Gadgetell Review: Navigon 2100 Max GPS

Posted June 10, 2008 at 12:44 PM by Robert Nelson

Section: Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation, Reviews, Originals

Product: Navigon 2100 Max GPS Price and Availability: Currently available and retailing for $299 Rating: 7/10 Pros: Large, easy to see display. The unit was easy to use and easy to set up. Cons: Lacks auto shut off, seemed sluggish at times. Overall: A nice GPS, but one that could be much better with a slightly lower price.

This was an interesting review for me, as I had time to not only review it myself, but the opportunity to travel with both friends and family members and was able to bring it along and get some additional opinions. Everyone I showed the 2100 Max to was in awe over the overall style and look as well as the ease of use, most were also fairly happy with the price.

The unit offers a 4.3-inch touchscreen display that was more than sufficient and displayed either the 2-D or 3-D Reality mode very well. Other features include turn-by-turn spoken directions, FreshMaps, Direct Help, Lane Assistant, branded icons, Speed Assistant, route planning, predictive text and a logbook to record your travels. Navigon also offers the option to get a few extras such as Zagat Survey Ratings and Reviews and Lifetime Traffic.

The Navigon 2100 Max comes with a USB cable, car power adapter and suction cup windshield mount, which seemed to hold very well. However for the most part I choose to keep the unit off the mount and a little closer to my person, personally I find the windshield mounts distracting, but it is designed to stick well and hold the GPS firmly and that is just what it did.

One of my major gripes with this unit was the lack of an automatic shut-off. I drive a VW and when the car is shut off the cigarette power adapter does not offer power, which means that if I forget to turn the 2100 off manually, I will, depending on how long I have been gone come back to a dead battery. Overall this really should not be a big issue as even with a dead battery I can still use the cars power once it is running again, but an auto-off just seems like such an obvious feature, it was strange to not have it included.

One of the units features was the source of my other pet peeve. The 2100 Max includes Speed Assistant, which is actually a nice feature to have because it tells you with pretty decent accuracy the current speed limit, however it also warns you when you are driving faster than the limit. While I was unable to determine what that speed was, the constant yelling when I choose to drive faster than the posted speed limit was more than annoying. This was one that I was more than happy to live without and thankfully it was able to be shut off.

The Navigon 2100 Max comes with two million POI’s, which is less than some other GPS units in this price range, however for my needs it was more than sufficient. I was able to find numerous locations without any issue, even having to re-route a few times to find a gas station or ATM. I found that for the most part, major POI’s were available, but some of the smaller, more local items are what was missing.

The only other issue I had, and this one was not limited to the Navigon but technology in general, was that some street names were mispronounced so badly that I missed my turn a few times because I was not sure what the unit was saying. I will add that for the most part it was more than able to be understood, it also goes to show that I should not depend so heavily on technology.

Bottom Line: A very nice unit and one that I would not hesitate to recommend, but I am also not convinced that it is the best bargain for the price. However the available add-on’s make it a more attractive offer. While the unit did have some flaws, overall the ease of use would win out for me, and the 2100 Max certainly has that going for it.

I mentioned earlier in the review that I had the opportunity to show it to some friends and family members, however most people, although intrigued by the design had never heard of Navigon and that was a small issue for some.

Check out our Peep Show for some “real-world” pics of the Navigon 2100 Max.

Product [Navigon]