November 15th, 2007
4:00
Navigon 2100 Portable GPS Review
My dad dropped a subtle hint that he would like to have a GPS unit for his car. So being a good son, I began looking for one for him that will be his holiday gift this year. Keep in mind that my dad is 78 and not the least bit technical, so this GPS would have to be pretty easy to use. Although I’m a fan of the Garmin Nüvi line of GPS units, they would be overkill for his needs. So I started looking at other brands. I came across a reference for Navigon and they have a feature called "3D Reality View" This is a photo realistic view of complex highway lane changes and exits. So I stumbled upon a sale at Staples.com and snagged the Navigon 2100 for a mere $179.99 which was $45 off their regular price and the lowest price GPS I could find with the features I wanted. The Navigon 2100 arrived, but I got off to a rough start. I wanted to set the unit up before giving it to him (yeah, I wanted to play with it too) and it’s a good thing I did. Out of the box, when I turned it on I got an error that indicated that the map files were invalid/not compatible. The Navigon 2100 comes with a SD card loaded with all the maps and POIs (Points of Interests). I called tech support and got connected to an English speaking rep right away. I told him about the issue and he informed me that some of the units that went to Staples got "bad" cards. He took my info down and overnighted me a new SD card. He also told me that I could keep the old card and use it for whatever I wanted to. I decided to copy the new card onto the old one as a backup. That worked fine. With the new/proper card installed the Navigon 2100 powered right up and I was presented with an easy to follow menu. I keyed in my dad’s address so that he could use the "Take Me Home" button whenever he needed to and be routed to his house no matter where he was in the country. While I had the unit open, I decided to take it for a spin. I assembled the suction cup mount and took the GPS for a test drive. I was impressed with how fast it starts up and acquires a satellite signal.
Real world testing
One of the things that makes or breaks a GPS unit is how easy it is to input your destination. This was also going to be the determining factor as to whether or not I felt my dad would be able to use it. I really liked the fact that you have the option of keying in the city OR just the zip code! I also liked having the choice of entering the city, street and address OR the street, address and city. Unlike many units the Navigon 2100 remembers the last city you used so that you don’t have to key it in each time. Now on the down side and the thing I’m worried about the most is that the on screen text is kind of on the small side. If I had to guess I would say that some of the text is as small as 8pt type. Also on some of the displays the on screen buttons aren’t as large as they could be. The other thing on the down side is that there is no "bean bag" mount option. I’m not a fan of suction cup mounts, although the one they include stayed on my window the whole time with no issues.
Great features
It’s clear that the Navigon engineers looked at the other GPS units out there and tried to build a better unit. I had to keep reminding myself that this GPS is half the cost of others and has all the features you’d expect in a higher-end unit and MORE! Let’s get the basics out of the way. They 2GB SD Card includes the maps for the entire US and Canada. The Navigon 2100 features "Text-to-Speech" so rather than saying "turn right in 200 feet", it says "turn right on Woodward Avenue, turn here". There are also thousands of POIs and you can input your favorite destinations and save them. These are the features I would expect to find in any modern GPS unit. Where the Navigon 2100 steps ahead of the pack is in the little things. First of all the 2100 is about the size of my Nüvi 360 if not a little thinner. Most units in the $200-$300 range are much thicker. Not only does the 2100 show you where you are on the map it also shows the speed limit of the road you’re on. By default there are speed warnings built in (which you can change) that are set to 10 miles over on the highway and 5 miles over elsewhere. Of course I had to test this out, so I went over 75mph in a 65mph zone and the voice said "Caution" and displayed a little yellow triangle next to the speed limit sign in the upper left of the display. I was also impressed with the display of the POIs along the way. Rather than the typical gas pump logo on the side of the road representing a gas station, it actually displayed the "Mobil" logo as I passed near the station. Now of course they don’t have logos for all businesses/POIs, but it did display the names of restaurants as I passed near them. This blew me away. Imagine how helpful that would be if you’re driving in an unfamiliar area.
The killer feature was the one that caught my eye in the first place and that was the "3D Reality Viewâ„¢" This view automatically pops up when you’re approaching a complex interchange or exit. As you can see in the photo above I was instructed to stay on I-696 headed towards Lansing and the photo realistic display mimics the actual road signs that you can see in the upper left corner of the photo. The orange arrows on the display clearly indicate the lane you should be in so there is no way that you could take the wrong exit. This feature ROCKS! It totally takes the guess work out of navigating these kind of exchanges. I’ve never seen anything like this even on units that cost much more. 
The Navigon 2100 includes the GPS unit, an SD card with maps and POIs for the lower 48 states (the 2120 is the same unit, but with maps for North America excluding Mexico), an Auto charger for charging the built-in Lithium ION battery, a suction cup mount and a quick start guide. For an extra $99 you can buy the Lifetime Traffic feature which is an antenna that plugs into the 2100 and a service that can automatically re-route you around traffic jams. You can also spring for the Zagat Survey Ratings and Reviews feature which includes 21,000 entries. Ratings of hotels, restaurants and entertainment in the area. This add on goes for $39.99.
The Bottom Line
GPS units don’t have to cost a fortune. The Navigon 2100 proves that. I was floored by the number of features that were included in this relatively low cost unit. I would like to have seen a wall charger included for charging the unit in the house, but hey for less than $200 what you do get is a great bargain. You can catch the Navigon 2100 for $179.99 while it’s on sale at Staples or you can get it for $209.94 at Amazon.com. This would make an EXCELLENT Gift!
Hey, I made Newsweek!
Speaking of GPS units check out this article in Newsweek where yours truly [I] was referenced on page 3.
[...] post by terrywhite Written by on November 15th, 2007 with no comments. Read more articles on [...]
You review says that the unit 2GB SD Card includes the maps for the entire US and Canada. The pdf from the manufacturer’s site, obtained through a Staples link, indicates there are two models with different map coverage. NAVIGON 2100: USA (Lower 48 States) and NAVIGON 2120: North America (excludes Mexico). Do you think the 2GB replacement SD card they sent you is what gives you 2120 coverage or does your model say 2100/2120? The Staples link says the 2100 has Preloaded maps of the continental US (lower 48 states). This does not sound like it includes Canada. Does your unit have maps for Canada?
[...] Speaking of GPS units, be sure to check out my review of the Navigon 2100 below. [...]
Donna, you are correct. Sorry I confused the two models. The 2100 from is the lower 48 states and the 2120 is the same feature set with the maps for North America including Canada. I have fixed the article.
Getting out my autograph book. You are showing up everywhere. However you are bringing good information so seeing you alot has created many learning experiances.
Oprah…..Oprah Call Terry! You want to do a neat holiday show on gadgets…. He’s the man you need. ( I want studio tickets to that show…. yeah baby!)
Great job.
P.S. How did you take that picture while driving on I-94?
[...] Nice looking GPS Unit Cool 3D feature for navigating multi-lane interchanges, plus optional traffic-based re-routing (tags: gps traffic driving technology) [...]
Thank you for the insightful review. I have been considering the 2100 as a gift and have not found any review as helpful as yours. I stumbled across your site on accident, but will be returning again. Hopefully the Newsweek reference will lead to even greater exposure for you. Thanks!
Thanks Tom!
Playa, you just made my decision for myself and as a gift for my brother. i’m picking up 2 of them. By the way they are going to be on sale for $100.00 on black friday @ Staples and $150 @ RadioShack both including the traffic service.
Reading your review made me call Staples and see if they had any. One left before the sale ended, ran out and got there 10 mins before closing. Used it to get home (I had to play with it ASAP!!) It’s my first navigation unit and I love it!! Now my question/search is a great case for it and the charger, when not in use? Maybe that will be your next review!!!
Terry your review is sooo helpful! I want to get the hubby a GPS for Christmas … I think I found the one thanks to you!!
Thanks Greenie, Danielle and Heather!
Glad I could help. As far as a charger goes. It has a standard USB2 mini port on it. So any USB2 charger should do the trick. Ah, the perfect case would be more of a challenge. I didn’t even think about it at the time. My Garmin came with a case, but you’re right the Navigon doesn’t include one. I keep an eye out to see what I can come up with.
Staples provides a case for the unit for $19.99.
NAVIGON 3.5″ Protective Hard Shell Case
Molded hard shell exterior to keep your GPS device secure
Orange nylon interior lining provides additional protection
Works with 3.5″ display units from ALL major brands
They also have a wall charger converter to plug the unit up inside the house for $19.99
NAVIGON AC Wall Charger
Plug the adapter into the wall and connect your car charger to the socket
Input: 110V-240V AC: 50/60Hz
Output: DC 12V 1000mA
My 2100 won’t operate while plugged into the charger. Is this normal? A big short coming if you can’t operate the unit while plugged into your vehicle.
I bought this unit a few days ago..I was also blown away at the price/feature ratio. Great unit. Anyway a solution I found for charging it at home is using a USB adapter. I just swiped the cord from a digital camera I had lying around. Make sure the unit is turned off, plug the cord into the computer/laptop, then plug the cord into the navigon. It charged just fine and I was able to walk around town testing out the ‘pedestrian’ option.
The unit was plugged in and charging while you walked around with it? My 2100 works fine while not charging using the usb cable. Maybe my unit is defected.
No, sorry. Let me clarify. I plugged it in at home through a usb cable. After a full charge I unplugged it and walked around town. I wasn’t actually walking around with it plugged into my computer
Could you try one thing for me. Try to operate your 2100 while the unit is plugged in and charging. Let me know your results, thanks.
If its plugged into my computer and I turn on the navigon it tries to sync with my computer and I can’t use it for anything. But if I am in the car and I plug it into the charger of course it works. That’s what it should do.
Can you purchase European maps for the Navigon 2100? Can’t seem to find that info-
Thanks, then I have a defective unit. Mine can’t be used in the car with the charger plugged in. Thanks for your help. I assume that you did try it in your car with the charger plugged in? Have to take it back.
Staples as mentioned, will have the Navigon 2100T on BF. My question is regarding additional maps. For example, is Canada available. Can ANY other gps map files be used?
Staples will have the 2100 on sale for $99 on black Friday if anyone was thinking about buying it.
Hey Terry,
I must say, this review is Crystal Clear. I can actually understand it. I just sent back my Magellan 760 that I bought off ebay so I can get this one. We have the old Garmin 3200, the Magellan 3000T, so now I want to try something different and you just sealed the deal. Thanks! Couple of questions though, how’s the volume on this, cause the Magellan is very low. And do you know anything about the Maestro series by Magellan? And how do you rate the Tom Toms?
Does this also have a bicycle mode or is the pedestrian mode sufficient for bicycling? How long is real life use battery life? Is it comparable to the spec they give in the literature?
Have you had any experience with the Digiwalker 230, Mio’s upgrade of the 220 that now includes text to speech? How does it compare to the Navigon 2100? I”ve read that they cut way back on the POI’s on the 230.
How much are map updates for these things and how often should they be updated?
Radio Shack will have it on sale on BF for $149 w/free lifetime traffic service.
[...] it’s a caveat you need to be aware of in your purchasing decision.” Terry White Review the Navigon 2100 and gave out”GPS units don’t have to cost a fortune. The Navigon 2100 proves that. I was [...]
Mike,
It has both bicycle and pedestrian modes. Tap Route Profile and you’ll be able to set it there. I haven’t put it through a sustained battery test yet. But I’ve been playing with it off and on since I opened the box and have yet to charge it. It’s only down 1 out of 3 bars on the display.
Haven’t used a Digiwalker, so I can’t compare.
Hey Terry.
It is just before Black Friday 2007.
Staples is taking this unit WITH the traffic alert.
for only $99.00
Now that’s a price I can live with!
Mark Brown
Hey.
Gr8 reviews! Looks like I am gonna buy this one. But are you sure that traffic alert is free for life with either offers? I think the trial will be valid till 24th but not lifetime. It cost 99.99 by itself.
Ameya
I believe the Staples $99 BF price includes the promotional lifetime traffic alerts for free. The circular says “Free traffic service requires initial product registration via 800 number. No fees, subscription or credit card info required”. I am counting on getting this unit on Black Friday! The staples circular has the product id as “2100T” and not just “2100″. May be that “T” stands for traffic related added on promotional feature! I hope that’s the case.
Hey Terry ,
Your reveiw was very good indeed. However one more information which I was looking at was does it has a feature of shortest route , fastest route , avoid freeway and toll etc.
I am looking at this feature in the GPS and I wonder which one of them will have it. I heard the Magellan Roadmate has it but its now outdated. Please reply if Navigon has this feature.
Thanks for the wonderful explanation.
does the navigon gps 2100 provides you with the vehicle speed while driving,how about a compass advising you the direction you are traveling?
mick again will the navigon 2100 gps reroute you if you miss the turn?
Awesome product! The Navigon 2100 comes with a SD card loaded with all the maps and POIs (Points of Interests). I called tech support and got connected to an English speaking rep right away.
Hi Sanm & Mick,
The Navigon does feature the standard “Fast, Optimum, Short or Scenic” routes. Yes you can avoid tolls, etc.
Not sure about the cost of future map upgrades.
Yes you can display your current vehicle speed (however, wouldn’t your speedometer be better for this?). Yes you can display a compass.
For more answers, download the user guide in PDF. It has every feature outlined in detail:
http://www.navigon.com/site/us/en/service_support/download_center/category/63/device_type/none/software/none/502
Does the 2100 automatically reroute you if you go past/miss your destination? That is a feature I’m used to with Telenav on my Blackberry.
Craig/Mick, the 2100 automatically reroutes you if you miss your turn.
Hi Terry ~
Thank you for all the detail. I read much about the sluggishness of the unit. Can you elaborate on that? If you need quick response time, would not this be a major handicap?
Justin
Justin again…..
The other issue was readability with small font size and info enter issues. Can you comment on how much of a problem these are?
Justin, In the brief time I’ve had the unit I haven’t really experienced any sluggishness. I also mentioned the small point size in my review. It could definitely be an issue for older eyes or people with vision problems.
Terry ~
Thank you,
….sorry, my oversight on the font issue.
[...] Xmas present for the techie type who doesn’t have one. Here’s a link to a nice review of it: Terry White’s Tech Blog Navigon 2100 Portable GPS Review Good luck…. John __________________ Q6600 @ 3.2 Ghz Vista Premium Home Edition 32 Bit [...]
I am looking at this as a everyday GPS. But I also am interested in starting a little Geocaching. Do you know if this would do the basics for Geocaching?
Terry
I really like your review of this product. I have been researching the Navigon 2100 all over the internet and your review has been the most helpful. Something I have been trying to find out is whether it will recalculate your route if you take a wrong turn or will it just tell you to turn around? I know that if you have the trafic service it will re-route around traffic in large cities, but will it recalculate your route in rural areas if you make a wrong turn.
Thanks
Perhaps I should have read the comment above where you replied to Craig/Mick stating that it will recalculate your route. I would still like to know if you have used this in the city or rural areas.
Thanks again
I noticed that only manuals were available on Navigons’ support site – how do they handle map and firmware updates – their FAQ is a bit vague on availability and $$ (if any)
I was wondering if this unit could handle basic geocaching?
Any idea if one can add routes to this? And maybe create and upload my own maps?
Will be using for Snowmobiling and 99% of that is not on roads!
Thanks!
Terry,
You’re the man, I been researching a GPS for my wife and she’s not too tech savvy. Your review say is it all.
Are you going to be on tour in Chicago anytime soon?
kudos on the Newsweek plug!
What region is the $99 sale for? I just spoke with the local store in Roanoke, VA and was told it is store specific and they couldn’t verify the price? Will it be on Staples.com also? Thanks i advance for any info! BTW Terry, major kudos on the research and report!
Terry,
Thank You very much, your review has also sold me on this. I was going to go to Best Buy for the TomTom at $120 but really like the FREE real time Traffic Option. I live and work in the Balt/DC are and congestion is terrible.
Does this re-route you automatically if the traffic is congested ahead? OR does it just warn you? If it warns you, how far in advance does it warn you. In many cases on a highway, you have miles between exits. I have never owned a GPS so I am a rookie. Even if the Real Time traffic doesn’t work well, It seems like a great buy.
POI question. MIO at Circuit City has 1 Million. TomTom One LE at Best Buy has 3 Million. (My Brother has TomTom One and Loves It) My reviewing of the GPS, 1 Million is pretty good but misses the Mom and Pa locations. Reviews TomTom’s 3 Million is much better. Says it almost has everything you would be looking for. Does anyone know the POI in this unit and does it have the complete address and Phone Number? I want this phone book option when the family travels. Example: If I see a billboard advertising “Outback” at Exit 39 in Fredericksburg, VA 27 miles ahead, I want to be able to look up the phone and make reservations.
Even if the Traffic feature is not that great, and the POI is not as good as TomTom, I think the Text to voice feature along with the 3D View for tought intersections will make up for it over the TomTom I was looking at.
Gene,
Go to http://bfads.net/ to look up most of the black friday ads online.
Larry
Thanks for this review, my wife and I have been shopping around looking for a good deal on a useful gps… this sounds like it, Im going too try to pick it up at my local staples.
I was looking at the Tom Tom one but its confusing, and I didt like it that much when I was playing with it.
Im also interested in how far away this warns you of traffic or POI’s
thanks
-sid
Wow!
Great review. I stumbled on your site by accident while researching for the iphone and found your review to be outstanding. Now I check your site everday. You are starting to cost me money man! It’s off to Staples I go.
Hey,
Fantastic Review. I am also from Michigan and I do a lot of driving from Bloomfield Hills to Ann Arbor to Detroit to Metro Airport to Flint, etc. While I know the roads very well, I still need a good GPS in places where I am not familiar with. I am loving the review and I am totally swayed towards buying this over the TomTom 3rd edition. Lets hope it turns out fantastic. ITs better than shelling out 2 grand for a navigation and backup camera system in my Lexus.
Tim,
Not sure as I’ve never done Geocaching before.
Chull,
I haven’t seen any abilities to create/upload your “own” maps/routes on this unit so far.
Hugo,
I hope to get to Chicago again soon. Keep checking my blog and when I travel on tour I’ll be posting it here.
Thanks!
Larry R.
I don’t have the traffic option for this unit so out of the box it doesn’t know anything about traffic. If it’s like other units, once you get the traffic add-on, it should route you around the traffic delays.
As far as POI’s go It will display the address and phone number of the POI if it has it.
Sid,
I don’t have the traffic feature of this unit. However, for POI’s it does a good job of displaying them far enough in advance that you can make a stop in plenty of time.
Rod S,
Thanks! Glad you found the site and hope the tech stuff doesn’t drain your account. It is addictive.
T
Tej,
Thanks! This unit offers a lot of bang for the buck. It’s not perfect, but it is very very good and a lot less than factory installed units and offers features that most factory units don’t.
Great review, I enjoyed reading it!
Now how is this Navigon 2100 compared to Navigon – Pocket LOOX N100? While the 2100 is $99 at Staples BF (probably I have to camp out tomorrow night) while the latter is on sale for $99 at tiger direct now online with no hassle. Which one should I buy? Thanks.
[...] Terry White Reviews the Navigon 2100 GPS and gives out”GPS units don’t have to cost a fortune. The Navigon 2100 proves that. I was floored by the number of features that were included in this relatively low cost unit. I would like to have seen a wall charger included for charging the unit in the house, but hey for less than $200 what you do get is a great bargain.” [...]
Thanks, awesome review.
Downey, the LOOX N100 has a smaller screen and seems to take 30 seconds to boot up based upon the reviews I see. If you can live with those two things, then go with the easy purchase. Otherwise, I would go with the Navigon 2100.
great review
For those who have asked (or will)…the 2100 does a VERY nice job of recalculating a route if you miss a turn. It takes a few seconds to realize you’re off course, and a couple more to recalc, all of which it does quietly and without fuss (thank you, German engineering!).
The mark of a good program (which is what these units are at heart, maps plus software to interpret them) is that it can handle proper data efficiently. The mark of a REALLY good program is that it can handle junk just as efficiently…and the Navigon units get good marks from me after some road testing where I deliberately refused to follow the unit’s instructions, sometimes several times in a row (mind you, this was in my home town, so I wasn’t worried about getting lost!). Every single time, the unit recalced without fuss. NONE of the “Turn around, turn around!” nonsense you hear about with other units.
I will say, though, that the unit does seem to get a trifle confused if you’re off-road (say, in a parking lot) when you ask for directions. It still does try to present you with a good route based on what street/heading seems to correspond best with your location, but the routing may change rapidly several times as you exit the lot, especially if you change directions within the lot itself. Mind you, I don’t expect ANY unit to handle that situation perfectly, but it is something to be aware of.
Also, be careful in areas where streets are dense; the unit will give instructions in advance when you need to make multiple turns in fairly quick succession, but when it gets to the actual “turn here” point can fall a little behind due to the length of time it takes to speak the directions. Again, not a situation that’s the fault of this specific unit, just one for GPS users (of which there will be a lot of new ones this season) to be aware of in advance.
My question is does the $99.99 at staples come with free LIFETIME traffic or free traffic for a limited time? Thanx for the review and it look like I am going to buy this one even if with out lifetime traffic.
does anyone know if staples will have a limited supply of these because i really cant get there till about 6:15 and i am worried they will be gone…..
I just want to let everyone know that the BF special at Staples actually runs both Friday and Saturday for $99.99.
Terry:
Did I miss it or did you say this unit does NOT plug into the vehicle to keep it charged? Is it only USB/wall unit charging?
RATBOY, It DOES plug in to the car adapter to keep it charged in the car. It comes with the cord/adapter.
Hi .. can anyone advise if you can “upgrade” the maps on the device to include Europe?
(obviously for an additional charge?)
HOw many POIdoes it have the 2100T, does anyone know?
Wonderful reviews and comments
. This review and others online have convinced me to make a purchase. Kudos to Terry and all of you for your good work.
Terry,
Thanks for the awesome review. Is the street name pronunciations clear or are they in a mechanical voice?
Terry,
Do you know if there is a memory slot? Can I upgrade the unit to include maps of Europe?
Can the unit be ordered online from Staples.com for $99 on black Friday?
Terry,
What is the difference between a 2100 and a 2100T?
Thanks
Kim there is an SD slot. However, I don’t know about European Map availability or costs.
Terry,
A few questions.
1) Day/Night mode is manual so does it pose any issues? If you do not switch, how does it look in broad daylight and at night in both the modes?
2) How is the touch screen interface? I heard that it is little bit hard to plug in your selection.
Thanks.
I have read as much as I can on the Navigon website and found the following to be stated there very clearly.
1) What is your general policy with respect to map updates?
NAVIGON plans to make map updates available every 12 months to any given product until such time that the product is phased out of production. Updates will be made available online via navigon.com or via DVD to registered users. The first map update for newly launched NAVIGON brand products will be available Q1 2008.
2) What is your general approach to providing firmware updates? Under what circumstances can firmware updates be expected?
Ours is a constant march to improve our GPS products. If and when issues arise, we investigate and scrutinize whether they comprise a trend and warrant a new firmware release. The process involves intense field testing to validate the issue and its proposed solution. In the event that issues do arise, we make it our mission to address them in as timely a manner as possible through easy firmware updates available online or via DVD to registered users.
3) Here is the website for information: http://www.navigon.com/site/us/en/service_support/faq_center
4) I love the traffic feature on my NAVIGON device, but do I need to use the traffic antenna that is included in the box?
Your system can work without the traffic antenna that’s in the box, but we recommend you use it. It boosts your system’s ability to real-time traffic updates, especially outside metropolitan areas.
This device looks to be a fantastic competitor for the TomTom and the Garmin C series.. It could even compete extremely well with the Garmin nuvi series. I am going to be heading to Staples at 4am to prepare for any lines in the morning and getting me one of these monsters!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! And Good Luck to all that are heading out in a few hours for Black Friday!
how to update the map? Addition cost?
Thanks so much for the information. It sounds like a greate deal; you have convinced me to purchase one tomorrow at Staples.
jd
I read that it has 1.6 mil POIs. I read that here:
http://www.howardforums.com/printthread.php?t=1277689
terry, great simple review without all the comparison to other units. when i read a review on a product i want to read about the product, not how other products does something better.
Phil, long as there’s stock it’ll be available online as well since it’s not a BF only item. it’ll be on sale into Satruday as well.
Gary, the 2100T is the 2100 w/ the $99 life-time traffic update included.
T signifies it has the free lifetime traffic
I noticed one thing not mentioned. Does this have the touch screen and what are the advantages of a touch screen?
Ok, so I bought one of these 2100t units for the car and it works great! I am a Storm Chaser and this is exactly what I needed to add to the gadget collection in the car. Thanks for the thorough review and excellent detail descriptions!
I was just wondering about the suction cup, does it wear out? I would like to be able to transfer it to another car once in awhile. Thanks. Great review.
Great review. But GPS units are to be personally tested before settling in on them.
Bhavesh,
About day/night, it’s pretty easy to swap (two screen taps), and both modes look fine at either time to me. The advantage of night mode is that there’s a lot less white on the screen, so it doesn’t interfere so much with your vision of the road at night.
Andy,
Yes it does, and the main advantage so far as I’m concerned is it doesn’t have to try to interpret your voice (I use a Bluetooth cell phone, and if my voice is stressed or there’s much noise, the voice interpreter can make a simple phone call a major hassle).
I just got mine from amazon 11/22/07. LOVE IT !!!! Had to test it out going to work–threw it off to get rerouted. love green overhead signage. it even told me i had to go around the roundabout we have at work and turn onto 2nd drive on left. LOVE IT !!!! For the price well worth it. it even impressed mom & dad for thanksgiving day, as they have one expensive restaraunt in town (Fletcher’s of Atlanta) (IN). I have ordered the lifetime traffic card. I’m very very impressed and I’m anti-learning new things tech-wise, but hopefully i’ll be able to not get lost out of state abd just drive straight to house also and not rely on “meet me at such & such and follow me to the house”. GREAT PRODUCT and not expensive.
Terry…thanks for this review. Very helpful.
God Bless you and your family.
Dear Terry, I was in line at Staples at just after 5 A.M. Tickets were passed out for the Navigon 2100T. The folks in front of me got the last one. I tried on line and the Staples web site said out of stock. Radio Shack also is out of stock. Do you know of other places this unit may be purchased at a reasonable price including the traffic alert? Thanks, Chuck
Thanks Luun. Staples sold out in 3 minutes.
I have checked every Staples in the free world and they are all sold out.
I just bought mine from Amazon for $179, question is, will I get the free traffic updates? If not, how do I get it and how much does it cost? Thanks
Andy, like most portable GPS units the Navigon 2100 does have a touch screen which makes it easier to input information.
Katie, like most things I would suspect that the suction cup could/would wear out over time.
Chuck, it’s a hot item at that price and probably the best bargain going today. So therefore, stores will/did sell out quickly. I don’t know of any other deals at the moment or even stock at the regular prices at this time (Amazon.com has them for $209). You’ll probably have to check next week to see what’s going on. They’ll probably be some on eBay too.
Terry, your review had me very excited about buying the Navigon 2100T at Staples. I was number 35 in line this morning and was told by the manager that they didn’t receive any due to a “shipping problem” from the manufacturer. I was able to get a ticket ensuring me of a Garmin Nuvi 260 for $249., and I then drove to Radio Shack to try for the Navigon at $150. The Radio Shack manager claimed they too didn’t receive any. He advised that several of the units they previously sold were returned for malfunctioning touch screens, and that he assumes they didn’t ship his store additional units due to this issue. He was quick to position the higher priced Magellan and Garmin units. Went back to Staples and complained to the manager about the lack of any Navigon units. He apologized and said it was out of his control, but if I bought the Navi 260, he would give me a $20. gift card. That closed the deal.
Note to Chuck, the only place I have been able to find any Navigon 2100s (in stock) is Amazon at $209.94 with FREE lifetime traffic advisories. Not close to $99., but still in stock.
Terry, thanks for the great review!
Nilo, yechwando, lunn, Sue, Andrew and others!
Thanks so much for all the positive feedback and for visiting my tech blog. I hope you get the GPS units you desire and that they work out well for you!
T
I was at Staples this morning and was lucky enough to get the very last ticket they were passing out. I spent the last week reading reviews and checking specs on GPS units. This is by far, the biggest and best bang for your buck!! I’ll never part with it..
I can’t get through to the support site, maybe you can help. I just purchased my unit at CC this AM for 100. My fat fingers got me into trouble right off the bat. Some how I got into the Spanish version. How can I ge out? Thanks–very good blog.
Purchased at Staples, sorry.
Another great feature I did not see mentioned is a setting that automatically increases the volumn when the road noise increases.
Thanks for the great review.
Terry,
Great review! I picked up my new Navigon 2100 this morning at Radio Shack (1 of 2 they had in stock). I already have it installed, charged up and running like a champ. It even came with free lifetime traffic service.
Thanks,
Steve
I have the 7100 which is awesome being black friday I bought one on line for 99.00 no shipping and free traffic……yea!!!!!
Check SHOPNBC. Offerring as daily value and including the traffic option at no cost.
Appreciatre the review. Now I will buy.
Ed,
try sticking a small paper clip in the reset hole on the side.
I nailed the Navigon 2100 at my local Staples early this morning. It is a 2100T. It says plainly on a sticker on the box that the free Lifetime Traffic “limited time promotion $99 value” is included in the box. Inside there is an activation card with a scratch-off for the code. Since the whole unit cost $99, this was a pretty good deal. Staples online, which was down until 6 am, had this indicated as Sold Out at 6:01 am. So I decided to try my luck at the store which is only .5 mile from my house.
I plugged it in inside the house (I have a car charger to wall A/C adapter), put it in my front window and it immediately locked into a signal and I was able to enter “Home” and a destination. I find I can tap the screen with my fingernail (like a Palm Pilot) or the end of my finger.
My questions:
I assume you have to charge it up to carry it around (I want to try it walking and/or biking.) How long does it take to charge up? And, if you have used it not plugged into the car power adapter, how long does the charge last?
Just bought one @ shopnbc.com 209.00 with 30.00 internet rebate. There doing 3 monthly payments as well…..and it does include the lifetime traffic updates.
Thanks for all the info Terry!
Only a short Quick Start Guide comes in the box. I found the full manual online at:
ftp://support:support@ftp.navigon.com/us/manuals/Manual_2100_English_Rev1_0.pdf
It says: It takes approximately 6hours to charge the device when the battery is flat.
A fully charged battery provides up to 3.5hours of use.
I ran to Staples this morning, and was not lucky to get one. There were only 15 in store, I was probably # 500 to enter the store. I immediately ran to Radio Shack. $159 is still a better deal than nothing. The salesman said he had only one left. The Magellan was the hot ticket item at this store. I asked him if they would match the Staples deal for $99. He said he would if I produced the flyer, which I promtly did from my car. I got the unit for $99. Thanks Radio Shack!!!
I stumbled onto this website this am when Google searching. Terry, thanks for the insight. There are so many units out there to choose from. I didn’t know where to begin. Your background work has definitely saved me some research time. I bought my unit from shopnbc.com for $210 after discovering “all” other stores were sold out. Sounds like a marketing tactic to me.
I can’t wait to put it to use.
Thanks again,
Mel
Terry, I tried putting a paper clip into the hole. It did reset the unit, but still came up in Spanish. Any other ideas?
Thanks
I was told by Staples that the free trafic is only for 1 year.
Ed,
Try this:
las opciones, los escenarios, los escenarios básicos, el idioma, inglés
“I was told by Staples that the free trafic is only for 1 year”
There is a label on the box from Staples purchased units which plainly states “Free Lifetime Traffic”
Got shut out online, stupid me for forgetting to log on in advance, that extra minute cost me a unit. Went to a So. Cal. Staples at 4:30AM, about 20th in line. No problem, if I had to guess I’d say the store had up to 50 units available.
I am unable to located the Product ID for registration. Can someone help?
Terry,
Thanks for taking the time to help us out with your comprehensive review. I was able to purchase the 2100 for $99 today. I also picked up the Magellan Maestro 3100 for $139. I’ve been reading reviews on both trying to decide which one to keep and which one to gift away. If anyone has any thoughts, I’d appreciate hearing them. BTW: I’m leaning toward the 2100, but the sluggishness reported by some bothers me.
Thanks,
Scott
Terry, thanks so much for a great review of this product. The review was clean, clear and to the point.
I just decided this week to get one, when I saw they were going to be on sale at Staples (since that is the only place I was going for BF shopping). I did a search and found your review. After reading your comments, I was sold and decided to go with the Navigon. Did not realize how hot of an an item this was until I was standing in line and now reading all the comments. I did get one and have already put it to the test.
Thanks to everyone else who has provided helpful information about the 2100.
Sam: Download the manual (see above). Read it. It has loads of useful info. It is 99 pages long. It tells you HOW to do the activation process. To find the Product ID use the back arrow until you get to the screen that has these 4 choices:New Destination, My Destinations, Take me Home, Show Map. At the bottom it will say “Options”. Click on that button. The next screen has a button for “Service Activation”. Click on that and you will see your Product ID. In the pdf manual it says to write that down because you will need it for reference during the activation process (which you can do online).
Also, for the person who cannot get it out of Spanish, on the “4 choices” screen mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the first choice is the language. Even if you don’t know Spanish, just click on that one and you will be given 3 choices: English, French, Spanish. They have national flags next to them. Select English (American flag.) and say OK. You should be back to English.
The language selection is in “Settings” right above “Service Activation.”
Thanks to everybody for their help. I was able to get back to the English version.
Gracias
I have been using a basic gps for 6 months and am now looking to upgrade to text to voice and to changing a route by touching the screen…having free updated maps is also important…from reading the forum, it looks like the nav 2100 has text to speech and free maps, but can you change your route by touching a point on the map screen…I have found this to be important since there are many times you will want to pick a via point…unfortunately the unit I have now will only create a via point by inserting an address…so if you want to get to a destination using 405 rather than the default highway…you will need an address on 405 to create the alternate route…I know there are brands that will allow you to touch a point on 405 to create the alternate route…
Terry,
Thank you so very much for your thorough review and taking the time to respond to all queries.
I am located in Cape Cod and the Staples Manager told me that his store had 25 of the units and that the line is quite extensive. I called the 800 number to inquire further about when I can order for BF, quantities, etc. On that initial call, the kindly customer rep advised me that the web site and the tel ordering will begin @ 6AM for the 2100T, and that there were 300 allocated for my “region” but they could be drawn upon in time of need by another region if available. Ordering limitation was “One”.
Skeptic that I am, I called at 5:40 AM, they accepted my order with an email confirmation. I ordered the product with a dozen pens to go over the $100. mark and proceeded to give them a $15. coupon. In short I paid about $90. incl tax, delivered next Tues by UPS free. I then tested the website at 6AM when they went online and it read “Out of Stock.”
There is something morally wrong when you entice the public (even using the product as a loss leader) and do not have enough to even fulfill initial BF online orders.
And so it goes…..
Again, thank you very much for your help.
Hi Terry:
Purchases the unit today and have to say it’s great! Bought it at Staples for $99 which also included the $99 Lifetime Traffic feature. What a deal. It was easy to set up, did a little head scratching, and figured one or two things out. My daughter has moved into a new area and it does not show up, just the main road. I’ll have to just save a route to that point and see how that works. I like how it mounts, the voice prompts are clear and consise, it’s not that hard to see during the day and believe me, I have trouble seeing small things but don’t find myself taking out the magnifying glass. For the price and a first time GPS for me I’m pleased. Thanks for your review . . . based on that I bought this and these folks at Navigon should give you a piece of the action!
I purchased mine at 6 am at Staples and love it. I’m curious, I have speed limits enabled but the speed sign does not appear in the upper left of the screen? Do I have something incorrectly selected or does it work in certain areas only?
Thanks Terry for your review.
I got the 2100 today. Great GPS, with a few glitches. No manual enclosed. You have to download over 100 pages from the internet. My unit did NOT come with a CARD ?? I had to call the customer service line and they will send me a card so I can activate the TRAFFIC and ZAGATS. My first GPS so far pretty cool. Staples had it cheaper but the lines were insane, so I got mine fro Radio Shack. The shack would not meet Staples lower price.
Justin,
I totally agree with you! This is one of the reasons that I try not to get caught up in “Black Friday” sales. It usually means frustration at the end of the day. However, I did actually get up this morning and head over to my local Staples which was only 2 minutes away. I got there at 5:50 AM. I wanted another Navigon (as a gift) and some of the digital picture frames. I got the last Navigon. I can’t say for sure, but I would be surprised if my store had more than 12 units. I had a brief argument with one of the sales reps/manager because when I walked in there were no tickets for the Navigon, but I was one of the first ones that asked for one. So he supposedly put mine under the counter while I stood in line to pay for it. By the time I got the register (lots of check out problems) mine was gone and there was only one left that he claimed he was holding for someone much further back in line. I demanded that he sell it to me because I was FIRST. After about 30 seconds he caved. This little incident reminded me once again to NOT participate in this madness next time. My sister will be happy though with here new gift.
Paul,
The speed limit feature worked on one of the highways I tried it on out of two. So it doesn’t work on every single road.
Connie, glad it worked out! Enjoy.
Thanks!
Well…. I am the happy new owner of the Navigon 2100. I have activated the Lifetime Traffic Service and received my confirmation emails.
I went to Staples and got in line at about 4:45am. The line was already about 10 people deep, so I felt good about being number 11. I could peek in the window of the store and saw at least 15 on a table. At 5:50am, they came out and gave tickets for specific items on the sales flyer, and the GPS’s were one of the “Ticket” items. I got #7! WHOO HOO!
After making the purchase, we went back to the truck, and I took it out of the box and was happy that it showed almost a full battery. Within 5 minutes, I had it setup and it was working great.
This is my first Navigation Unit, but not my first GPS. I played with the routing, the address entry, the maps, etc… I did notice a slight hesitation during address entry, but it was not enough to disappoint me. It appears to be something that I can live with.
The routing was fast. I entered some old addresses in different states and let it calculate routes for me, and the slowest it took for a router from North Carolina to Florida was 5 seconds.. Some people may think thats slow, but just how fast do you need it to calculate??
The screen is crisp and clear. There are some menus that don’t use color, but is that really important? Its only a menu.
The touchscreen is very smooth and has a good sensitivity.
The Speed Alerts worked on a highway loop around Charlotte, NC that is fairly new. It knew the speed was 65, and when I tested it, it told me “Caution” in a solid, clear voice.
The street names are spoken, and yes, some sound mechanized, but others don’t. its a computer voice chip.
The suction cup mount is strong, and stable. I don’t have a worry about it falling off the window, and it comes with a dash disk to attach if you can’t have anything attached to the windshield.
Its fits in my Jeans pocket, and has a standby mode that you manually activate with a quick press of the power button.
The power cord is designed for the cigarette lighter with no home charger included. The charger is the standard small USB charger commonly found with Bluetooth headsets.
I have only had the device for just over 12 hours, but at this point, I can say that I’m very satisfied with the performance and ease of use of the Navigon 2100.
And yes, the T at the end is the unofficial designation for the 2100 with Lifetime Traffic.
Its a nice product for $99. I think I would even have paid $150 for this. My budget for my first Navigation Unit was a max of $200… This is a $300 unit for $99.. I don’t think you could go wrong!
Thanks Terry for helping me make up my mind. I believe this will be the hidden Golden Nugget of the 2007 Holiday Season!
Byron,
Anyone who thinks 5 seconds is too long a time to calculate a route that’ll take you 5-10 hours to actually drive probably needs to cut back a bit on the caffeine. (g)
And I paid $169 for my first one, though the Staples manager price-adjusted it to $99 to match the 2100T’s today AND I managed to snag a 2100T online (so I’m covered gift-wise, woo hoo!). Anyhow, I thought 169 was a great deal…and still do, actually.
Hey Terry,
Thanks for the review. It really did help a lot me to make a decision. I was the 1st person to check out this baby. I am happy that i got this. I have played with it and got to admit, the response time is NOT that slow. I am sure I can live 0.5 sec delay. Haven’t got a chance to play with reality view, which i intend to do tomorrow. Speed limits warning are only for some major highways, I believe. They were clear too.
Got a question:
Since this comes with 2GB SD cards, would we be able to add additional maps may be?
Thanks again for your help,
Addy.
Addy,
It should be possible to add maps via SD cards. The issue will be getting them in the proper format. We’ll have to see what Navigon comes up with for expansion.
Hi Terry,
I’ve baught this unit based on your review at Staples today, I entered the store at 6:07AM and there was a big line, maybe 35 peope, and I stood for a good hour but was lucky to get one unit, for now I’m happy with it, eventhough it’s sluggish, I’ve tried to enter a local major street, but it didn’t accept it? other than that the unit is excellent. I’ve been trying to register the unit and activate the traffic alert since 4:00PM today, and wasn’t able to, I called customer service, they told me the server is too busy, receiving too many requests to register. Thanx again for your excellent review.
Hi, Terry!
We scored our 2100 this morning at Radio Shack. . .the last one, apparently.
I’ve been playing around with it, planning a cross country jaunt. I’m trying to get it to give us a more southern route, but I can’t seem to get it to do that. I know some of the Interstates we want to use, but I can’t figure out if there’s a way to enter route numbers.
When I enter a city near where the interstates meet, it takes me through the city and back to the intestate. Sometimes, it even takes me off an interstate and back on it!
Can you enter route numbers, or do I have to go back to Trip-tiks??
Thanks for you time, and a GREAT review!!
Donna
Anybody know if there’s a way to control the 2100 simulation speed?
As far as cases, it fits into my iPAQ case pretty well. If you have any old pda cases, try one.
Hi Terry and everyone else,
First, thanks Terry for the great review.
I was 12th in line at a So Cal Staples this morning and got one. I would estimate that they had 25 units based on the tickets they handed out. 4/5 of the people around me in line planned on getting one.
The unit did not have an activation card in it so I had to call the 888 customer service number and after a moderate wait a very helpful woman took my email info and said they were negotiating with Staples to resolve this issue and they would get back to me in 24-48 business hours. Apparently they are having a big problem with a bunch of retailers selling 2100t models but handing out 2100 boxes. I hope they send me an activation code. Otherwise I really like the unit so far.
well I have a similar story to Byron, got in line at staples this morning at like 5:30, I was about 25 people down. I was able to get mine with very little headache.
Im extremely pleased with it so far! the address entry was a little confusing and I dont know how to make it do the reality view, and the “instructions” are a little thin… but I like it alot! we had a really good make or break test run, we had to get from downtown San Diego to a site in Fallbrook (north of SD, about 50min from my house) in 60min with only a destination. It passed with flying colors. Its a little chatty, but Ive never had gps so I dont know whats alot
I hope everyone who was able to get it on sale is as happy with it as I am. And the Traffic report is awesome!
Thanks Terry, and other posters for helping me make a decision!
I got the 5100 model after they ran out of the 2100. I have to say I am very disappionted with the 5100. The letters to type are small compared to other models. When in a stripmall and want out, it will not give you directions, but show you an orange line and you figure how to get to it. Also, not sure how many points of interest it has. Living in west bloomfield in MI, I could not locate a Best Buy, a Sams club, or a home depot on it ! The text to speech feature is excellent. It has great directions and very accurate, but relativly sluggish when I compare it to a Mio C220 that I bought today and drove around with both on. I was parked next to Sams club and Home Depot, and it would not recognize them ! It knew where Starbucks was ! This it marked at around $500, not worth the $150 I paid for it. Its going back tomorrow !
Can anyone tell if 2100 would charge for map upgrade? Thanks.
Well i just stagged this guy at work today(i work at staples) and it turns out that this machine is great for $99.99 a 2 year warranty for 39.99. Its all worth it.
Pros: Small stylish black piano finish, CHEAP, feels like an iphone (i wish i have one) easy to use, all my friends are jealous, i wont get lost again on family tripps which ends in arguements on whos right. Love the PIN protected feature and it came with a warning sticker for the future thiefs to bug off! its now going on ebay for $200+
Came with lifetime traffic subscription ($100) i saved up to 300$ total!
Cons: A bit laggy when entering anything. Load up time is slow also. a bit confusing when trying to turn on some of the features; the back and the option buttons! Havnt tried the traffic feature, the manual says it doesnt work on some areas, including my house to begin with :[, theres always 511.org but i gota try the TFF some time
Was lucky and snagged one at Staples in SF this morning, got the last one they had. $99 for a GPS with these features is a fantastic price. I had the TomTom One, which I loved, but gave it to my partner to use. Have not experienced the “sluggishness” others have mentioned, but will be using it more watching for that. The TomTom recalculates very quickly, my partners preious Magellan did not. Crossing my fingers.
I also cannot get the 2100 to operate while plugged into the auto charger. I saw Jim Spencer also had this problem. Jim, did you return your device and find for sure that it was defective? Did you receive a device that *would* operate while charging?
Has anyone else had this same problem?
I called the 1-888 support number and was told that you cannot operate it while charging it. I see some people above saying the opposite. What’s the real story – can y’all use the GPS while it’s plugged into the auto charger and charging?
HEY. ANYONE WHO ENDED UP WITH A 5100 FOR WHATEVER REASON!!! There is a $50.00 mail in rebate at the website. Went to RS to see if they had any 2100. They did not but were substituting the 5100 for the same price. Got 3. And now, finding rebate, I’ll get another $150.00 back. Woo wooo
Got a 2100 yesterday at Staples-$99.. It’s my first GPS, so I’m still learning the ropes. So far it’s great! The lifetime traffic option works very well. There is a temporary (six week) bridge closure near our home and it was recognized. That kind of surprised me because we don’t exactly live in a metropolitan area and it’s not a huge bridge. That option in itself pays for the unit. Amen?
I was third in line at my Staples and all three of us were after the Navigon 2100. They had about 30. My nice surprise was they announced before opening that they had 1 Acer 17″ widescreen laptop to the first person who wanted it. I wasn’t after a computer, but I grabbed it and my wife is thrilled to have her VERY old Pentium desktop replaced.
Regarding the Navigon:
It does come with lifetime traffic, so at $99 the hardware was basically free
On their website they state that there have been no updates to the maps yet but there will be a free release in 2008
Great review Terry!!! This unit is awsome in just about every aspect you could think of. The one and only flaw I found and to me it’s a big one but i can live with is… The unit as of now has no ability to load trafic safety cameras for it to navigate in the USA. I called the support center and there is no info on if or when it might have this feature to be added. So, everyone call them and request it!!!!! After enough calls they are bound to add it!!!!
I’ve been investigating GPS units online for over a week (about 30 hours of reading and comparing!) I decided to get the 2100. Office Depot in Seattle had them for four days before Thanksgiving for $149 with rebate for Live Traffic. I bounght one Wednesday night, set it up to drive home, trying different roads to test it. I was really impressed.
Then I tried to change my destination key-in. It has been frozen ever since. I’ve tried every combination of reset and on/off button, remove and reinsert SD card, but the licence notice comes on and the display will not respond to touch.
I’ve downloaded the manual and missed calling Friday for service. Anybody got suggestions of where to go next?
I just bought my navigon 2100 at radio shack to my disappointment the unit keeps on popping the fatal error its says about MNS66 or something do you think I bought a defective one at radioshack
Does anyone know if you can change the voice? I can not find that function anywhere in the manual. Thanks.
I purchased the Navigon 2100T at Staples on BF for $99 and love it. I am having a problem registering it through the Navigon website. I set up an account on their website, and it will allow me to log in, and says that I am logged in. When I go to register my device or activate the traffic feature, it comes up saying that I am not logged in and asks for a username and password again. When I try to enter my username and password again, it takes me back to the same prompt again where I can click register or activate features. It just goes in a loop everytime I log in and try to register. I have tried it on two computers using Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. Anyone else having this problem? I may have to call their support number monday.
Hi Terry and all,
I purchased the Navigon 2100 from ShopNBC yesterday. I have the Navigon – Pocket LOOX N100 and I love it, but I’m in my 60′s and the screen is a little small for me and my husband. I thought that the Navigon 2100 screen looked to be bigger. I bought two of the Navigon – Pocket LOOX N100s, one for me and one for my son and his wife in Oregon. We just got back to Florida from a trip to Georgia and that little Navigon – Pocket LOOX N100 really knows it stuff. The voice is a little hard to understand at times, but I think that’s just because it is so very small. It’s loaded with extras that we won’t use, so after we receive the 2100 from ShopNBC, we will give this little bitty one to our daughter and her husband. I hope the one we get will not have any issues. I’ll let you all know once we get it and start to use it. It would be nice to have the option of a male voice because the female one on our Navigon – Pocket LOOX N100 is kind of whispery, but nothing you can’t get use to. It really saved our bacon on several occasions on our trip. While we were on our way, we had to stop for gas in a little town in Georgia and a couple couldn’t find where they were going (they had a TomTom), so I put in the name of the resort they were looking for and directed them to it. He said their’s had been acting up, but perhaps it just needed to reboot. Thanks everyone for your comments.
I got mine at Staples for $99.99 and had test drive with it …it was awesome …it wasnt that sluggish but on the downside i felt the algorithm it uses to find the route is not great as it used a round about way . Other than that i tried to activate the Traffic but was not able to find the product id .. Can someone is the group tell me how to find it .
Terry,
Thanks to your review and my utter determination, I finally located the trophy. I was able to get a $99 unit at Staples. Some stores are getting them or 2 at a time. My store got 2. All out there, keep up the hunt.
Thanks Terry.
CJARCZ
Which website had the $50 rebate for the 5100?
Hi terry and everybody
I purchased the navigon2100 yesterday at radioshack it popup a FATAL APPLICATOIN ERROR
Application MN6.EXE has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. If problem persist, contact the program vendor
Program: MN6.EXE
Exception: 0xC0000005
Address: 000F4E60
Does anybody encounter this problem?? Can someone help me about it or the product itself is defective
Hi Terry
Does the navigon 2100 shows in the POI all the malls, shoping center and electronics stores? I wonder why I can’t find it or I am missing something
The staples located on Michigan Ave. in Dearborn is giving rainchecks for the 2100. I think is closes at 9:00 pm.
I am glad that everyone is enjoy the Navigon. But mine cannot get a signal no matter where I am. I live in So. Cal and shouldn’t be a problem. I treid to call the customer service but they are off already. Anyone has a solution? Thanks.
I too purchased the 2100 at terry’s recommendation…it has been a great little unit so far and all that he’s said about it is right on. however, i also had a looping problem when trying to activate or register the unit and traffic service. Has anyone successfully done this?
The unit I got was not “speaking.” No sound. I thought it might be defective. I had bought a second unit also, so I opened that box, set it up exactly the same and it spoke! So, I completely turned off the “bad” one (hold down the button for 6 seconds.) Then turned it back on–magic cure. I guess it reset it somehow, but I did not lose my entries.
I did find out that “fastest” route is not necessarily “shortest.” I just had each of them calculate to the same destination and went out in the car with both turned on (one fastest and one shortest). Both spoke the proper directions, and, when I turned for the “shortest” route, the other one recalculated where I was and adjusted its instructions. Very fast. It says “recalculating route” and it almost immediately has locked in on to where you are now. I’m impressed. I see no “lag” at all, as some have mentioned in reviews I read.
Hey there, I purchased the unit Friday morning also, but I am still undecided about taking it back or not. First off, everyone here is fooling themselves if they refuse to accept that the unit is not sluggish in performance.. everything that is done from entering a letter to browsing menus to even adjusting the volume is sluggish, so with that said it’s easy to tell who actually owns the unit on here and who doesn’t.
My main problem stems from the unit being a little to sluggish as we say. Yesterday my girl bought the Magellan 3100 and after using it the interface is extremely quick when compared to my Navi2100, it’s so quick that it’s almost embarrassing, and for a slap in the face her 3100 was $30 cheaper than what I paid for my Navigon.
Let’s move on to the real reasons why I am keeping my 2100 for the moment, I will test drive it for about 25 days before making up my mind about returning it or not.. first off.. the hope that Navigon will be releasing an update for this device keeps me going, if they can fix the minor lag issue then this unit for the price will indeed be the best of the best. Now I could easily get a TomTomOne(3rd edition), Mio220 or Magellan 3100 but the interface on those units are absolutely horrible, so bland and yesterday like, besides the traffic feature and the text to voice features of the 2100 I have to say that the interface is stunning, it’s really the only main feature that stops me from getting rid if it right now.
Tips to improve the sluggishness:
I switched out the el’cheapo SD card that shipped with my Navigon unit for a Sandisk 2gb unit and the performance now it absolutely making the 2100 look like a keeper, it improved my performance about 40-50%, I would say that it’s almost as quick as my gf’s Magellan 3100 now. I can honestly say that the device boots quicker and that the menus appear almost instant like, close but not perfect just yet though. In the next few days I will be buying a higher end Sandisk card, the UltraII or newer III card version to see if their quickness can solve the mystery of the 2100′s lagging performance even more.. the Ultra II version of this regular Sandisk card that I am using is rated at 9 – 10MB/sec minimum, the UltraIII is rated at 20 MB/sec, if that is all true then I am expecting near perfect performance from my unit by week’s end, especially since it’s currently working much better with the vanilla version of the Sandisk card.
Good luck people.. Nuclear out.
“The Glow, The Beautiful Glow”
NuclearWhale,
While the interface is not the speedest of the GPS units I’ve used, it is acceptable. However, you really got me thinking about improving the speed with a faster card. I do have some SanDisk Ultra II cards to try. Thanks for the tip and I’ll be testing that right away and report back here.
Hi Terry and all,
My assumption is that my unit is defective. I believe that when the mini USB is inserted into the unit to charge, it *thinks* it is connected to a computer.
Am I entirely correct that this is the proper functionality?
1. When the Navigon 2100 is connected to the computer it displays a blank screen with a diagram showing the device (a rectangle) connected to a picture of a computer.
2. When you plug the mini USB into a wall or car charger it should show the battery icon as “charging” and operation should not be interrupted. (Instead I get the behavior of #1 with the diagram when I’m only charging)
Radio Shack is going to try to find me another unit. Is it common to receive a defective unit? I’ve seen a few fatal errors + one other issue like I’m having above.
Since I can access the contents of the SD card via the computer… is there a hack I can make to the OS that would correct my problem?
gp: to get the product ID that you’ll need for that traffic feature registration, click on “Options” and select “Service Activation” and you’ll find the product ID at the top.
Registering the info hasn’t been as easy! In fact, have been trying since Friday, with no luck. I experienced the same frustrating loop that others have. Think Navigon’s system is overwhelmed by the quantity of people trying to register their new units. Will keep on trying but if anyone has a pointer, PLEASE share!
Tessa, Mike and others,
I was able to activate the unit I bought Friday later in the afternoon. My friend bought one and experienced the same problems you guys did. However, the odd thing was he gave me his logon info to try and I was able to activate his unit from my house (with him over the phone) no problem. Go figure.
Dallas, I still haven’t had a chance to try the car adapter, but I had my friend do it and his works as expected in the car while plugged in. The battery indicator shows a charging symbol. The way I figure it, it would be a serious disadvantage if the unit couldn’t operate while plugged in. For example, let’s say you were taking a 4-5 hour drive. If you couldn’t have it plugged in the car there is no way the battery would last that long.
I connected mine to my computer and got the icons you described. I connected it to the AC charger that came with my Garmin and the charge light came on. So it sounds like you need a replacement.
Terry,
thanks for the review. Very nice – I read it after the fact but it confirms that my purchase was warranted.
I am happy sofar but the gps is a little squirly in downtown chicago – you would think it would have the same short cuts that I have learned over the years LOL.
I too am having real difficulty in registering my product and activating the traffic code. I get kicked back to the login screen after signing in. I have tried two computers.
Help.
BTW – the 800 number I called to get customer services put me in contact with an insurance carrier or something – tried twice and checked the number. Whoops.
Even better – a funny. I scoped these units out at staples near my house a day or two before BF. I was playing with the Navigion display model and a guy walked up and gave me a pointer or two. I said you seem very familiar with the units do you have one…he said yea, I am the president of the company. I guess the president of Navigon USA lives a few blocks away from my house. I didn’t want to seem intrusive so I didn’t ask him for a card. Duh – I could of had the president of Navigon register my product…LOL.
Help us all with a fix for the registration thing.
Thanks.
Zack
Laith, and anyone else, here is the address for the rebate on the 5100.
It’s located under the 5100 series downloads page at Navigon.com.
http://www.navigon.com/site/us/en/service_support/download_center/category/62/device_type/none/software/none/509
Here are some Navigon accessories:
Navigon Wall Charger
Navigon Hard Case
Navigon Leather Case
I was given a 2100 for an early Christmas present. I like but do not love it. sometimes the 2100 gives messed up directions that take you out of the way. but what I really like is mine came with the traffic update. I used it to drive from Raleigh, NC to Lancaster, PA. the 2100 said that traffic was stopped near Washington dc. and it rerouted me around all of dc and most of Baltimore. it only added a total of half hour driving time to my trip. this is nice because I have sat on 95 in traffic for three hours before. so this is a nice feature when taking long trips. I live in PA Dutch country and the 2100 has difficulties pronouncing the German names of the streets. This is my first GPS and I am going to see if I can use it for GEO caching with the pedestrian turned on. and the coordinates turned on.
I forgot, if changing the sd card improves the gps how do I copy the information from one card to another.
I have to say I’ve been really worried about this GPS with everyone talking about a “lag.” But I wasn’t really noticing it on mine — and contrary to the assertion above that anyone who wasn’t fessing up to a lag must not really own one, I do have one right here on my desk as I type. Then I read that the lag is in how fast the menus come up, or how fast it is to enter an address? Seriously?? So NOT worried about that I can’t tell you, and relieved to hear that’s all this is about. If it was a lag in how fast it recalculated a route, that would concern me. Or in how fast it could get a GPS fix. But in how fast it is to enter an address? I do that before I head out, not flying down the road at 65 mph … I can’t imagine that this will ever be a concern to me. “Hold on, Bob, I have to enter a new address in my GPS and it will take 2 minutes. Dang, if only this was a faster interface I could enter this address in 1 minute! I could save 1 whole minute in my life! Curse you, Navigon interface!”
I will, however, try the faster SD cards just to see if I notice any speed increase there.
For those who asked above about using it while charging, it absolutely should work while plugged into the car lighter in your vehicle — I can confirm that mine does. If your doesn’t it must be defective — how could you go on a 10 hour drive with a GPS that will die from lack of power before you are even half way there?
On the routes, I have found that both “Fast Route” and “Optimum Route” gave me hinky directions. Mapping from home to work, the unit shows that I should go up one block, make a right and go a block, make a left and go back past my own street and go up two blocks … making a complete square and passing by my starting point again. That truly concerned me. When I switch the Route Profile to “Shortest,” it calculates the route exactly as I actually drive it.
This is my 3rd GPS, and they all seem to have situations where they do wierd things like that. The Magellan was SOOO slow that if I passed by a turn I was supposed to make, I could pass by 4 more turns before it calculated a new route. I almost had to pull over and just wait for it to recalculate.
The TomTom when set to the “Shortest” route on a trip from California to Oregon on I5 kept telling me I should get off the freeway, drive on a surface road, then get back on the freeway for a couple of miles, then get off on a surface road again, then back on the freeway, over and over — I assume since I5 makes great big turns in that area, it was “shortest” to get off the freeway and head straight, then get back on when the freeway came around again, but nobody in their right mind would do that.
I do like the ability to change voices that the TomTom has, wish the Navigon would add that, but its a very minor thing. Battery life on the 2100 vs. the TomTom One is much better, I barely got one hour of battery life on my TomTom One, so I always used it plugged into the lighter – would never have carried it as a pedestrian or on a bike.
Considering that I got this for $99, and that includes lifetime traffic (which TomTom does not) this GPS was a steal.
Well I tested the 2100 along with a Magellan 2000 snd the magellan stayed on the proper course while the navigon 2100 made me get off main roads, take little side streets and then get back on the main road about 10 minutes out of the way. Also, on a trip starting from my house, there is a very quick and direct way to the expressway. My Megellan gets me there almost exactly the way I would drive. The navigon didnt and I had to go into the turn-by-turn directions and put a RED X in some of the directions I didnt want… Only then did it figure out the way I wanted to go.. Well…. it started to but then wanted to take me another way. the Magellan was dead on with the directions…
Why does the 2100 make you go on side roads that take you at least 10 minutes out of the way but if you just stay on the road you are currently on, it would be faster to get to the next turn or whatever??
Terry,
I bought my Navigon 2100T unit from Staples on BF. Your comments above regarding usb connection to charge the unit was very helpful.
My problem is signing up on the navigon website for the free lifetime travel service. Try as I may when I log into the url: http://www.navigon.com/activation I cannot complete the process to put in the required information to get the unlock code. Everytime I log in and choose the service activation menu prompt, the website logs me off and asks me to log on again. Can’t contact navigon tech support as they are only available M-F and today is Sunday.
Any ideas on how to complete the activation setup process so I can try the travel service feature? I am going to start using the unit today on the road and would love to test out the traffic service as I am from the NYC area.
Ziggy,
Same problem with registration – I have tried and tried. The system recognizes me by welcoming me back – but won’t let me do a darn thing after that.
I have tried two different browsers and two different computers.
Anyone with a fix???
I am having the same problem for the past two days. This is really frustrating. Anyone have a fix to resolve this issue?
My brother just activated his traffic feature, and since I’ve tried unsuccessfully for 3 days to do same, I asked him to log on as me and he was able to get through the process! Terry, thanks so much for the suggestion. Actually, many thanks for all the great info and for this forum. The 2100 is my first GPS and I have found this site to be very helpful.
Would love to find out how to copy the data from the included SD card to a faster card
Thanks, everyone!
Tessa:
You have to purchase a memory card reader from a local store, they are usually in the $10 to $30 dollar range. Once you have the card reader simply plug it into a usb port on your pc and since it’s plug & play the device will be recognized automatically and present you with the option to view the content on the memory card.. once the folder is open just draq/copy the content of the Navigon SD card onto your desktop and then put a new card into the memory card reader, copy the Navi files from the desktop onto the new card and it’s done.
Terry,–I’m so glad that you started this blog. It certainly is a good sounding board, especially for first time GPS users.
I echo Tessa’s request for instructions on copying to a faster card. You might even include suggestions on the type of card to use.
Thanks again.
Many thanks, NuclearWhale, for the great info. Will give it a try.
Y’all are awesome!
Okay, I bought a SanDisk Extreme III 2 gig SD card, at 20mb/s the fastest SD I could find and copied all the files over from the SD that shipped with the 2100. When I power it up, I notice no appreciable difference in the speed with which the menus appear, or the speed of entering an address, etc. I suppose if a got a stop watch and tried it I might be able to find a difference, but then again, maybe not, the speed increase (if there is any) may be less than a second. Would love to hear from anyone else who tries changing out their SD card … is there really any speed increase or is it just the placebo effect.
Thanks for your post neitherfanboy.
I spent an hour or so browsing for extreme III cards – not wanting to spend any more money!
If it doesn’t make much of a difference then I think I will pass. Keep us posted.
Z
I did some more testing today of the 2100.. I, again had it side by side with my magellan 2000 and the navigon provided BETTER routes about 95% of the time. Sometimes the megellan had me going in places I wouldnt go and the navigon had a straight route. about 5% of the time the magellan was better. Even though I have though about returning it, I am beginning to like it. I see most GPS units have quirky ways of routing and none are perfect… especially in this price range…
Hey Zack, I would skip it if I were you, it cost me another $50 and I really can’t see any difference. Read a review that suggested the lag might be due to processor speed, which would make more sense to me, although the specs show this is a 400 mhz processor and the TomTom One is only 266mhz, so the 2100 should be the faster of the two. Wonder if the “lag” can be fixed via firmware update at some point. I have read SO MANY reviews that mention it, but so far during use it has not been a problem. Again, would love to hear if anyone else does this and notices a speed increase.
How about this one NeitherFanBoy,
When I was at staples checking out the goods I met the presdient of Navicon USA. I fooled around with the navicon and the garmin with him right next to me comparing the units. (nuvi 200)
When faced with the comments that his unit was slow and that it did not scroll well on the screen (think slow and inaccurate) he said, “well I guess it is slower than the garmin”. He did suggest that I shut off the animated menus – they were already off!!!
I don’t recall additional reactions as he wandered off shortly afterwords. Obviously they know their interface is slower than some of the others – I am sure they read the reviews and blogs too – or they should. But at this price point the navigon seems hard to beat – the real question – why would anyone buy the 5100 or the 7100 if the 2100 has the same features built in or accessable for a lot less money.
Lastly – how do you get the stupid web page to let me register or activate the unit???
Terry or anyone,
Same question as Arnold Rosner. Does anyone know how to increase the speed of the simulation or how the speed the product uses is determined? Other than a slow simulation speed, I have found this product to be very good.
How many POI’s does the 2100 have? What is major difference between 2100 and 5100? Does anyone know if there will be a charge to update maps and firmware? Can information from 7100 if transfered to SD card function on 2100? Compared to other gps within the 99.00 – 160.00 range how do the readers rate the 2100. Is it free LIFETIME traffic or free traffic for a limited time? Last question, some people are saying that there is an antenna while others do not mention it?
Alot of questions, so little answers
Here are some Navigon accessories:
Navigon Wall Charger
Navigon Hard Case
Navigon Leather Case
______________________________________
The cases are available at Staples as well. If you have empty ink cartridges you can use three per transaction to bring the price down $9 each. Staples doesn’t have an AC charger, but does have a wall adapter where you plug in your car charger in to make a home charger. $20
Lag issue…. I notice a trace when entering on the keypad menus. Not much of an inconvience to me. I suspecty it might be an issue for the younger folks whom are use to text messaging at 30 words a minute.
I have a fast Patroit 2GB SD card, for S_ _ it and giggles I might try to seeif it helps.
I purchased the 2100 at staples BF. So far so good. set up wsa pretty good and it picked up the sattelites pretty quickly. I have one question about rerouting. I have seen the Garmin 660 in action and there is a button to press for DETOUR and a new route is calculated I have yet to find this on the 2100 does it exsist ? or is the only way around this is to block a section of road in the turn by turn ?
I did end up getting a 2100 at Radio Shack and I am sure the a said Lifetime traffic but I got the just the 2100 (not the 2100T). I see nothing in the box about Traffic activation. Did I just get the wrong unit at RS. Spending another $100 for traffic makes this not such a great deal.
Tom Cody,
If you purchased the 2100 on Black Friday, the deal was the lower price and the free lifetime traffic card, which they handed to you with the unit. If you bought it any other day, you won’t receive the free traffic card to activate. Hope that clears things up.
Everyone having a problem registering unit and traffic on the navigon site-
I finally was able to register both my GPS and activate the traffic feature through the navigon site. The way I had to do it was through http://www.vtunnel.com and go to the navigon site from there. FYI, if you are not aware of the site, vtunnel.com blocks internet filtering. I was able to log in, register my unit, and activate the traffic feature on the first try with no “looping” problem like I’ve had all weekend. One note is that I was unable to get the navigon site to come up through vtunnel.com using Internet Explorer, it was giving an XML error. I had to use Firefox browser to get to the site and it worked the first time. Let me know if this works.
Nick
I’ve always wanted to know my geographical location when flying in a commercial airplane. Will a Navigon GPS work while flying? Can it be interfaced with a laptop to give a larger viewing screen?
Nick,
Still unsuccessful….Good attempt though.
Bryan, not sure why it didn’t work for you. It worked for me and two other people I know who were getting the looping error. Maybe it will work for some people on here at least. I was unable to register since I bought it friday, but it worked first try for me and my friends using Mozilla Firefox browser and vtunnel.com.
Nick,
I tried something similar as a web proxy goes. I went through http://www.ninjaproxy.com which worked perfectly for me. First time I logged in, it showed my registered product and was able to activate it immediately. Thanks for the idea of using a web proxy Nick!
For those of you who have trouble with one web proxy, such as vtunnel.com or ninjaproxy.com, try a good search for free web proxys, and try them out, to see if it lets you log in. I was finally successful after 3 days!
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I have to say I was skeptical about a faster SD changing the speed of the menus. I would have thought that menus were “built in” to internal memory and wasn’t something that needed to read the SD card to load. But then when I browsed the chip I saw how many files were there I thought it was worth a try. I can always use the new SD in other devices. If Navigon is promising a map upgrade for first quarter 2008, I will cross my fingers for a firmware update too. I think Navigon has a ways to go to beat TomTom. Loved the ease of use of the TomTom, but now that I have the 2100 I will give it some time. I can always pick up another TomTom if the 2100 doesn’t pan out.
After seeing on this site that Staples would have the Navigon for $99 (I had planned to go to Radio Shack for $149!) I got up Friday morning and made it to Staples at 5:15am. NEVER AGAIN! BF in Silicon Valley is just a zoo for anything tech. The Staples store is across the street from Fry’s, and next to a Home Depot… You can imagine -I had to park 1/4 mile away! At Staples, the line wrapped around the store. Apparently, the manager came out at 5:50am to give product cards out to the people in line – but being around the corner, I couldn’t see this. And he gave out unlimited cards. So, there were two enterprising teenagers that camped out all night (!) and got 8 cards for each major product. Then, they went back in the line and SOLD them! The kid told me that he sold one of the Navigon cards for $40! “The guy still saved $160.” was his rationale… When I got into the store at 6:10am, every GPS of any make was already accounted for….
Cable issues: It appears that the included power cable for the 2100 is a non-standard USB cable that is wired a bit differently than standard cables. This is why when using a standard USB cable, you get only the ‘computer connected’ display instead of the maps/navigation screens of the 2100. Other GPS’s, including Garmin and Mio also do this. Much is explained in a thread on gpspassion.com: http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=85198&whichpage=10 – scroll down about 7 messages to the one from “jonasolaf”.
gpspassion.com is a good website for GPS users. They even have a separate thread now for the Navigon 2100. It’s a very new model that started shipping in October, but the software is very similar to that of it’s big brother, the 7100. The 7100 threads in gpspassion have a lot of info that is also good for the 2100.
Andrew
San Diego
I forgot to add…
If you have one of the 110 AC to 12 adapters that has an automotive type 12 volt connector, you can bring the 2100 power cables into the house, plug that into the adapter, the adapter into a wall socket, and then the 2100 will operate just like in the car.
The TMC antenna is built into the power cable, so that will work inside the house also. At least mine does!
Andrew
San Diego
What’s everyone’s thought on Navigon’s POI? I tried to look for Best Buy, Home Depot on it with no luck. Does Navigon really did not have it or I just didn’t know how to use it? Thanks
Terry – I live in Michigan and have purchased the Navigon 2100. I would like to see the Canadian maps offered as an option for purchase or download for the Navigon 2100 users. It’s a shame to have a unit that works in Michigan and once we cross the border to Canada have for all practical purposes a non functional unit.
I am sure that there are many users who also live along the border states who would like this feature. So if there is any one from Navigon reading this please make this a priority….
Try unlocking your traffic codes now. It seems that they have reset their server or something – worked first try (after a long weekend of trying a lot)
It worked through IE with no issues.
HTH.
Did anyone get the Zagat upgrade? How do you like it and is it worth the $40. I don’t do too much traveling around the country so I might not need it other than a toy to play with.
I live in downtown chicago and it would be nice to have the names and numbers of local restaurants, etc – but only if it does something worthwhile.
Thanks.
I just bought the Navigon 2100T from Staples on Black Friday for $99. I was told by someone at the store that this model doesn’t usually come with the free traffic but the Black Friday shipment did
No problems activating it online, just some long complicated codes I had to write down…
I was just having a few issues with POIs… It doesn’t seem to be able to find anything I’m looking for without an address. I tried searching for Home Depot and it couldn’t find it and I tried searching for Staples and it couldn’t find that either… If I purchase the Zagat survey upgrade, would my GPS have more POIs? Also, I haven’t had anything come up with the traffic feature, even though I’ve been stuck in it a few times… Does anybody know if there’s a way to quickly change routes if there is traffic that the system won’t pick up?
THANK YOU!!!
If you were one of the lucky ones to get the 2100T from Staples or Radio Shack with the Free Lifetime Traffic on Black Friday…THIS IS ANOTHER KILLER FEATURE.
All in all, for $99, this is THE BEST GPS FOR THE MONEY!!!
-Sleek, Sexy, Thin, Mirror Black Finish, Very Solid Design
-Text to Speech Directions “Turn left on Main St.” NOT “Turn Left”
-”Reality View”;this rocks on highways with complex interchanges
-FREE TRAFFIC-you can ignore or reroute should unit find traffic problems
Again for 99 Bucks, nothing NOTHING touches this unit.
Happy Driving!
the 2100 is great, for those who have the 5100, how different is it, also what is lane assist feature? Does anyone know if there will be a charge for the new map update next year. If anyone has a TOM TOM, what is this help feature that they are advertising on TV (like roadside assistant)?
Thanks
Mr.TerryWhite,
Thanks for the simple , easy to understand review u posted.
I read this review on the night of the TG sale.
I was planning to go for the Garmin_c340 at circuitcity.
After this review, i changed the plan and went up to Staples to buy this (early bird).
Sad part is that this was sold online at 6am. My sister bought it without standing in the line….
To me this GPS is worth every penny (may be more).
It took abt 1-2seconds to locate while startup and all route recalculations are done within 3seconds approx.
If this product is durable and works for sometime, i think i will not even go for an upgrade for 1-2years.
Wa Wa,
Thot on POI.
I tried many POIs and the only really minor minor flaw i saw was that the POIs are not very updated.
Eg: There are some POIs which dont exist now and there are some POIs which are new.
BTW my POIs = restaurants
But , i really wont care abt this flaw as how many POIs could be closed or opened? isnt it?
Terry since you have both GPS (Garmin and Navigon), which do you feel preforms better? How do they compare?
Thanks
I activated my traffic feature yesterday, but I could not recieve any signal from any station, the icon is red. I live in Houston, and even ten minutes away from downtown it doesn’t work. Any help or ideas. Thanks.
Well,
I got the $99 deal at Staples too after waiting in line. Was the 5th person to get to the courtesy desk. Unfortunately my wife is holding out til Christmas to give me the unit. Hoping I will be able to activate the traffic at that time… and even more so, I need updates from all of you testing faster SD cards. If I need one in my stocking, a heads up would be great as to which one to get.
After 4 frustrating days, I have decided against the 2100. The systems has locked up on me, is frustratingly slow, and route is not the best. I love the instantaneous reactions of the Garmins compared to the Navigon, and also the rock-solid routing. Update: GPSMAGAZINE.com has given the big thumbs down to the 2100 and 5100!!!!
Hi Dan,
My personal preference is the Garmin over the Navigon. Keep in mind that the Garmin I use is the Nüvi 360 and costs 4 times as much as the Navigon (at $99 and twice as much at regular price). As with anything, both have their strengths and weaknesses. With my Garmin, I don’t have the traffic option. I don’t have the Reality view. However, for my big fingers, the buttons are easier to press and it is way more responsive than the Navigon (not that I feel that the Navigon is unacceptably slow.)
If you look back at the review, I was looking for a less than $200 GPS to give to my dad. He’s not in any hurry so the slowness won’t be a factor. The Navigon 2100 fits the bill. Since I was able to pick up a second one (and a TomTom One), my sister will be getting a Navigon too. I got the TomTom because I could and the price ended up being $104. I may still give that one to my dad instead of the Navigon because of the bigger fonts on the display. However, it lacks text-to-speech. So I’m torn. Opinions on the TomTom One?
After playing with the 2100, I will stick with my Garmin for now. It has bluetooth which is a big plus for me when I’m in rental cars as it becomes my bluetooth speakerphone as well as navigation when I’m on the road.
Funny… I’ve been all over GPSMagazine.com and see nothing on the 2100
Great review Terry! I bought the Navigon 2100T at Staples on BF. One of my icons in the top right hand corner is always red (middle). Does anyone else have this problem? I also wanted to know if anyone bought the ZAGAT Survey as Zack mentioned. Please let me know.
Thanks
Desi
Atlanta, Ga.
Well.. Its been a few days and a couple of trips using the Navigon 2100.
My honest opinion is that this is a great $99 GPS. It routes me to addresses, and locations just like a GPS does. It doesn’t have Bluetooth, MP3 player, Picture Viewer, Dishwasher, microwave or any of the other Non-GPS related tools.
I have a bluetooth headset that I use with my phone. I don’t expect a GPS to perform cell phone functions.
There is a lag. Now, there.. does that prove I personally own one? But, if you need to calculate a route in under .04 seconds, that your life is way too fast! I calculated a route from Charlotte, North Carolina to Tampa, Florida, and it took about 15 seconds. I don’t see where that is slow… but, everyone has their own experiences to chose from.
I’m a Senior UNIX System Administrator. I deal with large scale SUN/IBM/HP servers that have anywhere from 2 to 128 processors. I know what is fast, and hate a slow computer. But for a GPS, something that does a remarkable job giving me directions, I feel that calculating a route in 3 seconds, or 10 seconds is pretty good.
I have driven around town, and the routes have been good. I haven’t run into strange routes or anything like that.
The POI’s are a little scarce, and they could use a bunch more added to compete, but then again, I paid $99 for this GPS.. Not $200, not $300 and never would I even consider paying over $301 for a GPS that is only an electronic Map. Thats it. Its an Electronic Map. But, again, each to their own choices.. Mine is right for me, but I don’t expect it to be right for everyone.
Terry provided a great review of an inexpensive GPS/Navigation Unit. For someone that only needs GPS/Navigation assistance, I have found this to be the best deal of the season for those that got it at $99.
The Traffic Service is for the life of the Unit. It states it on the website, on the activiation card in the box, and on the sticker on the outside of the BlackFriday Units.
The http://www.navigon.com website has plenty of info on what/where/how.. Some people need to learn to use Google.com, Ask.com or look in the product box and see that it says the manual is online (saves printing costs), and even provides the URL of the website on the outside of the box.
Terry, I believe you have done a wonderful job of being objective in regards to your preferences, and the review of the unit. Please KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!
Just my .02 worth.
Byron “Navigon 2100 Owner” Y.
http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/11/cyber_monday_gps_deals_guide.php
Hi Desi,
I have traffic monitor icon in red all the time. I do not know why it can not recieve any station. I am going to call Navogon techsupport today. I already activated trafic feature, connected the charger whith antenna build in, but can not get it work. I will let you know if I find the reason of it.
Byron Y.—Very well put. I hope that the lag time issue is now dead. If you bought this unit for $99. inluding traffic, you got twice what you paid for.
For an extra $99 you can buy the Lifetime Traffic feature which is an antenna that plugs into the 2100 and a service that can automatically re-route you around traffic jams
How does the traffic feature work? You need a separate antenna?
Terry,
Based on your review I bought the 2100 and it found it had the same problem, a bad memory card. UNLIKE you however I have been trying to get an answer from customer service for A WEEK. They keep taking my number and telling me someone will call be back. When I talked to customer service today they said they were looking at a 1-2 day backlog of people to call. (He had no explanation of why no one had called me back yet.)
I also e-mailed them. On their site they say they will get back within a couple of hours, I have now waited 5 bussiness days (7 with the week end) with no response.
I still think it looks like a great unit for the price, but so far I am not at all impressed with the level of customer service.
— Mitch
I bought the 2100 on blk Friday. Got in line at Staples in Tarpon Springs, Florida @11:00pm on the 22nd. Was 5th in line. Went with family to wait for a laptop and ended up buying three 2100′s @ $99.00 each, that also includes lifetime traffic. I was visiting my sister in Pam Harbor from Charlotte, NC. On Saturday, I pulled it out of the box, hooked it up and entered ny home address. It calculated my route in 8 – 12 seconds, which I didn’t think was bad at all. I previously used a Dell Axim with the Dell GPS receiver. I very often had to perform a soft reset on it to get the bluetooth to work or to get the route to calculate. I have used this several times since the 24th and haven’t had a single problem. When entering text, you do need to slow down a bit and be deliberate as to what you’re entering, but I can deal with that for $99.00. The screen is sharp and it doesn’t have the multitude of colors that some of the others have, but I don’t really need the color. If I decide that I want color, I’ll buy one for > $99.00. I like the speed alerts and the fact that they can be changed, I like the voice commands, I like that it shows you the speed limit on major highways and interstates, I like that it displays the overhead signs on complex interchanges, I like that it shows you restaurant icons. For example, I see the golden arches where there is a McDonalds. I haven’t activated the traffic alerts yet, but intend to do that this evening. GPS magazine didn’t recommend the 2100. I believe it said it was difficult to use, or something like that. I found nothing difficult about it. I would recommend it and have recommended it to friends. I bought one for my partner and one for my mother.
Thanks Terry for your review of the 2100. When deciding between the TomTom One Third Edition and the Navigon 2100, your review helped me to make this decision. IT WAS ONLY $99.00 FOR CRYING OUTLOUD!
I bought it at Staples on BF. I love it so far. I do have one problem with mine. When it is plugged in with the car charger, the navigation will stop when the battery gets full and the unit shows graphics that indicate it is connected to a PC, which is not the case. I have to unplug it from the charger and use it on the battery. Tech support told me to reset the unit, which has not helped yet. I guess the problem is either software based or the plug has hardware issues. I’m not sure which and don’t yet know the answer to fixing this issue.
I bought this standing in line at Staples for 100 bucks. Great unit. POI is very scant, but traffic info more than compensates for it.
Is it possible to import the data (POIs) to a SD card from a 7100 unit and make it work on the 2100?
Is Zagat worth 40 bucks?
For those interested in the Zagat reviews, you can get them from buy.com for $19.99 and free shipping if you are not a google checkout customer and you sign up and use it for the purchase. (Price is $29.99 with free shipping but you get $10 off as a first time google checkout customer.) Not really for me since I live in Alabama and Zagat doesn’t even offer any reviews or ratings of anything in Alabama. For more info on what Zagat offers in your area, go to http://www.zagat.com and drop down the choose a location box. To me, even $20 is high for something that doesn’t add additional POI’s and only gives a review or rating of stuff in only 32 states. If you travel a lot to major cities and need to know ratings of different things, this may come in handy, but for me, it’s not. I think I’ll hold off on Zagat ratings for now. Below is the link to buy.com if anyone is interested. Hope the link works.
http://www.buy.com/prod/NAVIGON-ZAGAT-SURVEY-ACCSACTIVATION-SERVICE/q/loc/101/206216679.html
Hi Terry,
Your excellent review made me buy it, and I was really lucky to get one. To start with, I really loved the way it worked. BUT, it gives me one strange problem, which I found that no one has mentioned so far in the reviews/comments. The problem is, when I try to add a new address, sometimes, it did very easily save them, but at times, it gets stuck saying “Program memory too low” showing two options – “Mobile navigator 6″ and something else. Even though I try to select either of the options, it just remains stuck. I was not able to get a correct idea as to why is this happening. But yes, I have tried all features when it works, and I JUST LOVE IT for the price I got it. I tried calling the Customer Service, and they took my number saying that they would return my call in 24-48 hrs and ‘m just waiting for their call.
Anyone out here had a problem similar to mine? I am not sure if this is the problem with the memory card as it works great most of the times, except when I try to add a new address. I am scared if some night, I am away from the city ,and try finding the new address, and it would abandon me fetching it saying “Program memory too low” as it does now sometimes.
Terry, your thoughts on this ?
Yechwando, c’mon. GPSmag gave them both a big thumbs down??? “Not recommended. Has tons of navigation options, but the interface is way too complex, hard to use, and frustratingly slow.” Have you been reading anything written above? Anything??? There’s no way they are complex and don’t frustrate me at all. And slow? Yeah, there’s another 3.2 seconds of my life I’ll never get back.
10 minutes on GPSmag is all anyone needs to know they’re in bed with Garmin and TomTom (with limited reveiws of Mio, Magellan and a few others). Not ONE review on Navigon. What are they basing that above comments on? The fact that Navigon doesn’t pay them off?? Gimme a break. The editors at GPSmag oughta check this site out and rethink thier stupid comments.
For everyone else, I have an 85 mile trip tomorrow and have programmed the route into both a 2100 and a 5100, both fully charged and ready to go. (After finding 3 5100′s for $150.00 each, and finding a $50.00 rebate, I’m not sure yet which I’ll keep.)
This I can report so far: The 5100 (card)(which happens to BE a Sandisc-I haven’t checked my 2100 card yet) has USA & Canada maps, as well as the Zagat info on it, with the unit unlocked. Same goes for TMC, but since the 2100 came with it free, no difference. I should note, both cards contain both TMC and Zaget, but the Unlocked Zaget file on the 5100 is 13570 KB (which includes Canada) and on the 2100 is 13210, virtually the same. The 5100 card also contains Hawaii. The mount for the 5100 is slick looking, but I’m not sure yet that i prefer it. It is less adjustable.
Oops. I didn’t mean to submit yet. The TMC files seem the same.
Then I was going to mention the mount, which I was pushing when I accidently submitted. Slick is the correct phrase. It looks cool, but is less versitile. And I think I prefer the connect/disconnectability of the 2100 mount better. It’s easier. That being said, I believe in the long run, I’m going to attach HD some velcro (or the like)to the back of the unit I choose to keep. And here’s why. I NEED reading glasses. Therefore, it is imparitive for me, when driving, that I look DOWN at the gps, so I can look OVER my glasses to drive. If the gps is ON the windshield, this is not possible. For several months I have been using the Garmin 10 thru my smartphone, which is below the dash…never been a problem. ALSO, I prefer my gps outta sight. I’m not trying to impress anyone. Also, I don’t want to have to remove the gps everytime I stop, which I do alot with my job.
Though I have not yet tested it yet, I am intrigued by the headphone jack on the 5100. I’m curious to see if I can plug this into my auxillary jack (or if need be, through a cassette-cd player adaptor) in my vehicle. However, even if I can, I would not be willing to give up the radio to listen solely to my gps. But what else could it be plugged into?
The size of the 5100 is slightly larger than the 2100, but the screen is the same size…so…no advantage, and perhaps a disadvantage.
Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll report on my comparison tomorrow.
Does anyone know how to increase the speed of the simulation. Mine cruises at a snails pace of 22 mph. Even on the highway where the speed limit is 70 mph. Otherwise, great product.
I just got my 2100 and have really liked it so far. When I am in the process of adding a new destination, I a screen with the following information:
Program Memory is Low
Program memory is very low. You must select one task [remainder of sentence is cut off on right side of display]
the amount of program memory, if available.
(*) Mobile Navigator 6
( ) Convert some system memory to program memory [remainder of sentence is cut off on right side of display]
system control panel to adjust memory later.)
My only way out is to cycle the unit off and then on again.
I have not been able to find any information about this error on the web. Has anyone here experienced this?
Thanks.
I picked one up at staples on Black Fri. I can’t set my house adress as my home address. It seems the unit has maps for the part of town I live in, but does not have the address in the program for my area. When I plot a route is shows me to start about 4 miles from where I live on the other side of town. This is my first GPS. Shouldn’t it be able to use my address as the start of my trip? I called and was told new map updates in Jan of 2008. They did not discuss the problem and said I would receive a call in 24-48 hours. I am wondering if I need to take it back? or wait for new updates? Staples has a short return policy. Am I expecting too much with the address problem?
Zebes
I am not impressed with the 2100 and will be returning mine.
Destination entry is incredibly slow and buggy and the routing is convoluted. I’ve owned in car, a TomTom and and Nuvi.
I cannot understand how the Navigon is giving me such bad routing when they use the same navteq base maps as Nuvi and googlemaps. If Garmin and google can give me optimum routes why is Navigon giving me routes with more turns, taking me on and off the same highway?
The lag is maddening and it is clear the 2100 is overwhelmed with basic navigation. A frind has the the 5100 and there is no lag. I checked the specs. the 5100 has four times the Rom memory for the same screen and background software. It also has a better touch screen. I think that is the source of the problems.
Terry I don’t understand the raving about reality view which is nothing more than a gimmick. Gamin has “lane assist” which shows you which lane to take and which unlike the Navigon “Reality view” actually moves with your progress
The “reality view” is a STILL graphic. It hampers you by blockn the entire map view, shows no progress. Apparently the 2100 is the only Navigon unit that does not have the underlying “lane assist” which kicks in when you turn off reality view.
If you look at the main navigon forums located at gpspassion.com it seems almost everyone turns OFF the reality view after a week or so and uses lane assist. the lack of lane assist on the 2100 is a major missing feature.
I am sorry to say this review reads more like a a breathless press release.
i love this gps, i got 4 of them a couple of days ago during black friday. everything seems to be working well. however, i did realize that street names are not enunciated clearly and it is muffled at times. i guess its a small price to pay when you consider all of the other perks (mainly the price).
Gosh I’m tired of reading about the lag in this unit. I notice the lag, but its not a big deal .. its not a make it or break it deal. However, when I first plotted a route I got a completely screwy result. The 2100 had me go in a complete square around my house, up one block, turn right, up two blocks, turn right, go two blocks again (going right past my own street a block from my house), then another right — a complete square. Made no sense based on speed of the streets involved, number of lanes on the streets, none of them are highways vs. streets, etc. Just made no sense. This happened in both “Fast” and “Optimum” modes. Only way I could get a route that made any sense was to use “Shortest.”
Tonight I logged into the gpspassion website at http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=97186&whichpage=1 and made the changes to the XML file listed there. MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO ROUTING. (The forum is about 7100 modifications, but they seem to work for the 2100 as well). Now the Navigon, mapping the same route, has me turn left out of my driveway (correct), go up one block and turn LEFT (correct), one block up and turn right (correct). No more circling my house. They also have the answer for modifing the INI file that controls speed of the simulation. I changed mine from 1.0 to 3.0 (and might make it faster yet). With the modifications they had listed, this might now be a useable GPS for me.
After reading this review (before Thanksgiving) I planned to buy two 2100T’s at Staples both for my wife and to upgrade my three year old Garmin C330. On Black Friday I learned that Staples would only allow one purchase of each item so I got a Tom Tom One 3rd Edition as well as the 2100T. Over the weekend and yesterday I tested them side by side in my diesel pickup and company car. The 2100T is slow, slightly slower then my dial up at home compared to DSL at work but I manage to live with the “tap and wait”. However the old Garmin and the Tom Tom have displays and voice that are truly useable, the text on the 2100 is so small it seems ridiculous when placed beside the other units and the gray scales don’t compare with the color on the other units. The 2100 voice is scratchy and even with the volume turned up the voice directions are useless in my truck. Navigation routes are odd about 5% of the time but the other 95% it tracks with the other two units. I think Navigon released a half loaf with the 2100, lots of features but very little can be considered user friendly or well thought out. If you haven’t purchased one of these my advice would be to spend plenty of time with the store demo’s before making a purchase.
Zebes– I don’t know that it will help you out, but the Staples policy for Black Friday and pre-Christmas sales is that returns may be made up until early January, as listed at its website:
Holiday Returns: During the holiday season, we will be extending our regular 14–day electronic and furniture return policy to permit customers to return products that may be purchased as gifts. Any electronic or furniture product, which usually falls within the 14–day return policy, purchased between 11/23/07 and 12/24/07 may be returned until 1/6/08 or as regular policy allows, whichever is later. This applies to all electronic and furniture products within Staples® regularly posted 14–day return policy. All electronic and furniture purchases made on or after 12/25/07 will observe our existing return policy. All other terms and conditions of our return policy apply.
What is going on, Have any of you heard of these things that i found on the GpsPasSion website?
1. There are rumors posted on other forums that ‘all the units shipped to staples have corrupted cards.
2. The story that I overheard at the local Radio Shack this morning (between the head manager and a shopper who asked) was that the Navigon’s were “damaged in shipment”. The truth? Who knows….
3. Just returned from my local Radio Shack where I overheard that this particular unit was RECALLED.
These are what people are listingg on that site
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Page 2 and 3
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=96759&whichpage=3
MarkJon,
Yes, I did get that problem…and i just spoke with the Tech support guy wrt that problem, and he said it might just be a defective unit, and that might try exhchanging at the staples(which I cannot as I drove 80 miles to go to my nearest staples, and also , they do not have 2100 in stock for atleast another week) or else send them over the unit so they can repair it. Even for that, we need to wait for two weeks because they are still in the process of setting that process !!
I don’t know what to do…
I have to admit I am getting discouraged. Even after making the changes suggested at the GPSPassion website, the routes seem bizarre. I drove back and for from home to work twice last night (bad night, long story). My building is between Harrison & Webster, and Webster takes me through the tube to the island. However, my 2100 suggested I pass by Webster and take Broadway instead, then go up Broadway until I hit 9th and turn left and come BACK to Webster, then go through the tube. I assume it thought Broadway was “faster?” However, Webster is a 4 lane street, one way in the correct direction, and they both have the same number of stop lights. There is nothing gained by passing by Webster, travelling on Broadway and then coming back to Webster again. I know this unit was inexpensive, but I seem to be doing an awful lot of work to make it useable. Is anyone else having this much trouble with their routes?
Cjarcz,
Is there a way you can try to stick the 5100 SD card into your 2100T. Is there any errors with using the Canada Maps at all if you try this option? I’m trying to get Canada maps on the 2100, but thought this might work since they should in theory be the same application…
same as 2100t
can you use info on the 7100 sd card, in the 2100?
I used my Navigon 2100 with no hacks or tweeks today to route to a Doctors visit in uptown Charlotte NC from Fort Mill, SC.
During the trip, there are a few semi-complicated interchanges that Reality View (RV) showed me the correct lanes to be in. Once I identified the proper lane to be in, I touched the screen and the RV went away and my route was once again displayed. It was accurate and actually would be a nice feature for someone not familiar with the area.
I didn’t have any routing issues around Charlotte, or Fort Mill and the speed limits showed up as accurate and warned me when I exceeded them.
I have turned on all the features at once on this unit and am happy with the results. There are options that once I settle in with it, I will turn off, but right now, I want the full-blown feature list to be active to show me what it can do.
For my first Navigation Unit, I’m very content with it. I’ve been an avid user of Hand held GPS units for GeoCaching and marking natural locations for my photography. I have tried using my Magellan Platinum Hand Held GPS for driving navigation, and it didn’t work very well..
To also answer some others questions regarding using this for GeoCaching, I don’t believe that any Vehicle Navigation Unit will be an optimal tool for GeoCaching. You don’t have the ability to enter Coordinates like you do in a Handheld device.
Just another post of my complete like of this unit. I am happy with my purchase, and so far, have not regretted it.
Byron “Navigon 2100 Owner” Y.
The simulation speed and distance allowed to simulate can be increased:
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=97186&whichpage=1
The directions are for the 7100, but work fine on the 2100. You need to use a text editor to make the changes on the the SD card; the 2100 doesn’t allow those changes with its built-in editor.
I followed the directions and changed my “Speed” from 1 to 3 and increased the max distance as suggested. Now my simulator runs at better than 60mph (I timed it), even though the display still says 22. (There’s probably another setting for that.) I can also now simulate a route I had stored that is about 120 miles.
I have a Dell notebook, Inspiron 6000, that happens to have an SD slot, so I just slipped the card into the Dell. It will also apparently work directly on the 2100 using a USB cable. The first thing I did was make a copy of the entire SD card.
The gpspassion site is terrific.
SO’S THIS SITE, TERRY! Thanks.
DON’T FORGET TO RESET, after making changes to the card. Use a stylus or a paperclip or a ballpoint pen to hit the reset button on the left. At first, I didn’t reset, so the changes seemed not to work. 10 seconds of head scratching ensued.
On Sunday, I was sitting around peeking and poking around the menus to see what I could find. The best thing I found that day was that my usb cable for my Canon SLR digital camera works with the 2100.
I connected the unit to my laptop and began exploring the SD card and its contents. I have read so many things regarding the SD card being “Bad”, “Corrupted”, “Junk”, etc.. etc.. I decided that I was going to make a backup.
I burned a DVD ISO from the 2gb card to my laptop so in the event of a bad card, crash, or something horrible like that, I can restore quickly and correctly.
I would recommend that anybody that can, do this as soon as possible to give yourself a safety net in the event of a failure. This also gives you a chance to copy the image to a faster card in case you want to try that.
Good Luck!
i just got the 2100 i like it a lot i di dfind out the unit has POI 1.2
I like this unit a lot but for thr first time i had the fateal error it says mns66or something like that. whats up with that. do i need a to take it back.
2100T, I tried that (the 5100 card in the 2100 unit.) Wouldn’t boot up. But I’m gonna play around with some specific files tonight.
Has anyone found navigation errors – NOT map errors – but errors like this:
I travel under an underpass to get on a major highway, the map shows a cloverleaf entrance ramp on my right hand side (I use this entrance ramp every day).
Navigon 2100 tells me to MAKE A U-TURN SO I CAN GET ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE ENTRANCE RAMP!. It wants me to cross a 4 lane divided highway to get to the entrance ramp on the other side of the road! This is NOT a map error since the map clearly shows the ramp and arrows to go up the ramp. A cloverleaf coming off the highway is done correctly.
Also a city is incorrectly shown where it should not be. I checked with NAVITEQ (the map supplier). They have it correct – so it must be Navigon’s error.
New Naviteq map coming in first quarter of 2008. Not sure of the update policy. Check Navigon’s website FAQ’s. No reply yet from Navigon on above errors. Got an autoreply when I contacted Naviteq about the city being at the wrong location.
Arnold & NeitherFanBoy,
Thanks for the info and link to gpspassion.com regarding tweaking the simulation. I was able to access the recommended file through my usb. I tweaked my speed from 1 to 6, which computes to approximately 120 mph (which is what I wanted). If you’re simulating 10 miles, it now only take you 5 minutes, rather than 10 to simulate your route and the graphics are’nt blazing by you as fast as you would think. It’s a reasonable simulating speed.
Rectifying this problem has made me even more happier with this product. I haven’t had any activation, corruption or navigation problems (yet!) that everyone else has complained about.
I purchased my unit on BS not BF at Staples in Edmond, Oklahoma for $99 with the free lifetime traffic subscription. Unfortunately, the Oklahoma City area is not one of the covered areas.
Again thanks!
NeitherFanBoy,
First, that’s for your comments on here, they’ve tended to be the most informative and helpful. I too ended going for the BF sale deal. My father owns a Garmin Nuvi 350 that I helped him pick out when they were new to the market. Too bad I don’t have his budget! Regardless, I’ve used the Nuvi extensively and there’s a couple of ways to look at the predicaments with the 2100.
#1 We can always hold out hope that an update will remedy the crazy routing (which is the primary beef of most.) Masculine intuition, unfortunately, tells me it’s most likely something to do with the processor.
Tonight I tested my unit driving down a highway heading to a University. The way I would have routed it without GPS would have taken me 3 turns total and probably about 5mins. The way the 2100 routed me took about 10mins. (through a horribly bad part of town) and had me make *guessing* 10 turns?
Another way to look at it:
#2 We know this unit is buggy and will most likely never be efficient. So the pertinent question is……is it worth the $100 to get us somewhere we probably couldn’t find without an atlas or printed directions?
I’m still waiting to hear from tech, but I’m thinking they’ll confirm the unit has a major/non-updatable flaw.
Of course this is all speculation on my part, but I’m leaning towards hanging onto mine simply due to the price point and the fact that if I need a good unit, I can probably borrow the Nuvi.
Tinkering with the XML’s might hold some promise though…
So for most other people wondering what to do with their unit here’s my advice. If you need accuracy, you’re probably better off taking it back and saving up a little more money to get one of the low end Nuvi’s. If you’re like me and don’t mind a strange trip on occasion and typically give yourself some leeway time wise before needing to be at your destination, it’ll probably get you there……………eventually!
here yee here yee,
i have GREAT news
as pointed out by Nuclear Whale
where he tried to put a sandisk ultra to his gps which made it faster by 40-50%
i was curious and bought it for 25$ at staples(where i work)
transfered all the files from the old card to the new, took about less than an hr cuz the files totaled up to about 1.50+gb anyways, to my surprise, the gps was faster and nuclearwhale should get an award, i sugest anyone with this navigon should go out and spend 25$ on a new card to get this gps to go a bit faster, i hardly notticed the lag now,
p.s. the traffic feature is not working at all for me
I’ve noticed that after doing a touch screen calibration, it seems a little more responsive then before. It may be minimal but I think I think it’s a difference.
On the GPSPassion website yesterday, they posted the actual copies of the XML files they were using. Since I had already altered mine, and worried that there might be some differences between a 7100 file and an 2100 file, I didn’t copy that posted file to my 2100, but I did pull it up and compare mine and theirs side by side. I found a typo in mine which I changed to match theirs (Justin’s). On the way home from work last night, the Navigon chose a different route than the night before’s trip, and it was absolutely the correct one. It was exactly the same route that Google Maps chooses when I try that, and its actually the route I drive. I also downloaded/installed the POI Warner application to add POIs and then added a few. Between those two additions, I am much happier with this unit now than I was when it came out of the box.
I agree with you, doofaloofa, this unit may not be the most accurate, but I think with the tweaks to the xml file its better. I need to do some more testing before I will say the routing is “there,” if you know what I mean. But you are right, if you don’t know how to get someplace and you use this unit, you WILL get there, even if everyone once in a while you end up taking a slightly stranger route than is possible.
I wish I could say I have the same result as either Huy or Nuclear Whale on changing that SD card. I don’t know what version of the Sandisk Ultra they are using, but checking out specs online the Ultra II has a read/write of 9mb/10mb, and the Sandisk Extreme I am using has a read/write of 20mb/20mb .. much faster. And when I put swap the original SD and the Extreme back and forth, I am very hard pressed to even notice ANY difference in the lag time much less a 40 to 50% increase in speed (or decrease in lag, as the case may be).
With the tweaks, I think I am in the doofaloofa camp, I will hang onto the Navigon.
Regarding the traffic card….
Radio Shack told me I could exhange my unit for a new unit when their new shipment arrives on Friday (if there are any 2100s in the shipment). So I wondered if I didn’t need to deactivate the traffic card from my current unit. However, on the navigon website, there is no place to deactivate the unlock code. Knowing the results I get from their 1-877 number, I thought I’d ask around here first…. Perhaps someone has already exchanged one and gone through this process. Or do I just get Radio Shack to issue me another traffic card? (I assume the computer will not be set up to sell the traffic cards free this week.)
Regarding changing the voice, I found these text-to-speech files under G:\MN6\sound
Celine, Isabela, and Sarah. No idea who is the default voice is, but for those of you wondering how to change the voice, some config file references back to these directories I bet!
Dear NeitherFanBoy,
Would you let us know how to download and install the POI Warner application?
Thanks
Thanks for everyone in this blog. Especially for Terry White!!
About the voices: Sarah is English, Celine is French, Isabela is Spanish. You can tell from the names of the wave files in the floders. We now call our 2100 “Sarah.”
Sorry, “folders.”
Hey TG … I could type out the instructions for POI Warner, but I don’t know if I could do better than has already been written. This link should take you to the installation instructions on GPSPassion — http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=97250 The one thing I would point out, which someone else does on that website as well, is to have the latest version of Microsoft Activesync installed … the program uses some portion of it to sync the program down to your 2100.
Arnold … thanks for the folder info. I think what is meant is not to change the voice between Spanish, English or French, but to change the voice to someone else, ala TomTom. TomTom lets you choose the voice to use: Raul, Mickey, even John Cleese (although they charge for some of the voices). My guess is that since the 2100 does text-to-voice and the TomTom does not, it might be very file intensive to provide additional voices. BTW … I deleted the files for Celine & Isabella from my SD card to save space so I could add more POIs. Has not caused me a problem, and I assume it won’t unless I ask the 2100 to switch to Spanish or French, in which case it will yell at me. I have made all of my modifiations on a new SD card, so the original SD card is virgin (with its original files) and I can always go back if necessary.
Being that one of the complaints about the 2100 is that the volume of the text-to-speech is low, tonight I’m going to try to milk some more volume out of Sara’s wave files. Tomorrow I’ll be able to test the changes and I’ll post my findings. I tend to drive with my music really loud and there’s no way i can hear the announcements. Obviously boosting the files will lead to increased distortion, but it’s my hope that I can find a happy medium. If I’m successful I’ll try to make the volume boosted wave files available in the comming days, to those that would like them.
Last night, I ended up on an internationall version of Navigon’s website and it was quite reassuring. For their international units there were a multitude of updates! Hopefully the level of support for us here in the States will mirror their international efforts.
To address the lag issue which seems to be bothering so many of you out there, I set all of my options to a bare minimum (ex. 2D, no Reality View, minimal screen displays, etc.) Hopefully this will allow the processing power to be used where it is really needed. Sometime tomorrow I will post my findings.
NeitherFanBoy – Maybe you could post on here (as a beta version) a walk-through of how you explicitly made the changes that you’re having initial success with. The GPSPassion boards are really an overload of info for the newbies who (in my estimation) are most likely to have purchased this unit. It would be interesting if we could see how the “beta” version works throughout the US.
Anyone interested in being a “beta tester” needs to understand that by editing the XML files that they may actually DECREASE performance and effieciency of their units and that such actions are at-your-own-risk.
On a cheerier note, isn’t the suction cup awsome?
That thing is so sturdy when mounted.
So there ya go….I’ll post my findings tomorrow.
Let’s work together and get through the bugs, as a community and through factory updates we can do it, right?
PS. Thanks Terry, what an awsome job you’ve done!
NeitherFB
I must have missed something. From where are you getting the POIs you’re adding?
About the mount: the first time I attached the sticky-looks-like-a-coaster-thingy I unknowingly mounted it on a non-flat part of the dashboard. The thing bent just enough so the suction cup wouldn’t hold. I moved it to a flat spot; works better, but fell off a coupla times so far. Looking for a better “coaster-type-thingy.”
Changing the XML file is pretty easy. I put my SD in a card reader, then browsed to \MN6\Settings — the file you are looking for is named “ApplicationSettings.xml” I used Notedpad to open the file. The rest of these instructions are directly from Justin at GPSPassion (all credit to him) and I followed them EXACTLY: (If you are using your original SD card to make these changes, at LEAST copy the files off the SD to a safe spot on your hard drive in case you ever need to go back to them).
What you end up changing are some of the numbers between the pipes — the pipe is the character that looks like this: |
Scroll down until you find:
Car Normal
1
It’s important that you use the “Car Normal” profile (and NOT “Car Fast” or “Car Slow”!). It’s also important that you modify the appropriate “PreferenceFactor” (see below).
For US customers, use the following numbers:
1.179|1.134|1.0|1.0|0.71|0.65|0.6|0.4
0.7|0.594|0.475|0.62|0.578|0.3|0.266|0.171
1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0
75|65|42|41|41|26|20|15
115|105|89|75|70|62|45|35
And using the following values:
Fastest
0.18
1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0
1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0
1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0
_________
These changes (and there are not as many of them as it may appear — many of the numbers above are what you will already find in your original XML file only a few have been changed ) really seems to have made a difference in my routing. I can do a route with me new SD (with modified XML file) and then take out the SD and switch back to the original, plan the same route with the original SD and the 2100 will pick a different route. I’m not saying the new routing is perfect, but its way better than it was before.
Hey Arnold:
If you are using the “coaster” type thingy, it must mean you are not attaching it to your windshield but to the dash or some other area where the surface is not smooth, right? Is it possible that now that the coaster thingy (I have no better word for that) got bent, that its not perfectly flat and that’s why your suction cup falls off? I use one of those coaster thingys for the mount that holds my iPhone when I’m in the car, and its never fallen off in months of use. I put the 2100 directly on the window and that suction cup grips like crazy! If your coaster thingy is bent, I could perhaps send you mine … I am not using the one that came with my 2100.
As for POI’s, I did a google search on FREE POI — there are lots of sites that want you to subscribe and I didn’t want to pay extra. Some sites will let you download any POI except the traffic camera ones, those they want you to pay for. But I even found a collection of speed camera POIs for free and loaded that up. I guess in some states those are not legal, so the POI Warner program gives you a “Panic Button”– if you enable this, you press that dot on the screen and hold for 2 seconds and POI Warner will erase any POIs you have specified, including their files, so no trace of speed camera POIs would be found. I don’t know if they are legal here in Cal, but I am using them anyway! POI Warner will even warn you audibly when you approach one of those cameras! Excellent!
*Correction
The voice files in the 2100 are AAC format not Wave files.
Just in case anyone is interested.
Question
What format are the POI’s (their extention)?
For anyone looking for a free POI editor, I’ve used this for POI’s on a Garmin and it has worked well: http://www.poiedit.com/
The 2100 using asc POI files. I downloaded (free) the POIEditor from http://www.poiedit.com and have been successful converting Garmin POIs to asc and then putting them on the 2100. I did Oregon Waterfalls just yesterday which was a CSV file originally and POIEdit converted it to asc. I had to find a bmp to use for it as it wasn’t included, but I found a bunch of free POI icons and as long as you name the icon the same name as the asc file (exluding the extension) it pairs them up correctly.
Thanks guys! Glad I could help in some small way, but it is YOU and guys like NeitherFanboy, doofaloofa, NRC and others that have really been very helpful to this small community! Keep up the good work.
Thanks again Terry.
NeitherFanboy – I’m with you and Justin at GPSPassion up until:
*And using the following values:
Fastest
0.18
1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0
1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0
1.0|1.0|1.0|1.0
I don’t see where that is? Is that Fastest Car?
Regardless, I have my volume tweaks done (which may be unsuable when coupled with the tiny speaker on the 2100, but i’m going to test them now along with Justin’s .ZIP file for the ApplicationsSettings.xml for the 7100 he has posted over there.
I’ll post my findings shortly.
Then it’s onto real work (unfortunately.)
Hi Terri,
Thanks for the review , I got 2100T yesterday and I get similar error regarding map being not incompatible .
Do you remember the exact error message you were seeing and did you see any error code with the message?
I resetted the GPS and I see that the GPS turns ON and I can see Navigon image and the this error. However in subsequent ON and OFF without reset I directly get that error.
Any information on this is highly appreciated and if anyone in this forum had similar issue , request to share that here
Thanks
Speech files with increased volume are not working.
Will work on them further over the weekend.
The download for the XML file changes at http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=97186&whichpage=1
DO work, but on a short test drive it still tried to do some wacky re-routing.
If I’m not mistaken though the changes don’t effect the way the 2100 reroutes, but rather should contribute to the 1st route calculated being more efficient.
Using the least ammount of options does seem to make the unit more responsive (if only a little.)
My unit has stopped working. Completely. Called up Navigon and they said it happens. I am going to return it.
I was asleep in bed last night when the above comment was posted. Something is amiss here. My unit is working fine.
NeitherFB
Mounting on the windshield is too far away for my old eyes. There’s a place on my dashboard that is perfect: doesn’t interfere with vision of the road and requires little eye movement to get to. So, I may take you up on your thingy offer. I’m going to try some other things first. There may not be a useful (unbent) spot on my dashboard. A CD case is a good surface for the suction cup, but then I need to mount the CD case solidly.
An observation about spoken instructions:
Sarah announces an upcoming turn at the half mile and tenth miles points. If you turn onto a road, and there is less than a half mile to the next turn, you won’t be notified until the tenth. Seems to me that if I turn onto a road, and the next turn is less than half a mile, Sarah should tell me immediately the distance to the next turn. Hey Navigon: next software update…
Tery, NFB, A Rosner, doofaloofa, anyone else with info
Since we have mentioned updates(Maps, Software, POI’s) has anyone been able to get in touch with Navigon about this as far as WHEN and COSTAnd is the 2100 able to be updated? Which sites are people getting these POI’s from,and is it difficult to get them to function on the 2100, can these files be copied from the 5100,7100? Also i was fortunate to get 4 to give as gifts this year,(one for GF), Do yo feel that there is another brand out there not expensive( under 200) far me to give to her since she is more of the plug and go and POI search, does not care about update, since she leaves it to me for those things?
Thanks
Dan
Start here:
http://www.navigon.com/site/us/en/service_support/faq_center/447/2951
I can’t find the reference at the moment, but I read recently that Navigon is planning on map updates in the first quarter of next year. They were noncommital as to cost, if any, but did not rule it out.
Hi Terry and all,
Wow, some of you are real tech enabled. I, sad to say, am not. I don’t understand all you’re saying about XML and codes and such. : (
I received my 2100 today and so far I’m happy with it. I did register my traffic card and unit and had no trouble at all. I called customer service and talked to Simon. He was very nice. I was wondering how to set the date and time as I had to do that with my little Navigon – Pocket LOOX N100 (which they are not longer selling in the USA). He said it would set itself out on the road via satellite.
I also asked him about the POIs. He said that I would need to enter an address for (i.e. motel), but I thought the idea was I could just click where is the nearest one. He said that if I have chosen it in the Basic Settings, it would show it as I drive by it. I’m not too happy with that. I know on the Garmin we used, all you had to do was click the motel button and it would show you all the motels near you and you could choose one. He told me that this is an issue they are working on with a software update. They are setting up a “download” site at the beginning of the year sometime and there should be no cost to download the update. However, if we want new maps & etc., there would be a charge but he didn’t know how much that would be.
Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
DON”T BUY ON EBAY!
I bought mine on ebay and had the same problem with the memory card as Terry had. However, after waiting 12 days, they finally got back to me and said that they won’t fix it.
Even thought they know this is a common problem and they know it is new (it was just released in October) they said I was out of luck!
So, basically I have a $159 paperweight if any one wants it. I am going back to my Magellan.
Mitch…where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Terry, please e-mail me.
Terry
My original login seems to be blocked from posting (Arnold Rosner)
Cathy
First, go here:
http://www.navigon.com/site/us/en/service_support/download_center
and grab the manual for the 2100.
Simon and you did not communicate well. You CAN see points-of-interest and pick one from the map. However, Simon was right that you need to go to Options/Settings/POI, then pick the categories you want to turn on. It’s a cumbersome process, not at all intuitive, but it can be done.
THEN you can pick destinations by symbol on the map. HOWEVER, you must be in Preview Mode, not Navigation Mode to make selections. You gotta try this with the manual in front of you and learn how to do it before you get in the car.
Hey Mitch, if its the “bad SD” problem, you don’t have a $159 paperweight, you need a new card and the files that go on it — copying those files and sending them to you to put on the card would not violate any licensing, as you have purchased a Navigon and are a legitimate customer. Go buy a $25-$30 SD card and I am sure someone could zip up and send you the files to put on it, then you should have a functioning 2100.
Dan … for ease of use (with no extra tweaking as we are doing with the 2100) my recommendation would be to go with TomTom — although for every opinion there are probably a few hundred counter opinions. If you can snag the TomTom One LE at Best Buy for $149 that would be a good deal. I have the TomTom One in addition to the Navigon 2100 — TomTom One has bluetooth but does not include the ability to add map corrections from other users who note errors on the maps, while the TomTom One LE model can! It also includes 5 million POIs.
I just received my 5100 in the mail today (from office depot) and the little bit I’ve seen, I’ve liked. I did want to make one observation (did not see it mentioned above, so sorry if it has already been mentioned), since this was the reason I googled, and came to this site. I was concerned about there not being an A/C adaptor in the box to charge the unit in my house. But if you plug the unit into your USB port on a computer (with the unit off), it will charge. When I first plugged it in, the LED light on the bottom was orange/red, but after about an hour, it turned green.
Hope that helps someone!
Hi everyone .. I am trying to find out if the Navigon 2100 (US version) can be “upgraded” to include European maps? Is Navaigon selling these units at a cheaper price and the locking their systems? I can see on their International web site is offering “Western Europe” for E59.00. Is there a way to “unlock” the system. Otherwise, I will need to purchase a more “International” brand. (Ie: TOM TOM)
You will just need the european maps to operate the unit in europe. There is no unlocking to be done. With the appropriate maps, the unit should work anywhere in the world
Hi Plato .. thanks a million for responding. I know it seems that simple .. but, Navaigon is saying
“The 2100 was only designed for the 48 contiguous states. The only devices
that you can purchase european maps for would be the 5100 and the 7100 from
our international supports website.”
…. so, for those interested in purchasing European Maps – the manufacturer is stating otherwise.
Unless, there is a “techy” out there that can work around this issue. If you know how, let me know .. otherwise it’s going back to Staples
A. Rosner,
Thanks for the help. It does show a lot more POIs than I thought were in there. Simon at Navigon was at a new station yesterday when I called and was not fully functioning. He had asked someone else to help him with my question. He did apologize, but you all have been a great help to me.
I wanted to print the manual, but it’s 102 pages, so I guess I will just keep opening it when I have an issues, hopefully, I won’t be on the road when an issue comes up.
Today I called Navigon because my unit wouldn’t turn on at all. I tried pushing a pen into the reset hole, but that didn’t help so I called and talked to Brian at Navigon. He said everyone should be aware that you have to charge your new unit 6-8 hours on start up for the first time. That’s wonderful if you have a AC adapter, mine came with the car charger.
Anyway, he told me how to fix it. Basically, you hold the power button down for 15 seconds and let go and then hold it down for 6 seconds and the unit resets itself. It worked. He said if I could please put this on the blog it would save a lot of calls for them. He said to turn your unit off – hold the power button down for 6 seconds because if you just touch it to turn it off, it’s not off – it’s just on “save battery” mode. Then to turn it back on – hold the power button down for 6 seconds and up it comes.
So there you have it.
Hey Kim … what a disappointing response from Navigon. I can’t imagine that the 2100 is not capable of showing the European maps, just sounds as if Navigon is not intending to provide them for this model. And my guess would be that somewhere there is a line of code that tells the 2100 to look for a file called “us 48 contiguous states.map” so that the unit will only use that one map. Even if that line of code is accessible and can be edited — for instance if its in an easily edited XML file — few techies would be willing to do it as you would have to find a european map for which you have no license. Editing and XML file to improve the routes is one thing, but editing a line to try and make the unit read an unlicensed map, even if possible, would definitely violate licensing. It sounds like “back to Staples” to me.
Oops, let me amend that. If Navigon is selling the european maps on their site, then there probably IS a techie out there who will attempt to buy one and see if they can run it on the 2100. Even I, definitely not the king of techies, am tempted to try it just to see if I can do it — depending on how much the maps cost, since failure in being able to make it run would mean wasted money. Hmmmmmmm. Bears looking into.
Hi NeitherFanboy,
I am impressed .. you are all over this web site with responses! You are our hero!
Anyway, I agree, It does seem strange that Navigon sells a unit in the US (2100) , sells European maps (as downloads) through their web site .. yet, still swears that the 2 are not compatible. Isn’t it possible that they undercut their prices in Europe (E199.00) for this model, and they are trying to discourage their US customers from taking advantage of the BF prices? What’s your spin on this phenomenon? Surely, I am not the only American traveling to Europe frequently hoping to expand the unit.
I have posted amplified voice files for Sarah (US English voice.)
They are being shared free of charge now on Soulseek.
http://www.slsknet.org/
Hopefully this will be of assistance to anyone that is having difficulty hearing the native text-to-speech.
Included is a file with installation instructions, in hopes of easing any difficulties.
The files are amplified somewhere between 6-7db.
Audio distortion at this level is minimal.
Please note that this does not increase the volume of the street name that is spoken, but rather it increases the volume of the spoken directions.
(Ex. “Turn in 500 feet”)
Please search for the files using the following phrase:
Navigon – Amplified English Voice
The 5100 has maps of NA excluding Mexico (i.e. Canada, US including Puerto Rico). Not sure if Hawai and Alaska are included.
5100 also has lifetime traffic included out of the box and something called ‘Lane Assist” that is not on 2100.
After having Staples cancel my 2100T BF online order after 12 hours, I ordered 5100 and got it from radioshack on cyber monday for 229.99 (269.99- 50 rebate)
Hey Kim … no, its doofaloofa that is the start. LOVE the modified sound files for increased amplification! See, that was something that was actually productive rather than just a lot of talk like mine! Thanks doofaloofa. On the maps, I seriously suspect that the maps WOULD work in a 2100 model but am not sure of it. I looked at the site to check the price of buying one, but since I was a registered user of their website it would not allow me to browse there. If I register there, I would assume I would need to say I own a 7100 or 5100 or I would not be presented with the option of european maps. I could be completely wrong, but I suspect its as you have guessed, the maps would work but since Navigon is selling the 2100 here at such a low price (at least during BF) they don’t want you to load them. Am also pretty sure you’d either need to change a setting in a file to allow the 2100 to read the new map, or you’d have to rename the map itself. But they could have been far sneakier than that and made it impossible to do. But I am so intrigued now! LOL
I cannot believe how many typos there were in that email! doofaloofa is a STAR not a start. And I was NOT a registered user.
Thanks for the compliment NeitherFanboy.
I just got of the phone with tech. Hopefully we’ll all sleep better tonight. The tech assured me that the processor is not underpowered and that the route calculation will definitely improve with future software updates. If you think of the video game industry, the power of new consoles isn’t efficiently utilized until a few months into the product’s release. For now we can just think of our new friend Sarah as being slightly directionally impaired. She’ll get better
2100 owners should be able to at least get US/Canada maps once the Navigon website gets built up during the 1st quarter of 2008. Sorry I forgot to ask about Europe.
I suggested to tech that they graft a bell-like tone (attention tone) onto the voice files prior to them being spoken. Unfortunately, the volume limitation in the unit (the quitness) is most likely due to the speaker, so unfortunately future updates probably won’t increase the volume.
My schedule is really full for the next 2 weeks, but after that I might try redoing the voice files to include attention tones (or maybe even start from scratch to see if I can get an overall improvement.) Sometimes though I get obsessed about my tinkering, so who knows, maybe I’ll be back with some reworked voices before then.
If anyone is knowledgeable, do you know how to increase the volume of the street names to match my boosted directions?
That’s good news, I have really been counting on an update fixing the routes. They are just so screwy sometimes. Did you see the person on GPSPassion who posted that his Navigon routed him through ALL 4 parts of the cloverleaf?! Is it possible Navigon pushed this unit onto the market a little soon in order to take advantage of BF??
I wonder if “Sarah” had been slurring her words on the cloverleaf…hmm…
NeitherFanboy-
So still with the modded XML you’re still finding odd routes?
I wonder if “Sarah” was slurring her words on the cloverleaf, maybe the display was glassy?
hmm…
(Seriously though, I wonder if he was using the modded XML file)
Geez, reading that last entry, it looks like I’M the one slurring my words!
Has anyone else noticed the tiny little red, yellow, and green squares that could be mistaken for red lights, ‘cept they appear where no redlights are?
Yes, doofaloofa, I was using the modded XML file and still got the strange route. I posted the route for Justin, and he believes he can modify the file further to correct it. He rocks. I just downloaded the resource editor from the German website and am busily changing colors on my 2100. Mostly backgrounds and buttons so far, but its fun.
Posted some photos of my new, blue screens on my Navigon 2100 at the GPSPassion website here: http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=101866. I edited the battery icon and made it larger so I could see it better. I didn’t try to mess with any of the font sizes, although I now some people have. I turn off most of the extra information … I don’t need to see my speed or altitude, I have a speedometer and I don’t care how high I am (yes, I know how that sounds). During startup, I made the Navigon symbol blue, and it spins in blue, figured that would tip me off I as on the “blue skin” in case I do others. But then I noticed that smaller Navigon icon that spins when you are waiting for things blended in too much against blue backgrounds, so I made that red. So now with Justin’s route edits and doofaloofa’s amplified voice prompts, I’m really getting there.
I’m reading all the good comments and then I go further and see all the techy updates to make it better, etc. I want to buy this for my daughter who is NOT a techy, I can help at home, but she is going away to college. Is this unit still a good one for beginners?
How do you back up the entire SD card? When I attempt to backup the card my copy captures everything but the “autorunce navigation” file. When I load the card (Ultra 2.0) in the 2100 the startup screen displays but then the unit states “insert SD card”.
I attempted my backup by placing the SD card in a Dazzle card reader, selected EDIT – COPY ALL then COPY TO the folder I named on the hard drive. 3 files did copy.
I am sure I am missing something. Any assistance is appreciated.
debi,
This is definately an entry level GPS, and it is good to go right out of the box. But I ask myself if I would get it for my young college aged daughter. There are a couple variables I’d consider:
1. What communities will she be traveling between?
If I had a daughter and she was traveling through neighborhoods that I deemed unsafe, I would not buy her this GPS at this point in time. Sometimes this GPS can route you in less than optimally and I would not want her to spend more time in an unsafe community than necessary. The routing should improve with updates though.
Keep in mind that some people like figuring out how electronics work, but for the layperson the most you should have to do is plug a USB cable into the GPS and the home computer to update the software occasionally.
2. What does your budget allow?
If you’re on a tight budget, this will suffice. Actually there are some things that are nice about the unit and most issues should get resolved with forthcoming software updates.
~In my opinion, if you can afford the extra expense I’d buy my daughter something from the Nuvi line by Garmin. You can find some of their bare-bones models for under or around $200.00 now, and from my understanding they’re the industry leader. My father owns one which I’ve used and it is highly efficient. Recommended without hesitation.
I hope this is helpful, and all the best to your daughter in her academic persuits.
Tom,
Try opening the SD card on your computer, and copy them to a folder stored on the computer. I’m stumped as to why you didn’t have success. I’ve never used a card reader, so I can’t comment on that.
If you can, creating an ISO image and burning it to a disc would be a good way to go.
NeitherFanboy,
The pics of your new interface look really slick!
I think my next project is trying to figure out how to get custom POI’s loaded in…it seems like there’s conflicting information out there. Too bad there’s just not a file to drag and drop them in. How did you get yours in?
Hey guys, good work especially doofaloofa and NFB,
Couple of questions:
1) What programs are you using to modify icons? I am shooting for Photoshop.
2) How can we make buttons like options, volume icon, etc a little bit more transparent?
3) I have been trying to register onto GpsPassion website with my yahoo email address, but it’s not letting me. That website was very informative.
So far, I’ve not been having any problems with routes given to me, but I keep comparing 2100′s with mapquest. So, I will try out the modification made in xml file if routes are odd.
Can anyone tell me where I could get maps with Europe for that unit? Is that possible. I am planning to buy this unit, and use it in Poland. Please help! Thanks.
Not sure if this will go through or not. I bought the 2100 last week. Had to take my car in for service. somehow lost the suction mounting bracket. Navigon doesn’t sell nor can I find anywhere else. Anyone have any suggestions? Help. Thanks.
Addy –
I haven’t done any of those things yet, I apologize for my ignorance. NeitherFanboy may be able to help, he’s down in the trenches.
Joanna – On the blog here there’s been speculation about if we’d be able to use other maps. I’d either call Navigon and talk with a tech, or look at another company where availability of Europe maps aren’t in question (Navigon IS more established in the European market than they are here in the states.
Bonnie – I’d call the company, if they’re the type of people I want to give my business to, they should take care of you. (I still have 5 days to decide if I’m keeping mine. Please post what you find out, customer service is important to me, I’m interested to hear what they offer as a solution.
Doofaloofa – Becoming less useful day-by-day!
Cathy
You may have missed this, but you can charge the 2100 from your computer if you have a USB cable that fits the unit. Cameras and other devices come with th right cable, so you may already have one.
Also, your cellphone charger may fit.
It’s the weekend. Time to try some of the tweaks. Looks like I have a new hobby…
Hi All:
Addy — I could not register on GPSPassion with a yahoo account, I had to use my work one. I think they don’t like yahoo mail accounts? I used Corel’s Paint Shop Pro XI to edit the png’s that makeup buttons, etc., but I know Photoshop can do it to. I used the “colorize” option, as instead of changing it to one solid color, it takes into account shading on the original and shades accordingly in the new color. I have not tried to increase transparency yet, but am going to look at that today and keep working on my skin. I have few problems with routes here in town if I use the “shortest” option. If I change to “Fastest” its really hinky. Shortest would be fine here and about, but I know that if you drive any distance, and get outside the city, it can give you some odd routes because it tries to base the route on distance rather than speed.
Tom — the problem may be that your SD card is physically damaged .. its a bad card. If that is the case, then when you try to backup the files, it will copy all the ones it can read, but miss the ones it cannot read …. bad. From your earlier post stating that it did not copy the AutorunCE file, it may be that the AutorunCE file is where the car is bad, and it cannot be read. Have you contacted Navigon? I thought they were sending replacement cards to customers who had the bad card? There are ways around it if you want to get around it, but I’d be rather annoyed at my new GPS if I had to “get around” the problem.
Debi — my two cents? I think this GPS *may* get to the point where I would recommend it for my daughter, but not at this point. I would be a little concerned about its strange routing. They may change that with an update soon, but at this point it would worry me. I have no experience with the Nuvi, my experience previously is TomTom and Magellan. I would not be worried to use this GPS myself, and I’ll hang on to my while updates occur, but I just don’t think I would be comfortable giving it to my kid.
Doofaloofa — I did not have too much trouble getting the POIs onto the 2100 using POI Warner. It did require me to update the Activesync software, then twice it failed to sync. On the third try it rebooted find. Now that the POI Warner software is on the 2100, I just copy the POI file (an asc file) and a png file named the same as the asc file, to the correct directory on the 2100 and POI Warner incorporates them. Of course, now I wish I had bought a fast 4 GIG SD card rather than a fast 2 GIG, but I am not out of room yet.
Thanks….Big help!! Staples has a new sale starting tomorrow and the price is $149.99.
Hi,
Just purchased this for my son for a Christmas present. He has an older vehicle and the cigarette lighter does not work. Will he be able to use this? If I purchase the wall charging unit will that prevent him from having to plug it into the cigarette lighter?
I just used my 2100. I just went to Bellflower from Santa Monica (New to this Sate). It was pretty cool. It gave me alerts to accidents that just happened on the 405. Gave me another route pretty cool!
Any Canadian who owns a Canadian 2100 or 2120 with North American maps ? and who is willing to make a copy of the maps and post them ?
OK,
I have been reading quitely in the shadows about the mods for the 2100…
Here is the question of the day.
Can someone make these changes easy and accessible for those of us who don’t know what we are doing.
I am particularlly interested in:
Routing improvements (can you make if find lake shore drive…and use it??)
The coloring of the appropriate display stuff (satalite green when connected)
the new POI database that everyone seems to like…warner?
I know there are other things but these are what come to mind.
Would someone put their neck on the line and just post the entire contents of their modified SD card so we can download it…It is only two gigs and could be e-mailed easily.
My e-mail is:
Zacksudler@aol.com
Please send it if you feel comfortable.
Thank you.
Some of the stuff could be sent, Zack, but the POI Warner is a seperate program that runs in conjunction with the Navigon … its registered to the person who purchased it. You would need to buy that in order to use it. It would be easy to send everything else .. the files already modified and everything.
Chris … yes, the Navigon can be charged up on a wall charger and then you can use it in the car just on its internal battery. I am not sure from the specs how long the battery will last, so I am not sure how long your trip can take. Any chance you are handy enough to wire a cigarette lighter accessory onto the fuse box of the car?
NeitherFanBoy, thanks for the reply. This time I tried to copy the files directly from the Navigon to the hard drive and to an SD card (instead of using the Dazzle USB drive). The copy to my hard drive appears to have worked. Now when I try to copy back out to the USB card everything goes great until I have “18 minutes” left to copy the map file. I recieve an I/O device error. The copy process back to the card is through the Dazzle. Should I be copying onto the SD card through my Navigon? I am afraid to try it because I don’t want to mess something up (like my traffic registration.)
So, I guess the question is, should we copy the SD card to the hard drive while it is installed in the Navigon and should I copy the new SD card from the hard drive while it is installed in the Navigon?
Thanks again for your help.
Tom: I have done it both ways. Here at the house I have a card reader, but at work I just use a USB cable connected directly to the Navigon. I have copied all of the files from the Navigon to my work computer, then worked on the XML file and sent it back to the Navigon directly, so I don’t think it will be a problem for you to do so. At least it would rule out the Dazzle reader being part of the problem.
If anyone is interested in making your 2100 show a little more color, I posted the blue skin I worked on to the GPSPassion website, it can be downloaded here: http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=101866&whichpage=2
Chris,
To use the Live Traffic you must have the car charger plugged into the Navigon. It also cantains the antenna for the FM receiver. The spec’s say the internal batteries should last about 3.5 hours, but still uses some power in the standby mode. That may get your son to an unfamiliar location but may not get him out of that area if he were there very long. I’d fix the power outlet in the car or don’t buy it.
As for my unit, it’s going back to the store. I used it for fifteen minutes then tried to change the destination. The display wasn’t keeping up with my input then frooze for three days. I tried every reset on/off combination and left it on for several hours before it cleared. This unit needs more patience and tweaking than I care for.
Thanks for all the input from everyone on this blog.
Marv
Staples’ Dec. 2-8 sales ad offers the Navigon 2100 for $149.99, a savings of $100.
Boy, Navigon really needs to re-write the manual on the 2100, it has some contradictory information. For instance regarding the Traffic feature working without the power cord attached, in the Traffic section of the manual it says:
Note: The charger cable does not need to be connected to the vehicle’s cigarette
lighter for the antenna to be operational.
Which would make me think I *could* use the Traffic feature even if the unit is not plugged into power. But in the very next note it says:
Note: Without the antenna, TMC messages may not be received when the device is
operating on battery power only.
I think Marv, and the second note, are correct, as I have never received any traffic warnings untless the unit was plugged into the cigarette lighter. Maybe they mean the GPS antenna doe not require the charger? Who knows.
No matter which GPS you go with, I’d wire a cigarette lighter into the car, its not difficult to do.
Tery, NFB, A Rosner, doofaloofa, anyone else
Check this site out for POI’s not sure how good it is, just a shot. It’s called POI Plaza.
http://www.poiplaza.com/en/poi-databases?pc_id=49&lang=en
But how do we install on 2100?
Any having problems with code to unlock traffic feature, contacted navigon they have not responded yet, can a code form someone else be used?
I’m having problems with the copy/drag to new SD card
Just checked site more, you still have to use POI Warner for these POI’s
NeitherFanBoyon, as to the traffic alerts and the power cord:
my understanding is that the power cord acts like an antenna. While the unit may receive traffic alerts without it, reception is improved with it (and traffic alerts also may not be possible without it, depending on reception). I don’t bellieve that the power cord needd to be plugged in for any of this.
I am thinking of buying a 2100 Navigon, Please tell me if I can add canadian Maps to the sd card
doofaloofa – is there any other way to get your amplified Sarah files other than SoulSeek? I’ve been trying and not sure why I can’t seem to find them. Maybe a BitTorrent? Thanks!
For those having trouble backing up your SD card, I think I found my problem when using a card reader. My Dazzle card reader is about 3 years old and apparently doesn’t support cards greater than 1GB. As a result, about 2/3 of the way through the map file back up I receive an “I/O Card Reader Error”. The fix seems to be an up-to-date card reader.
Fanboy,
The antenna for the TMC is in the car charging cable itself. I can confirm that the cable while being plugged into the unit itself does need power for the traffic feature to work.
Everyone else with questions,
The Gpspassion site is full of tweaks, hacks and answers to european map questions. Use the search feature and type in Navigon to find all of the forum listings (7100, 5100, 2100) because as stated by others, the 7100 tweaks apply to the 2100 as well.
AbuQaslim … Canadian maps are not yet available for the 2100. There are rumors that Navigon might release the Canadian ones for the 2100 later, but I would not count on it until I see it.
When i turn on 2100 it takes good few minutes to get the GPS signal although I have anchored it on the windshield. Is there any way to decrease this time period? It is very anoying to see that you have already driven a mile and your GPS is not even activated.
Can some one place the modified data in one place for :
1) Route Improvement
2) Change of Color
3) POI
It will make our life easy who does not understand the complexity of these programs.
Can cell phone charger for Motorola Razor will work for 2100 as home charger ?
Thanks for the great discussion and input.
A. Rosner,
Thanks again.
Okay, I managed to change my 3D arrow from the the orange arrow/circle to a tiny little car. I used Speed Racer’s Mach 5 — found a toy car of it, photographed it and turned it into an PNG, copied it over to the Navigon. I think its a hoot! If you want to see waht it looks like, go here to view it: http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=101866&whichpage=4 It was fairly easy to do, so you could about any little car image you care to use.
As unsettleing as it is, instead of a car I’ll replace the arrow to a picture of my face.
Talk about creepy!
Eeek!
Doofaloofa. Good news, just found my windshield mount. Did talk to Navigon Customer Service but they don’t sell this separately. Have tried the 2100 all weekend and think I might keep. Instructions weren’t very good but figured most out after working with it. Thanks.
Thanks for the review! My Dad’s gonna love it!
bonnie
Full manual can be found here:
http://www.navigon.com/site/us/en/service_support/download_center
Hey Kim,
I was able to load European maps on to 2100 with a little tweaking and I was able to get directions (turn by turn – tried this for two addresses between Germany and London). Obviously I wasnt able to check on the navigation sitting in the US, but I am 99% confident that this would work even in Europe. I am due to travel end of this month and should know for sure by then
GD: I have the Motorola Razr and use the charger for my 2100 and it works great. Navigon doesn’t tell you this but they should include it in the sale if they want you to use theirs. Hope this helps.
Can’t get the traffic to work with my 2100. I plug charger into cigarette lighter and I still get the red icon up on the top right. I loaded it and seemed like it was done correctly. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.
I have the same problem with the traffic for more than a week. It doesn’t work at all. I talk to Navigon 3 times, they call back to me twice, there were no help. Now it is under Navigon’s investigation. They said it takes 2-3 weeks. Looks like they do not know what to do.
If you’re changing files, graphics, tweaks, or otherwise…
There’s half a gig or so on the chip in its original configuration. I’ve replaced a couple of the files for better routing and such. Instead of removing the old files, I just renamed them (using the USB connector and my computer) and left them on the chip. Easy to revert if I think it’s necessary. (Of course I have a full backup of all the original chip data.)
I grabbed the better routing xml file and today I got some pretty strange routing. Don’t know if the original would have been better or not. I may be doing the same route next week, so I’ll try it. Sarah recovers very quickly if you ignore her directions. At one point last week, after taking my own route and ignoring several of Sarah’s commands, my wife and I got a big laugh. Sarah said “Make a U-turn NOW!” (We didn’t, and she recovered right away.)
Hey, NeitherFB, can you do a bright red PT Cruiser?
Bonnie, Depending on what state and city you live in depends on whether or not the traffic will work.
Anyone Else, do anyone think if I was to download the software from a 5100, will it work on my 2100?
So for the first time I find myself REALLY disgusted with the 2100!
I’ve made custom POI’s before for my father’s Garmin and it’s a breeze.
From what I understand, if I want to create the POI’s on my computer (as opposed to typing them in on the unit) I need to get both ActiveSync AND POI-Warner.
Now ActiveSync can’t find my GPS, and I have to purchase POI-Warner?
Can’t you just import POI’s by either dragging and dropping or by using POI Edit?
I looked how much they wanted for POI-Warner and converted the price from Euros.
I’m so perplexed, they want crazy cash for POI-Warner.
Uggh!
What’s up Terry,
I bought the Navigon 2100 because I like it, and decided to look for reviews on it and run across you blog. I don’t know that version of software everyone else is using but I think the text is awesome and very big to began with, the version and model info listed below.
Navigon 2100
Version: 6.5 – build-38
CE Version: R00-U-0914
Program: 071001-1442
I purchase the unit yesterday 02Nov07 and was very impressed right off at bat.
The feature I like best is the ability to save a current position and recall it at anytime as a route.
awesoem reveiw.
What’s up Terry,
I bought the Navigon 2100 because I like it, and decided to look for reviews on it and run across you blog. I don’t know that version of software everyone else is using but I think the text is awesome and very big to began with, the version and model info listed below.
Navigon 2100
Version: 6.5 – build-38
CE Version: R00-U-0914
Program: 071001-1442
I purchase the unit yesterday 02Nov07 and was very impressed right off at bat.
The feature I like best is the ability to save a current position and recall it at anytime as a route.
awesome reveiw.
If I have this right I find no way to create POIs through the Navigon at all. I did spring for POI-Warner … did I get the exchange rate wrong, looked like $32 and some change? Mostly I got POI-Warner for the Speed & Stoplight camera POI’s and its ability to warn me when I am approaching them. ActiveSync could not find my Navigon either, but when I ran the install program for POI-Warner, it managed to find the Navigon and install itself to the SD card (I think it must use some portion of ActiveSync to do so and that’s why its required?) Now when I want to add a POI, I either record it to POI-Warner, or I can drag the POI to the POI folder for POI-Warner … once the Navigon is connected to the PC, its seen as a hard drive so I don’t need ActiveSync to add the POIs themselves, I can drag and drop them. But all of that is dependant on having POI-Warner — went through the manual end to end and saw no way to add them otherwise.
NeitherFanboy
Check out this link to PoiEdit in regards to the price of POI-Warner.
http://www.poiedit.com/compatibility.htm
Navigon is listed at the bottom (be sure to look at the far right block) Before I ran across this page, I used a currency converter and came up with a similar figure. I hope you’re right my friend.
If we need to shell out for a POI-creator and then buy map updates (as speculation goes) come 1st quarter 2008, we’ll quickly move away from our “bargain” price.
From the company’s perspective, selling the 2100 at such a low price-point was a brilliant marketing decision if it opens up a recuring revenue stream (selling map updates.)
Today I took my longest trip yet (to an extremely rural area. It routed me home in a sensible way, but the school was not listed in the POI’s nor could the physical address be programed in, so it was useless in helping me find my destination. I had to borrow my father’s GPS to get there. Once I got there, I saved the location in the Navigon and then used it to route me home, thankfully the route was acceptable.
Unfortunately I’m really starting to get the heebie-jeebies about all of this.
Trying to find a public school that’s been there since the 1960′s and having it not listed in the POI’s, coupled with not being able to get it to accept the address when manually programed…that’s poor. Then to top it off, the prospect of possibly having to pay for map updates is just flat-out daunting.
Thankfully it did route me home sensibly, if it hadn’t, I might have had to stop at a pond and seen how many times I could have skipped it.
doofaloofa — I am right with you. Changing colors and pointers and the intro has all been just fun playing, the routes are what concern me the most. However, its hard for me to tell yet. If I try and route from here to work with the Navigon, using shortest route, it is correct. When I try the same thing on the TomTom One, it can’t find a street called Harrison in Oakland, California. Impossible! Then when I ask the TomTom to find intersections of 20th Street, 20th & Harrison is listed. How can TomTom find an intersection for a street it says doesn’t exist? I haven’t seen enough routes with the Navigon to know for sure how “bad” the problem is, and still hopeful that Navigon will release a FREE update. Having to pay for a map updates would probably make me look for another GPS.
And regarding POI-Warner, I have my invoice, and it shows 43.8678 total in US (witn VAT tax included), so that’s not too bad. With the current Navigon configuration, I would rather put ALL of my POI’s in POI-Warner and NOT in the Navigon, otherwise I have two sets of POI’s to search, the Navigon can’t search the POI-Warner POIs and POI-Warner cannot search Navigons. But if I import every type of POI I ever wanted into POI-Warner, and turn OFF all of the Navigon ones, I can always search through POI-Warner, and then click on “Route to Dest.” and it sends the route to the Navigon. I have only tried it a couple of times so far, so I need to do more searching, but so far it might be a decent workaround. Just don’t know how well it searches yet. It warns well, but I need to do some searching.
A Rosner
What’s your take on all of this?
To keep, or not to keep?
NeitherFanboy
I saw in BestBuy’s flyer on Sunday they have the Nuvi 200 for $200.
If I need to drop basically $50 to do my POI’s, and whatever on map updates…
What would I lose/what would I gain?
Losses: Included traffic and text-to-speech.
Gains: A reliable system and free map updates and easily accessible POI’s.
I live outside of the major metro areas that have traffic coverage, so that’s moot.
If I go into an area that has traffic coverage it’s after rush hour (at least for now.)
In my opinion, text-to-speech is sort of fluf, nice when 2 streets are close together.
Maybe I’ll be cheerier tomorrow, but right now I want to get this cursed thing back to Staples B4 Thursday!
Now if I could only get my 2 1/2hrs. of line-standing time back…
If corporate is reading this (which you can only assume) it might be a good time to interject.
Oh, I completely understand. My roommate bought this Navigon and then was unhappy that it did not have Puerto Rico in the US Maps. So I let him take my TomTom One and I kept the Navigon. I have a 15 minute commute to work that involves about 3 streets, so traffic is not particularly useful for me. And when I saw how the Navigon routed, I was so unhappy I asked about getting the receipt so I could return it and use the money torwards another TomTom (although the descriptions of the Nuvi sound tempting). But the roommate chucked the receipt so I don’t have much hope of returning it. I will hang on to it and play with it, and if they come out with an update and want to charge money for it the Navigon will go into a drawer and I will move on to something else. And if corporate is reading, they definitely should improve (a) the routing, and (b) the ability for users to add their own POIs and those be searchable by the 2100.
doofa, et al
For $150, I’m keeping Sarah. I bought a Chevy, not a Cadillac; I know that. So the routing isn’t perfect, and there is a slight delay entering info. The maps are seemingly as up-to-date as any GPS. How up-to-date are the folding maps I carry around, anyway? I’ll be willing to pay a few dollars for map updates next year. (I owned the first moving-map GPS – for airplanes – in the mid 90′s. I had to update every 56 DAYS.) The 2100 is an amazing value.
I’ll agree that Sarah (2100) does some stupid things, like covering a piece of the display with interstate signs, and hiding the letters I’m entering for POIs. And can anybody figure out how to change the symbols from those useless – to English-speakers – ones? Maybe a hyphen, or ampersand, or underscore. And there are some bugs in the software that cause an occasional crash. Kind of like…what is that…oh, yeah: Windows CE. Whaddaya know: it IS Windows CE.
So, before I leave home, I check Google Earth for some idea of where I’m going, and then let Sarah show me the moving maps. I don’t always tell her my destination, so she can’t make mistakes: just show me where I am, and what streets are around.
The tweaks I’m finding here are certainly adding to the value. For the price, I wasn’t expecting a full-featured unit. I think I’m getting my money’s worth.
Personally I think Sarah is great, I have used it for about a week and a half and there is a couple of POI that were off but what I did was, I went to NAVTEQ’s website (the company that creates and edits the maps for ALL GPS companies) and filled in a form stating that they had a address wrong. I got an email back a few hours later stating that they will investigate it and include it in their next map release. Don’t be so quick to blame Navigon.
Does anyone know where I can purchase the Navigon 2120 software? I currently have the 2100 which everyone knows comes with only the US 48 states, I want the 2120 in which I was told was only sold in Canada. I also spoke with Navigon and they said that the service activation code you type in determines what maps are unlocked
Hey Andy I had the same problem that you are having. I went into route profile settings and change it to consider traffic information. Are there any red icons on your screen? If traffic icon is red traffic will not display. I use the car charger and all my icon goes to grey background. Once I choose the traffic icon, it takes about a minute or 2 to give up-to date traffic info. Hope that helps
Desi
Yessss!!! Arnold Rosner, you are my hero! My unit froze up tonight (leaving me to deal with a traffic jam on my own) but aside from that I’ve been pretty happy with it since getting it at Staples on Black Friday. Have been Googling like mad to try to find the fix (it’s not in the manual or on the other forums and couldn’t find the little product insert.) All of the other forums had me believing that I’d received a defective one, but I felt SURE there had to be a fix–tried holding down the on/off, removing the card, etc. Based on using PDAs, I thought there MUST be some kind of Reset button but I must be getting old–could not find it till Arnold clearly described where it was to be found. Thank you, Arnold! And thank YOU, Terry, for this great website.
Hey doofa, I hope you log in here again. I get never get the amplified spx files from Soul Seek, would love to get a hold of them. Any chance?
Got the 2100 from Shop NBC for 209 with traffic for life. Could never get it to work, couldn’t get customer service. Found 2100 at Staples for $149 without traffic feature so am going to return the one to NBC since it doesn’t work for me.
A Rosner – Thanks for your take on the whole thing.
NeitherFanboy – I’m just really swamped right now.
I’ll leave SoulSeek on today for you.
Search for navigon – amplified english voice
NeitherFanboy, could you share your tweak on SoulSeek since you’re using it?
IM me on there and we can add each other to our user lists.
Plato
I have paid for the europe map I need from the internetional site and have been trying download them using navigon fresh. No luck yet. I have also called the internation tech site and them are working on a solution. I am real interested on how you were able to load them. I leave for europe in a week and don’t want to hunt for another gps.
Hey, thanks A LOT for doing this review. I found it on google when searching for navigon 2100 vs tomtom. Anyhow, this unit is on sale at staples.com for $159.99 with a $10 instant coupon. HOWEVER the company I work for orders from staples regularly so we get a $30 off coupon for $150 purchase about every other month. Since, you can’t combine coupons, I deleted the $10 instant coupon from the cart and added the $30 off coupon instead. My FINAL price was only $140.71 ($10.72 was sales tax) how awesome is that. I have another $30 off coupon too, I might order a 2nd one of these for my brother. This one is for my Dad. I can’t wait to get it hands on so I can see for myself about its functionality and see if it will be too sluggish for him to use… I think it will probably be fine since he’s the kind of guy that would set and drive, not try to set while driving.
I got Sarah on November 23, Black Friday, from Radio shack. They didn’t have what was needed for the traffic feature. They STILL don’t, and have given me a FOURTH date to wait for. Anybody else have this issue?
(You’re welcome, Bridges.)
Hi there, based on my experience with the Navigon 2100 unit for about two weeks, I wasn’t satisfied with this unit, as I tested it, it keeps on telling me to make two left turns after i get on a major parkway in New York which is weired, and it’s very slow in recalculating the route after making few wrong turns on purpose, I’ve also bought a new SD Extreme III card, but it didn’t make a difference, so I took the unit to staples this evening and got my money back. So I’ll be hunting for a better unit.
Hey Mo — Lots of discussion about routing issues on the boards. There are tweaks that can be applied to improve the routing — makes it better, but not as accurate as Google maps yet — hoping for either more tweaks or an update from Navigon. I don’t believe the faster cards improve performance — possibly the card reader built into the Navigon 2100 can’t take advantage of the faster card (kind of like putting a USB 2.0 device in a USB 1 connection — works, but doesn’t take advantage of the faster speed). After applying some color changes, I ran all the PNGs through PNGOutWin to optimize them (makes the file size smaller) and I think the 2100 is running a little zippier now — others have reported the same, so maybe its not just the placebo effect.
Finally got through to Customer Service at Navigon. They weren’t able to help with my problem of not being able to get the traffic feature on my 2100. Said they were referring to a supervisor. Anyone have any luck with this? Still getting the red icon up by the battery status box and the icon showing the satellite in right upper corner. Tried using with the cigarette adapter but still no luck. Any suggestions would be appreciated, otherwise I’m returning this one and keeping the one from Staples with no traffic feature. Thanks.
doofaloofa – by the time I figured out how to put you user name into SoulSeek it showed you had logged off. I did manage to get the files, thanks. The tweak I have that you want me to post in Soulseek is the modified XML for routing, or the modified resource file for colored buttons, backgrounds, etc.?
Hi Bonnie,
I had the same problem with traffic. I exchenged my navigon at Fry’s and the new one works perfect. Trafic is always on. My opinion that your unit ca not recieve any FM signal. Check if you can change the station. I could not with my first unit.
Good luck.
Hi, Andy. Thanks for info. How do I check to see if it gets FM or if I can change station? Not real tech-oriented so forgive me. Thanks again.
Andy,P.S. Does the traffic feature alert when you go over a certain speed? Thanks.
Bonnie: Speed warnings are not a function of the Traffic option, but of the main GPS whether you have the Traffic add-on or not. You can find them from the main screen by pressing Options, Settings, Basic Settings, then on screen 4 of 7 you will find “Warnings within urban areas” and “Warnings outside urban areas.” Each of them have options for warning you when you are travelling a certain MPH above the speed limit.
Has anyone heard about OMNITECH gps, seen any reviews, it is also at Staples. As u know i have the 2100, working with the delay but no complaints. Doofaloofa with the downloaded file for volume file do u replace. NeitherFanBoy,, as you stated in gpsforum with the file to replace the arrow to the car, do u just add the file there or do you replace a file?
Thanks
Again Has anyone heard of or seen any reviews for the OMNITECH GPS at Staples
Dan – you have to replace the car files with your new ones as the interface does not have a function for switching between more than one set. Be sure to backup your existing files first in case you want to switch back.
Hi Bonnie,
To check if you can change a station, you have be in a map view, go to options-traffic-options-TMC Settings and try to push right or left arrows button to change frequency. My first (defective) unit did not let me make any changes offrequency . The new one (that works good) change it. There is no any traffic alerts when you are speeding, it is a different feature. It does not relate to traffic service. Look at NeitherFanBoy’s message.
Good luck.
Just got my 2100 and am impressed.. Having had a couple of Garmin units I did not know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. Powered right up, quick sat discovery, etc.
Shop NBC had these on sale last week and that is wherew I saw it. The price grabbed me, but then they offered a $30. rebate and a FREE lifetime traffic activation. I got the whole thing for $160.
Good deal and SNBC sold out!
One minor glitch I had was that I could not read the code on the back of the scratch off card so I could activate the traffic feature. I called their support number, was connected to a polite english speaking (and easy to understand) service rep. We solved the problem within five minutes.
I recommend the unit!
Dan –
I tend not to keep my computer on if I’m not using it.
I’ll leave it on for a bit today if you want to get those voice files.
I typed out instructions on how to install them, I think they’re pretty clear.
Make sure to back up your old files though incase you want to reinstall them.
If anyone else is interested in them, just post on here and I’ll try leaving it up.
NeitherFanboy –
HAHAHA, yea I saw you got the files and promptly shut SoulSeek down.
I did try browsing your files, and it gave me an error (probably ya didn’t have anything posted yet.) I was hoping if you had all your tweaks in one folder, I could maybe just grab them all and weed out what I didn’t need. If ya don’t mind doing that, just let me know what you name the file so I can search for it. I ended up deciding to keep mine. Hopefully map updates won’t be too expensive, and I figured I don’t really need the POI-Warner at this stage.
I’m kinda stumped though, I have a favorite campsite that I can’t program in the 2100, I have the Lat/Long but there’s no option to save a location based on Lat,/Long. that I can see unless you’re physically there. There’s no address to use because it’s way out in the sticks. Hmmm.
Hi Doola, glad to see you are still one of the Navigon family! New info in the GPSPassion forum shows that you can make at least one edit to the POI ability, you can change the settings for “Nearby Search” to extend the distance the unit searches from where you are to the POI. I’ll copy all the tweaks I have, the xml’s and the other skins, to one folder and it will be up tomorrow (I’m not at work today).
I just received the Navigon 2100 and it was DOA. I called customer support and quickly reached a human–a nice surprise. However, surprise #2 not very good. As of this writing, there is no department set up to handle returns or repairs. When I asked when they thought things would be up and running, I was told that they were working on it and it should be ready “in the near future”. That was reassuring, at least they are feeling optimistic. I, on the other hand, not so much and will be returning the GPS to my place of purchase. I’m not sure what I’ll buy as a replacement, but you can bet the company will have a repair/ return department that is “up and running.”
Plato,
If you are still around I need your help in getting Europe maps for my 2100. Leaving in four days and I really like this GPS. Mine is working great. The more I use it the more I like it.
Andy, thanks for the info. Somehow or other my traffic started working today. I wish I could understand all the things you guys are talking about to change settings in the computer to make this a better unit but I’m lucky to get it working I guess. Anyway,thanks again.
bonnie: if you are happy with the routes the 2100 is finding for you, I’d leave it as is. But if you are finding strange routes I’d install the modified XML file. Its as easy as dragging and dropping your existing file to a folder on your hard drive then dragging and dropping the modified one on your 2100. Changing “skins” in order to get other colors is just as easy, copy one file up to save it, then copy one back down. Restart the 2100 and you have new colors.
Hi Terry great review. What exactly did your unit show at start up that made you believe you had a faulty card? I believe I am experiencing the same issue.
Thank you very much,
Tim Marra
It seems that the traffic only works if you plug in the cig adapter BEFORE powering-on the unit. I suspect there’s prob. a check in the firmware/software to see if power is connected. The antenna for the traffic prob. sucks up a lot of power, so they put this into the software. If there’s no power connected at startup, the traffic is disabled. I tried this once w/o plugging in the unit. Traffic icon stayed red. Shutdown the unit (hold for 6secs vs standby mode), plugged in the power, restarted, and voila, the indicator went immediately gray, even while the GPS indicator was still red.
On a side note, tried backing up the maps/files to a micro-SD card, but upon putting in into the 2100, I got the “Card Error” and “Please insert the SD Card.”. Going to go buy a new SD card to see if that solves the problem. Wanna start tweaking. At least turning the icons from gray to green.
Hi Tim, I don’t remember the exact error, but it was something like the “map data was invalid or couldn’t be read”. I seem to remember the error was pretty clear to me at the time that I either had the wrong maps or they couldn’t be read off the card.
I have a question…could you please tell me if the Navigon 2100 is a better unit than the TomTom One 3rd? I want to get my husband a gps but I was going to get the 2100, he is researching theTomTom. I can’t tell him because it’s for Christmas! Thanks
CD — that’s really good info, and answers a question for me. I usually turn my 2100 on immediately, before I have even gotten to the car, so that it has time to get a GPS lock before I head out. Then when I get to the car, I put it in the holder and then plug in the power cord, and I NEVER get traffic alerts. I will try only turning it on after I have plugged it into power, that may solve it. Thanks.
I’ve had TomTom on 2 different PDA’s, and then the TomTom One (the “original” rather than the 3rd Ed.) and now the Navigon 2100. So far I still prefer the TomTom to the Navigon, but saying which one is definitely “better” is difficult.
My order was cancelled by staples on BF eventhough I have the confirmation in hand; waste of time dealing with staples, what a bate and switch. But, I bought it afterward without the special sale. So far everything is good about Navigon 2100, but it is sooo slow. comparing to my garmin and mio. I hope changing a better SD Card will help. Most of the time I use the gps on the go, if you have to enter the address at home before heading out, then it is better not using it for safety. Just use google map, make a note, or print out directions, view all routes that you want to take, and out you go. when you are on the go, in a unfamiliar area, I am not talking about saving a minute or two, I am talking about how responsive this thing can get me out of that place. When you are talking to some on the other end over the phone, ‘give me one second’, it is not a second, and they are not going wait all day to for you enter the address. Besides, slowliness, the voice is so distorded. I can’t hear what it is mumbling about. leave it low, you can’t hear, pump it up, it is useless. If someone has a way the change the voice and hope for the best. Those are two things that make me think of not keeping it. I will probably use the old gps if the navigon does not serve me any better. the only thing I need is the text to speach, but think about it, if you are driving at night, you can’t read the street names, so the distance in feet does the job itself.
Gonna throw in my $.015 worth after playing with the 2100 for a week or so now…
Overall, I think this is a good item given what it’s intended to do… that being a GPS unit that will give you dir