Cobra NavOne 4500

When we reviewed the Cobra NavOne 3000 last year, we liked what we saw but thought the unit was heavy and expensive. It also lacked a touch screen. However, someone at Cobra must have done their homework, because the company's latest in-car GPS unit, the Cobra NavOne 4500 ($999), addresses most of our gripes--and then some. It's the first portable in-car GPS device we've seen to create two routes to your destination so that you can pick the best one for yourself, and it also offers real-time traffic updates. There are, of course, a couple of hiccups such as sluggish route calculation, but overall, the NavOne 4500 is a winner.Housed in an elegant black casing with silver trim and buttons, the Cobra NavOne 4500 blends seamlessly into most car interiors. The unit is large (4.17 by 6.45 by 2.28 inches) and heavy (1.28 pounds), but the 5-inch TFT color touch screen and built-in map drive make it all worthwhile. The backlit display has a 320x240-pixel resolution, and it's bright and easy to read, even in direct sunlight. The touch screen is also very responsive. The use of large, colorful icons makes it easy to navigate through the menu system, where you can create routes, select points of interest (POI), customize settings, and enter commands and addresses via the onscreen keyboard.

Five oversized function buttons located to the right of the display are used to power up the unit, enter the main-menu page, adjust volume settings, activate map zooming, and repeat spoken-voice prompts. An antenna is built into the top bezel, and there's a port on the rear for connecting an optional external antenna. Other connections include a USB port for hooking up to a PC (cable not included), a port for attaching a traffic receiver, and a 12-volt power jack. A 12-volt adapter and a traffic receiver are included in the box, along with an owner's manual and a traffic-receiver extender. You also get a telescoping suction-cup mount that lets you attach the unit to your windshield and share it with multiple vehicles. The mounting device is fairly sturdy, but because the unit is heavy, it's a good idea to position it so that the dashboard will help support its weight.

The Cobra NavOne 4500 is loaded with all of the latest and greatest GPS features, including built-in street maps of the United States and Canada, voice- and text-guided driving directions in three languages, automatic routing, and speed alerts. You can view maps in 2D or 3D (bird's-eye) mode or get the lay of the land in terrain mode. Off-road enthusiasts will love the bread-crumb feature that leaves a dotted-line trail of areas traveled, making it easy to return to marked roadways. Along the top of the screen are status indicators that display your compass heading, your distance to and the direction of the next turn, the ETA to your destination, the map-zoom level, and the GPS signal strength.

Drivers can create routes using the POI database (there are more than 7 million of them) and the customizable address book, or they can enter city and street names via the onscreen keyboard. The NavOne 4500 is the first GPS system we've seen that actually calculates two routes and lets you compare them before selecting one, a great feature for travelers who may want to take in some local scenery along their journey. As with many of today's in-car GPS systems, you can choose to avoid toll roads or freeways and calculate routes based on fastest travel time or shortest distance. The unit will also recalculate your route if you decide to take a detour or wander off course. Other standard features include an odometer, a trip timer, a speedometer, and a compass.

Hide Review