Notices

Any recent reviews or thoughts on the Navkit? There was a lot of talk about it when it finally came out in the US version, and not much said since then? If anyone on the list has been using it for a while now, I'd like to know what you think. I'm not asking how it compares to MMapper, but how well the Navkit works in the real world, use-ablility, readability, etc. Would you still buy it now that you have one?

thanks, mg

I use it all the time. What do you want to know?

My thoughts, not even available in canada yet.

Is £150 justified for the nav kit? Many dedicated devices can be had for £100 now.

That depends - if you already take your N800 with you everywhere, the bluetooth module isn't much to add to get GPS functionality. It's simply a lot smaller than a standalone unit but offers the N800's 800x480 display. What do you want to DO with it?

mg,
I got the Navicore No. America 2007 for Nokia last week and although I have not had a chance to give it a thorough checkout, my first trial run impressed me. I normally use a Garmin 2610 Streetpilot in my minivan. I did not change any of the out-of-the-box defaults so it's presentation was a little bit different from what I was used to, but I liked it. One neat thing was the inclusion of wifi hotspots as points of interest. Seemed to be pretty accurate along the route I took (that is, hotspots seemed right - the mapping was spot-on). I would get it again.

I have OnCourse Navigator on my PPC. I have also used TomTom 6 and Mapopolis on the this unit... Although they are infinitely more tweak-able than the Navicore kit on the N800, when push comes to shove my wife always grabs the N800.

In fact we recently ran the TomTom on the PPC to a co-workers barbeque and the N800 on the way back. While I was able to make the TomTom say dirty words through the use of the Ozzy Osborne voice. Wifey was more impressed with the display and directions given by Navicore. Distances given correlated to her odometer easily ( .2 miles vs 200 yds??) and the larger display made the N800 on the dash more easily acquired within her field of vision.

There are a few things missing. Most notable is a navigate to "home" feature. But I'm sure it will come.
As Dan-O said... If your going to grab one device, charger, etc., the tablet with Navicore is your best bet...
Besides, I run both Navicore and M/Mapper at the same time when I'm the co-pilot. The BT connectivity is solid and quick enough that I can switch back and forth. Both programs pick-up again where they left off.

I have been using the navkit for a month or so now and I am quite happy with it. I agree with the others, it is not as sophisticated as the TomTom but if you are carrying the N800 anyway it helps reduce your gadget load. I like the fact that the POI icons on the map actually contain info on the place if you select them. I think it is a bit more accurate than the TomTom as well. It is certainly worth the money, also with the new upgrade you can use a larger internal card and keep the nav maps and software on the N800 all the time instead of switching cards.

Hopefully they will continue to develop the interface and the map graphics. I don´t think you will regret the purchase.

Thanks for the replies. I watched the rest of Dan's videos to get a closer look. My primary nav is the excellent Honda built in system,almost 3x larger display than the N800, so I do have concernes about readability. . I'd use the N800 nav occasionally in a different car, but perhaps more.often as a portable POI lookup. As others have said, if you're carrying the n800 around anyway, the navkit seems to make sense.

Morey

Another question to add for those who've used Navicore:

Can speed camera warnings be setup? My Garmin factors in both the location of the cameras and the speed you're currently travelling at - warning me a good while before I'm near the camera if I'm over the limit.

There's a fabulous resource of thousands of POIs here: http://www.maft.co.uk/garmin/ - is it farily easy to convert those to use with Navicore - can you specify additional mini icons to be shown on the map?

Can you search for nearby POIs to your current location; or search nearby POIs to a location you're trying to find?

Full postcode search for the UK?

Free annual map updates? Or updates at a minimal cost?

Is the sotware registered or locked to the device? I'd like to use it on both my N800s.


At £150 in the uk it's debatable for me at least - whether this is better than a standalone unit.