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Navman S30 3D Sat-Nav Review

Author James Morris
Published 29th Oct 2008
Manufacturer Navman
Supplier Amazon.co.uk
Price £67.00 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed £77.05 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price Click here
Design Score 8 for Design
Features Score 7 for Features
Performance Score 8 for Performance
Value Score 10 for Value
Overall Score 8 for Overall
Navman S30 3D Sat-Nav
award recommended

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There are also useful standalone sections for Fuel, Parking and SOS, which list nearby petrol stations, car parks and hospitals respectively, without you having to wade through the full POI system. However, we found at least one petrol station listed which has already been closed and turned into a block of flats, despite the late 2007 TeleAtlas map data. You can set up a multi-point route that can be saved as favourites for future use. Choosing to avoid a traffic jam you have just encountered couldn't be easier. Simply click on the road, select Avoid Area, and your route will be recalculated around it.


Once your destination is chosen, the S30 3D's true strengths shine through. The navigation interface is well designed and relatively intuitive. Details of your next turning are clearly displayed on the top left, whilst the top right provides a choice of five readouts, including distance to destination, time to destination, current speed, estimated arrival time and current time. The display will also switch automatically between day and night modes depending on the current time. However, the screen does feel a little cluttered, leaving little room for the central map area.


The voice guidance is also clear and precise, reading out your next turn and the approximate distance before you have to make it. Although we sometimes found the orange route indication a little hard to see in complex road systems, the 3D arrow used to indicate turnings were obvious, so we never missed an instruction once. You can also set the Navman to provide a speed limit warning, but only for one speed. It doesn't update according to the actual limit on your current road.

Whilst the core navigation system is excellent, this is still a budget model. Safety camera data comes pre-installed, but on a free trial basis. For regular updates you will need to subscribe, at £34.95 a year or £99.90 for three years. You can add live traffic updates, with the optional module that costs £49.99. There is no Bluetooth built in, and no input for an external GPS aerial should your car's windows impede the signal. The navigation system is for cars only, it can't create routes for other modes of transport with different routing requirements, such as pedestrians or HGVs.

 

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