, video, web browsing, etc. in my iPhone.  The unit is small enough to fit in a pocket and the mounting system is excellent.  For the money, the Mio C230 can't be beat.
3026154
Excellent voice commands compared to siri, google, and car nav systems.  Nice features and help during driving.  The cam does not record sound, but I am ok with that.  Otherwise I would highly recommend.
2146437
I got this for the hands free option. But I keep forgetting the key word you have to say to get it to go into voice command mode. It is pretty good with the voice recognition, but not perfect. I went through a major intersection that has been redone for at least a year, but the maps had not been updated. When I got home, I went to update the maps, but was told they were up to date. I have had no issues with this item malfunction or not working. For that, it has been flawless.
3798611
I purchased this product from amazon 1 month back and I must say its really worth it. It recalculates quickly if you miss the directions. The feature I like the most is it can pronounce the street names for you. So I don't have to look at the screen for the direction, just hear the audio output and drive accordingly.
2473721
I was using an outdated Garmin nuvi and ended up in Hartford, CT. instead of East Hartford, CT.  My maps were out of date, and the girl would say court instead of Connecticut.  I also find the lane assist. feature very helpful.
1221033
After having two different 5" Tom Tom GPS devices blow up on me, I finally decided to go with good ole Garmin.  I first purchased a cheaper version of the their Nuvi line, but decided to upgrade to this model because I loved the small entry level model so much.

Overall, I give it a 4.5 out of 5, and highly recommend it as a purchase.

This model has all the reliability, speed, and user friendliness of their entry level model, but it comes with lifetime maps, bigger screen, voice command recognition, and Bluetooth connectivity so that you can use the mic and speaker of the Nuvi as a hands-free phone.

The voice command recognition is cool, and reliable when it comes to interpreting your speech for cities and addresses.  It does not do so well if you are attempting to find a store/restaurant/bar name.  In fact, I think it worked only 2 out of the 10 times I tried it.  I eventually gave on using the system to find proper names like restaurant and stores.

The Bluetooth feature is able to easily pair with a phone, and the microphone does a really good job of picking up your voice.  Where this Bluetooth feature misses the boat is on speaker volume.  The person you are speaking to on the phone is barely audible while driving, and there is no way to raise the volume.  The speaker in the Nuvi is capable of broadcasting a higher volume, but for whatever reason the volume is locked at a level 3 on a 10 point scale.  You would think they would use the same volume control that the Navigation voice uses to broadcast the phone conversation, but they don't.  I updated the software to the latest firmware, and it seems to still not be fixed.  If this was fixed, I would have given the device a 5 out of 5.

***UPDATE***

I contacted the Garmin product support folks to report the phone volume problem.  They gave me instructions on how to adjust the volume, but the instructions did not work.  There is a volume slider for phone volume, but changing it has no effect on the actual audible level.  It seems to be an engineering SNAFU, which is amazing that such a glaring problem would have passed their Quality Control measures.
167971
Good:
1. Navigation voices aren't robotic.

2. When you search for a Point of Interest - for example Pizza - as you travel, it lists all the Pizza restaurants in the general vicinity and indicates their general direction in relation to your position with an arrow; I find this very useful.

3. As you drive, there will be a yellow triangle adjacent to your position. This triangle constantly points to the general direction of your destination, so you know if you are heading towards the right direction.

4. Good POI - both the data available as well as the search function

5. Reliable navigation and map

6. Quick Satellite fix

7. Announces how much time it took to reach the destination at the end of the trip; too bad it only announces it and doesn't store or display it.

Bad
1. No option to "Avoid Highways"
2. Three calculation conditions - Standard, Avoid Tolls, Shortest Distance - all mutually exclusive to each other. Which means it cannot navigate the shortest toll free route. It is either shortest distance or Toll Free, not both.
3. Not built to last; either that or you should be extremely delicate when handling this. The USB socket broke of the circuit board in mine.
4. Does not offer even a basic trip statistics feature.

As of this writing, I believe Sony discontinued its GPS products. And that is not surprising. I do not see their usual engineering or design in this GPS
4321156
Thing that I like about the Garmin nvi 3790LMT, a free service of GPS navigation. You can download a free card mentions and language packs. My friend used the Garmin nvi 3790LMT I also like to have such a thing.
2842541
The Navigon is a great unit, Little slow, but is accurate in it's directions and use.  Compact and easy to use.  Would recommend to others seeking a quality inexpensive unit.
Dave
Minnesota
1553759
I bought this unit after experiencing the frustrations of using a rental Garmin carnav that did not have text-to-speech capability. Just try to navigate DC's traffic circles with the instructions of "turn right in 200 feet"....yes, but which right turn?
 The LN 740 gives plenty of warning before an upcoming turn. The screen is large enough to see most upcoming turns and read the street/route name as well as hear the spoken name. On the other hand, the name pronunciations are really strange: e.g. "stay right on traffic L-O-O-P 81", with Loop spelled instead of spoken. Can't handle hispanic names at all - Cervantes street is spoken Cer-VANTS instead of Cer-VAN-teez, Camino is CAM-in-o. The machine's voice is tinny and mildly unpleasant but readily understandable except for the strange pronunciations. Uses the Navtec mapping algorithm (same as Yahoo) which is currently regarded as the strongest system for use in USA although not in Europe. Just gave it a good testing in Austin, Texas, which is unknown territory for me. While it was important to look at the map as well as listening to upcoming changes, all in all it performed very well.
  It did have two significant character flaws - directed me twice to turn onto a one-way street against legal traffic flow and it does not differentiate major streets from minor ones. The latter flaw led to following a serpentine path through residential neighborhoods and meeting many stop signs rather than simply following major thoroughfares. I learned how to offset this by using the avoid feature for any leg on the route shorter than .5 mile, forcing the program use a more direct route. The points of interest feature was quite detailed, allowing for rapid route selection to selected restaurants, museums, the airport, etc. so long as they were in the database. If one entered the address, the routing was not nearly so accurate, often being 4-5 blocks under or over. The street would be right but the fact that most commercial buildings do not use visible address numbers would then add to the challenge of finding an exact address while driving in heavy traffic. I tried using the unit portably as a pedestrian but found it confusing and did much better using a simple tourist map.
 Do download Microsoft's most recent version of RapidSync because the version on the installation CD will not work. Several evening calls to the support line reached a recording asking for my number for a later call back that never came. I still want to know how I can get updated map and POI versions.
 If TomTom goes with the Navtec mapping in the US, it will be the best car navigator. Until it does or its current mapping system improves, the upper level Garmins (text to speech capable) are the best, but MUCH more expensive than LG's LN 740. I would pose this unit as the value leader.  While a $200 differential exists, I would continue to choose this one.
3661523
It took me a little time to get the little gadget figured out, but once I did it was amazing!  I love the voice feature so that I don't have to look at it while trying to drive.  It shows every little road coming up.  It also shows golf courses, bridges, water, parks EVERYTHING!  I really like my new GPS.

The only thing I would like for it to have is a compass.  Maybe it has one and I haven't found it yet - I will keep looking!

Thanks so much,

Karen - Poco Risco Lakefront Log Home Rentals, Lake Ozark, MO
4411236
This works really well with my Palm treo 750p for street navigation.  I think the Garmin interface is superior to most other systems I have used.  I'm finding it difficult to just use it just to get directions or look at a map at an area I am not in, like Mapquest or Google maps.  I'm used to being able to do that with my previous system which is now defunct.  It works really great if you have a street address to go to and are driving there from your current location.
2825120
I got Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005 w/GPS early in 2005 and there were quite a few usability issues with the program.  The biggest gap was no voice commands.  This new version includes new voice command prompts, which are pretty good and on the screen in VERY large size font it shows you what you will do next along with how much of a percentage you've traveled on the road at that moment.  For example, if I am on Smith Rd. and will travel on that road for 5 miles before I turn left onto Jones St., on the screen it shows "Turn left in 5 miles onto Jones St.," plus it has a progress bar showing how many of the 5 miles you've traveled.

I was a simple upgrade (have your CD ready when you plug in the GPS device for the first time), and upon my first use it appears that they haven't fixed some of the bugs and annoyances in trying to find a restaurant or gas station.  To illustrate this, if I wanted to find a gas station on my way home from work (15 mile ride), I could choose within so many miles of my current point or so many miles from the entire route.  Let's say I'm half way home and decide to look for a gas station, I put 1 mile from my current point, and it looks at a one-mile radius of 5 miles ago?? (Bug, I suppose.) So instead, I put within 1/2 mile of my entire route.  Then it lists all gas stations within 1/2 mile of my route (from beginning to end regardless of how far I am from the beginning) and organizes them by distance from my route (instead of how far I am from the station at the moment).

These observations are subject to change as I use the program some more and if I find that I'm doing something wrong.  I will post more comments if I can in the future.

[UPDATE - 3/1/06] I continue to have usability problems trying to find places, such as restaurants.  I got so frustrated trying to find an Applebee's on a trip lately that I used by cell phone as a modem for my laptop to use their website's locator.  Microsoft, I hope you read this!

Overall, it is a big improvement if you want to keep using your Microsoft GPS module from 2005.
30478
The 7100 is not a bad GPS unit.  Out of the many I ploughed through trying to find something that worked for me (Garmin, Tom Tom, Magellan), this one gets the closest.  I'll probably go to my grave looking for a perfect GPS, as every one seems to be lacking in this or that department.  But the Navigon gets the closest, and there's a free lifetime subscription to TMC real-time traffic updates as well!

One thing I'd say is, definitely step up from the "hardcase" case that Navigon officially sactions; it's better than the cloth bag included with the unit, but you'll still probably end up like me with a crack in the corner of the screen, because the "hardcase" is not really rigid in the middle and won't put up any fight if the unit is jostled or subjected to any kind of pressure while in a knapsack or such thing.

The lane assist comes in handy a lot of times, and seems extremely accurate on highways.  The routing can seem a bit wonky sometimes, but there is no other unit on the market that gives perfect routes all the time.  There has been an update to the routing engine through a firmware update, but it still is well, wonky.  To mitigate this though, you have a pretty robust scheme for adjusting the route manually if the provided path sends you astray.  The firmware also adjusts the touch response of the screen, so you'll get less frustration trying to press buttons.

Bluetooth works pretty good, although you need to connect (not pair up with) to the phone when you power the unit up and want to use handsfree.  This requires a couple of keystrokes in the UI of the unit.

A couple of final points: the onscreen text; it has been slightly tweaked with the update but still I find it's pretty small, both on the map itself as well as some points in the menu system.  And speaking of the menu, searching for POIs is pretty counter-intuitive.  The categories don't make a lot of sense and doing broad searches across categories doesn't seem to work right and leads to a lot of major franchises not turning up in results.

Like I said, no GPS is perfect, and the Navi still needs some tweaking.  But none of my complaints change the fact that it is a very serviceable GPS with good routing, a valuable lane assist scheme, great looking screen and lifetime traffic.
4316008
I am well satisfied with the Garmin Nuvi 2595 LMT with the exception of the voice commands. The voice commands are minimal and basically are for giving the destination you want to go to. There are no commands for such things as: zoom in/out, trip computer, and a few others that just don't come to mind at the moment. These may not be used often but come in quite handy on a trip while driving. It would also be nice if the at least some commands could be given by just speaking rather than having a menu to choose from. Currently there are about 8 or 9 commands to choose from. The voice software works pretty good as compared to my old Nuvi 855 which had voice commands which were accessed by clicking on a button you connected to the steering wheel. There were more commands on it though the voice system didn't work as well as the Nuvi 2595. Don't get me wrong, the voice command could still use some improvement, but, there has been a very large improvement over my old Nuvi 855. Hope this helps in your choice. I would still purchase the Nuvi 2595 now even with these few disappointments. Tech support is very friendly and as helpful as possible. I found a map problem and they are going to try to fix it if possible, but, no guarantee. This is because the map is from a third party and they can only make suggestions for changes in the program.