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Mike Bantick10 May 2014
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Review: Navman SmartGPS

Bridging the gap between online maps and traditional GPS

Navman is promising to close the gap between our technology and our modern lifestyles. In creating the Navman SmartGPS, however, they do flirt with the line that divides function from distraction.

The SmartGPS combines a fully functional satellite navigation unit with smartphone applications and internet-sourced up-to-date information. The idea is to provide functions beyond navigation and integrate social media and local knowledge to help guide your travels further than source and destination.

According to Wendy Hammond, Country Director for Navman Technology Australia, “Not since the original launch of the first GPS device, have we seen such a major step-change in technology. We know people are using the internet every day to search for information regarding a location or destination. They are also using their smartphones and tablets on the go. However, after the search, the rest of the experience is not great. We’ve introduced the SmartGPS to marry these everyday behaviours with quality navigation from a dedicated GPS device. It’s all about having the right device for the right occasion.”

As a GPS unit, the SmartGPS is more than adequate featuring live traffic information based on the SUNA system that updates at thirty minute intervals.

As far as aesthetics are concerned, there is a lot of bezel surrounding the 5” screen with a single soft ‘home’ button and microphone receiver disrupting the symmetry of the design. The screen is surrounded by a matt silver lining and the back sports some faux-carbon fibre.

At the base are the inputs for power -- with an easy slide on design that we favour for the windscreen mount. There are also ports for external speakers, microSD card (for optional additional map storage) and optional audio/visual In, for equipment such as a rear camera.

In the box, the Navman Smart GPS also includes a windscreen mount, car charger, USB cable, short AV cables and the almost impossible-to-construct -- because it’s just awkward -- AC to USB power cable.

Once activated, the home screen navigation is quite nifty with the SmartGPS eschewing menus in favour of nicely sized on screen buttons and a screen that can be scrolled sideways using the virtual scroll-wheel. It’s pretty neat and quite customisable.

We quite enjoyed the default screen, here a good portion of real estate is given over to displaying the navigation map, which is accompanied by continually updating info squares giving the latest on traffic alerts or local businesses nearby. It is a bit of a shame that this feature is not cognisant of travel direction as it occasionally pops up a café or similar diversionary suggestion that is behind you.

Connectivity options are legion for this device. Your home wireless network, or Bluetooth to smartphone, tablet or other devices can be used to immediately update data from social media platforms supported by the SmartGPS. This includes the Yelp and Foursquare urban information directories.

This translates into constantly updated info on your screen, customised to a degree, giving you a guide to your surrounding area. Beyond the normal traffic and safety info this can include scenic sites, and shopping opportunities.

Live petrol pricing (sourced via Motormouth) and the latest weather are also part of the SmartGPS experience.

There is a companion app for iOS or Android based smartphones and tablets which allows a map overview so you can finish the last part of your travel on foot. The app is pretty slick and full-featured in itself.

Via the app, or any other connectible device, an address can be pushed to the final component of the SmartGPS ecosystem -- the Smart CloudEco. Essentially Navman provides cloud-based resources that immediately store and push out desired destination locations to the SmartGPS. It’s sort of a first-world problem, but this feature saves you the drudgery of taking an address located through services such as Google Maps on your phone or laptop and transferring it by typing into the GPS unit.

It’s a neat trick, but hardly a solution for world hunger.

The Navman SmartGPS has an RRP of $299 and continues the efforts by manufacturers of dedicated GPS units to provide further functionality, customisation, integration and features, set in a world that these companies acknowledge contains a great deal of competition.

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Written byMike Bantick
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