Garmin Nuvi 205 / 205W Review (nüvi 205 W)

A new release by Garmin coming soon is the Nuvi 205 / 205W, compact and affordable GPS navigation systems. Due to be released in the late second quarter of 2008, these portable navigation devices feature new navigation technology such as a built-in MSN Direct receiver.

Common Features
This new product is quite compact, housing its crisp and clear LCD touchscreen display in a chassis that is under an inch thick. What's nice about any Garmin units, such as this Garmin Nuvi 205 / 205W is the speedy access and GPS satellite lock, providing fast and true real-time navigation without sluggish performance. This is primarily due to its built-in flash memory and the speed of the built-in processor. Most users have never complained about Garmin's inability to respond quickly to navigation and commands, and we don't expect anyone to do so with the Nuvi 205.

The Garmin Nuvi 205 / 205W features Garmin's City Navigator map database which is specialized map database for regions in which you live in. The same Garmin Nuvi 205 will be available in most parts of major European countries such as France, UK, Ireland more. The navigation function of the unit allow users to do 2D or 3D perspective navigation with complete turn-by-turn voice guidance. However, the Nuvi 205 does not feature text-to-speech technology, limiting vocal directions to distance and directional turns without any street or highway names mentioned.

The Nuvi 205 / 205W does, however, feature an MSN Direct receiver that will give users the ability to check on weather, movie times, and even gas prices-- and it's all completely free service. It also features an emergency feature that displays not only your current location but also of nearby emergency facilities such as police stations and hospitals. Of course, with all new Garmin navigation products, users are free to download their own customized icons for their avatar displayed on the screen while navigating. This isn't a make-or-break feature, but it's definitely a fun addition to have.

The Nuvi 205 / 205W do not feature any audio or video media playback other than its built-in picture viewer (JPEG). It is indeed a basic compact navigation device. It weighs around 5 ounces and has a lithium-ion battery capable of lasting a maximum of 4 hours. They both have USB ports for firmware/software updates, possible future map updates, and SD card access from a PC. They both also feature some unique tools such as currency conversion calculator, mathematical calculator, and even clocks that could be adjusted to various world time zones. Last but not least, each of the new Nuvi 205 / 205W GPS navigation units could receive FM-based traffic information.

Differing Features
The Garmin Nuvi 205 features a 3.5" LCD touchscreen display while the Garmin Nuvi 205W features a wider 4.3" LCD screen. The screens are both equally high-resolution and crisp, with great visibility even in bright settings. Though the two screens differ in size, both GPS units are equal in thickness (measuring under 1"). Another difference is the Nuvi 205W SD Card reader where as the smaller, more compact Nuvi 205 features a Micro SD Card reader.

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The Nuvi 205 / 205W is Garmin's attempt to reach out to the average driver in need of an average navigation unit. The interface is easy to use and the device features key driver-friendly functions. The ability for the units to stay under $200 is already incredible, especially with its traffic and MSN Direct receiver, and a nice anti-theft feature that is common on Garmin products.

TomTom ONE 130 Review (Tom Tom 130 S)

The TomTom ONE 130 is TomTom's newest compact and most basic navigation. It does not feature a whole lot of bells and whistles but it does offer a very easy-to-use menu and operation.
The TomTom ONE 130 features a more compact 3.5" touchscreen LCD monitor that features an anti-glare design, but is about an inch smaller than the more common and becoming standard 4.3" LCD screens. It is also a much slimmer design than most portable GPS navigation unit, measuring at only 1" thick, about 3" in width and under 4" in length. It is also very light and could fit in pockets, purses, and really anywhere you want it to be as it only weighs 6.1 ounces.
The ONE 130 has a built-in map database that does need any additional media for navigation such as additional SD cards, although the unit is fully capable of POI updates through its USB connection. The TomTom ONE 130 features a smaller 5 million points of interest database, but it's good to know that it's fully capable of future updates. Keep in mind that despite having only 5 million points of interest, the unit is relatively compact, so having 5 million POIs isn't a bad thing. It'll still still have most of your favorite places to go.
Its navigation features are pretty standard for TomTom, featuring quick-route calculations, toll/highway avoidance, or fastest/shortest route guidance. It also has 2D/3D perspective navigation with voice guidance and text-to-speech technology. The menus and the graphical user interface is very easy to use-- a signature TomTom design. Like most of TomTom GPS products, the TomTom ONE 130 features an emergency function that will display emergency contact locations and numbers for nearby police stations, fire stations, and hospitals. It even allows the user to locate their own location such as GPS coordinates and nearest cross-streets.

In addition, the TomTom ONE 130 also could also receive TomTom PLUS services, which allow users the ability to receive traffic information, additional navigation voices, and updated points of interest. The mounting kit is actually part of the unit and folds quite nicely, maintaining its slim profile.

In the end, the TomTom ONE 130 is simply a navigation unit without any audio or video playback support, so don't be looking for this feature on the unit. The TomTom ONE 130 is a nice entry level GPS navigation device that is quite cheap and a nice fit for anyone needing a very useful GPS navigation device.

Amcor 3600B Review

Hands down, this may be one of the cheapest GPS navigation units out there. Given the price, it is pretty basic but it does have a series of crucial features that will set this above other lower-tier GPS navigation systems.

The Amcor 3600B is priced at under $190, a very affordable price for anyone to drool over. This GPS device features a compact 3.5" LCD screen that is above average in contrast and clarity, with a brightness rating of 300 cd/m2. What's nice about the compact screen is its incredibly thin chassis, measuring at only under 3/4". The Amcor 3600B could fit in anyone's pocket or purse, or even tucking it away in the glove compartment or the center console.

The Amcor 3600B has a built-in Centrality Atlas II processor, clocked at 300 MHz. The processor is a little bit slower than most of today's portable GPS navigation devices that feature 350 MHz or 400 MHz processors. To compensate for it, Amcor designed the 3600B with a built-in 64MB RAM that would be able to handle greater demands by the user. It also has a high-sensitivity SiRF STAR III GPS receiver chipset, an identical chipset found in most major brands GPS systems such as Garmin, TomTom, or Magellan. The SiRF Star III is also capable of locking on to 20 different GPS orbital satellites, allowing for maximum coverage and accuracy while navigating. The internal map database is TeleAtlas-based, so you know you're navigating with accurate readings and pre-loaded maps. However, Amcor never specified how many points of interest it has. We suspect that for the price, it probably features anywhere from 1.5 - 3 million points of interest (POI).

The Amcor 3600B features audio and video playback capabilities through its SD/MMC card input. The unit supports MP3, WAV, AVI, BITMAP (BMP), JPEG/JPG, GIF, and even PNG. What's amazing about the Amcor 3600B is of course its price, but with such a low price, it's amazing to find that the Amcor 3600B features a built-in Bluetooth interface for hands-free calling capable of displaying call status and caller ID on the screen. It also features a mini-USB port for updates or SD/MMC card access through PC, as well as a 3.5mm audio output to connect the unit to your existing car audio system.

For the price that it's set at, it's almost too good to be true. It is a compact and smaller than most GPS units, but the Amcor 3600B packs so many features and even a Bluetooth feature that is definitely hard to resist. If you're looking for a basic and cheap navigation device with Bluetooth capabilities, you'll likely to find it in the Amcor 3600B.

TomTom GO 930 (Tom Tom 930) Review

TomTom will soon be releasing their new main battle tank, the Go 930. It will definitely be one of the coolest GPS navigation we've seen as of yet and its features will surely impress even the most novice GPS user.

The unit features a standard 4.3" LCD touchscreen display with an excellent color depth, contrast, and visibility. It's quite impressive how clear the navigation is and it truly complement its other features. This portable GPS unit is for the most part a slight upgrade from TomTom's previous release, the Go 920. However, the Go 930 features IQ Route technology which measures not posted speed limit, but what actual speed of vehicles travel at; and as a result, this will give drivers a much more accurate estimated time of arrival.

The TomTom Go 930 also features Advanced Lane Guidance technology that makes complex interchanges much easier to manage. This is a great feature to have if you live in busy metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, etc. The technology simulates the driver's point of view as the vehicle approaches an upcoming interchange. It will then indicate which lane to take, as well as the correct offramp/onramp.

Since the TomTom Go 930 is an upgrade from the TomTom Go 920, much of its features are identical, except the entire casing is black, high-gloss painted rather than the silver coat.

It does feature the same 400MHz processor, which will allow high-speed response rate while navigating. It also has 64MB RAM memory with 4GB of internal flash memory that is primarily used for navigation data. The SD/MMC Card reader could even expand the capabilities of the unit by allowing other media files to be played in the GPS unit. The GPS receiver is also a highly sensitive receiver that will unlikely to drop any GPS satellite signals. The TomTom Go 930 could pick up RDS-TMC traffic signal for up-to-date traffic information that could be displayed while navigating through traffic hot spots.

What's great about the TomTom 930 are its built-in FM transmitter as well as its integrated Bluetooth technology that allow users to do hands-free calling by using the on screen phonebook and dial pad.

The TomTom 930 has great features, but it also comes with a great price. Expect this newly released portable GPS unit will be priced at around $500.

Harman Kardon GPS-510 Review

Harman Kardon is of course known for its quality and reliability, offering you only the best in what high-end technology has to offer. To answer the increasing demand for GPS Navigation devices, Harman Kardon has answered with the GPS-510, an incredibly thin navigation unit capable of audio and video playback.

Pros
The interface is incredibly easy to use and is really easy to see. It does not make driving and navigating a dangerous task but instead renders it quite enjoyable with the bright and high-contrast 4" LCD touchscreen. In addition, the processing capability of the unit is extremely fast-eliminating the irritating nuisance of sluggish navigation. It has quick refresh rate and contains over 12 million points of interests.
The GPS-510 is incredibly thin, with a small width of less than ¾" thick. Only a few others on the market have this same thickness, but not as stylish and feature-packed as this one.

The navigation component of the unit is built-in and is also capable of receiving up to 16 different GPS satellite signals. Along with that, it could also receive live traffic information transmission in the area that you are driving. It also gives you an estimated time of arrival as well as time remaining until reaching destination. The colors on the map look great and truly characterize the navigation aspect of the unit to be 'high-tech'. It has the look and the feel of a truly high-quality portable navigation device.

The Harman Kardon GPS-510 also has great media playback capabilities, capable of playing AAC, MP3, and WMA audio files as well as WMV and MPEG4 video files. The unit could display album artwork and has familiar playback controls that are commonly used in media players.

reliability, offering you only the best in what high-end technology has to offer. To answer the increasing demand for GPS Navigation devices, Harman Kardon has answered with the GPS-510, an incredibly thin navigation unit capable of audio and video playback.

Cons
The fact that it has no built-in hard drive could be troublesome to many. However, the SD Card input supports up to 4GB, it may be cumbersome to switch in and out the SD Card. Though the manufacturer provides a USB connection, there really is no purpose for that unless you use the SD Card.

With all these great features, it's rather odd that the unit does not have HD or Satellite radio capabilities. Though the video playback feature is great, it's highly doubtful that anyone would be using video playback on a navigation device.
Another negative aspect is the price. The unit is selling at around $420 - $460. Unless you could get a good deal on the unit, you may be able to find other similarly featured portable GPS navigation units for cheaper.

Harman Kardon GPS-810 Review

This is arguably the crown jewel of portable navigation. Of course, you can't really expect anything less from a top tier company like Harman Kardon. The Harman Kardon GPS-810 features an incredibly thin casing, with a width measuring no more than ¾" thick. With this kind of style, you'll definitely impress your friends with how good your dashboard will look after you mount one of these.

Display Features
It features a very bright and daylight-readable 4.3" LCD display, capable of down-scaling pictures as large as 4096 x 3072 pixels. The built-in GPS system is capable of displaying US, Puerto Rico, and Canada maps without additional mediums such as a disc or a flash card. In addition, it features a blazing fast 532 MHz i.MX31L processor. The combination of the two will give users quick response and calculations from starting point to destination. You can be sure that the unit will also have a fast refresh rate so that you won't see much lag at all when navigating through high speed freeways.

Navigation Features
Whereas typical GPS Navigation have 1 to 6 million points of interest, the GPS-810 features an internal memory that holds over 12 million points of interest. With the vast amount of locations stored internally, you are most likely to find the most current directional and address guides to your favorite landmarks, restaurants, and of course, gas stations. What is amazing is the unit's 16-channel GPS receiver (which is by the way capable of receiving traffic messages). The 16-channel receiver could lock on to 16 different orbital GPS satellites and makes sure that you won't lose reception where ever you are.

Compatibility
This portable unit is also capable of playing music files in AAC, MP3, WMA, WMV, and WMA with WM-DRM10 (Digital Rights Management) format. In addition, it will display album art and you could play music while you're navigating. I know what you may be thinking. You're thinking "why would I want to play music through the small built-in tin-can speakers?" But instead you could use its included FM modulator or its 3.5mm auxiliary output, and you would be able to hear digital quality music through your existing audio system. Moreover, if you insert an SD Card, the unit is capable of file transfers from your computer through the USB connection.

Bluetooth Features
The GPS-810 also features a built-in Bluetooth connection that displays caller ID and call status on the 4.3" LCD display. This will allow you to communicate through either its built-in audio or through your car's audio system with either the FM or auxiliary connection. It could even synchronize your cell phone's phonebook and will display any contact information on the screen for easy-to-navigation access.

Wireless Remote
To top it all off, the Harman Kardon GPS-810 includes a wireless remote. This is my favorite feature because it does not force me to lean over or reach forward to access the unit. Instead it's sensitive and easy-to-use remote is very familiar to use and could even be mounted anywhere it is convenient for you such as the center console or your door-side arm rest console.

With such great features, this Harman Kardon unit stands as one of the best GPS portable navigation unit as of first quarter 2008. It's going to be tough finding similarly featured as well as similarly performing competitors, especially with a price tag of less than $400, this premium quality navigation unit. It's worth every penny and you won't ever regret your purchase!

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