Design
Spotting the differences amongst this season's Navman S-Series GPS range -- narrow-screen S30 apart, obviously -- requires a keener eye for detail than Sherlock Holmes. They're not bad looking devices, mind, with their mix of silver plastic and piano black highlights. The mid-range S50 that we tested here comes with the same 4.3-inch wide-screen LCD as the more expensive S80 and S90i.
Physical buttons, as seen on the previous generation N-Series, give way to "soft" buttons accessed via the S50's touchscreen. Those on the main map screen are suitably large and can usually be accessed without too many issues when stopped at a traffic light. The menus are well laid out with the customary suite of large icons. We do wish there was a quicker way of jumping back to the map though -- it usually takes two clicks but can sometimes take more.
One of our big complaints when we tested other S-Series models was the infuriating in-car charging set-up attached to the windshield mount. The mount itself is a rather neat unit, being compact, yet providing plenty of articulation for the S50. It also has a levered suction cup, which means that it sticks to your windscreen even when you ride over the Roads and Traffic Authority's biggest and best potholes. To use the in-car charger when driving requires inserting the mini-USB into the mount, and then sliding the GPS unit into both said mount and USB plug. On the S30 and S90i we tested earlier, performing this jiggle was as difficult as aligning the planets. However with our S50 we were able to sit the device in its mount and attach the mini-USB plug on either the first or second attempt most days.
Features
Justifying the AU$499 asking price -- AU$100 over the entry-level S30 -- is the S50's wider screen and Bluetooth hands-free. The bigger screen alleviates the cluttered, hemmed in feeling we had with the S30. On that device the turn instructions and status bar, as well as the collection of on-screen buttons, reduced the viewable map area quite considerably.
Using the S50's Bluetooth hands-free functionality with our Nokia 6110 Navigator was a hit-and-miss affair. We had no problems pairing the two up initially, nor making calls or receiving calls for that matter. However the next time we hopped in our car, the phone and the Navman refused to pair up. Eventually we pulled over to the side of the road, deleted the Navman's profile off the Nokia, and performed the whole discovery dance again. The problem is that we were turning the S50 off by pressing and holding the power switch, instead of putting the unit into standby mode, which is done by a quick tap of the power button. Once armed with this knowledge, Bluetooth worked fine ... most of the time. And when it didn't, we had to repeat the whole profile deletion and discovery jive once more. Frustrating. And we've heard tales of woe on our forums about particular phones not pairing up.
All S-Series models S50 and up include NavPix that allows you to navigate to geotagged images. Unless you're stumping up for the top-of-the-range S90i, which has a built-in camera, you'll have to hook your Navman up to a PC and download pics to navigate to. Given that we suspect most of our readers keep their GPS units in the car, we doubt that this feature will get used more than once or twice. Text-to-speech, which allows the reading out of street names, would have been a much more useful addition.
Performance
Like most portable GPS navigators out there, the S50 uses the SiRFStar III chipset and comes preloaded with the latest Sensis maps -- R14 in this instance. Gaining initial satellite lock took several minutes, as is the norm, but during this time the S50's refuses to calculate routes, and menu response is sluggish and sporadic. And because we often know the general direction we're facing, it ruined our routine of keying in a destination and then setting off while the GPS unit figures where the heck we are.
Once up and away, the navigation experience was acceptable but not extraordinary, and certainly not any different to previous Navman's which we've tested. It successfully guided us from A to B and back again, although the routes chosen were never quite the best. There was also the usual smattering of crazy routes with detours through back streets when ploughing straight on would've been sufficient. At least it refrained from guiding us through illegal u-turns whenever we strayed of its course. CBD performance was patchy, with the S50 often placing us in the wrong spot or losing us completely as the satellite signals got lost in the forest of concrete and glass.
So while it never lives up to the advertising claim that the S-Series is "better than a London cabbie", the S50 is a good GPS. And while we like the extra screen acreage, the buggy Bluetooth implementation is a worry. If you're dead keen on buying this Navman, we'd recommend haranguing sales staff into letting you try a unit before you buy -- just to ensure that your phone's Bluetooth works with it and that the USB plug lines up fine.
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GordonL
27/08/2008, 02:41 PM
rating
8/10
Having replaced my pIN 670 with an S80i the improvement was tremendous. Finding of satellites very quick but some of the map reading requires embellishment
Pros: Fires up very quickly - operates anywhere in the car without an external arial.- screen brightness excellent.
Cons: Finding a location if the address is not 100% known can be frustrating.
Sections of main highways not reconnised so route is suddenly changed to back roads, sometimes many kilometers out of the way.
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andrew
15/07/2008, 10:50 PM
rating
8/10
Had a problem with the Shop Demo mode going into a loop and unable to access any other functions - solved this myself by down loading service pack 2 which brought the unit back to full working order - still waiting for Navman's customer service to respond to my email for help (tip: do not activate the Shop Demo mode). Otherwise my S50 has performed better than expected and was invaluable in the USA.
Pros: good size screen
price
functionality
Cons: Shop Demo mode (avoid!!)
Customer service seems at best slow, at worst non-existent !
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ric b
05/07/2008, 12:19 AM
rating
3/10
agree with the comments on your review, plus mine chose to die after four months and Navman's internet response saying I'll be called is a joke. I won't buy the brand again.
Pros: nice big screen
Cons: died after four months and service response from internet contact was non exsitent
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griff
02/07/2008, 02:41 PM
rating
4/10
This unit is cheap price but you will end up paying for it in continual frustration. Behaved better after firmware upgrade (which was a nightmare in itself).
It has continual quirks and user interaction/friendliness is awful.
Pros: Big Screen.
Attractive price.
Decent looks.
Cons: Little buttons.
Awful bluetooth consistency.
Loss of settings.
Slow maps (faster after firmware).
Poor map route decisions.
Frustrating user interaction.
Awful windscreen mount.
Low battery life.
No dedicated bluetooth setting (for battery life).
Vista doesn't seem to like the GPS software.
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brianh
30/06/2008, 08:55 PM
rating
9/10
why have i lost my map on the s50.i have had it 3 months and then no maps...WHY
Pros: never been lost
Cons: the maps dissapeard
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peter
17/06/2008, 10:50 AM
rating
6/10
Prior to taking my s50 for a swim it seemed to work well. I disliked the fade out of regional roads on zoomed out maps. I HATE their website and that along with these other comments worries me. The interface was good and the on screen displays/options worked effectively. It sounds like the customer support issues and unreliability and compatibility issues indicate to replace with another brand. I got onto the phone service ok, but getting the number was a nightmare.
Pros: Interface intuitive with good effective options.
Cons: Hard to use as a map removing roads quickly when scales zoomed out.
Website hideously poor - indicating lack of respect for their customers
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aero
01/06/2008, 12:02 PM
rating
7/10
So far I have been impressed with my S80. A few minor teething problems like it "forgot" to announce the street names - fixed by changing the language. Sometimes defaults back to speaking the letters typed in to the keyboard (which I had disabled).
The charger issue (only USB and in-car) has been a bit of a worry but for the most part it is not a problem as I always plug into the cig lighter when travelling.
Having said that, I am quite impressed and am happy with the unit. I am not sure how it compares with others but the research I did beforehand suggested that the Navman was a good product so perhaps all GPSs have issues and Navman just has a few less than the others!
Pros: * Spoken street names
* CSV export for travel log (great for tax returns)
* Big, clear screen
* PC interface works well
* Storage bag
Cons: * Operating information on the S80 scant.
* No reply to emails for support
* Bulky unit - cumbersome as a hand-held device
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23882
31/05/2008, 12:32 PM
rating
2/10
crap, not very good at all
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Darrin Wilson
08/05/2008, 11:01 PM
rating
4/10
Exactly the same as most. NAVMAN has NO customer support. I have sent countless emails and left the same in voice messages, they have never responded
Pros: Have had no problems to date, only the standard map did not have as many places of interest, like 4x4 parks, like my mates had.
Cons: **** poor service. I only found this forum when I foolishly went looking for a map upgrade on their $2 web page. Hello Navman, are you listening, I am still waiting for a response.
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Mr Bumbles
21/04/2008, 10:54 AM
rating
5/10
After using a TomTom for a short period, I find the user interface on the Navman quite 'clunky'. However, I switched to the Navman simply because it had an earphone jack, necessary for me to use on a motorcycle. I am not inspired with the website, and I'm having this feeling that once purchased, soon forgotten!
Having said that, it does seem to work okay (so far) apart from it's annoying habit of sending me over a pedestrian bridge across the freeway everytime I travel in a southerly direction from my home... setting the 'avoid area' for this approach leaves me with a dialogue box informing me "unable to create a map to the destination"
It's early days, but I sure hope it's a bit more reliable than some of the user reviews that I've read.
Pros: The large screen
Cons: lousy website, no Macintosh interface provided on the utility disc
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