Navman has done a very nice job

Previously I owned Navman ICN635. As a salesman/technician I relied on this unit to get me to a wide range of customers. The ICN635 has having some problems with the new 2005 map software so I decided to upgrade; on certain sections of 476 it told me that I was not on the highway.

The N60i is a vast improvement over that model. The N series has a different user interface then the ICN, but it is still simple to use.

Improvement include:
1) Automatic night mode, the display goes into night mode without you having to change it manually.

2) Faster GPS lockup time. First start of the day is also immediate, it is immediate when I leave one customer site to go to another. No more intermediate screens to pass through, start the car and up comes the map.

3) Better voice prompts. On interstates you now get verbal exit number prompts.

4) Touch the screen where you are and you are two touch screen strokes from getting your exact location. This provides complete location information for 911.

5) The abiility to add a favorite based on your location is very simple.



What has stayed the same:

1) The map display continues to be superior to any other GPS units that I have seen. Street names are displayed in a clear fashion.


Other observations:

1) The latency time between screen modes (using the button) is mode immediate. It takes a heart beat between button press and seeing the display change. No big deal, but it was noticable.

2) As far as I can tell, the use highway/local roads priority is set globally, not settable for individual locations. No big deal.

3) As far as I can tell, there in no way to easily show the destination once a route has been started. On the ICN625 I could press the OK button and the routed location would be displayed. I will have to confirm with Navman tech support on this. I would have liked to have this feature.

4) The mount is excellent. The suction cup is larger with the N60 then the ICN635. You can very easily remove the suction cup mount from the windshield to move it to another car. Most excellent!

5) The display is excellent.

6) The internal battery is a nice touch. It does not appear to be user changable.

7) The maps are stored on internal RAM rather then a disk drive. Therefore access times are faster, product life is longer, and it is more forgiving of cold temps when you leave it in your car overnight.


Overall, I am very pleased with this GPS, and I would recommend it.

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