Navigon 5100 Review

The Navigon 5100 GPS is the smaller sibling to Navigon’s flagship 7100. The Navigon 5100 has a 3.5-inch screen, while the 7100 has a 4.3-inch widescreen. The 7100 also adds bluetooth-capability for hands-free mobile phone integration, so if you want that feature, do check out the 7100. Like the 7100 however, the Navigon 5100 GPS packs in a lot of useful features into its sleek frame.

The Navigon 5100 GPS provides you with precise turn-by-turn directions, including spoken road names via text-to-speech, but that’s not all. Like the 7100, the Navigon 5100 GPS comes with subscription-free, real-time traffic information via an integrated traffic receiver with no additional fees or setup for the life of the product. Be advised on traffic flow and incidents, as well as the best alternate routes. Subscription-free also means easy setup. The traffic info starts working as soon as you get the Navigon 5100 out of the box.

Navigon 5100 Provides Reality View and Lane Assistant
These two features that are a great help in negotiating unfamiliar or complicated road systems. Lane Assistant recommends the best lane for you to be in relative to the proposed route, so you won’t find yourself trying to move over three lanes when the freeway splits.

Reality view guides you with photo-realistic 3D images of junctions, complete with actual sign text and exit ramp guidance. This makes translating what the navigator is telling you to what you see on the road instantaneous.

Zagat Ratings and Branded Icons for POIs
All of Navigon’s gps navigators offer Zagat ratings and reviews for their POIs, so while this device may not get you a beer, it can tell you where to find the best one. Branded icons displayed on your map make it easier to navigate to a familiar location of your choice.

Superior Software and Hardware
The features and functions of the Navigon 5100 are controlled via intuitive, easy-to-use animated menus that use predictive text input to quickly and easily select your city, state and address. Maps and menus appear on its extra-large and elegant, high-contrast 3.5-inch, full-color touch-screen display. The Navigon 5100 GPS includes a powerful Samsung 400 MHz processor, a fully integrated SiRF Star III GPS chip, 64 MBs of both RAM and ROM built in, and a rechargeable 1,200 mAh lithium ion battery that is rated for 4.5 hours of continuous use. All this is housed in an ultra-thin, sleek chrome housing that weighs only 6.3 ounces, and measures just 4.2 x 3.3 x 0.9 inches (W x H x D). The Navigon 5100 even comes pre-loaded with complete maps of the U.S. and Canada, providing you with superbly accurate, seamless door-to-door directions wherever your vehicular travels might take you.

Note that the Navigon 5100 GPS runs on the Microsoft Windows CD Net 5.0 operating system. A PC is required to use additional map data, and in such cases users require Windows 2000, ME, XP or higher, as well as a CD ROM drive and a USB port. An SD/MMC card reader is recommended as the 7100 not only uses SD cards, but also comes with a 2 GB SD card in the package.

Navigon 5100 User Said:

Navigon 5100 is by far the best gps for the price. All else being equal (routing, rerouting, POIs, etc.), three things are paramount for me in a gps: Accurate Maps, the ability to Plan Routes, and Style. By the way, before choosing a gps, I downloaded and read the manuals of Garmin 660/680/750, Magellan 4040/4050 and Navigon 5100/7100 (see below why I skipped TomTom).
1. Accurate maps. This means Navteq maps rather than TeleAtlas maps. Since TomTom uses TeleAtlas, I eliminated TomTom products;
2. Planning Routes. I need to be able to plan a route using a starting location other than where I currently am. Most gps units start navigation to a destination from the current gps location. I need to be able to input into a gps a destination AND a starting point so that I can be on a plane, for example, and be able to figure out how long a drive takes, when I get in, what time to leave, etc. No Magellan 4000 level products do this. This ruled out Magellan.
3. Style. The Navigon 5100 is small and elegant, and the maps are beautiful. Garmin/Magellan maps look like a kid drew them with crayons. I could have bought the 7100, but I wanted portability, and with the smaller screen, I figured the processor would be faster also.
Everything else is as good in the Navigon 5100 or better than in any other GPS, plus you get free traffic information and zagat. There are some minor quirks (the keys are small, and sometimes you have to press twice), but these are truly minor issues with this many features at this price. And price is a concern if for no other reason than that this industry is changing so quickly (over 10 new units introduced this year) that anything you buy now is likely to be dated by newer and better units very soon — so why spend too much? (this rules out the completely overpriced Garmins). Altogether, I have used used 5 different gps programs/units, and the Navigon 5100 is excellent at any price, and a bargain at what it’s at.

-I really appreciate the traffic info. I thought it was a gimmick, but it has saved me twice from major backups (best save: truck had hit an overpass, the gps told me of it, took me out at the exit right before the accident, and returned me to the freeway just past the accident. I was impressed!). I use it all the time. Check on the Navigon website to see if your city is covered — most are.
-I also really like the Zagat ratings. In new cities, I search near my hotel for zagat rated restaurants, nightlife and attractions. The full reviews are included, and I use it whenever I travel. Very useful.
-Also good: maps are excellent, Navigon 5100 tracking is very accurate, text-to-speech is fine, the menu is intuitive and POIs are pretty complete.
- Some negatives: voice should be louder, text is on the small side, and the button presses can be annoying. Lastly, the website is very basic (Garmin has a great website).

—– By H. Oshagan

Navigon 5100 GPS Features

• Superbly accurate, door-to-door directions with pre-installed maps of U.S. and Canada.
• Speaks street names via Text-to-Speech
• Subscription free liftetime traffic out of the box
• Lane Assistant & Reality View features that simplify your drive
• Zagat ratings and reviews

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