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| Navigon 7100 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator | 
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| Brand: Navigon
Category: CE
List Price: $649.00
Buy New: $324.93
You Save: $324.07 (50%)
New (5) Used (5) Refurbished (2)
Avg. Customer Rating:  221 reviews
Sales Rank: 2475
Color: Piano Black
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Tracks: Unknown
Native Resolution: 480 x 272
Display Size: 4.3
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 1 x 5 x 4
MPN: 10000140
Model: 10000140
UPC: 898110001051
EAN: 0898110001051
ASIN: B000S11K5U
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great potential...but wait for updates before buying September 7, 2007
I've used a Navigon in Europe and was optimistic about this product.
I received it last week. I've compared together in real time to the TomTom in our other vehicle as well as a Nuvi 650.
Observations: US routing is well off the mark. Points of Interest do not function well, many are missing. As a paying customer I received a 2GB "standard" card instead of the the advanced fast 4GB SDHC card advertised and included in the units distributed free to reviewers. Text-to-speech seems to have been revised to a downgraded system that does not speak most street names. US Customer support was poor, and emails relayed by the US site to Navigon Europe seemed to be handled in a confused manner.
Interestingly these problems are acute for the user, but the fixes are rather simple for Navigon. Two things are happening. I think the 2GB card probably cramped software (everything is on the card) and caused needed and perhaps planned features to be left off. And US support seems to have a poor relationship with the German HDQ where the software is written.
I would say this product has great potential.If you read of a good series of routing updates, software fixes, and return to SDHC card, all of these would be an indication changes in revamping of customer service and commitment to the US market. At that point I would give this device a very strong positive recommendation.
 Poor route routing September 7, 2007
24 out of 29 found this review helpful
The 7100 does not calculate the shortest time route and takes you on round about routes. This has happened to me on more than one occasion while using the system on very familiar routes using different settings. When the unit was set for fast route which means fast roads not fastest time it took me on a route that was not the shortest time route. If you set it for shortest route it will provide a shortest distance route which may not be the shortest time route.
I called Navigon and spoke to their technical support and general support people. They were unable to provide a solution to correct the problem.
This was very disappointing since I know Navigon is a very good and respected supplier of GPS systems in Europe. To bad they did not wring out all the kinks before rolling this out in North America.
Amazon is allowing me to return the item.
 Excellent product. - (But check if you get a 2 GB card instead 4 GB card) September 6, 2007
15 out of 19 found this review helpful
Edited 9/8/07: Navigon 7100 datasheet from navigon's own US website says a 4GB card is supposed to be included!! But they still shipped me one with a 2GB card. Watch out!! (would reduce the number of stars if possible but there is no way to do that)
After analyzing every other personal navigation device in this price range, I decided on the navigon. The screen is simply brilliant. (If you are so inclined you can install TCPMP on it since it runs WinCE OS and watch movies).
POIs: It had every single POI I could think of around my house. I was able to easily call restaurants from it using bluetooth link to my cell phone. One minor annoyance I have to establish connection to the phone each time I switch Navigon on. But it never failed to connect.
Mount: It has a different kind of mount. It works wonderfully in my Saturn Ion since the Ion has a center mounted instrument panel I have the Navigon mounted along my line of sight.
Route calculation: Route calculation and recalculation is done with good speed. For longer trips it takes a little bit longer to figure out the route. Route simulation is possible which is cool. You have the option of avoiding any portion of the route.
Suggestions: As soon as you get the unit after charging it connect to your computer - it shows up as a USB drive - backup the SD card. Also check the size of the SD card. Although the specs show a 4 GB card my unit was shipped with a 2 GB card with only 19 MB remaining.
Fun things: After you have backed up the SD card explore the xml settings files and bit maps. If you want you can change the icons and colors of the display by playing with the settings xml files.
Innovative features at the cost of the very basics - UPDATED September 5, 2007
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Last but not least, the unit suddenlywon't snap to the road I'm on when I'm on a large freeway with a clear view of the sky - keeps thinking i'm on adjacent roads, zooms in and out wildly, and tells me i'm 1500 feet below sea level. It's unable to hold a calculated route... but now it's in a box and on it's way back to amazon.
UPDATE: I'm going to make an effort to get rid of this thing and cut my losses. I just took it on a weekend of driving about 300 miles around new england, and some of the things it told me to do were COMICAL. As much as I want to like this thing, I simply could NEVER trust it in an area I wasn't familiar with. It literally tried to route me more than an HOUR out of my way on one occasion, and I noticed that it generally mis-calculated my arrival time by at least a HALF HOUR... my Garmin unit by less than 5 minutes on most occasions. This thing isn't worth the free traffic by a long shot, and the feeble attempts to deceive people into buying it by posting fake reviews on Amazon makes me sick. I'm sad I did business with this company and discourage anyone else from making the mistake.
Original Review:
While my review certainly isn't entirely negative, I have to say that I had much higher expectations for this product. I waited months for its release, and rushed to order when I saw it was available to replace my Garmin c330.
I was initially apprehensive to order such an expensive unit from a manufacturer I had never heard of before, but figured that the additional features sounded straightforward enough. Sure, these features have turned out to be great (like the subscription free traffic) - but to my amazement, the unit seems to calculate inane, needlessly long routes, often on back roads that are way, way out of the way. I have experienced this several times - on one occasion that I decided to trust it in taking me off a familiar route into the woods, I ended up resorting to taking out my old Garmin c330 from the glove box to have it help me find my way out of the maze the Navigon led me into. Yeah, it was that bad.
I was also disappointed to find that reality view only appears on screen based on availability - there is no way to bring it up, the unit decides for itself when an interchange is complex enough to warrant reality view. This certainly isn't what I expected from the way it was advertised.
The view offered by the 7100 in the regular map mode seems higher than most i've seen, and doesn't zoom down or offer much guidance when you are making a turn. Furthermore, the POIs crowd the screen to the point of illegibility when you're in a populated area, and apparently can't be turned off.
The voice guidance - it chooses to announce street names whenever it feels like it with no consistency whatsoever. That's right - sometimes it will tell you to "turn right onto Winchester street", and sometimes it will just tell you to "turn right". There seems to be no rhyme or reason to when it announces or doesn't announce street names.
The menus could be a little less complicated and the buttons could be bigger (it comes with a stylus, if that tells you anything.) It seems as though every screen has its own options screen - the customizability is very nice, but it could be organized better. It's also akward that you need to go to an "options" screen to view the map without calculating a route.
The mount is interesting. The suction cup seems to be made of a much more flexible rubber than that of other units, which helps it stay adhered to the windshield through extreme temperature changes, sharp manuvers and bad roads. It has a sort of ball joint at the attachment point with the unit which allows you to angle it somewhat. My only complaint is that it seems to have been created with large vehicles in mind - it comes very, very far out from the windshield in a small car and can't be adjusted in that direction. I've had to move it to a different location in my car than I'm used to because it physically won't fit anywhere else.
Oh, and last but not least - the bluetooth function simply won't hold a connection to my phone. Phone is brand new and never has had a pairing or connection issue with any other device (will stay connected to my standalone speaker indefinitely), but the GPS drops the connection every few minutes, even with the phone sitting inches away. Maybe this is an issue with my unit, but it's very frustrating.
All in all, this may be a physically attractive unit that advertises groundbreaking new features, but they come at the cost of the basics. I'm hoping for software updates to cure some of the major woes with the unit, but would still have to caution anyone against buying right now. While I haven't dealt with their customer service yet, I'm not holding my breath for any miracles.
Compact, Beautiful, and Useful August 30, 2007
12 out of 21 found this review helpful
I ordered this product before it was commercially available, obviously here on Amazon.com. I couldn't find a definitive release date on the Navigon site (or anywhere for that matter), so I still don't know whether the 7100 debuted in late july or for all I know, earlier this month (August). In any event, I waited a little under a month for it to come, and received it in two days for free on a trial of Amazon Prime. The unit is beautiful and stylish. It is by far the nicest looking PND I've seen. The screen is easy to read and responsive, although I haven't yet used it in my car- it requires a 6 hour charge period before battery use and I haven't completed that yet.
I mounted the car mount on my windshield and it is surprisingly sturdy, so I'm not worried about it slipping around while I'm trying to enter information on the screen. More importantly, the secure mount gives you peace of mind in the event that a sharp manuever or accident occurs. The traffic utility uses information broadcast by local radio stations, and can automatically switch frequencies should the signal strength be poor. I, however, allowed it to find the strongest station, and told it to hold on that station as it's relatively strong in my area.
The intuitive menus allow you to customize the 7100 quite nicely- setting options such as showing speed limits all the time, only when exceeding, and never. The 7100 can also display relevant information about new areas upon border crossings, if available and enabled. Additionally, you can enable or disable several other useful features depending upon your preference.
Security-wise, you can select a 4 digit PIN to protect your navigon. Inside the package comes a sticker you can place on a window in your car which lets potential thieves know that your device is PIN protected. Hopefully this is enough to discourage most, but I am not taking any chances. My navigon will be stowed safely in the included fabric pouch and secured elsewhere.
Also included are AC and DC adapters, the difference being that AC is usable with your home power supply, and DC plugs into your vehicle's 12 volt outlet, or cigarette lighter. For those who don't want cables running everywhere, the 7100 has an advertised "5.5 hours of battery life" according to the included User's Manual on CD, but which conflicts with most online accounts of 4.5. As such, one may use the 7100 on bike or on foot. To compensate for the rather varying speeds of pedestrians, bicycles and cars, there is yet another option in the 7100's menu array that allows you to specify which mode of transportation you're using. Quite thoughtful.
Thus far, I'm very thrilled with this product. Over the next few days, I'll get to know my navigon, and I can only see my enjoyment multiplying.
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