Navman S50 falls short of expectation

Category: Review on Navman S50 GPS

Posted by: 14-Jul

Strengths: SIRFstar III, Navpix, screen sensitivity

Weaknesses: Short battery life

The Navman S50 is the latest addition to Navman’s S-series catering to the entry level GPS market. Sporting a smart lightweight design with a gloss black plastic body with silver trims, the S50 slips easily into your pocket. The small frame is lightweight yet has the feel of a solid build with modern styling. The extra large 4.3-inch LCD touch screen display provides unmatched convenience on the move.

The menu is bright with clear labelling enabling ease of use. The unit also consists of very useful pre-installed speed and red light camera alerts. One feature that stands out is the integrated Bluetooth support which can pair up with your mobile phone enabling hands free calling.

The unit provides multiple route options and voice guided instructions. Also included is Navman’s Desktop Manager which keeps track of mileage and manages the album.
The Navman S50 is equipped with SIRF Star III receiver which provides efficient and quick operation and takes less than a minute to pick up a GPS signal. The unit provides various navigation views such as 3D moving map view, 2D map, turn-by-turn instruction and also route summary for multi-stop trips. An added feature to the previous S–series models is the ability to search using 8-digit postcodes.

However, the battery life is fairly short (5 hours) forming the only major drawback in this latest offering from Navman.