Design
As revealed at the Sydney Motor Show, Navman has replaced most of its portable GPS line-up with the S-Series. The first change you'll notice is the thoroughly modernised design of the new range. The cheap plastic and physical buttons of yore have been dumped, with multi-toned silver, grey and piano black plastic, as well as rounded sides, taking their place. All four models in the series share the same look -- indeed they're almost identical, except for the S30 which, being the entry level model, makes do with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, not the 4.3-inch of the other models.
Functions, like zooming in and out, which on previous generations were accessed via buttons now reside in on-screen "soft" buttons on the main map. This layout is not dissimilar to that seen on Mio's GPSes -- this, we think, isn't a mere co-incidence as both Mio and Navman are now owned by the same parent company -- although the Navman's buttons are larger.
Typically when we use a GPS in our car, we have it hooked via the cigarette charger. However, using the S30 in this way was difficult -- at least with our test unit -- due to its diabolical USB charger design. To have the S30 charging whilst mounted on the windscreen, the mini-USB plug first needs to be slid into the windshield mount before slipping the S30 into its mount. Attaching the S30 to the mount requires aligning both the mini-USB plug and mount, which is a procedure with more jiggling than a high school formal. Otherwise, the windscreen mount design is compact and neat with a levered suction cup and ball swivel providing for screen adjustment possibilities.
Features
Being the cheapest model in the Navman range, there's not very much to speak about features-wise on the S30. You'll have to splash out another AU$100 to find useful features like Bluetooth hands-free and text-to-speech, which allows generic instructions, such as "turn left in 100m", to be replaced by more informative ones like "turn left onto Princes Highway in 100m".
The S30 comes pre-loaded with the latest R14 maps from Sensis, although there is an SD-card slot should you decide to purchase maps for use overseas. There are also point-of-interest (POI) markers for all manner of things, from petrol stations and scenic lookouts to speed and red light cameras. Out of the box, most of these POIs are displayed on the map screen which, especially on main roads and suburban centres, makes it hard to see both street details and the suggested route. Another setting we had to tweak was the toll road warning which, by default, displays a large full-screen dialog box whenever a toll road is encountered on route recalculation -- not inherently a bad thing when keying in your destination, but highly annoying when you're pottering along.
Speed and red-light camera locations are marked in yellow and red, respectively, with speed limit signs for the former displayed prominently in the bottom left-hand corner. Although we had audible warnings enabled for safety cameras, they didn't work until we had switched to and from the in-store "demonstration mode". Even then, the chime would only sound randomly and often when we had just passed them, despite the fact that we had set the warning distance to be a kilometre.
Performance
We liked the S30's simple to use menus with its array of, now seemingly standard, large buttons. Although we wish manufacturers would get around to having a single soft button which jumps us back to the map, no matter how deep into the menus we are.
In terms guiding us from point A to point B, the S30 did a good, if not outstanding, job. Although we never expect optimal routes with GPS units, the S30 did occasionally suggest a few crazy detours when it would've been much easier to go straight. Route calculation was class average, but we're surprised that it wouldn't start calculating a route until it had satellite lock, which can sometimes take up to five minutes. As is common with portable GPS devices CBD performance, amongst the skyscrapers, was prone to frequent satellite dropouts.
All in all, the S30 is a good-looking entry-level personal navigator. And while the flaws -- the integration of the USB charger with the windscreen mount chief amongst them -- aren't deal breakers, we'd suggest seeing if your budget stretches to AU$500.
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NotHappy@Navman
20/08/2008, 08:51 PM
rating
1/10
I bought one of these, within 10 days it had problems, took it back to the store for a 14 day exchange, within 2 days the new one had a similar problem, exchanged it for a different brand.
Oh, and to the person who had trouble finding a AC charger, go to ebay.com.au
Pros: Told me where to go
Cons: Wasn't impressed by having to replace it twice
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bunyaw1
04/08/2008, 08:25 AM
rating
7/10
This is my first satnav.i went for base model on purpose as cheap. does what i ask, but agree it cant decide if a sharp bend is as a junction or not. overall so far i find this device user friendly, it has a clear voice, simple to set up and does what it says on the tin satalite navigation.
Pros: clarity, graphics, ease of use, ease of set up, suckshun cup strong, so far good choice or routes. easy to follow commands
Cons: volume, charging whist in car cradle seems to block charger? sometimes cofuses sharp turn as junction. start up time but no slow than me mates tom tom 1,
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S.bowman
11/06/2008, 11:33 PM
rating
6/10
Can reliable for those who are bad in sense of directions. but to slow giving us the signaltu turn left or rights.
Pros: Very clear, signal a bit slow but is alright.
Cons: Bought 1st time after a few weeks they become blank. Nothing come out. We got new replacement and ended the same problems. The invoice missing so how!!! should I buy new one or new brand?
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kjacobs
10/06/2008, 10:07 AM
rating
6/10
we just got really diverted on the way back from the warrumbungles. There was thick fog in the blue mountains so it told us to (perform a u-turn and) go home to sydney via canberra... only a few hundred k detour!!! Maybe its the satellite coverage fault but still they should be able to calculate all the details with no satellite, maybe a working offline feature would be better.
However none of these features seem to be improved on more expensive models...!
Pros: Finds route quickly in good conditions, large buttons, good in traffic
has coverage everywhere, even in the middle of australia
speed camera data is very useful, tells not only the camera but also the speed you should be travelling
definitely tells one way streets and so far has never told me to turn right on no-right-turn street
Cons: Often doesnt show the town names. Very hard to use as a map, I still had to get another map out to know where im going! Will get you lost if it doesn't have proper coverage
Light is too bright and distracting at night (maybe could switch to dim when not displaying data)
no warning for dirt roads
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Peety117
29/05/2008, 12:03 PM
rating
8/10
Great little unit. People should note that the problem with GPS units is the DATA, not the actual unit. If you have wrong data on any unit off course it will get you lost.
Pros: Price is really good for what you get
Cons: None
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Hubert
12/05/2008, 08:36 AM
rating
10/10
person that wrote the review was probably on drugs :D cradle + charger combo is the best I've seen so far
Pros: best value for $ on market . can be unlocked and loaded with any satnav soft that you wish. put the charger plug into cradle and then the unit into cradle . works great :) it's all in the manual RTFM !!
Cons: none for the $
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tondee1772
02/05/2008, 10:29 PM
rating
6/10
extreme difficulty in purchasing power charger
Pros: clear pics precise audio
Cons: no power charger included in pak
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nugget
17/04/2008, 09:47 PM
rating
6/10
Can't see what the problem is with the cable - slide the plug in to the bracket, stick it on the glass, and I pop the s30 onto the bracket with one hand, nice and easy every time...
Pros: easy enough to use
Cons: A bit slow to find signal at startup out of my driveway, but that could be buildings
keypad not for clumsy fingertips
changing / recalculating route
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bibsterina
21/02/2008, 03:38 PM
rating
9/10
For someone who has a bad sense of direction, this is great and useful. Absolutely love it.
Pros: User friendly, instructions are loud and clear. Easy to install and clear display
Cons: Instructions and diversions can be confusing but it's bearable
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mr_tea_1
31/01/2008, 03:09 PM
rating
7/10
Very good for a base model
Pros: simple to use. nice display. compact design.
Cons: Just like cnet's unit, our unit wouldn't fit onto the windscreen mount unless you fiddle around with the connector. the cord is a little annoying too. It is too long (at least in my car) and I have to tuck the excess away in the ashtray. Previous models had a coiled power cord which was better.
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