Navman S70 review

Navman S70 Review

Reviewed by: Brett James

Reviewed on: 2 November 2007

The Navman S70, with its European maps, offers a simple method of navigation via its innovative NavPix technology. A free 12-month safety camera trial, a wealth of places of interest (POI), Qwerty keyboard option and a quality widescreen display brings up the rear.

It's available to buy now for around £200. More information is available from the Navman website.

Strengths
The S70 incorporates a crystal clear 109mm (4.3-inch) display which brings both the text and maps to life. It's ready for navigation straight out of the box, with European maps and an easy-to-use interface with large icons.

Upon start-up you are greeted with Navman's map display, which you can use for quick navigation or route simulations, with a further touch of a button gaining you access to its menus.

Accessing POI is extremely easy with a wealth to choose from. Each POI selected contains detailed information, such as address, map location and contact numbers. With the latter you can use the integrated hands-free Bluetooth option (with SMS integration) to call them before departing.

The standard methods of inputting destinations are all here, with navigation via address, city or postcode, but the S70 does support eight-digit postcodes, a Qwerty keyboard option and it can even speak back the letters or numbers you enter.

Navigation to destinations is enhanced further thanks to Navman's NavPix technology, which allows you to drive-to and view geotagged images. Access to millions of images can be downloaded from the NavPix Web site.

During our tests, routes were calculated quickly, maps were aided by a colour-coded system to differentiate between standard roads and your route, plus its signal acquisition was generally quick.

The supplied Navdesk 2008 is easy to use and provides the backbone for downloads, updates, backups and for implementing a security PIN (protects your investment from loss or theft).

It's void of an MP3/video player, but you can listen to voice instructions via a pair of headphones if you so wish.

Weaknesses
Though NavPix is a great addition you really need a camera option in order to take full advantage of the technology, but for this you need the more expensive S90i.

During navigation, its routes were calculated quickly but we felt that its route recalculations could be a touch faster. It won't stop you from navigating and for casual users, it's hardly noticeable.

The SmartST software has the Traffic Message Channel (TMC) function built in, but you will have to spend an additional £50 to get a TMC cradle system added.

Voice directions were accurate but we felt that certain pronunciations -- via the female voiceover -- seemed to trail off when describing roundabout exits. There is also no text to speech option -- for pronouncing road names -- so you need to rely more on the maps to navigate. Its ability to speak letters back when inputting destinations can be a benefit for ensuring that your inputs are correct, but it can get annoying. Thankfully you can turn this option off.

Conclusion
Navman have managed to produce a low-cost GPS receiver for around £200, which packages their innovative NavPix technology inside an easy-to-use interface. Performance was general good, but we felt its route recalculations could be a touch quicker. The inclusion of an integrated camera (for NavPix) would have been useful, but if this is a requirement you can buy the S90i.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Jon Squire