The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet
Entered CNET Catalog: 01/19/2006
SKU: FINEDRIVE400
Manufacturer: Fine Digital
Manufacturer description
Your FineDrive 400 comes pre-loaded with a complete detailed map of the 48 Contiguous United States and Canada . There's no need to download additional data. Touch the screen to enter an address or select from nearly 2 million points of interest (POI) and let your FineDrive guide you there. Unique on-screen icons show the location of restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and more on the map. Simply touch an icon to quickly route to any location. Lightweight and truly portable, your FineDrive 400 goes wherever you go, from your personal vehicle to your business car, to your recreational vehicle.Product summary
The good: The map display on the FineDigital FineDrive 400 is fairly flexible, offering a 3D view and customizable icons. Maps of North America are preloaded, and the unit includes an MP3 player.
The bad: The MP3 player on the FineDigital FineDrive 400 cannot be used with the navigation; the points-of-interest database is weak on shopping information; cold start-up time is lengthy; the unit sometimes shows a substantial difference between perceived and actual location; directions aren't always accurate.
The bottom line: The FineDigital FineDrive 400 is inferior to lower-priced navigation units. With its innaccurate route guidance and slow start-up times, it will just end up annoying users.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 06/02/2006
With its basic design and features and its subpar performance, the FineDigital FineDrive 400 is an example of the proliferation of portable GPS navigation devices made possible by the mass production of GPS chips and LCD screens. The unit consists of a 4-inch color touch screen set in a plastic case, with ports for power, USB, and audio out, as well as an SD card slot. Along with mapping and navigation, it includes 2 million points of interest (POI) in its database and a built-in MP3 player. However, its lack of batteries means it can't be used out of the car.
It comes with preloaded with maps of the United States and Canada, and it can play MP3s off separate SD cards. The MP3 player and navigation cannot be used at the same time. Satellite acquisition can take 20 minutes or more from a cold start, and its positioning isn't pinpoint accurate. We noticed a substantial difference between where it thought we were and our actual location. Route calculation isn't particularly fast, and one jumble of freeway junctions caused it to route us off the freeway, then right back on. It does have a 3D-view mode, which some people might prefer, and it gives adequate warnings for upcoming turns.
The FineDigital FineDrive 400 is pricier ($699) than more feature-rich GPS devices, such as the Magellan RoadMate 2200T. It may have been impressive a couple of years ago, but it falls short of the current state of the art.
The FineDigital FineDrive 400 has a serviceable form factor, with its 4-inch color touch screen wrapped in a relatively wide bezel. Two buttons on the left side of the bezel zoom in and out, while two others on the right side open up a navigation and system menu. The unit measures 5.16 by 3.52 by 1.05 inches. Ports for power, USB, and audio out are located on the bottom edge, while an SD card slot sits on the right side. We were disappointed by the lack of an exterior volume dial; instead, you adjust the volume onscreen. Unlike most portable nav systems where the antenna is integrated into the device, the FineDrive requires you to plug the GPS antenna into the back of the unit. The antenna is a fixed, plastic fin that juts out but doesn't get in the way when the device is mounted on its clamp; however, it makes storage difficult. It's also annoying that you can't turn on the device unless it's plugged into your car's cigarette adapter. It'd be really useful if you could use it outside of the car, so you could enter in all your trip information at home, then just plug it into your car and go.The software interface uses a home screen with icons for navigation, the MP3 player, setup, and shutdown. The navigation function has its own menu, with icons for destination input, route options, display options, and GPS info. The icons are large and easy to activate using the touch screen. The destination icon leads to a submenu with six options, from addresses to points of interest to recent locations. Although there are deeper levels of submenus, a Back button aids navigation.
The map display itself isn't fancy, but it works. In daytime mode, it shows the road you're on in red, other roads in white, and surrounding terrain in tan. A strip at the bottom displays the name of the street you're on, which is very useful. The nighttime setting uses a blue background and gray roads. As with the volume, you adjust brightness through a submenu, though we would've preferred to access it via an external dial.
The box for the FineDrive 400 contains everything needed to use the device right away. Beyond the unit itself, it comes with a GPS antenna, a power cord that plugs into a 12-volt supply, a strong, plastic adjustable clamp with a suction cup on one end suitable for attaching to windshields, and documentation. The instructions suggest leaving the antenna plugged in after it's first installed.
The FineDigital FineDrive 400 does two things: navigate and play MP3s but not simultaneously. The MP3 player reads files copied onto an SD card. It has the usual play, pause, forward, and reverse controls, and it displays ID3-tag information in its interface. The controls are big and easy to use, but there's no way to easily navigate folders and files. The MP3 player can output its sound to a car stereo via either its minijack or through its built-in FM transmitter.For navigation, the FineDrive 400 comes preloaded with maps of the 48 contiguous United States and Canada. The map display is fairly flexible. It can be set to show a 2D or 3D view, and the heading can be oriented north or in the direction the unit is traveling. The map can show POI icons, which can be customized by category. There's also trip information at the bottom of the screen, including trip time, remaining distance, and speed (it will also alert you if you go over the speed limit). An options menu lets users choose quick or short routes on major or local roads. Ferries, toll roads, and roads with carpool lanes can all be excluded or included. There's also a detour function if you want to avoid a certain part of the prescribed route.
The FineDrive 400 offers a number of options for destination entry. The address-entry option lets you start by first picking a city or street using a touch-screen keyboard. Unfortunately, the keyboard doesn't have predictive entry, so all letters are active at all times, making it easy to fumble and hit the wrong key. At least the keyboard is fairly spacious. After each letter or number is entered, the list of streets or cities displayed shows only the remaining possibilities. Because the touch area for each list item is small, selecting from the list requires a deft hand.
The FineDrive 400's database of more than 2 million POI includes categories for restaurants, emergency services, lodgings, and recreation. Although it has useful items such ATMs and gas stations, we found its shopping category (a subcategory under Business) lacking. It covered only major shopping centers and missed individual stores, making it completely unsuitable for spur-of-the-moment errands.
It saves a list of recent destinations, so it's simple to find preprogrammed spots, and it includes a favorites menu, a good place to store frequently visited locations. There's also a Home icon, where you can enter your home address and quickly navigate to it with the press of a button.
We found route guidance on the FineDigital FineDrive 400 to be rough. Its voice guidance gets too chatty in areas with lots of freeway junctions, piping up with often unnecessary instructions every 30 seconds. It also nags when it gets off route, commanding the driver to take the first legal U-turn as soon as it senses it's not on a prescribed road. More refined units quietly recalculate the route and give the driver the best way to get back on track. The voice guidance can call out freeway or highway numbers but not street names.The FineDrive isn't particularly accurate, either. A few times, we crossed an intersection before the map caught up with our location, indicating that we should have turned. It gets very difficult to use in areas with lots of closely spaced intersections. Plus, when we veered off course to test the unit's route recalculation skills, it failed miserably. At one point, the FineDrive had us driving in complete circles.
One screen shows latitude and longitude, plus how many satellites it has acquired (it needs 12 to fix its location). From a cold start, the FineDrive 400 took an excruciating 25 minutes to acquire a signal, which was incredibly frustrating. Even worse, the acquisition time didn't get any faster until a few days after we'd gotten the device. Fortunately, we didn't have to be at our destination at a particular time, but this kind of delay would certainly affect the trip time. Route calculation time is adequate.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45out of 45 user reviews
GREAT GPS FOR ANY PRICE
Pros: Fast, reliable. and large screen.
Cons: Slow initial satalite pick-up, hard to locate updates.
out of 45 user reviews
can not get updates, tom tom has it all over this unit
Pros: just the screen it is bigger
Cons: can't get updates
out of 45 user reviews
I also disagree with the low ratings
Pros: startup less than 1 minute. very clear voice. good price
Cons: some maping is out of date
easy operation has served us well without any problems!
never fails to get us where were going!
out of 45 user reviews
works great for me!
Pros: Gets me where I want to go.
Cons: Error gong scares me to death!!!
out of 45 user reviews
Decent Low Budget GPS Unit
Pros: 3D View, View of Satelites Tracking, Builtin Antenna
Cons: Not touchscreen friendly, long startup time
out of 45 user reviews
very disappointed lost sound after only 2 months
Pros: easy to use routes well marked
Cons: lost sound after 2 months
out of 45 user reviews
My FineDrive 400 lost all its memory. SD card is blank "Poor"
Pros: Worked great for 1 & 1/2 years
Cons: Cannot contact the Manufacturer for help assistance, did they vanish off the face of the earth ?
I have submitted a note to FineDigital but they do not return a response.
out of 45 user reviews
easy to use
Pros: helpful while driving
Cons: no techical support available
Think another brand might be better - just to be able to talked to a Techical Support person would be helpful.
out of 45 user reviews
great, but no updates
Pros: easy to use
Cons: says updated version, version is 2005 with no updates,
out of 45 user reviews
Superior GPS System at a great price!
Pros: Large screen, Great Price, Accurate maps, Easy to Use
Cons: Response can be a little slow sometimes causing you to miss a turn
out of 45 user reviews
No Techsupport available
Pros: Not sure what it is as it never worked
Cons: FineDrive never worked
out of 45 user reviews
BUYDIG.COM Charegs 10% fee even on the DEFECTS!!!!
Pros: 4 inch screen, looks cool...but
Cons: I could not use this GPS because the unit was incapable of receiving signal.
out of 45 user reviews
Went Brain-Dead after one Month and No Tech Support
Pros: Great display, always readable, mostly accurate. Mounts easily and well. Quick access of satellites.
Cons: No tech support - you're on your own.
out of 45 user reviews
noboby answering
Pros: there is none
Cons: there alot.....
out of 45 user reviews
Stop working in 2 weeks
Pros: easy to find all restaurants and stores nearby
Cons: bad quality
It might be able to work again after turned off and cooled down but won't last long. out of 45 user reviews
takes forever to find a signal or give me directions
Pros: Compared to the Mio no Pros
Cons: no battery must be used in the car with a cigarette lighter
out of 45 user reviews
Fine Drive Must not of Paid CNET's editors
Pros: EASY, Large screen, great directions.
Cons: No auto shut off
out of 45 user reviews
Light, sporty and Good
Pros: Units weight and looks and features
Cons: takes a little time to get GPS signal
I have not had any problems.
See this reviewer real review for the dirt on this item:
http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/finedigital_finedrive_m300_gps
As for directions, it Navque maps, the best in the business. What is he talking about. I did my homework before buying.
Perhaps this reviewer has some other reasons to poorly rate this product.
out of 45 user reviews
C-NET is Spot On! This thing is ANNOYING
Pros: Excellent interface, Easy to Use, Seems very accurate
Cons: Takes FOREVER to find Satellite
I know some of you will say I don't know what I'm doing, but then you can't deny this next negative...
I drive two miles to work from my home and back each day. I've also taken short trips to the store or a friends house this last week, but for every single ride, my unit has not been able to find the GPS signal. I have tried reseting the unit a million times, but no luck. I don't know if the problem has to do with the fact I live in a rural area (although I don't see how that's a problem-it's a satellite after all)or perhaps the problem is linked with the fact that my house is in a new area that is not on any maps. The one time my unit worked, it said I was off-road but correctly showed my location then froze up (apparently losing signal).
BOTTOM LINE: The one long trip I tested this on was successful, despite an annoyance that could be my misunderstanding. However, I've taken at least ten shorter trips without ever receiving a GPS signal and thus was not able to find places I was looking for. VERY ANNOYING.
I will change my review if my opinion changes after further use.
I really want to like this thing. The interface is perfect -it's easy to use. But the limits in its functionality defeat the purpose!
So I gave it another try on a long trip (3hrs from Ohio to Bloomington, IN). It took 25min to find the satellite when we left (it's a good thing I brought my own directions). When it kicked in it was working very well. When I made a wrong turn ignoring the directions, it rerouted my route but in the process must have lost my exact location. I started following the directions again and it literally told me to turn down a dead end street. It also would alarm to make the turn when it was the wrong street. I am no retard, I know how to listen and understand and look at the map but it must have lost my exact position because it was definitely giving me the wrong directions. On the way home on this same 3hr trip, It took 45 min !!!! to find the satellite. In that space of time we had lost our printed directions and ended up leaving town in the completely wrong direction. I had to stop to ask for directions and find the right route long before the pleasant finedrive voice decided to join us. Look elsewhere....
out of 45 user reviews
WORTH THE LOW PRICE
Pros: GETS YOU TO LOCATIONS FLAWLESSLY
Cons: UPDATES SLOWLY, CAN BE BEHIND 100S OF FEET
out of 45 user reviews
CNET Editor must have been car sick not to appreciate this product
Pros: Great rerouting after missed directions, Large display
Cons: Takes a long time to startup
out of 45 user reviews
Great GPS for the money
Pros: Easy to use and accurate
Cons: None at this time
out of 45 user reviews
Tried it for a road trip, loved it ever since
Pros: User Friendly controls, Nice clear screen, Very accurate
Cons: Needs more updated maps (NavTeq's fault). Would be nice if it used batteries also.
I brought the FineDrive from Staples for $199.00 (plus a $100.00 rebate)and used it for my last trip down to NC. The FineDrive gave me exact directions from my house to my friends. While on the highway (95 South) I was directed to take another route. I was really skeptical but I followed the FineDrive directions. To my surprise I cut off about 30 minutes from my total trip.
Another thing that impressed me was when I pull off the highway for a pit stop. When I tried to get back on the Highway it was blocked off for construction. I had no idea where I was or how to get back on the highway. The FineDrive 400 led me down this dark winding road in the middle of nowhere. I kept saying to myself “I hope this thing knows what its doing” All of a sudden out of nowhere I saw a sign for 95 South. At that point I was sold!!
I got to my friends house with no problems. With my new found confidence I decided to do an experiment. I drove PAST my friend’s house into a very condensed neighborhood and the FineDrive re-directed me around all these little streets and led me right back to my friend’s house with no problem.
I would recommend this Navigation system to anyone. If I do have a couple of complaints they would be: Updated maps, cities like Largo and Eldersburg Maryland are not recognized. I tried all the Garmin Navi systems in Best buy as well and they don’t recognize those locations either so I know its Navteq software that has to be updated. Also, I wish you could use batteries instead of having the power cord daggling from the cigarette lighter.
All in all the FineDrive 400 is a really nice navigation system and I’m enjoying it immensely. It will hold me over until the next generation Navi systems come out like the "DASH" Http://www.dash.net which I will revolutionize how people drive in the future.
This little GPS system never ceases to amaze me. Last night I was on my way to the airport to drop off my girlfriend who had a 7:00pm flight out of Baltimore. The traffic on 95 was backed up for miles due to a snowstorm that hit the area. As we were sitting in traffic we both realized there is no way she was going to make her flight. I decided to use the detour option on the Finedrive 400 to get around the traffic. The detour had me get off at the next exit in front of me. I was a little leary because I was still about 10 miles from the airport and this exit was a quite little road. I had no idea where I was going. My girlfriend kept saying…”I’m going to miss my flight” and all I could say is “this is where the GPS is leading me lets just trust it” Well, after a few winding roads and twists and turns I arrived at the airport within 10 minutes. More the enough time for her to make her flight on time. Without this GPS system I would have SURLY missed the flight casing me lost time and money. My girlfriend is now a believer in the FD 400 and I couldn’t be happier with my purchase.
out of 45 user reviews
Dudes! You are way off on this one.
Pros: Excellent device. Loud speaker. Easy to use and understand. Seems accurate to within a few feet - it found my house and the pizza delivery guys and the mailman can't even do that.
Cons: Didn't see any instructions on how to up date the maps. I know it is via SD Card, but instructions would have been nice.
The device still work wonderfully, but it has bee almost a year now and there have been a lot of road changes and there are no updates to be had that I can find. Customer service does not exist, they do not respond to emails, the phone is never answered and you cannot leave a message. Regardless of how good it is working I have to drop my rating down to a 5 soley because of the lack of customer service. If they cannot stand behind the product neither can I. It still works well though.
out of 45 user reviews
An ordinary GPS
Pros: Voice prompt and screen size
Cons: Poor routing and reliability
out of 45 user reviews
last only 5 months
Pros: when its feel like working
Cons: when its couldn't find signal
Here is their support line #, try to call and see if you get response
1-866-346-3344
out of 45 user reviews
"MIO C310X vs. Finedrive 400 and the winner is ... Finedrive (-3pts) favorite"
Pros: Mio has more features, Finedrive has slick massive screen.
Cons: Both companies are Non US Cos. with One man support ... Beware!!!!!
MIO VS FineDrive Pros:
Mio has incredible features that business men will probably never use... such assets features included:
History (IE explorer) type
Built-in Audio Player (both GPS)
The integrated MP3 player plays music or audio books transferred from your computer for entertainment or education on the road.
Preloaded Points of Interest (as of 2005)
locate restaurants, hotels, gas stations and more. Voice Guidance and Choice of Languages Findrive had more accurate POI but again new shopping malls are grass on both units.
Clear voice instructions and user-friendly menus in 16 languages, including English, French and Spanish (does not tell you specifics only turn left , turn right, turnaround.(Finedrive smoked Mio is this dept) Finedrive spoke clearly and repeated its self : "Turn right onto Page Ave then make a sharp left onto 440 South." The fine drive made me feel safer when I got lost in NJ 1 hr away from home. The ability for finedrive to actually tell you what MAIN hwy/road to take was amazing.
Cockpit setting for MIO are amazing and top notch and really made me think twice about my choice.
SmartZoom is spot on perfect for MIO. Imagine when you turn having your GPS zoom up close while zooming out on long strips where its miles to the next turn. Both GPS do this but MIO kicked big butt with this customized feature. This is probably the safest feature as you do not have to touch your GPS unit, just program the route event distance for overview mode from a tiny 100 yards to a wide 80 mile birds eye view. The Mio smoked the Finedrive with these features specifically Smartzoom and cockpit.
Here's a important fact: The Mio Digiwalker Mio Maps v3.2 8/2/2006 screen appeared smooth and steady while the Finedrive had the herky jerky web cam feel to it. Whenever you zoom up close it was annoyingly apparent almost irritating to watch.
Both units were lagging when you passed intersections.... most annoying was the finedrive with a steady two second delay going past intersections while MIO had barely second delay to none in some cases.
All in all if you enter UNCHARTERED roads or a destination you've never been to then trust the Finedrive even with its 12 satellites but only 7 locked on it was dead balls accurate to 25 feet. Finedrive always gave better directions than it’s slightly inferior sometimes obsolete maps of Mio.
All in all IF and only if you can update the MIO MAPS to Finedrive’s NAVTEQ Maps stick with the herky jerky but more accurate Finedrive for now.
out of 45 user reviews
Cheap but you get what you paid for
Pros: price, voice, fast response, 4in LCD
Cons: Map is very out dated. FineDigital wants to sell updated SD card for $169 or DVD for $99. No internal battery
out of 45 user reviews
I feel for a 1st time user like me, this product was a very good purchase
Pros: easy to install, a decent price tag below $300, easy to enter addresses,& easy to remove from car.
Cons: house numbers even and odd,sometimes wrong side of road when annouced
This device, I took it out of the box stuck it to my windshield and within moments it had my location and I was able to put a new location into it very quickly.
I have showed other tech's this device and how uncomplicated it is.
Now I keep my eyes on the road and feel I am following someone, as apposed to searching out street signs at night and day. The voice prompt lets me know a turn is coming up.
out of 45 user reviews
Quite a bargain
Pros: Easy interface, large display
Cons: No internal battery
out of 45 user reviews
Cnet gets 1 for this review
Pros: Cost effective, easy to use, good size screen, nice voice, easy mount, easy install, many features, has everything I needed from a GPS
Cons: Bad reviews from Cnet
out of 45 user reviews
This product is excellent and will get you where you want to go!
Pros: Large, easy to read screen, NavTeq mapping system, SD card, excellent voice prompts and alerts that are right on the money, excellent recalculating time, nice choice of screen colors, very easy menu.
Cons: Pinpoint accuracy could be improved with WAAS technology, could use multiple stopovers (waypoints), cold start time could be improved, FM reception was poor, cannot use MP3 with navigation on.
The FineDrive 400 outperformed the Magellan overall because of route calculation time, recalulation time, ease of use and size of the screen. The Magellan was frustrating from the time you asked it to calculate telling you to "proceed to route" and slow recalculating time after a wrong turn.
The screen on this unit (FineDrive) is excellent, easy to read in any light and even though you have to go into the main menu to change brightness and color. Brightness changes were a bit deep in the menu but acceptable. The voice prompts and turn alerts matched the Magellans identically, both were very accurate. The FineDrive has a clean looking navigation screen with lots of info without crowding the screen. The bottom of screen shows the road you are travelling on and at the top the road you are to take. Also at the bottom is the current routes mileage, ETA as it counts down and current speed with an optional alert for over the speed limit. The instructions(directional arrows), menu and mute control do not crowd the screen as with the Magellan and other units I viewed at stores. When you get close (within 500ft) to your turn the unit zooms in on the intersection and gives you a small graph (on right side of screen ) with the number of feet to your turn and dings at the exact moment you should turn.
The destination options screen allows you to navigate by address, recent, favorites, city center, POI and intersection. Route options offer local, quickest, etc and has an easy to use keyboard, however I wish it were a QWERTY keyboard. Points of interests were adequate and customizable. The unit has room for 100 favorites and recent destinations as well as HOME if you forget where you live. Both the FineDrive and Magellan used the NAVTEQ system which is used by Google and is very easy on the eyes. The triangle marking the vehicle on the FineDrive can be off by 100ft while travelling but catches up as you slow or stop. I don't find this to be an issue because the voice and alerts are very accurate. The pan feature is great as well as the altitude under the GPS info on the main menu. The Finedrive has 2D, 3D and a great nite mode which can be dark blue or black.
There are two buttons on each side of the unit the left one is used to zoom in or out of the map and it is set for 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 feet and up. These set points work well with the size of the screen as well as the small legend at the bottom of the screen showing you the actual inch of measure and current setting. The right button gives you the home screen for settings (brightness,volume), shutdown, navigation and MP3 and also touching the top of the buttom gives you the current route info. I don't see a use for an MP3 player on one of these units but it could be more useful if it could be used in conjunction with the navigation but it's one or the other here. There is no battery in the FineDrive but is not an issue for me because the unit is too big for you pocket. The antennae does not fold down. The FineDrive holds it data on an SD card and can be updated on your computer. It has flash memory and no hard drive. The unit also has a USB port for connection to your computer.
The speaker volume (adjustment found in the main menu) and sound is very clear but trying to tune into the FM frequencies proved fruitless as I could not find one that was as clear as the unit speaker.
The unit attaches to the windshield with a very sturdy suction unit that allows excellent adjustment and stability.
The unit has sometimes not provided the proper location (tells me I am off road) when going up or down certain hilly roads in my area but this has become less frequent as I use the unit each day. The Magellan unit I tried concurrently showed I was not moving during the same episode which leads me to believe that it was a signal issue. I bought the FineDrive at Staples for $399 with a $100 rebate and for the money I would suggest this unit to anyone looking for an easy to read, easy to use GPS navigation system. I paid $399 for the Magellan and returned it after a week of using both units. Look for my review later for the Magellan RoadMate 2000.
out of 45 user reviews
Shame on you CNET. This product is great.
Pros: Bright Screen, Easy to use, Locates Satellites within seconds after first intialize.
Cons: Does not have an RV parks category.
out of 45 user reviews
Fantastic Unit
Pros: Easy to use, bright display, loud voice
Cons: If I program my destination, then start engine the unit shuts off.
out of 45 user reviews
I love my finedrive
Pros: price display accuracy
Cons: had a bad power switch had to exchange
I love how it instanly recalculates with a wrong turn and keeps you going. I don't use it to find shopping stores so I can't address that one nor do I care.
out of 45 user reviews
Review Again, Great Product, price reported inflated.
Pros: Large screen, Ease of use, good price ($399)
Cons: cant use built in MP3 player while using navigation
out of 45 user reviews
Definitely needs to reviewed again
Pros: Awesome Interface and clear voice guidance
Cons: Slow Startup
out of 45 user reviews
Needs To Be Reviewed Again
Pros: Works Great
Cons: No Updates yet
out of 45 user reviews
worth every cent
Pros: easy to use
Cons: some time off by few feet
i found some interesting things about this unit their is atleast two different model on this some have a/v connection and some dont some dont have any connection on bottem so i went to three different staples to find the one have all connection so check it before buying mine you can connect camera or dvd player not that you want to watch movie on 4in screen but you can if you want
out of 45 user reviews
Rating is way too low
Pros: Ease of use
Cons: POI are little difficult to manage
out of 45 user reviews
Don't believe the poor rating
Pros: Cheap, compact, easy to use
Cons: Weak in the POI department
1. Pre-loaded maps of the entire US
2. Color, Touch Screen
3. Turn by turn voice directions
4. Easy to use
Within a day of purchase, my father, who can't turn on or use a computer, was able to go everywhere he wanted. He even told me it got him from the office to the house quicker then he usually goes...and he's owned that office for around 20 years now!
The basis for this unit is identical to the one provided with my portable unit, a Dell Axim & Belkin BT GPS unit. Yes, on both units the POI are weak, especially compared to my $2,000 Pioneer system, but you can't expect a $500 unit to have 2 million POIs. It comes down to the fact that you need a destination address or cross street. If you have that, it will get you there.
Yes, for some reason, on a slight occation (he claims about once or twice a month) all of a sudden the GPS doesn't know where you are...usually it happens on a highway and as he's driving it comes back to where he is. Why does it happen? We really don't know, but it has not once brought him to the wrong place or messed up.
He liked the unit so much that we bought one for my grandparents who were also able to use it within a few days of owning it (even worse at technology then my father).
All in all this is a great unit for those who don't/can't spend thousands of dollars on a GPS system and don't really need to find POIs without knowing an address.
out of 45 user reviews
User friendly.. budget friendly... not to mention the voice is friendly
Pros: cost, ease of use, user features, weight. size, mounting hardware included, ready to use straight from the box.
Cons: boot time, list of resturants
Anyone with limited funds or a frugal business-sence should not be disappointed with the investment of this GPS navigation assistant... Kudos FineDigital
out of 45 user reviews
I think CNET ppl need to learn how to use GPS units
Pros: Great Price, Easy to use, Takes you where you want to go
Cons: Screen gets "unreadable" with direct sunshine... but i guess all GPS units do
I had to go to Missouri and I took the GPS with me, I had no clue where the Hotel was and I just put the address and 2 hrs later I was there... it is great!. My father in law just took a trip from CT to Nova Scotia in Canada and it worked perfectly!...
You can't benchmark this GSP which costs $400 with a Garmin or a TOM TOM which costs $800-$1000... Remember apples with apples...
So what if the MP3 player does not work if the Navi mode is on. This is a Navigation unit, not an MP3 player... this option is an extra that the good guys at FineDigital USA decided to include... you want something that plays both? then pay another $200 and buy an MP3 player
out of 45 user reviews
I disagree with the low rating
Pros: It is easy to follow, has clear verbal and on screen directions.
Cons: The onscreen street names for side streets are small and difficult to read.
out of 45 user reviews
Works perfectly fine for me - no problems
Pros: All maps pre-loaded, low price
Cons: Does not use batteries
Maybe Cnet got a faulty unit. I dunno, but I love mine. I got it with a $100 rebate from Staples. It's a great deal on a big screen GPS.
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