Nokia's first standalone GPS navigator has some key design flaws
Nokia's first standalone GPS navigator is a quality device, but it's let down by a few design flaws that compromise the overall package.
 Nokia 330: Finnish before it even begun? |
The problem with Nokia's first GPS navigator (Nokia 330) is that the in-car mounting arm is too long and therefore magnifies normal road vibration to the point where the device's screen is vibrating so much in front of your eyes you can't easily follow the display. We asked Nokia if it planned to replace the flexible mounting stalk with a more traditional one with a shorter, more rigid stem, and got a disappointing standard line about it being the first they'd heard of it, and they'd continue to monitor customer feedback, yaddi yadda.
Its $649 price also gave us pause, given you can get a functionally similar TomTom ONE for $449. Again, Nokia gave us a waffly line about Nokia being a trusted brand, and also having an inbuilt music and video player, but it's hard to get excited about the latter features when the only charger available for it is a car charger - no A/C charger is available, and you can't charge it by USB either. Also, you can't use the MP3 player while navigating, which seems a bit daft. And then there's the complete lack of any mobile phone connectivity including handsfree calling - er hello, Nokia?
Complaints aside, the unit works really well - better than we expected for a first gen device. It's based on Windows CE 5.0 and runs the Route 66 navigation software. If you're a purist who refuses to pay money to Telstra, you'll be pleased to know it uses Navteq Australia-wide maps- not the Telstra Sensis ones you'll find in most devices. The data is stored on a 512MB mini-SD card.
The touch sensitive display is very responsive, which is important if you're using the device while driving (the lower-end Navmans suffer from rather unresponsive touchscreens, while the TomToms are all responsive) and there are some dedicated hardware buttons on the right hand side that assist with returning to the home screen and navigating menus.
We found the unit was quick to lock on to the satellite signal, and while recalculating new routes after a missed turn wasn't as fast as some of the market leading devices, it was fast enough to redirect us before we missed the second turn!
The screen is bright and clear, and audio volume is loud enough to be heard even over a noisier motor (it also has a headphone port which could be handy if your car stereo has line-in). In terms of unit size and weight, it's about average for a flash-based navigator. It's not as compact as the TomTom ONE, but it's still small enough to fit in a shirt pocket (if you don't mind looking like a ‘pack a day' man and having your shirt hang lopsided).
It's a shame to see such a fundamentally good device marred by the accessory shortcomings mentioned at the start of the review. Our verdict? Wait for a refreshed version addressing these issues before buying.
 Bouncy mount: you can't really see the long mounting stalk here, but it allows too much vibration to travel to the device, causing it to move excessively in front of your eyes. |