NaviGadget

gps navigation systems for $200 or less

May 11, 2007 gps navigation 11 Comments

Lately we’ve been seeing a lot of GPS navigation systems going below the $200 mark. Most of these are from manufacturers you’ve probably never heard of before but that’s not necessarily bad. The hardware is usually standard and the software is sometimes identical in these machines. Here is our roundup:

Magellan Maestro 3100 for $200

Evesham Nav Cam 7700 for $160

InVion GPS-4v106 for $200

Aytobe for £100

PIVA PNS350 for $190 or L100 for $175

JVC KV-PX9 for $180

Mio C220 for $180

UPDATES:

ViaMichelin X930 for $198

NaviBlue NBC3500 for $155

Navman F20 (refurbished) for $158

FineDrive 400 for $190 or $99

Holux GPSmile 52 for $170

Sanyo NVM-4030 for $200

MORE UPDATES:

Lowrance iWAY 250c for $190

Jensen NVX-225 for $190

Nextar HGPS35 for $156

Navman iCN 330 for $130

Evesham NAV-CAM 7000 for $181

Are we missing anything? Even if it’s after rebate, let us know. We’ll update the list.

UPDATE: July 2008 – We now have another list cheap GPS navigation systems.

Lowrance iWay 250C review

Nov 8, 2006 gps navigation, lowrance, reviews 1 Comment

The Lowrance iWay 250C measures 3 x 4 x 1 inches and it costs only $350 while still managing to be loaded with features. The iWay 250C comes with a 2GB SD card for maps and you can expect to get turn-by-turn directions on its 3.5″ touchscreen from this highly portable device. The review at PC Mag gave the Lowrance 250C a 3.5 out of 5 which means “good” on their scale.

What we really think as a major dissappointment with the 250C is that it doesn’t use a GPS receiver that support WAAS which has the potential to provide down to 3 meters of accuracy.

The iWay 250C uses an older-generation 12-channel GPS receiver, which doesn’t support WAAS. Other products I’ve recently reviewed have included the latest-generation SiRF Star III GPS module, which boasts rapid satellite-acquisition time and a more sensitive receiver. I did notice that initial acquisition time was longer on the Lowrance from a cold start (out of the box), but once the GPS had an initial fix on my location, subsequent acquisition times were acceptable. Also, during navigation, I never lost the satellite track.

However this was not the main area that needed improvement for the reviewers. Here is what they had to say about route generation times…

My biggest disappointment with the iWay 250C, though, came from a totally unexpected quarter—lengthy route-generation times. I took the iWay 250C with me on two road trips. One trek was from New Jersey to Cincinnati, and the other from New Jersey to Bartlett, New Hampshire. The route to Cincinnati took nearly three minutes to generate, and the one to Bartlett took over 2 minutes. Other competitive units generated the same routes in under 30 seconds. That is a huge difference.

Now we’re not sure what kind of processor or algorithm they use for route generation but it sounds like they could do a lot better.

Lowrance iWAY 250C released

Sep 18, 2006 gps navigation, lowrance Leave a comment

Lowrance just updated their website with information on the brand new iWAY 250C, a pocket sized GPS navigation system with stereo MP3 player and a picture viewer. It comes with built-in battery so you are not limited to the charger in your car and with its Navteq maps of USA and Canada pre-loaded on its 2GB MMC/CD card you are guarenteed not to get lost.

Here are features and specs:

Display

• Sunlight-viewable, 16-bit color TFT touch-screen display
• 320 x 240 pixel resolution
• 3.5″ (8.9 cm) diagonal display size
• Super-bright, white LED backlit screen

Navigation/Mapping

• Built-in, precision 12-channel GPS+WAAS receiver with flip-up antenna
• Optional, compact RAA-5 remote GPS+WAAS antenna with built-in magnet
• Simplified touch-screen menus
• Three selectable mapping displays: 2-D Track Up, 2-D North Up, and Elevated 3-D
• Turn-by-turn audio and visual cues, including auto-zooming and automatic recalculation of directions after a missed turn
• Straight-line navigation feature for off-road and marine use
• 7 voice direction languages
• 12 display text languages
• Street address searching, plus auto-routing choices to choose or avoid Toll Roads and Interstates, and avoid Left-Hand Turns
• Mega-memory storage for up to 1,000 addresses
• Includes 2GB MMC/SD card preloaded with NAVTEQ mapping detail for the USA & Canada or Western Europe featuring millions of accessible Points-of-Interest (40MB of free space on the memory card for MP3 audio or JPEG picture files)
• Supports all current plug-&-play map/chart options from Lowrance
• Maps can be updated through the internal USB port with a PC
• Safety Passenger Mode allows a passenger to use the GPS features while the car is in motion

Media Players

• Full-featured stereo MP3 audio player with digital media card slot for loading audio files with an SD/MMC memory card
• Full-featured picture viewer displays JPEG photos stored on MMC/SD memory cards

Specs

• Operates on internal lithium ion rechargeable battery
• Integrated speaker plus connector support for stereo line out, DC power, USB and optional remote active antenna
• 4″W x 3″H x 1″D (10.61cm x 7.62 cm x 2.54 cm)
• Full one-year warranty

Accessories Included

• Stylus for touch-screen operations (with built-in holder)
• 12 vDC plug power adapter for power and recharging
• Suction-cup mounting bracket for windshield applications*
• Adhesive-backed, European-styled dash mounting plate
• USB to PC interface cable

UPDATE: iWAY 250C costs only $190 on Amazon now.