__
V7 NAV730 GPS __
I love getting lost. Maybe not Judgment Night lost — but wayward enough to give a GPS system a good workout. V7 had us stray travelers in mind with the NAV730, a budget GPS unit fit for Magellan-sized wanderlust.
Let's get one thing straight first — "quick and dirty" is the theme for the NAV730. The no-frills unit rocks a bright 3.5-inch QVGA screen encased in a black plastic chassis, and weighs less than half a pound. Although it operates via touch screen navigation, buttons for power and volume control are located on the side, along with a headset jack and USB port. In short, we've seen mud encrusted fences that are better looking, although the utilitarian design does actually suit the unit well. Naturally, the accessories get the same Spartan treatment. On top of all the normal manuals, the NAV730 includes a car charger, mounting bracket, 1GB SD card containing U.S. maps, USB charging cable, and a DVD containing backup maps.
The WinCE-based OS was fast enough when navigating the menus, but the user interface was a bit of a downer. Don't get me wrong — if I needed this unit to chart a course away from certain doom — like an exploding fireworks factory — I could make due. Regular, non-apocalyptic use though? This unit's interface is awkward at best.
Acquisitions were also a bit of a mixed bag. I was able to get a 28-second lock while outdoors on a relatively clear day. Meanwhile, attempting the same feat indoors took two minutes, 32 seconds. These aren't necessarily bad times, but other GPS units we've tested achieve faster locks in more challenging settings.
Once I got moving, the voice-guided turn-by-turn directions were easy enough to understand via the Text-To-Speech feature and surprisingly loud 1-watt speaker. Unfortunately, these solid additions were marred by occasionally spotty destination markers. This resulted in odd quirks like announcing that I'd reached my destination...four blocks early. These navigational hiccups were extremely rare, but honestly there was a moment or two when I questioned whether the NAV730 would accidentally' direct me into oncoming traffic.
Mediocre performance like this isn't necessarily damning (especially at this price point), but even in the world of satellite navigation the old adage proves true — you get what you pay for. —Terrence Russell
__
WIRED__ Extremely cheap and mostly effective. Excellent multimedia support (MP3, WMA, OGG, MPEG4, AVI, WMV, GIF, JPG, TIFF). Zippy menu navigation via 400 Mhz processor. Accurate Text-To-Speech pronunciation of street names. Traffic Message Channel compatible (subscription required). Buenas noticias, Señor! Translation: Voice guidance in 20 languages.
TIRED Seriously light on preprogrammed points of interest. Hard power cycle necessary for charging. Clunky menus and overall UI can prove challenging. No Bluetooth support. On/Off switch is too far recessed, hard to toggle. 320x240 screen us hard to read outdoors.
$170, v7-world.com
(Photo by v7-world.com)
