Sat Nav with Voice Activation!

Yup, another sat nav! This time it’s a widescreen, European map version, from Navigon, a manufacturer I’d not had the pleasure of trying before. Now, it's been nearly 2 years since I last had a widescreen unit to trial, and in all honesty my first thought was that having got thoroughly used to a 'normal' sized one, I'd probably find the big screen too distracting as I drove. I was pleasantly surprised to be proved wrong on this occasion, as once I got going the screen just became part of the windscreen, something it was easy enough to focus on when needed, yet ignore completely most of the time.
But stepping back a bit, and before getting into the car, let’s have a look at what you get in the box:

• As expected, one shiny black & silver unit, slim, widescreen, but not overly unusual in its design
• Car windscreen attachment – More on this later
• In-Car charging adapter with in-built TMC antenna - Hurrah, no more 2nd wire to get traffic updates!
• Standard USB cable for connecting to the computer
• Home charger
• A pouch! Just a little black bag, nothing special, but at least it’s some form or protection for the device.
• A couple of quick installation guides and
• the “Live” Module – a pay for service, that allows you to access updates as you go such as traffic, mobile security cameras,  weather, parking and Google Local Search.

I got it out of the box and set to fiddling, as I always do, eager to test out route planning. A 2 second press of the "On" button and “Presto!” the full colour display sprang into life, and I selected navigation from the menu offered. I selected my destination easily enough, the touch screen options proving very intuitive. To start with it didn’t seem possible unless you were already outdoors/in the car which was really frustrating, as I like to have an idea of where it’s going to route me before I set off. However, with determination I tracked down the correct way to program it to simulate routes. Phew! For each destination I chose I was offered 3 slightly differing routes to select from, all of which I was able to either view as a list of directions or play through as though I was driving, Excellent. Oh, and I was happy to see I could change between car, bike and pedestrian modes, making it useful for shorter distances too.

So, out to the car and with a quick check of the very simple instruction booklet (large diagrams, small text in several languages), I achieved a quick and easy installation. Despite the extra ‘Live’ module, there really was nothing more difficult than of the others I’ve tried, with a standard USB to "power outlet" (because of course, cars don't have cigarette lighters anymore!) connection.

Route programmed and ready to roll, I set off North on the motorway. Contentedly I watched my little icon follow its orange path up the country... watched the countryside undulate on screen, (there’s several view modes, I really like the topographical map, and found the 3D city view kind of fun) and watched in surprise as the McDonalds logo appeared over the electronic horizon! Hmm, marketing at its best there, I wasn’t hungry until the logo appeared! In its defence it also offers petrol stations, travel inns, and other points of interest so it’s not all bad!

I ignored the subliminal advertising, and drove on. I got painlessly through the M1 road works, which I was delighted to find it warned me about, and was really enjoying the drive...
Now, you remember that windscreen attachment... Uh-huh, 1 hour in, and the darned thing fell off the windscreen!
Argh! Bother!
With some very ‘interesting’ wriggling, I managed to manoeuvre it so the screen was still visible and the device was steady on the dashboard, and then continued a further hour up the road to my scheduled stop (I wasn’t giving in to the McDonalds urge, no way!), where I made extra sure it wasn't going to come off for the rest of the journey!

So far, it had all been easy, but, as I set it up to continue my journey, I somehow managed to set my rest stop up as an additional destination, and so as I headed north, it kept desperately trying to route me back south again! Still, with a bit of random finger jabbing, I managed to remove the erroneous way point, and it finally let me carry on in the direction I wanted!

The one feature the 8450 has that I’ve wanted in a sat nav for ages is voice activation, and although it took a little bit of getting used to, I quickly got to grips with it, and was happily adjusting volume, flipping through the settings, and even choosing a new route as I went.

Along with the voice activation, is the option to sync with your mobile via Bluetooth, which gives the added bonus of phone book integration and voice dialling. I was really impressed.
There’s also the built in media player that all sat navs seem to have now, this isn’t an option I’ve ever really understood the need for, but on a long journey, stuck in traffic, I can see that perhaps being able to use it as a backup music device might prove useful. And, if a standard media player isn’t enough for you, how about getting the optional extra of a TV tuner! I guess that might be good if you’ve got kids to entertain!

Overall this is a good device, the display is clear and bright, the built in software intuitive (after the initial hiccoughs) and the added extras of a very good quality.  The add-on TV-Tuner is a novel idea, and the ‘live’ module gives access to some excellent content, although the cost of these extras might prove prohibitive for many. However, for the voice and phone integration alone, I’d have to recommend it. It is more expensive than some, but in my view it’s well worth it. The more I see of developments in sat navs, the more impressed I become. I’ve given 10/10 before, and I’m going to again. As I wrote this for the Navigon 8450, I reviewed my scores for previous products, and in light of this one, I would certainly drop a couple of points off them.

RRP: £399, and available online and at stores nationwide.
At time of review, available at dabs.com for £390.01