Jensen NVX225 review

Features
The Jensen NVX225 is a basic, entry-level navigation system that comes equipped with a SiRFStarIII GPS chip and preloaded with TeleNav maps of the United States. Jensen includes a companion CD with Canadian maps if you need them, but it'll require that you transfer them from your PC to the device or an SD card. To start planning a trip, tap Find & Go to enter an address, input coordinates, and select from your home and work addresses or a recently visited location. The NVX225 can calculate directions by fastest, shortest, or most economical route and with or without toll roads, ferry ways, U-turns, and so forth. There are also different settings for different modes of transport, including car, bus, bicycle, and pedestrian mode. Alternatively, if you don't need guidance to a specific destination, there's a Follow tool that will simply track you as you drive around.

The system supports multistop trips, and contains a 3.75 million points-of-interest (POI) database. All the major categories are represented, including gas stations, lodging, and ATMs. You can search for restaurants by cuisine type, and there are more specialized interests, such as concert halls, amusement parks, and nightlife. We found the entries to be slightly out of date, as we searched for POI around San Francisco, and discovered several establishments that we knew to be out of business.

The Jensen NVX225 offers turn-by-turn, text-, and voice-guided directions but unfortunately, unlike the Mio C230, it does not support text-to-speech functionality. This means the system won't speak actual street names; instead, you'll get more generic directions like "Turn right in 100 feet." For audible prompts, you can choose six different voices supports automatic route recalculation in three different languages (English, Spanish, or French). There's a Fly Over option to get a running demo of your journey or you can view an itinerary of text-based directions. If you don't like a particular part of the route, there's an Avoid button where you can maneuver around a point by a predetermined distance. The system also supports automatic route recalculation if you get off course, whether by accident or on purpose.

Maps are available in 2D and 3D view with day and night colors, and you can change it so north is always at the top of your screen or the direction in which you are traveling. There's a cockpit view for when you're driving that shows you the name of the current street, direction and distance to next turn, the time, and so forth. Finally, there are several safety tools, such as speed warnings, icons to alert you to unpaved roads, tolls roads, and more.

Performance
We tested the Jensen NVX225 in San Francisco, and from a cold start, it took the unit about five minutes to get a fix on our position. Subsequent starts were faster but not immediate as it still took a couple of minutes. The system did a decent job of tracking our position as we drove around the city, but did lose its lock when we drove through the Broadway Tunnel and just briefly in the Financial District, where tall buildings block a clear view of the sky. This is typical of GPS devices, though, and the NVX225 was able to pick up a signal again almost immediately. We entered our standard trip from the Marina District to CNET's downtown headquarters, and the NVX225 was able to promptly return with accurate directions. Voice prompts sounded loud and clear, which was good since we had some difficulties viewing maps and street names on the display because of small font and washed out colors. We also missed several turns along the way to test the route recalculation rate, and the unit was able to get us back on track in a timely manner.