Best budget sat navs
- — 09 September, 2010 13:39
Once costing in excess of $1000, you can now pick up a budget GPS unit for under $200.
Spending less doesn't mean your navigation experience will be an inferior one — aside from giving you turn-by-turn directions, even the cheapest GPS units will allow you to locate points of interest (POIs), save your favourite locations and explore new places. The main differences between a budget GPS unit and a high-end one are generally unnecessary add-ons like Bluetooth hands-free capabilities, live traffic, MP3 playback and FM transmitters.
We've included five of our favourite budget GPS units from Garmin, TomTom, Navman, Mio and Navigon. All of these models include the latest Australian maps, will speak the names of streets (thanks to speech-to-text technology) and are equipped with safety camera warnings, including speed and red light cameras, and school zones.
3 / 8
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Mio Moov A350
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Navigon 1400
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Navman MY30
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Navman EZY30
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TomTom Start
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TomTom ONE 140 IQ Routes Edition
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Garmin nuvi 1250
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Garmin nuvi 1260
There are no advanced features like Bluetooth and live traffic updates, but Navman's MY30 still manages to include lane guidance and 3D landmarks. Overzealous school zone alerts, an inconsistent map and an average screen will disappoint.
- Review Date:
- Reviewer:
- Manufacturer:
- 1st Oct., 2009
- Ross Catanzariti
- Navman
- Rating:
- Price:
- From $ 278.00
- Pros:
- Decent value, choice between glide or tap UI, lane guidance and 3D junction views included, search method
- Cons:
- Screen has poor viewing angles, overzealous school zone warnings, Navteq maps miss some red light cameras and 'no right turns', screen transitions are a little sluggish, unit is chunkier models with larger screens
