You've got to love portable nav units. Sure they can be bulky sitting on top of your dash. And yes those wires connecting them to your stereo or to the cigarette lighter can look messy. But their versatility makes up for some of the cons. If you have two vehicles and don't want to buy navigation for each, try a portable. If you're renting or borrowing a friend's car, all you have to do is stick the unit onto the dash and plug the power cord into the cigarette lighter. (Don't try this with an in-dash unit.) Lastly, the chronically paranoid can opt to take their pricey GPS gadget out of the car whenever they park.
Clarion
N.I.C.E.
$1,399
Clarion may have single-handedly elevated the status of portable navs with their N.I.C.E. system. Like a lot of new units it does more than provide navigation: It also stores and plays your music files but if that were the extent of its functions it wouldn't be the standout product that it is. Ultimately, N.I.C.E. is very much like a high-end in-dash head unit with navigation capabilities and more, but in a transportable package.
The internal hard drive can store up to 10GB of music and photo files; the rest of the memory is utilized for map information. You can transfer songs and images directly from your PC to N.I.C.E. via the USB port on the back of the unit. Or if you have a memory card, connect that and access your files that way. We found this to be most convenient. We had a 5GB Seagate storage device with a long list of MP3s that we were able to access easily in the Music window of the N.I.C.E. system.
In much the same way, you can connect a DVD player or game system through the A/V port for additional entertainment. Another video option is for the backup camera. We would recommend you go to a local installer to exercise this option, as you will want to connect the reverse trigger for automatic video when you back up your vehicle. While at a dealer you might as well have the installer connect the audio from N.I.C.E. directly to your audio system. The built-in speaker may be sufficient for listening to voice guidance, but it isn't a good solution for song playback. Of course, you can transmit audio to your head unit through a built-in FM transmitter.
We should note that while you won't be viewing a DVD while navigating and driving, you may opt to listen to music simultaneously. A portion of the 7-inch touchscreen monitor will display music player controls (voice guidance will override any music that is playing). N.I.C.E. is also Sirius Satellite Radio ready so you have yet another entertainment option. Beyond the subscription you will need the Navsir interface to receive the signal.
The only downside to N.I.C.E. has nothing to do with electronics but with the mounting apparatus. Of the various portables we've used, this is the most difficult to attach and detach. It doesn't simply snap on and off; rather you have to unloosen a screw that applies pressure on a couple of rounded plates over the ball-end of the arm on the back of the unit. Clarion does make up for that inconvenience with the ability to place the monitor in a myriad of positions.
The navigation function worked quite well. We did have some minor trouble fixing on a GPS signal when we initially launched the program; however, after it established contact we had no further problems. Entering addresses and finding POIs was as easy on the transportable touchscreen keyboard as on a monitor in an in-dash unit. N.I.C.E. was responsive without being too sensitive. With different map views and prompt voice guidance, it ably got us from point A to B to C without fail. The menu was easy to use-most people somewhat familiar with navigation products should be able to use the system right away.
With the many options, built-in functions (not to mention the handsome carrying case for the entire system and accessories), and a detailed remote control unit, N.I.C.E. is simply one of the best, if not the best, navigation systems out right now. Even consumers who favor the in-dash variety and are considering purchasing one should check out N.I.C.E. first. The engineers at Clarion clearly thought through what a great transportable should have; and they executed on their plan brilliantly. 310.327.9200, www.clarion.com
LOWRANCE
iWay 500C
$999
With its touchscreen and the five intuitive buttons on the right, you truly can just plug the iWay 500C into your cigarette lighter and start navigating from the get-go. Its main feature is its 20GB of hard drive space, half of which is preloaded with navigation info for the United States (minus Alaska) and most of Canada. Lowrance left the other 10GB for music, so you can get directions and tunes from the same portable at the same time.
Pushing the Find button brings up the mapping mode. You can search in all categories for POIs within about 25 miles or you can search by name and category. Strangely, enough the Los Angeles Zoo did not pop up when we searched by name under the Museums/Zoos category, but we've seen such idiosyncrasies on most nav units. Finding addresses is a much simpler, straightforward approach.
Our main complaint was the varying times it took for the GPS to locate us. It seems to pick up from its last location, so unless you have it on every time you travel some distance, expect a few minutes for it to catch up to your new location. Once it's found you, the routing is quick, prompts are clear, and rerouting takes only a few seconds. Much like a home computer, the iWay has toolbars and windows that you can easily close with a touch. The touchscreen also has scrolling and zoom in/zoom out functions. Icons along the route indicate POIs.
The speaker imbedded on the power cable will do the job for navigation prompts, but for the iWay is music function, you'll want to connect it directly to your vehicle's power system and stereo's auxiliary input. Not only is the little speaker on par with sub par laptop computer speakers, but it also has a very slight high-pitched ground loop whine (fortunately, road noise drowns this out). The music function is as easy to use as the mapping function, with a button that switches the screen back from track information to the map. While uploading music, be patient since the connection to the computer is USB, not the faster USB2.
The window and toolbar approach combined with the easy-to-use and easy-to-read touchscreen make iWay 500C one of the most user-friendly nav units we've tried. Add its music-playing capabilities and you've got a great portable option for your ride.800.324.1356, www.lowrance.com
Dual
XNAV3500P
$699
At first when you look at this little marvel you would think it was a toy for a child. Don't let your eyes deceive you because it has a host of features which include picture slide show and AVI movie capabilities, MP3 playback and GPS navigation. All of these, the XNAV3500P does well.
Initializing the GPS to connect with the satellites took a while, so plan ahead or you will have to wait. After several minutes the XNAV3500P fixed on a signal. Now to set a destination: This was a little more difficult than we liked, because this unit does not offer an intuitive typing option such as you find on the Clarion and Lowrance. Considering the differences in screen size that's understandable. The grouping of letters like a cellular phone will slow you down a bit. However, you can type a letter or part of the street and scroll through its selection of cities and streets. It has a box for the intersection if you know the cross street, which is nice since you don't always know the street address but may know the vicinity. The intersection menu is logical so it will only present streets within the area traveling.
A 2" speaker on the rear of the XNAV3500P delivered the voice guidance. Conveniently, there is a manual volume control on the right-hand side on the back. There are silver cylindrical knobs on each side of the unit that light up when you approach a turn: blue when you approach a turn and red when you need to turn immediately. And we thought it was just for aestheticsocool touch! If you have some music on while navigating and don't pay attention to the voice instructions, you will still have visual cues to remind you. Believe us, sometimes it's easy to forget you're following the computer and miss a turn. We've certainly done that. Only one caveat regarding the lights: It's great at night but not so effective during the day.
The color touchscreen and the non-navigation functions make the XNAV3500P very attractive. It did have some trouble picking up satellites from time to time, albeit not to the point of inconvenience. The non-intuitive typing system took a little time to get used to (a stylus is included for better precision), but overall the unit worked well. Add it all up relative to the MSRP and Dual's introduction to the market represents a very good value. 866.626.7863 www.dualav.com
Mio
136
$499
The Mio 136 is a light product, both figuratively and literally. It does offer functionality beyond navigation as do all of the other systems featured here, but it isn't the best nav device or music player in the group. On the other hand, it is ultra portable and considerably cheaper than the competition.
This Windows CE-based unit has a 3.5-inch touchscreen that works surprisingly well; it's responsive and not too sensitive (your finger will work just as well as the included stylus). The 136 comes with a nifty car-mount, earphones, a 256MB memory card for transferring map info from your PC to the unit, a carrying case and a power adapter for in-car use. The car-mount has one drawback: it has an adhesive base (with an option for screw-mounting). That makes for a smaller footprint, but we're not fond of any semi-permanent installation of portable gear (we certainly don't like the idea of screwing into or gumming up our dash). The Clarion may be the only product for which we would make an exception.
The first time you hold the 136 in your hands you may have the perception that this little lightweight would never be able to get you anywhere. Quite the contrary. It does work better than you might thinkobut that doesn't mean it works great. Getting a fix on satellites initially will be a test of patience (not an uncommon experience for certain portable navs). We waited quite a few minutes. The greater problem was signal stability when in route. More than the other units in this review, the Mio faltered in this area. While these problems are a bit annoying, they didn't stop us ultimately from getting to our destination. The voice guidance was prompt enough and the Mio thankfully provides the option to view the map in 2D or 3D.
If you're considering getting the 136, we think buying the optional external antenna would be a good idea. Beyond that, the Mio by itself overall is not a bad purchase for the price. It's not the best for navigation, but it does its job; on top of that it functions as a music player and is the most portable of all the units in this roundup.
510.252.6950 www.miogps.com
For more information on these and other navigation units, please visitwww.caraudiomag.com.