Navigon 8100T Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Free Traffic Review

Navigon 8100T brings together a very large 4.8 inch (12.2 cm) widescreen display and Navigon’s new Panorama View 3D. The screen size is significantly larger than the common 4.3 inches and has only really been seen before in in-dash mounted units such as those from Pioneer. The Navigon 8100T is a value for money offering with many other noteworthy features including; voice destination entry, lane assistance, free real-time traffic updates, Bluetooth hands-free and text-to-speech voice guidance.

Navigon 8100T Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

To meet it’s challenging performance demands, particularly the visual interface, the Navigon 8100T is powered by a 533 MHz Samsung 2443 processor, has a built-in graphics accelerator and runs the Microsoft Windows CE Net 5.0 operating system.

Panorama View 3D

The new Panorama View 3D like the majority of GPS devices on the market can provides a 3D birds-eye view of roadways however, it goes a very interesting step further to provide a perspective view with landscape rendering of hills and valleys.

This new technology was made possible by the February 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and the transformation of the resulting 1 trillion measurements by Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI - a leader in high-performance computing) into the most detailed 3D topographic map (30-meter-resolution) of the Earth ever made. Navigon added lighting and shadow details for a more realistic presentation. This ability to see the surrounding landscape helps drivers identify and anticipate what lies ahead.

Launch Video Showing Panorama View 3D

Voice Destination Entry

Keeping your eyes is the key to safe driving and the Navigon 8100T helps out with a feature that is provided in only a few of the high end portable navigation devices – Advanced Voice Recognition. It allows you to enter your destination by simply stating the city, street and number you wish to go to.

Advanced Text-to-speech

Text-to-Speech is a second safety improving feature the Navigon 8100T offers. It will announce street names when giving navigation directions rather than simply stating turn left or turn right. TTS improves driving safety by providing confirmation that you are on the plotted route without needing to check the navigation display.

Lane Assistance Pro

Lane Assistance Pro is Navigon’s second generation of lane assistance functionality. It provides clear visual lane guidance complete with lane maps and arrows that indicate exactly which lane will keep you on course. It gives the driver more time to position themselves in the correct lane prior to a turn.

Launch Video showing Lane Assistant Pro

Free Lifetime Real-Time Traffic Updates

For Navigon 8100T owners, real-time traffic updates are free for the life of the device. Red-yellow color-coding with incident icons informs drivers in real-time of traffic congestion giving them the option to get the Navigon 8100T to plot an alternative route. Traffic updates are available for over 80 cities across the U.S. and Canada.

Bluetooth Hands-Free

Bluetooth enables the Navigon 8100T to act as a hands-free speakerphone for your phone allowing you keep your eyes safely on the road while conversing. Calls can be placed quickly using the navigators touch screen. If you have your contacts stored in Microsoft Outlook, you are able to import them to the 8100T using Navigon Sync.

Navigating with the NAVIGON 8100T

There are a large number of ways to select a destination including;

search area button to select a map area (position confirmed with crosshairs),
tapping you destination on the map,
search for the city first if you don’t know the street address or for the street first if you don’t know the city,
search for a POI (nearby, in a city, nationwide, direct access).

Navigon’s Reality View Pro

Reality View provides is photo-realistic 3D image of complex interchanges as they are approached. It’s a feature that needs time to get used to as the Reality View replaces the tracking view before and intersection meaning you don’t see your vehicle’s position on the map but, you do have the advantage of seeing a more detailed intersection map.

Zagat Ratings and Reviews

The Navigon 8100T comes with free access to ZAGAT Survey which is a provider of consumer survey-based information on where to eat, drink, stay and play. Ratings and reviews are based on opinions gathered. The NAVIGON provides access to five destination guides and ratings and reviews for U.S. hotels, resorts, restaurants, golf courses, attractions and nightspots in over 70 U.S. cities.

Maps

The Navigon 8100T portable navigator comes pre-loaded with complete maps of the U.S. and Canada (including Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands). Additional optional maps can be loaded a Secure Digital (SD) memory card from a PC over a USB connection. The Points of Interest (POI) database has grown to 5 million entries since the last Navigon release, the 7200T. According to Navigon’s Americas President, Andreas Hecht, industry figures suggest that road networks change 15 to 20 percent annually. This is a good reason to take up the optional FreshMaps subscription which offers up to 12 updates of both regular maps and POI over three years from mapping industry leader NAVTEQ.

Other Useful Features

Multi-Destination Trip Planning allows you to plan your entire trip at once
Speed Assistant function displays speed limit and provides customizable warnings if you are exceeding it
Auto-off Feature turns off your system when you turn off your car
Auto Day/Night Mode adjusts your screen for better daytime or night-time viewing
Assisting to speed up searching is predictive text assistance with typing your entries.
Route Blocking allows intersections or turns you don’t like to be blocked
Exit Guide enables users to search upcoming exits for one of six POI categories – food, gas, lodging, rest areas, auto service or shopping
DirectHelp provides instant driving directions to and contact information for nearby hospitals, police stations, roadside assistance, and pharmacies. You also have your exact location to give out so that you can be located quickly