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 - EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED!I have been wanting to purchase a GPS unit for quite some time (years actually) but I waited to buy until the technology caught up with pricing, or vice versa, however you'd like to look at it. I just thought spending several hundred dollars on a unit was to much. I already have an Ipod, radar detector, CB and Sirius Satellite radio in my car so I really didn't want a unit that had all the bells and whistles. I wanted an "Entry level" unit that did what it was supposed to do and do it well, get me from point A to point B without a hassle. After months of scouring the internet and magazines for all the reviews I could muster, as well as interviewing friends and family, it was my determination that their simply is no such thing as a perfect unit. All units have Pros and Cons. It was simply up to me to weigh them out and determine what brand and model did what I wanted it to do. After much debate and late night internet surfing I obviously chose the Navigon 2100. I bought my Navigon from the TigerDirect retail store for around $200. The unit was $149. but after reading stories on how GPS units in general have a tendency to just "Die" I opted for the extended warranty for another $25, cheap insurance. Here are some of the Pros and Cons (Opinions) of the unit as I see it on a broad spectrum without getting into the bells and whistles: Pros - -Navigon utilizes the NAVTEC map database vs. the Tele Atlas system. I know this opening a can of worms but the research as I see it leads me to believe the NAVTEC database provides more straight forward mapping. -Ease of use. The Navigon doesn't ship with a thick ridiculous manual you will never read. This allows you to go to their website and download the PDF and read it at you leisure on a large computer screen vs. a small hard to read booklet. This also helps lower the price of the units themselves as no booklets are shipped. You really won't need a booklet anyway as if you are even slightly computer literate you can be up and running with the Quick Start Guide that is provided. -Design. The unit just looks good. -Accuracy. The unit is incredibly accurate. I haven't found myself stranded in the boonies or anything like that as I have read on several reviews of several units. At most, it may take you around a block going left when going right may have saved you 200 ft. -General simplicity. Everything is easy to use without even reading the PDF manual. -Speed. Some dis the unit's slow processor speed. I simply don't see it. I've never had an issue with speed or lack of it. Cons (Got to have at least one)- -The power connection is on the bottom of the unit. I have a VW Golf and have the unit low on the windshield next to the pillar almost resting on the dash and it has to be raised slightly to allow the cord to connect. -The mount. I wish it rotated even slightly. My windshield is not flat and it would be nice to be able to rotate it slightly. -I believe the unit should come with a home wall charger in addition to the vehicle charger. NAVIGON has to make some additional cash somehow I guess! -A case. It would be nice to throw in a carrying case to protect the unit during air travel or switching between vehicles. I did place a screen protector on mine before I even started the unit up. -I'm reaching here but downloadable voices would have been a nice option. A friend of mine has R2D2 give him directions. As you can see most of my cons are cosmetic, trivial, or just my opinion. Overall I really do love the unit and would not hesitate to recommend this unit to my friends or family. I hope this helps some of you reading this make a sound purchase in the future!! Rating:  - Horrible MapsNavigon 2100 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator The maps used in this device are just horrible. Locally, routes are suggested that make no sense to anyone familiar with the area. Last week, we went to a cookout at a friends place and after being routed onto a dead end road, among other wrong directions, we finally found our destination. A friend, using a Tom Tom said his GPS took him right to the door... no problem. Last Saturday, we were going to another house we had not visited before. We were routed around in a circle that did nothing but waste time and gas and later directed to an interstate where the next exit was far beyond our destination. Avoid Navigon!!!! Rating:  - Decent product for the money with several warningsThe Good: 1. Cheap 2. Small 3. Text-to-speech 4. Decent navigation recommendations 5. Nice pictorial highway signs on the display The Bad: 1. Very slow interface. Hit a button. Wait 1-2 seconds before the device responds. 2. The power input is on the bottom of the device and therefore prevents it from being operated flush on the dash when plugged in. The Ugly: 1. I find it very annoying that when I plug the device into a mini USB cord connected to a wall outlet or computer USB, the screen shows a picture of a computer on the screen (like it is syncing with a computer) and prevents the user from operating the device even though it charges fine. Additionally, the car charger that came packaged with the device has a straight end on it. It should be a right angle like the TomTom One (which incidentally works with this device and does not result in the picture of the computer on the screen). I also tried to use a mini USB car charger for a Motorola phone and I get the same, annoying picture of a computer on the screen even though the product charges fine but is obviously not connected to a computer. In my opinion, this is the deal-breaker for me. Even though Navigon uses a standard mini-USB charging interface, you can only use their included car charger (or the TomTom One charger) if you want to operate the device and charge it at the same time. If the product uses a standard mini-USB charging interface, it should allow you to operate the product when any mini-USB cable is plugged into it from a power source. Rating: - Great Product Excellent PriceI ordered this product on Sunday, the 13th from 6th Ave through Amazon. The price was great, $126! I just got it today however and that is my only gripe. I know it has nothing to do with the product which is why I omitted this information from my rating of this item. For all those considering this item it is definitely a great purchase, my only warning is to be careful of who ships your item and who you buy it from. I ordered the product from 6th Ave on Sunday and so I knew that the order would not process that day. But I was shocked to find out that my order wasn't processed until Tuesday night! In the defense of 6th Ave it does say that processing can take between 1 and 2 days but does this mean that someone who orders an item the next day doesn't get their order processed until Wednesday? I realize this is the process of doing business but it is also the 21st century and advancements in technology have been made. That said, I chose to have the unit sent 2nd day by DHL which was the fastest delivery speed available. The estimated delivery date was Thursday. Well Thursday came and went and after several phone calls with the people of DHL, two of which lied to me and said that my package was in-route, I found out that the courier had returned my package to the distribution center without giving a reason for not delivering it. Keep in mind this is 2nd day delivery guaranteed by 5 p.m. and it did not happen. Even after i paid the extra cash to have it sent express. Making things worse I had to postpone my trip a day and a half because of the slow processing on behalf of 6th Ave and the horrible shipping blunders of DHL. I ended up picking up the package from DHL MYSELF today, I had to do the shipping business for them since they are obviously incompetent. The unit was in good shape however and works properly and for that I applaud Navigon for such a fine product. I used it on my trip that day and was very pleased. I used the product that day on my trip and was happy with its performance. I would recommend this product to anyone, just not the seller and the shipping company. Rating:  - ok but not greatI had a Garmin 330 which was a gift. It was stolen about 3 months ago and I was looking for a low end replacement. This is a low end replacement. Not bad but I guess I was spoiled. The operation is not very intuitive and can be frustrating. The voice prompts are very robotic sounding (vs. garmin you could actually change the dialect) It didn't seem as accurate; e.g. if you missed a turn it took a considerable amount of time to say anything. Pros Small and easy to transport good images, clear good choices for display icons for different POI's, like gas were clear and easy to see
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