Just received my Navman iCN510

e_d_d_i_e · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 16

Arrived today from NavCity :D

This is my very first foray into the world of GPS, having previously ruled out in-car units as too expensive and/or just too bulky. The iCN630 in my local Halfords is £799 - I don't think so !!!

A little while ago I came across the TomTom GO - saw the excellent reviews it was getting and also the sales video on the globalpositioningsystems.co.uk website (that Andrea Gale has got lovely eyes hasn't she ?? Smile

) and thought it would be ideal for me.

Was on the verge of buying one when I read about new product launch and saw the Navman iCN510 and decided to wait a little longer. What sold it to me over the GO was the following :-

1) Space is at a premium in my Ford Fiesta so it seemed sensible to go for the Navman because it is smaller depth-wise than the GO. I've been able to install it on the driver's side to the right of my windscreen rather than in the middle.

2) You can use it on foot as well (in the box there's a lovely little pouch to store it in).

3) Comes with a stylus already that slots neatly into the side which the GO doesn't have.

d) Doesn't cost that much more than the GO, and in fact if you add on the cost of having to buy a stylus separately for the GO that brings the price even closer.

e) Liked the fact that it runs Windows OS underneath - I hooked up the USB to the computer and you can browse Windows and the contents of the device as if it was another PC. Cool.

Initial setup was pretty easy - I forgot to put the SD map card in at first but it still started up anyway and when I inserted the card afterwards it recognised it straightaway and loaded the maps in.

The menus seem quite nice but I know I've got a learning curve ahead of me if I want to master the software. Being an I.T. bod that shouldn't present too much of a prob though ! Wink

The GPS receiver could even get a reasonable fix inside my bedroom ! Outside in the car I can get a fix on about 4 or 5 satellites at once.

Personally I think that with units like this and the GO, that in the next year or so, the GPS market is gonna explode big time like mobile phones did and at some point most people will have one - it won't just be a luxury for the businessman.

Hopefully over the next week or so I can report back to tell you how it fared on the road - haven't actually taken it out for a spin yet. And possibly with some photos to follow as well.

e_d_d_i_e · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 16

I forgot to mention Embarassed

if anyone has any questions you want to ask about the unit then just post them here, and I will endeavour to answer them !

Obviously since this is my first unit I can't talk about comparisons or anything advanced but if you want to ask anything about the basic functionality then you're welcome.

e_d_d_i_e · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 16

Can the moderators please move this thread into the new Navman iCN510 forum please ?? Looks like I've been forgotten ! Confused

alix776 · Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2004 5:41 pm Post subject:

done no problem 8)
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currently using aponia truck navigation on windows phone. Good bye IOS don't let the door hit you on the way out .

Oh the joys of being a courier.
device Lumia 950 xl

e_d_d_i_e · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 16

Well, I've now had a chance to have more of a play with the software and I've noticed a couple of extra things.

Firstly, there appears to be some sort of bug which repeats the same place names on lists several times over when you're doing searches.

Secondly, the POI database seems awfully thin on the ground, and I've also already found a couple of silly spelling mistakes.

E.g. In my home town of Rugby, I do a search for Car Parks and it doesn't find any whatsoever ! I know there are several of them in town.

Also, my local Petrol Station at Tesco's appears in the POI list misspelled as "RYGBY TESCO SERVICE STATION".

Also I do know there are several car parks in Stratford-Upon-Avon because I visited there last week. The POI database only lists Rother Street - and the POI database mis-spells it as "ROTHER STRET". Hmmm....

Fortunately, this new version of the Navman software allows you to upload your own custom POIs, although I haven't come across one yet that addresses these problems.

Am I expecting too much from POI functionality ? Certainly the road maps themselves look very good indeed.

Any insight from anyone would be greatly appreciated !

Tim Buxton · Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2004 6:56 pm Post subject:

I think the built-in POIs are supplied by TeleAtlas. If so, Navman have no control over what goes into the database. Mistakes can be reported to support (@) navman-europe (.) com and they will address those which they can and forward the rest to TeleAtlas.
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Tim

Simon1 · Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2004 9:28 pm Post subject:

eddie, really good to hear some comments from someone who has finally received theirs. I'm sort of the same as you - was about to buy the TTgo but then saw the 510 in just the nick of time. I've now got one on order but not sure when supplies will be in. Meanwhile, I'm eager to hear how the thing runs in comparison with all the stuff I've read about the TTgo.

The things that sold me on the 510 were the size, ability to put in loads of vias and the choice of quickest/shortest and a roads v motorways. Can you tell us how well the 510 plots a route if you don't want to use motorways all the way? Also, does it re-route you fairly fast if you divert because of traffic? And how easy is it to tell it to ignore a part of a road by drawing around it?

Looking forward to hearing more about it and also any other problems you may be experiencing.

Simon1 · Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:12 pm Post subject:

My Navman 510 has been despatched! It's been a long wait and a lot of trolling thru forums and websites - I hope the wait will be worth it.

I shall try and post some sort of user's review here after I've had it for a few days......

e_d_d_i_e · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 16

I've taken mine out over the last couple of days and I'm quite impressed with the accuracy of the road mapping and also how well signals are being received in the outdoors!

Route re-calculation seems to work OK in the mini-scenarios I've tried around town, although I've not yet driven long-distances.

The compactness and lightness of the unit is also great and I'm glad I didn't go for any of the other GPS solutions such as PDAs or Bluetooth/mobile phones. As far as I'm concerned, my phone is my phone and is dedicated to making and receiving calls. And if I want computer-like functionality on the move I've got a nifty little laptop for that !

The Navman is dedicated to its purpose and you can get it going in seconds with the minimum of fuss. The windscreen mount is also minimal and effective too.

Today out and about the unit was actively fixing from around 7 or 8 satellites all at once which looked quite impressive to me.

The only areas of letdown I feel are in the postcode database, and also the shortcomings in Points of Interest data that I've already pointed out.

The best way to navigate to a destination is to give an exact address as street name data appears to be the most comprehensive.

It seems to me that all GPS are affected by the lack of postcode/POI data, and I've put it down simply to the fact this is technology still in the process of maturing, so I really do think that whoever it is doing the mapping/database need to pull their finger out.

icsys · Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:59 pm Post subject:

e_d_d_i_e · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 16

e_d_d_i_e · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 16

Just thought I'd add that I took my unit out today in the cloud-covered rain scenario, and the overall GPS signal was definitely lower from each satellite but the number of satellites locked on to was still good and it all worked fine.

Only thing was with my chosen routes, I have found that I do need to adjust the default Route Calculation settings. By default the Navman wants to use motorways all the time, so I've reduced their priority.

From what I understand these route calculation preferences weren't available in previous versions of SmartST - for me this is essential !

For certain journeys I don't want to use motorways unless it is the most direct and advantageous route, otherwise I tend to prefer A roads.

e_d_d_i_e · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 16

Well, I thought I would just write in again to say that I've successfully uploaded the PocketGPS speed camera database to my Navman iCN510.

I just thought I'd mention that my earlier step of downloading POIEdit isn't actually required.

All you need to use is the CSV and the corresponding BMP icon file in the ZIP that you download from http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/uksafetycameras.php

Fire up the Navman SmartST Desktop software, then choose POIs... from the Map menu.

In the POI editor just load up the CSV file and choose the option to send it down to the Navman. Select whether the POI file will be an "active" one - we want to say "Yes" because we want warnings when it's near. Also specify the BMP icon file.

After this upload and then rebooting the iCN510 which happens when you pull out the USB cable, speed cameras are now shown, certainly the ones along the A45 to Coventry are there !

Will try the Red Light cameras next !

e_d_d_i_e · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 16

Red Light camera database also now downloaded. Smile

A couple of notes of caution now however. First off when downloading the CSV file, you need to manually edit the file in Notepad or some other text editor to remove the first line of the file.

Otherwise, the Navman POI editor won't understand the file and it will say "Invalid format" or some such.

Secondly, this database does not seem to list a red-light camera here in Rugby which is on the junction of Bilton Road and May Lane/Lytham Road.

Think I'll edit the database manually and upload that one myself.

Tim Buxton · Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 7:08 pm Post subject:

Please also forward any missing cameras that you come across, including type (Red light, Gatso, Truvelo etc.) to cameras (@) pocketgps.com so that the database can be maintained.
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Tim

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