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5 comments about Navman Navigation iCN 630 GPS Navigator.

1. This is my first GPS and I love it. It does exactly what I wanted and even if I miss the turning it very quickly corrects the route. The voice is very clear and if you happen to be talking it reminds you when you reach the turning. The screen is very easy to read. The information I received from my initial enquiries to Navman were answered immediately. I had one query after purchase and that again was answered straight away. It is my best mate now - I will never get lost again!!!!
   Jeannie (Australia)



2. I got the Navman iCN 630 after trying the Delphi Mobile Navigation system, as these units are based on the same hardware and similar (but not identical) software. The screen is sharp and easy to read, while the voice instructions are loud enough to be heard in a car traveling at highway speeds with the radio on.

   I considered the Garmin 2610 and the Magellan Roadamte 500, but I went with the Navman because the Garmin doesn't have 3D views (which I find very useful for a quick visual of where you're heading) and the Magellan seems to have a host of quality control problems (see the forums at www.gpspassion.com).

   Benefits of the Navman vs. the Delphi include:
   (1) Navman bundles USA and Canada maps with the unit, while Delphi only provides the USA maps.
   (2) Navman has released a couple of service packs to improve the display and the routing algorithms, and these service packs are NOT compatible with the Delphi GPS.

   Be aware that the Amazon information is pretty outdated. The new Navman units ship with 4 CD-ROMs containing the software and Tele-Atlas maps, not Navteq maps. I've found the Tele-Atlas data to be pretty good in my area, but you'll have to make that determination for yourself.

   Also, Navman just announced that it will be coming out with the iCN 635 in a few months, and that unit will include a remote control and more base memory (128 mb vs. 64 mb). If those features are important to you, then you may want to wait.




3. I like to start reviews with some background on myself, because I think it helps readers better evaluate my ratings. With that said... I am no pilot, sailor or mountaineer, but I have been using GPS gear since about 1999, when I got a Garmin GPS III simply because I was a gadget lover. At that time, the GPS III was about $400, which was as much as I was willing to spend on what was admittedly a toy. Since then, I have owned a Garmin eMap (with MapSource data for streets), a Magellan RoadMate 700, and now the NavMan iCN 630. I'll be discussing the NavMan iCN 630 mostly in relation to the other products, especially the Magellan RoadMate 700. The short version is the NavMan i630 is a great product that I would choose over the RoadMate 700. Read on for the long version.
   
   I was generally happy with the user interface and overall quality of my older Garmin units. I even used my eMap as an in-car system quite a bit, though it did not have street-level routing: at least it showed me where I was, and which direction I needed to go. The RoadMate 700 was my first purpose-made automotive GPS, and while it "got the job done" I considered it to be overall a slight disappointment. True, it had a nice touch screen, and the voice directions were good, but it seemed a bit sluggish and unpolished.
   
   So what about the NavMan iCN 630? On paper, it seems to lose out to the RoadMate 700. It has no touch screen. It has no hard drive, so you must load in the maps for your area into its system memory, or onto a memory card, which is not included. And it is a lot less expensive, so it must be worse... right? Wrong.
   
   For one, it is just plain easier to use. Not having a touch screen means it is slower to input an address, true, but other than that every aspect of its user interface is more polished and easier to understand. I often snarled at my RoadMate 700 until I learned its quirks, but my NavMan 630 didn't provoke me that way. Truthfully, the RoadMate gets it done, but it just isn't pleasant to use in the same way.
   
   Second, the screen on the NavMan 630 is better-clearer, brighter. The color schemes are more pleasant. Roads are labeled more legibly. The screen is a little smaller, but the resolution is no worse, so it is just a little more compressed. It also has a very nice "perspective" view of the map, which lets you see more of what lies ahead. (Amazon says it has a 2 inch screen, but that's wrong. It's definitely bigger than that!)
   
   Third, it comes with some useful accessories. You get a nice suction cup window or dash mount, not the wobbly "stick-it-in-the-vent" mount that Magellan gives you. NavMan even gives you a carrying case and cloth for cleaning the screen. You even get an AC power adapter so you can turn it on inside. Those aren't deal breakers, but I was really disappointed that Magellan didn't provide the same things when you bought the expensive RoadMate 700.
   
   Fourth, the NavMan is quick. If you want to scroll the map around, you can do so easily. Zoom out, pan over to another city, zoom in, look around, no problem. The RoadMate would always choke badly when I tried this.
   
   Fifth, the lack of a hard drive makes it rugged. It has no moving parts. The RoadMate 700 may have maps for the whole country on board, but someday that hard drive will die, and then you are in for an expensive repair. Personally, I will trade off the ability to have all the maps on board at once for reliability. (If I planned to upgrade again in a couple of years, I wouldn't worry so much, but I am looking for an in-car system to keep for the long haul.)
   
   No car GPS review would be complete without addressing the quality of the built-in maps and routing. I have to rate NavMan just slightly ahead of the RoadMate on map quality, and on par with the RoadMate in routing. In my area, Seattle, the NavMan 630 seems to have slightly newer map data than the Magellan, but within the limitations of the map data, they route (and re-route for missed turns) just fine. In your area the map quality may differ.
   
   Speaking of maps, I should address the map storage. The NavMan has a Secure Digital slot for memory cards, and 64MB of internal memory, of which something like 50MB is free for map data. The whole state of Washington takes up about 25MB, but just Southern California was about 45MB. Clearly, depending on where you live, you may need to buy an SD card to store more maps. Fortunately, they are getting very cheap. You can get a 256MB card for about $20, and that's enough map data for a heck of a road trip.
   
   Other areas where the NavMan and Magellan units are roughly tied are lock-on time, quality of voice directions, route exclusions and satellite reception. The NavMan 630 not without fault, though. These are the things that I do not like about it.
   
   It should display the next cross-street that you are approaching. It doesn't.
   
   It only shows you one piece of "extra" info when you are on a route: speed, distance to go, distance to turn, etc. There is enough room on the screen to get a few bits of data showing at once. This should be customizable.
   
   Entering in addresses is a bit of a drag, largely due to the lack of the touchscreen.
   
   The buttons feel a little mushy.
   
   It is hard to flip up the antenna if you have already put the unit into the mount. You really need to remember to do it beforehand.
   
   Nonetheless, overall I am very pleased with the NavMan iCN 630, and I would recommend it to anyone who needs an in-car GPS system, especially over the Magellan series.
   
   As a final note, I should mention something which applies to both the NavMan and Magellan units. If you are used to "general use" handheld GPS products, these car units require an attitude adjustment. They don't have all the little features you have come to expect, like entering in a waypoint directly as latitude/longitude, or displaying a trip computer with your maximum and average speeds, total time, and rolling time. They can't tell you VMG (Velocity Made Good). They are pretty useless once you get off the roads. That was disappointing to me, but as soon as I stopped trying to use my 630 like my old eMap, and started using it like an automotive system-which it is!-I got along with it a lot better.



4. This is the first in car navigation I have purchased. I used handheld units (back in the "old" days) that required putting in waypoints. These were great for fishing and other outdoors things, but not so hot for riding around in your car. We have been really pleased with this product. Since we have relatively new cars but with no navigation, these are great for us. (We purchased 2 as my spouse and I both travel for work). We have both had great experiences with it and no major snafus. Getting everything installed and up and running was a little difficult, but getting anything new that requires a set up process is never very much fun! However, we did not get a great deal of help from the tech support. By the time we purchased the second one, it went smoothly as it was "old hat". We highly recommend the product and will be buying one for my in-laws for Christmas!



5. I have used a factory installed navigation system in my 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee for a year; and have found the Navman icn 630 I purchased for my other vehicles to be less confusing and faster to re-route; I surmise it is because the Navman does not have a hard drive as in the Jeep. Also, the Navman map is less confusing to follow because of the 3D feature that automatically displays when approaching a turn. Another great feature is the ability to update your maps at no charge by downloading from the Navman site. Most factory systems require the purchase of a new DVD or set of CD's to replace obsolete or incomplete map data.
   The Navman unit is ruggedly built, the display is very clear and bright. A great value at approximatey 1/3 the price of a factory unit.

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