Customer Reviews

Fine Digital FineDrive 400 4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I purchased this GPS for $400 last November. Overall, I'm happy with it, it is very easy to use and it has been accurate. I don't need a fancy GPS, this one is economical and gets the job done for me. The screen is big and bright, I have it mounted on my SUVs windshield using the provided suction holder, and I have no problem reading the display from my driving position. It is a good unit for the money.

I purchased Fine Drive 400 a couple weeks ago because I don't want to spend a lot of money on it. This unit is really easy to operate and easy to read. In addition to map, it shows time and miles left to the destination in a screen. It also has speed alert feature, enabling me to save extra money. It was just yesterday to drive freeway. GPS unit let me know when I exceeded speed limit. Police passed my car just a couple minutes after I reduced speed. The screen is bright enough to clearly see it even in full sunlight.
Only the minus point is that I cannot play MP3 files in using navigation function.

I bought the FineDrive 400 two months ago. I use it every day. The adjustable display is great in all lighting conditions. The mapping system is amazingly accurate, knowing what street and hundred block I am on within 10 feet or so. The navigation section guides you to a location via voice command and on-screen display.

It has preloaded maps of USA and Canada with major attractions like parks, museums, hotels, restaurants by the thousands. Once you buy the unit, there is no monthly cost.

If you are planning a long trip, drive/make deliveries for a living or just want help with everyday driving- this is a great tool. I like it better than the TomTom.

I bought my 400 last Novemeber. It's worked well for me overall. I did have some difficulty with the first unit I got but easily got it exchanged and it has worked great since then. The unit has the capability to scan 12 satellites however, if you get six at a time you are doing well. The unit gives reliable routing with three or more satellites locked so there are very few places that you won't get a signal.

The initial scan does take a few minutes but once it is done, and you use the unit regularly, the scan only takes about 30 seconds when you fire up the unit.

Fine Digital recently released map updates for this unit which also updated the interface. This update is a tremendous improvement over the original map data and I highly recommend getting the update if you need it. Fine Digital will send you the update for free if you purchased your unit after May 2006. Otherwise you can buy it from them. It's kind of pricey so you may want to look around for a discount price somewhere.

Overall I would call this a great buy for the price. Just because you aren't familiar with the name shouldn't scare you. If you don't like it by all means return it. But considering the features for the cost you would be hard pressed to find a comparable unit out there right now.

The FineDrive 400 is a complete letdown. I've never seen any GPS system remotely as bad and unuseable as this piece of junk. The screen is dark and invisible in daylight, and the software is buggy and slow. Initial satellite search took more than 5 minutes, whereas my Microsoft GPS took less than 30 seconds. And the Finedrive kept losing the signal even with full view of the sky. This is a very bad system. Support is also non-existent; their website wasn't working every time I checked. Do not waste your money. It's not worth a single penny.

from the specification you should know that it only has 8 channels. The second generation is 12 channels. And, the latest chip is 20 channels (SRIF III). Why do you need the latest chip? I used Garmin's GPS which uses 2nd generation chip. I could receive any signal at home or in downtowm. Once I lost signal during driving, it is very hard for the GPS to get the signal again. These problem is completelt solved in the 3rd generation chip. If you want to buy a GPS, you definitely need to buy a GPS with 3rd chip or SRIF III. How do you the chip is 3rd generation or not? Find out how many channels it can get. 8 channel is 1st, 12 channels is 2nd and 20 channels is 3rd generation chip.

I'm sending mine back. Overall a good value, however there were too many errors in the maps, too many POI's not listed. Not only did it not find the restaurant I took my family to dinner at tonight... it didn't even find the road which has been there for 10 years. Touch screen buttons are way too small making typing an address very frustrating. I'd rather pony up the extra moolah and get a unit that will not frustrate me.

See you on the road.

I bought two of these... one broke down... can't turn it on...
I tried calling the customer service... emailed... etc... but NO ANSWER!!!

I just tried again... but their voicemail box is FULL!!!

JUST REMEMBER! NO CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

The device has wonderful features for a very reasonable price, it has MP3 player with FM transmitter to listen to the music through the vehicle's audio system and the navigation system is very accurate and gives clear turn by turn directions.
The problem that the device stopped working after one week. Amazon where very nice and professional and I returned the defective machine and received within three days another unit.
I used the second unit in the beginning just for navigation, when I wanted to used the MP3 player I was surprised that the FM transmitter is not working and had to send it back. I think the manufacturer does not have a quality control system to make sure that all units are working before they are shipped.
On the other hand, the after sale service is very poor and you can not talk to any one on the tech support phone number and if it happen and get some one, they are absolutely helpless

This unit is an excellent value, I paid $229, saving a lot of money over Garmin, Navman, etc. The voice prompts were clear and had very good tone. The directions allowed for deviation, such as going around detours or traffic, it picks up the new route & continues. Just some slight negatives, with only 8 satellite channels, the maps are just a tiny bit jumpy, & it doesn't always give you the shortest route. But if you have NO CLUE on how to get somewhere, this will get you there. I haven't found an unknown address or street yet. Again, this is an economy unit, yet the screen is bright enough for sunlight, I have NO complaints. You can spend the big bucks if you want, I didn't, I'm glad. This works...!!!