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Reviewed by UK Guest, 11th Jan 2007. |
| Review Summary: cheap, but very cheerful |
Overall Score: 4/5
 
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Review:
I was a little concerned about this Garmin I2 sat nav the first time I tried it around my home town. The main issue is that the spoken directions are very limited and often don't occur until it is too late to get into the right lane. In particular roundabouts are a problem - perhaps because it is an American unit little regard is given to the fact that at larger roundabouts you need to be in the right lane on approach, and at multiple roundabout junctions you need to have clear directions for each roundabout. The trick is to make full use of the small but perfectly readable B&W display which gives far more detailed information on the directions required. The unit is very easy to use with just two button operation - you can enter a postcode or a street name quite quickly and store it in a favourites folder if required. Routes can be reviewed ahead of time. It can work out detours but the functionality in this regard is very limited - it may be easier to use the map function to plot your own route around traffic jams. Alternatively simply start off on a new route in roughly the right direction and let the unit re-calculate new directions to your destination.
It took about 15 minutes for the unit to lock onto the satellites the first time (I understand this is a common issue with SatNavs, and you must be outside for the satellites to be aquired) but since then the unit takes typically less than a minute to lock on (apparently having re-chargeable batteries in the unit itself helps, although in operation power can be taken from the cigar lighter socket).
To summarise I am very happy with this unit. Commercial travellers doing a lot of driving would probably prefer something more sophisticated, and people who rely on spoken directions should avoid the Streepilot i2, but for most drivers the Garmin I2 sat nav is more than adequate at a budget price |
Ratings
| Value For Money: |
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4 |
| Review Score: |
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4 |
| Recommended? | |
Yes |
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