Intellinav One Portable GPS Navigation System

by netropa

Product Details

• ASIN: B000KMEX9M
• Item model number: Intellinav One GPS350
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,287 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 6, 2007

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Amazon.com Review If you don't happen to own a luxury car with a built-in navigation system, and you want to drive from point A to point B without having to look up addresses on the internet and print your results--or even worse, pull over and ask directions--the Intellinav One could be what you're looking for. Its compact size, easy setup, intuitive operation, and reliability make it an ideal travel companion for any drive you can't make on auto pilot.

The Intellinav's compact size, high-tech look, and easy portability make it an ideal travel companion. View larger - View product details.

A feature rich and fully integrated GPS navigation system is your best buddy on the road. View larger

The main menu has a simple four-icon selection screen. View larger.

You can choose from either a traditional or 3D map. View larger.

Select a specific address, choose from one your favorites, or find a specific intersection. View larger.

Design
The Intellinav has a solid feel and a high-tech look. It's silver and black casing with rounded corners weighs in at 7.4 ounces (210 grams) and measures 4.7 x 3.5 x 1.3 inches. The unit is also easily portable wherever you might want to take it. A 3.6-inch LCD touchscreen that displays 16.7 million colors dominates the front of the device, and serves as the main user interface. You can easily adjust the screen's backlight from the settings menu, or switch between day, night, or auto (which switches to night mode soon after sunset). To the right of the touchscreen is an LED power and charging indicator light, while just below the are buttons for the Main Menu and volume control. On the right side you'll find the SD card slot, on the top the power button, while the left side is reserved for connection ports: power supply, USB, antenna, and headphones.

Setup
Getting the Intellinav One up and running is pleasantly simple. After inserting the supplied 1 GB SD card, the device guides you through the few steps required for basic setup: acknowledging the warnings and tapping a few dots in order to calibrate the screen. You can then mount it in your car with the sturdy windshield mounting system or adhesive dashboard mount. The supplied 12 volt charger keeps the unit powered while you are on the go. Satellite connections are made with the newer SiRF Star III technology, which is very snappy. We did find that the first connection took a few minutes. But after the initial setup we had to wait only a few seconds for the device to locate our position and begin plotting a course.

Interface
Apart from the Menu and Volume controls on the front of the device, all interaction with the Intellinav is via the touchscreen. There is no stylus to lose (or to dig for under the seat of your car), as everything is set up for finger tip access. We found that even fairly large male fingers had no problems with input. An audible click (which can be deactivated) indicates each successful tap to the screen. All adjustments rely on convenient plus (+) and minus (-) signs, meaning you don't have to try to drag a bar with your finger tip in order to adjust screen brightness, for example. The Main Menu has four icons: "MP3," "Navigation," "Photo," and "System." Submenus are intuitive and easy to negotiate. We found it a breeze to adjust all settings just by following the menu icons, allowing us to leave the user guide at home.

Navigation
The heart of the Intellinav One is its navigation system, which is surprisingly rich in features for a moderately priced GPS device. A car cursor indicates your position on the map at all times, while the cursor's color tells you how many satellites your are currently reaching. More detailed satellite info is available with a few touches of the screen.

Data entry relies on an alpha-numeric keypad that appears on the touchscreen (some might find a QWERTY keyboard more intuitive, but like other GPS devices we have reviewed, letters appear in alphabetical order). As you type a list at the top of the screen begins to scroll through a list of known cities or streets. Once the location you want appears you simply have to tap it, then tap OK, and you are on your way. During data input the entire keyboard remains on the screen. We would prefer the method some similar devices use, which display only those letters corresponding to available choices, making it easier to select the next letter.

The Destination screen allows you to select a specific address, choose from a list of favorites you have selected, pick one of your recent destinations, head for a city center, choose a point of interest (POI) from a number of categories, or find an intersection. We found this last option particularly useful, as there often occasion in which the specific address is unknown, or the general vicinity is all that is required.

As for Points of Interest, we were pleased with the list of restaurants, parks, businesses, etc. Want to find the nearest McDonald's or Starbuck's? Just grab it from the drop down list and you are on your way. We found not only major chains, but local establishments as well. Once on your way, you'll find a variety of ways to view the map. You can see either a traditional or a 3D map, and orient the map so the top is either always north or your direction of travel.

Extras
The Intellinav One also comes with a photo viewer and an MP3 player. You can easily use any SD card to load pictures and music, replacing the map card on the right side of the device. The MP3 player is straightforward and intuitive with basic features such as "shuffle," and "repeat" modes. The photo viewer supports both JPEG and BMP formats. The 3.6 inch screen is ideal for showing those family photos to grandma once you have made your way over the river and through the woods. Pros

• Easy to use, affordable GPS navigation that really works
• Rich in useful features
• Includes MP3 player and photo viewer

Cons

• Keyboard: No QWERTY input, displays all letters rather than just those you need.

What's in the Box
Intellinav GPS navigator, AC power supply, car charger, windshield and dash mounts, 1 GB SD card with map of US and Canada.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, Amazing, and Wonderful, February 15, 2007

By 

Mohammed Raheemuddin (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Intellinav One Portable GPS Navigation System

I just received this GPS unit in the mail yesterday and the first impressions of it are very positive. The box is very professionally printed and packed, and the unit feels nice and solid and well constructed. The maps are preloaded on a 1GB SD card. After you charge it for about 2-3 hours and turn the unit it, it will take about 15-20 min to acquire a satellite signal and make sure that you are near a window. Afterwards, it usually takes about 30 seconds to a minute to re-acquire the GPS signal. I set my home location and i just started driving around. The screen is very bright and crisp, and the female voice guidance is sharp and clear. I started driving around and i told it to Go Home and then i tried my best to get lost. And each time i went past where it told me to turn, it only took about 5 seconds or even less for it to re-calculate another route home.

Honestly, you have got to have the Text to Speech feature. It makes a HUGE difference when the voice tells you to "Make a right in 200 ft at Randall Road" rather than "Make a right in 200 feet". The maps are very accurate, at least for the Chicago area and I coudl not be happier with this unit. It's a great deal and a must have, especially having the text to speech feature where it reads out the street names is simply wonderful. All in all, a great unit with great battery life and a very nice simple easy to use interface which anyone can get used to very quickly.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this gadget!, March 12, 2007

By 

D. Ng "dennisdpt" (O'Fallon, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Intellinav One Portable GPS Navigation System

I was somewhat hesitant in the past to buy in into the whole "GPS in your car" idea. I figured, why pay for a GPS gadget when I can just go online to Google Maps, Mapquest, Yahoo Maps and download/print the information. Besides, I found the retail price for a Garmin or Magellan GPS to be totally outrageous. For the price of a good Magellan GPS, I could already fund an entire weekend vacation. Also, I don't think I can pay attention to the road while trying to figure out what the GPS is telling me. So I did a bit of research and I found the Intellinav One. I liked the features and the price seems reasonable enough. PC Magazine gave it a good review and only had a negative comment about its multimedia capabilities. I don't really care about the multimedia stuff because that's what I have my iPod for. The biggest selling point for me was the Text to Speech function which also tells me the exact street names. I found this feature to be very helpful. If the GPS told me "Turn right in 2000 feet", that doesn't mean anything to me. However, the Intellinav will tell me, "Turn right in 2000 feet on Forsyth Blvd." Then I can anticipate the turn. I've had this GPS unit for about a week now and I totally love it. Even with destinations I'm already familiar with, I would use this to make sure that I'm taking the most direct and quickest route. Hence, in a way, it also helps me to save on gas.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Initial thoughts, May 5, 2007

By 

A. Smith (East Lansing, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Intellinav One Portable GPS Navigation System

Just got this unit in the mail today but thought I'd get my thoughts on it down ASAP because there is so little information out there about it. All early indications are that it is a great unit- GPS is accurate, maps (at least in my area, East Lansing) are as well, and the interface is well designed. Took less than 5 minutes to acquire a signal the first time, and then almost instantly every other time I've turned it on. It is currently getting a full signal inside my home- the SirfStarIII chipset appears to be all it's supposed to. Unit is light but not so light that it feels cheaply made.

Only negative I have found thus far is that the map can only zoom out to a 10 mile radius. This prevents you from being able to see your entire route all at once, a la Mapquest. Text to speech is slightly robotic, but the fact that the unit has it at all is a plus, not a negative.

I have not tried out the multimedia elements (pictures or MP3.) I will note however that contrary to some reports out there, the MP3 player DOES have a shuffle feature. Overall, for just over $300, it seems like an excellent bargain.


***UPDATED- 2 WEEKS LATER***

I've now been using the unit for about 2 weeks. Some things I've noticed:

1. Touch screen is not always totally responsive. Unit doesn't freeze up, but you also have to push the same button multiple times on occasion.

2. Navteq maps have been excellent. Even on a trip to a remote part of northern Michigan it had every piece of data. Roads that aren't even named, that I had declared my personal secret shortcuts, are even in there.

3. Routing options are excellent. Avoid road, detour... all come in very handy. POIs are numerous enough to be sufficient- let's just say you won't have any trouble finding a gas station nearby.

4. Suction cup mount holds perfectly. Has yet to fall off.

5. Signal acquires quickly, usually within 20 seconds or so.

6. Has a USB port on the side, but does not come with a USB cable to attach to the PC.

All in all, an excellent value. I did COUNTLESS hours of research on automotive GPS systems and can tell you that the Intellinav simply has more features than the Garmins, better maps than the Tom Toms, and the same great SirfStar III chipset and excellent software design. Can't beat this one for the money. Don't hesitate to buy- this isn't some off brand company. These guys MAKE the software for the big boy GPS companies- they were just smart enough to start producing their own units too.