tech: Navman S100

How many people out there get excited about Sat Navs - let’s face it not many. You use them to get from A to B and yell at them in between. But what if there was a device out there that was actually a pleasure to use, and got you from A to B with a smile on your face - introducing the Navman S100.

Now when you get this out of the box you might wonder where’s the rest of it is, because this device is dinky. It may have a 4.3 inch touchscreen but it is just 13.5mm thin. The S100 also has a sleek brushed aluminium finish, which was a refreshing change from the clunky black plastic models that are the norm. Indeed this device isn’t going to look bad on the dashboard of a Porsche 912, although Navman could have given its cradle a bit of a redesign too as it is very average, and made from, yes you’ve guessed it, black plastic.

But what’s really exciting about this device is its touchscreen interface - the Sprint design - which was developed in conjunction with Mio - another Sat Nav manufacturer vying for attention against road hogs TomTom and Garmin. So what’s so special?

Well first off, the menu is actually tucked away on the left of the screen, and to access it you pull it out across the page using the much the same action as you would with the iPhone. Then to scroll up and down, you pull your finger up and down - easy. What this design means is that not all of the information has to be crammed onto the screen at once. You do have to press just a little too hard to select your options though.

A hotkey on the bottom right of the screen pulls up a full menu, and lets you access a database to find your nearest petrol station, car park, as well as the live traffic information (which you can pull down using an option add on).

You don’t get other options such as the restaurant search or cash machine finder TomTom featured in some devices but all is forgiven thanks to the devices’s search capabilities which will find an address just from keywords so you don’t have to go through the rigmarole of entering property name or number then street name then town then postcode. Also worth a mention is the Explore function, which brings up your location then lets you drag an arrow to have a virtual wander nearby.

You also access any music files you have saved on the device through this menu though the S100 doesn’t have FM transmitter or audio mini-jack.

Another nifty feature is the pin button at the top right of the screen, which you can press to record your location then and there, which you can use on your map at a later date.

As for the maps, UK buyers get UK maps but you can unlock the European maps included on a separate CD bundled with the device for an extra fee.

But what doesn’t this device have - well you have to charge it via USB or the mains so it doesn’t have a nifty power charging active dock like some of the Garmin and TomTom products. But if you are looking to splash out for a new Sat Nav - definitely took at peek at the S100 - which was ¬£199 but if you’re lucky you could get it for ¬£50 less than this.. Four stars.

For the best of the rest:

Pocket Lint:
Navman today unveiled their latest and greatest addition to the S-Series range of satnav devices, the S100. 

The unit has been redesigned from the ground up, resulting in a super-skinny device you’ll want on the dash of your car. Measuring only 13.5mm thick, but still offering a 4.3-inch flat widescreen display. A brushed aluminium back completes the exterior styling.

Technical Itch:
The S100 is the latest in the ‘S’ series of sat nav systems from Navman and offers several new features over previous models. These include a new ‘Glide Touch’ user interface, junction views (similar to the lane assist feature seen on the Garmin Nuvi 765T), Text to Speech (TTS), and a slimmer design.

Reghardware:
Going by looks alone, the TomTom wins hands-down. With smooth, curved edges and a solid feel, it definitely has the appearance of being the more expensive of the two. The Navman is a lot thinner - 13.5mm to the TomTom’s 23mm - and lighter - 150g instead of 224g - but if you’re happy leaving your satnav in the glove box, size and weight aren’t really an issue. Navman’s desire to create a thin device also has an adverse effect on battery life, which we’ll come to later.