Cobra GPSM 4000 Nav One Mobile Navigator

by Cobra

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 2 x 4 inches ; 1.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000ATT8I6
• Item model number: GPSM 4000
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #60,923 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Navigate your way through city streets and rural roads with the Cobra Nav One 4000 GPS navigation system. Equipped with Cobra's exclusive iASAP satellite acquisition technology, which receives uninterrupted, quick satellite signals even among urban canyons and dense foliage, the device is a must for the driver who doesn't want to mess with paper maps or printed MapQuest directions. The Nav One 4000 works simply: just enter the target address or point of interest, and the unit automatically determines the best route and offers turn-by-turn directions with clear voice guidance. The built-in street-level map of the U.S. and Canada offers full, detailed coverage of potential routes, along with more than six million points of interest from which to choose, including banks, hotels, restaurants, entertainment options, gas stations, and more. And should the driver stray off course or take a detour, the Nav One 4000 automatically recalculates the route and provides fresh directions.

Perhaps the Nav One 4000's most unique feature, however, is its compatibility with Cobra's optional traffic receiver and antenna (sold separately), which offer real-time traffic updates to commuters and travelers. The matchbook-sized receiver receives up-to-the-minute information on traffic accidents, congested roads, and construction zones in 48 major metropolitan areas across the U.S. As the unit processes the info--which it picks up from an FM radio feed via Tele Atlas N.V. and Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network--it automatically determines alternate routes, letting the driver detour around the worst snarls and enjoy a stress-free commute. It's the perfect unit for frustrated commuters and other folks who spend much of their day in the car.

The maps and instructions are easier to read than ever thanks to the 5-inch color display, which sports wide viewing angles and a crisp lighting level that's readable in both bright sunlight and dim moonlight. It also offers 3-D views for easier navigation, along with 14 levels of map zoom and exclusive terrain display, making it simple for the directionally challenged to find their way.

Additional features include a built-in gyroscope that maintains map positioning under tunnels and underpasses; an address book that holds up to 1,000 addresses in 20 customizable folders; multi-stop routing for drivers with complex itineraries; and Trip Planner and Trail mode functions. The Nav One 4000 comes with a dash mount and is backed by a one-year warranty on parts and labor.

What's in the Box
Nav One 4000 receiver and display, mount, user's manual.

Product Description

COBRA GPSM 4000 NavOne(TM) 4000 Portable Mobile Navigation System Portable vehicle navigation system with ultra-bright, high-resolution, 5" touch-screen color display;Real-time traffic-ready when used with optional traffic receiver (sold separately); Pre-loaded maps for all of the US & Canada; Over 7.6 million points of interests;3D & terrain maps;Automatic route navigation with personalized route preferences;A.S.A.P.(TM) technology;Trip Data;Trail Capture & SmartPower(TM) functions; Trilingual navigation text & voice prompts, (Eng/Sp/Fr); Includes 12V power cord with cigarette lighter plug & windshield mounting bracket;1-year warranty NavOne(TM) 4000 Portable Mobile Navigation System

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than expected!, November 13, 2005

By	Warren T. Woodards (Fort Bragg, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cobra GPSM 4000 Nav One Mobile Navigator (Electronics)

I purchased the 4000 NAV One after extensive research and pondering which route to take. My prerequisites were about the same as all are looking for; Good size screen, preloaded maps, voice prompts that tell you street name, re-route calculations, quick acquisition time, easy software upgrades and numerous POI's. I must say I was skeptical at first with the only brands being on my mind were Garmin and Magellan. I even considered the Pioneer AVIC-N2 in dash navigation unit but quickly shot it down when I found out you have to load the navigation DVD to plot routes, start out on your route and have to pop the DVD back in if you want to bring up another destination or even a simple POI! This is unacceptable for a close to $2000 system (Pioneer is offering a $300 rebate at this time) when most of us will be listening to a CD, or MP3's on it. Oh by the way, the passenger can't even watch DVD's while the car is moving. I narrowed my choices down to the Garmin Street Pilot 2720 and the Cobra 4000 NAV One and weighed the two side by side. I chose the Cobra due to its screen being twice the size and it being a sturdier unit. It has very quick response time, a large color touch screen, customizable in every way. The unit has all that I expected and more, not to mention $100 less than the Street Pilot 2720 but I have to be fair that the 2720 does give you a remote to operate the system.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Affordable Aftermarket Navigation, but..., January 23, 2007

By	Allan M. Lees (Novato, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cobra GPSM 4000 Nav One Mobile Navigator (Electronics)

After a disasterous experience with a Sony NavU70 unit and after considering the Garmin system owned by a friend, and after doing extensive research and demoing some products at the local Circuit City, I finally selected the Cobra GPSM4000 sight unseen and bought it through Amazon. Frankly I wasn't expecting too much, and the appearance of the unit struck me as a little retro (too much chrome for my taste, as though this unit had been designed as an add-on for old GM vehicles). But when I put it in my 4x4 I was impressed. Although the manual warns you that it can take up to 20 minutes for a brand-new unit to orient itself based on the signals received from the orbiting satellites, the Cobra 4000 oriented itself within 60 seconds of being turned on. It was so quick that I found myself wondering if the people at the factory had somehow pre-programmed my location.

The screen is nice and bright, the touch-screen functionality is just the right degree of sensitivity, and all the key parameters are tunable through the menu options so you can customize the unit to perform according to your own preferences. New locations are simple to store (which makes waypointing easy) and the system provides breadcrumbs which is essential for off-roading. The Sony unit referred to earlier in this review was an ergonomic disaster and didn't support breadcrumbs nor simple location storage. It was pretty, though.

As real-time traffic data comes on-stream in the USA the real-time traffic option will become more worthwhile. I didn't purchase this option with my unit because it's not really available yet in my region and besides, there's no alternative when the local freeway is jammed. There is no route work-around possible, so it wouldn't help me much on a day-to-day basis. But one day, when the service is cheap and there are alternative routes to be found, it will be a worthwhile addition to the repertoire of all in-car navigation systems.

I really like the larger screen size, though while it is technically 5 inches in diameter the actual map size is about 4.5 inches because the borders are occupied with soft keys. Still, that beats the 3 inch and 3.5 inch screens found on other units like Garmin and Magellan and TomTomGo.

Voice prompting is nice & crisp, but the on-screen direction arrow with distance indicator is a little small, for those situations when you want to check whether it's the next turn or the one 50 feet after that.

Some GPS units scroll smoothly as you travel, keeping the cursor in the center of the map. The system in my Acura does that and I've become used to it. The Cobra unit works the other way: the cursor representing your vehicle travels across the screen and then, just as it reaches the edge of the screen, the entire map "jumps" to a new page and the process starts all over again. While my preference is for the Honda/Acura approach, the "jumping page" is something I can live with and isn't too distracting in practice. I care more about the accuracy of the unit and the Cobra is very accurate and fast to adjust.

The unit comes with a windscreen mount, but there's also a base plate in case you want to mount it to a horizontal surface. I was somewhat concerned about placing the unit in the windscreen area because off-road in the desert in the middle of the day it can get awfully hot right there, even with the A/C blowing hard. So I chose to purchase the optional external GPS receiver, which I mounted in the windshield area, and I placed the Cobra unit in the center binnacle where it is easy to see yet out of the direct sunlight (which also improves general visibility, as the screen never washes out because of being hit by direct light).

UPDATE: February 26th 2007. After taking the unit on its first extended trip (3 hours) it exhibited a major defect. After 25 minutes of continuous operation the unit began emitting a hot metal smell and the upper left portion of the screen became hot to touch; simultaneously the upper left portion of the screen turned dark and no longer displayed anything. After another 5 minutes the screen began to blink on and off rapidly, rendering it useless. Turning on the A/C and directing a stream of icy air at the unit did nothing to ameliorate the problem.

Beach Audio accepted the return of the unit and shipped me a replacement; I have not yet taken the replacement on a long (3+ hours) trip to see whether the new unit overheats like the old one did. Hopefully it was a one-off manufacturing defect as apart from the malfunction I was pleased with the previous unit.

Second Update: as of August 2008 the replacement is still functioning as intended. I'm irritated by the fact that it can take up to 15 minutes to acquire satellites upon start of the journey (afterwards it acquires almost instantly), and I've discovered that the database of street addresses is quirky - a location in Tahoe Vista was listed as being in Sacramento, even though the on-map icon was correctly placed in Tahoe Vista. Subsequent experience has shown that the unit is accurate for some parts of the USA but hopeless with other areas - for example I've never been able to find any address around the Lake Tahoe region. It's really useless in that regard. But it did get me from San Francisco to an address in Jackson Hole accurately, though it then gave up when asked to find the rental property just a few miles further down the road. Now that the unit has come down to around $200 I think it's OK for the money, but as I originally paid about $500 I think it was overpriced back then. Realistically there are much better units on the market now, and I'd definitely advise people to go with an integrated Bluetooth and MP3 functionality in any new standalone unit these days.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, with a few glitches, November 3, 2006

By	N. Trought (Ft. Drum, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cobra GPSM 4000 Nav One Mobile Navigator (Electronics)

I actually love the Cobra GPSM 4000 Nav One. However, there is a problem it has that is not just some small problem to me. On several occasions, it gives the incorrect names for exits. The saving grace is that the distance until you reach the exit is correct. For example, I needed to take interstate 64W. Exit 64W was 1 mile away, and exit 64E was 0.5 mile away. The Cobra told me to take exit 64E in 1 mile. Therefore, I have been able to take the correct exit because it gives the correct distance, but it shouldn't be that way.

Other than that issue, I love the Cobra 4000. It is great to have it in the car and have access to Points of Interests immediately. I also like that I can plot the point of someplace I want to return again, and save that place to my address book. It is also quick to find where you are.