Navigon 2100 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
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The NAVIGON® 2100 is slim, stylish, easy to use, and has features no other GPS navigator has. A brilliant touchscreen display, simple to maneuver menus and accurate coast-to-coast map coverage get you from point A to point B with confidence. Navigating the road ahead is even easier with spoken turn-by-turn directions including street names. Features like Reality View¿ ensure that you’ll never miss your exit again by providing realistic 3D map view of complex intersections. With over one million points-of-interest pre-loaded, restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and more are easy to locate. Accessorize with NAVIGON Lifetime Traffic and ZAGAT Ratings and Review accessories. Includes pre-loaded continental U.S. maps.
Features
- Ready out-of-the-box. Just turn on and go!
- Superbly accurate, door-to-door directions. Coast to coast maps of the continental U.S.
- Spoken directions including street names via text-to-speech.
- Reality View¿ makes complex highway junctions easy to navigate.
- Simple-to-use 3.5″ touchscreen with predictive and animated menus.
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 4 x 3 x 1 inches
- Weight: 1 pounds
TAKEN BY THE INTERNET!
If I were AMAZON, I would discontinue this vendor. I ordered a new GPS;Navigon and received an obviously rebuilt item. It has failed to work. It does not give directions, the voice is malfunctioning; and now it just does not respond to our commands. I am going to try and get my money back or a NEW one from this thief!
Buy Garmin
I bought the my Navigon a year and a half ago.
- After a month the hardware broke. Contacted the company numerous times and it took 8 months to get repaired
- Software is cumbersome and difficult to use–try using there website before you buy–good luck!
- Have to pay for software updates
- Customer service on numerous occassions is terrible–they tend not to answer the question
I really wish I bought a Garmin–my friends have these and love them
It is a great device
The newest map updates require a 4Gb card. The unit will only work with certain SD cards. I found that a 4Gb sandisk SDHC card class 2 works fine with this device. The support is not as it once was since, apparentely, the company is pulling out of the GPS hardware market in North America. But I hear they are still a major player in Europe. Also, they are still selling GPS software for iphones in North America. Otherwise the unit seems to work fine and the maps are very nice. I hope they come back to actively sell hardware in North America in the future.
Map update won’t fit in SD card, no support
Pros: Decent navigator with voice prompts and a reasonable price.
Cons: Map updates may not fit in the installed memory card and no spec for larger cards. No useful tech support.
I have had this unit for two years. It is an adequate performer with some quirks in routing, but I have no experience with other units to compare routing methods. I bought a three year map update from Amazon. The promised “quarterly” updates have been sporadic. I recently received a notice of a new map update. When I tried to load the map, the Navigon software told me my 2 GB SD card was too small to hold the map and I should get a 4 GB card. Researching SD cards showed that 4GB cards are now SDHC. I went to Navigon web support and could find no spec indicating that the 2100 could use SDHC. The only way to contact Navigon is by email from their site – there is no contact phone. The web site promises a reply in 24 to 48 hours. I sent an email asking for confirmation of the type of SD card to use. That was 5 days ago.
Update 1/6/2010. Never heard from Navigon so I decided to go for the SDHC 4GB. It did work, so maps can be updated.
You get what you pay for.
I got this navigon when it was very cheap. It has served its purpose, but it definitely has had some problems. The routes it tries to get me to take are sometimes illogical and ridiculously out of the way, and I have gotten lost following its directions multiple times. That being said, I’ve had it longer than a year and it still works fine. It has proved useful many times, and for its price its hard to complain too much. If you need a gps, and are poor like me, then I suppose I would recommend the Navigon 2100.
Still loss.
This product didn’t work at all for me. Sure I got a refurbish product. But I still thought it should and would work. I am very pleased and happy about how fast my refund came back to me. I have since went to out and bought TomTom, so far so good. I’m still trying to learn what all it do.
Skip it
This GPS unit has too many quirks. Move on and find one from a more reputable company. The routing is weird. It often routes an unnecessarily long path. Additionally, the design has not been thought out, and the plug is in the absolutely least convenient location. This seems like a small deal, but in reality it is very intrusive. The GUI is sluggish and the buttons don’t respond like most other units that I have used. The POIs are not very thorough. Finally, Navigon’s warranty policy is pathetic. If there is a problem, and you send it in, and if they disagree with you, they charge you a $30 before they charge you to fix it. I agree with “TheDeciders” more thorough analysis.
Great until….
I Loved this little guy for almost a year, used it all the time even for short drives so helpful finding the kids friends houses that I had never been to, lots of neat info about speed, distance, poi. It was so easy to use, I didnt even need to read the directions, I really had no complaints until one day last month I plugged it in for a three our trip and the “searching for signal” came on and stayed on for 2 hours. I turned on and off, reset nothing worked. When I got to my destination I tried to look at the settings and the next thing I knew–”fatal error”, that can’t be good. Never worked again, from the looks of google I am not the first to experience this problem and I haven’t even bothered trying to call the company based on all the bad press I see. That stinks, I miss my little Navigon, I used to tell everyone how great it was, regardless of how inexpensive. But even for $100, it should have lasted longer than nine months. I won’t be able to recommend you anymore Navion….JK
They should now be called NaviGONE.
I bought my Navigon GPS (7200T) because it had the most features for the lowest price. That still holds true. Very nice unit- attractive and works well, too. Recently, I wanted to update the maps, but there was no Freshmaps Activation card in the box from Amazon. You need the code on that card to get updates. So, I emailed Navigon support for assistance. They sent the following:
‘Thank you for your inquiry. Accessories, map material and content are not available in North America through NAVIGON. Unfortunately we don’t have information concerning the availability of these products at other major retail shops.’
As has been noted in the posted comments, and which I discovered too late, Navigon is pulling out of the North America market. Beware of this major change, and buy accordingly. They should now be called NaviGONE.
Nice features, but severely underpowered
To let everyone know, I’ve owned this product for over a year now and only now have I been compelled enough to write a review.
I bought this unit on sale during Black Friday at a local office supply store. The price was a steal at the time ($100) and it came with lifetime traffic alerts for life. I pulled the trigger and got it. Initially, I was in love with the Navigon. The lane assist feature was really helpful and let me know what lane to be in early enough to avoid driving like a jerk. The traffic features worked, decently, but as I commute weekly from San Diego to Los Angeles, there’s really only one way to get home, so I haven’t really gotten a chance to use the feature.
All was fine and well with the unit, but let’s just say, you get what you pay for.
UI:This unit is extremely underpowered. It is just too slow for what it can do. The buttons on the touch screen are extremely small and have a ridiculous amount of lag time. I’m an iPhone owner and even then did I have trouble entering street names. This unit just doesn’t cut it in terms of ease of use and intuitiveness. I often found myself punching a letter twice only to find out 2 seconds later that it didn’t even register. Bottom line, the touch screen needs a lot of work. On top of that, menus are not user friendly and require lots of backtracking to get to the screen you want. Not a very smart implementation, especially if you are on the go.
Navigation: Now, I will say that this unit does have it’s up sides, but there are many more downsides. The text to speech is decent, it doesn’t sound that robotic and pronounces most of the street names decently. In terms of the actual navigation, again, this unit is just too underpowered. Let’s say I miss a turn. This thing takes two blocks until it tells you where to turn, and by the time it tells you to turn right, you already overshot the turn by half a block, leaving it to recalculate again. The unit got so confused at a point that I had to pull over and wait for the unit to finish thinking before I could go any further.
The traffic feature is good, but if you’re in a major metropolitan area, it recalculates “due to traffic information” every five minutes. If you’re going on a long trip, say over 75 miles, the unit can take up to 20 seconds to finish recalculating. By then, you could have missed the interchange, costing you valuable time, and not to mention gas.
Overall, this is a satisfactory unit in this price range. However, I wouldn’t recommend this unit. Sure you save a few dollars, but it’s not worth the headache. Like I said before, you definitely get what you pay for with this unit.
Poor programming means this unit will lead you astray
I purchased the Navigon 2100 after moving to Washington, D.C. not too long ago and becoming lost waaay too many times. I previously used Verizon Navigator on my cell-phone to help me get around, which worked wonders, but which also cost a monthly fee. I purchased the Navigon during an online deal. While the unit looks very modern and has a great display, the directions it provides are very poor. After doing some reading on programming forums, I read that because this item is an adapted German product, the programmers may not have fully known the appropriate “weights” to give to different types of roads here in America. One issue I’ve encountered is that the unit seems to take me on crazy backroads as opposed to the main route. I once was taken through a road in the middle of the woods (does “Beaver Dam Road” sound like the fast route?) as opposed to the quicker main route only a few miles away (and I did NOT have the unit on the “scenic route” settings either!). My friends know fully well that when I’m driving and I’m using the Navigon, it’s very likely we’ll get lost and it has now become an adventure to see how the Navigon will get us to where we need to go.
I do not recommend this product! There are many other GPS units out there that have a more familiar knowledge of American roads and highways.
works great
I bought this a year ago. I have never owned a gps before. I love this unit. the reality veiw is very helpful.my mom has a megilin (not sure of the model) and i like this better, the only issue is there is some crazy routeing sometimes(it happens to all units ihave seen or used) when i got it and registerd it i got a free map update and that helped a bit.
Great product
I am very happy with Navigon 2100, with a simple unlock you can even convert 2100 to a powerful PC and load other alternative Navigation programs.
Navigon service? Nonexistent.
The 2100 seems a good deal given it’s features. My problem was that Navigon did not put the SD with mapping software in the box that is packed and sealed by the manufacturer. I purchased mail order, or I would have went directly back to the point-of-purchase and exchanged. Still, I wanted to try the device, despite Navigon’s incompetence in packaging. The nightmare only got worse when I emailed, and got a generic and delayed response that told me to call.
I called.
One of the most emotionless and indifferent voices (was it human?) that ever answered a phone asked what the problem was, and, when I explained, she more less accused me of trying to get something for nothing and said that I would have to fax over copies of my receipts to prove purchase and then she gave me a tag number and didn’t tell me what was to be expected… when I inquired – she said “Thanks for using Navigon” – I said, “Well, I am trying to use Navigon, but can’t because I don’t have the…” > click < . I had to find someone I knew in business with a fax machine (I don't have one) and the copies were sent to the number she gave. I asked for a confirmation by email or otherwise to indicate receipt of the fax.
Nothing.
The week following, I called, and got a rep – albeit nicer than the one before, but not excessively attentive. I inquired about my fax, gave the number of it – he put me on hold for a literal 4 minutes 37 seconds, and said he couldn’t find the fax. I was LIVID. I let him have it. I told him I want the card that made this device work and I wanted it when I purchased it. I do not have time to run around tracking down fax machines and sending receipts. I want what I paid for.
He said he’d send an SD card with the mapping software.
Then, he started to ask me if the info they had on file was correct, and repeated it back to me. I asked him where he got this information from, as I did not provide it in my last phone call. He then admitted that he had the info on his computer screen, and it must be because they got the fax after all.
Not worth the money, even free. Search for better products folks. There are companies with better service (no one can be worse), and better websites with available software. Look at what software access you have on a company website before you buy! Look at what others write when they rate an item – and always look at the items that had problems and what customer service did about it and how they handled it. If Navigon depends on it’s customer service to survive, they’ll have to kiss it all goodbye right now.
Product okay when it works, support is terrible
I’ve owned the Navigon 2100 for about 15 months now. Of those, it has only actually worked about 6 months. It has spent at least 3 months in some sort of RMA state.
I’ve dealt with a lot of bad companies, but Navigon support is one of the worst. I installed a firmware update which broke the traffic updates I paid $100 extra for. Support told me it was a known issue and my only options were to either live without the updates or send it to them without any indication of how long it would take to fix. Loaner units are non-existent. So, I lived without traffic updates for a while, which was less than ideal (I bought them for a reason). Finally I relented and sent it in.
My first RMA took nearly a month to complete and I was given no status update or any indication it would take that long. Not only that, but the product came back broken (USB port wouldn’t charge). Assuming that wasn’t even possible, I bought a new charger. $10 just for S/H directly from them and it looked worse than stuff sold off ebay. Since the USB port was broken, the new charger obviously didn’t work. So, I set up the next RMA.
After two months of waiting because I was given no status update, I finally called. As it turns out, there’s a hold because now the product is out of warranty. Of course, it’s out of warranty because they took so long to fix it the first time. Also, they knew this when they set up the warranty but neglected to say anything. They want me to pay $75 to have it repaired for something they broke. And they’ve been holding the RMA pending payment that no one notified me about.
I politely called twice. I was told a manager would call me back. The manager never did. I called a third time and asked to speak to the manager right then, but that didn’t happen either. The support staff are unable to authorize anything themselves. So, it’s a fun little circle.
In summary, if you want to take your chances, go ahead. The product was nice when it worked. But, presumably you’re buying the GPS so you can get around. It’s really annoying when you don’t have it. And it’s really frustrating dealing with Navigon. I’m going to take the money they wanted to charge me and buy a Garmin. This is the first time I’ve been annoyed enough to write a review.
Good for the price
Navigon 2100
Good unit for the price range it’s in. Easy to use. Biggest drawback to the unit is the lack of battery life, when not hooked to a power source the battery runs down very fast. This does not work well for a motorcycle.
Good Item!
Worth to buy it! I would recommend for anyone who is looking to buy GPS. Easy to use and not so expensive!
GPS Review
I originally received the Navigon 2100 as a birthday gift. Unfortunately, it was stolen so I was compelled to buy the exact same product from Navigon/Amazon since that is where it was purchased initially.
I love this product because it is user-friendly. Additionally, the verbal and written directions are very easy to follow. The only thing I don’t like is the charge doesn’t last as long as I’d as think is necessary.
POI’s are essential. Avoid this at any price
I found this in a Woot deal of the day through Tiger Direct for only $75 and $10 for lifetime traffic. BUT I returned them even at that “deal” of a price. Why?
In a nutsheel: Lack of Data. (Points of Interest and MAP Data.)
These are known for having few P.O.I.s in them, a fact I didn’t think would be as important as it turned out to be.
After testing one out it lacked my busy work street (which is 10 years old), and had VERY few restaurant, stores and other locations I searched for. Sure you could probably do an address search, but who knows the address to a place you don’t know where it is? And if have to get an address you might as well just Mapquest your directions… all of this kills my reason to own GPS.. Finding something when you’re not familiar with an area… nice to have it show you a good selection of places to go.
Also I thought a 3.5 screen would be ample, but it is hard to type in addresses. Also for some reason this unit would not alert me of my speeding, when I tested it. I even turned down the warning to go off when traveling 5mph over the speedlimit. It must not have had the speed limits of the streets I was driving on.. So problem again: lack of data.
I do like the clarity of the screen, and the volume is good. The size is also nice if you want to throw it in your pocket… It does NOT come with a A/C charger only the cigarette lighter charger. But note you can charge it using USB. (not included). (I charged it using my laptop with a USB cable I have for my camera).
I’ve purchased now each side of the spectrum. The first GPS units that I ‘ve tried were almost $400ea with many bells and whistles (Garmin 600/700 series). But I found the blu-tooth and FM features to be severely poor. And returned those with the intent to get models without those features to save the money. Unfortunately I went too far in the cheap department and tried the Navigon 2100. If these had better POI I definately would have kept them. And cheap lifetime traffic (didn’t test it as nonreturnable once activated) was a bonus.
Next on my list is a simplified 4.3 Garmin with lifetime traffic.
Not bad for the price, but has limitations
There are quite a few accurate reviews already, but my own $.02:
Good:
- It looks nice
- Voice navigation is useful
- It’s completely hackable/customizable *and* since the whole OS lives on the removable SD card, you can play around without worrying at all! Just swap out the original card for your own “testing” one.
Bad:
- Sluggish UI
- Ridiculously bad searching for POI near you. As others have mentioned, you basically need to know the city where the POI lies. The “nearby” feature is way too restrictive, so you would need to keep clicking the “expand radius” option ad infinitum. (See “Bad” point #1)
- The power connector pointing straight down is dumb.
- Slow to lock on to GPS signals. 60 seconds or more.
I bought it to replace a stolen Mio C310x. I like the out-of-the-box voice navigation commands. But performance-wise, and UI-wise, I think the Mio is better. Don’t even *think* about using this GPS while your car is moving. Not that you should do that with any GPS, but you could if you had to with the Mio. At least the Navigon is cheap.