Review: Novogo V30 GPS

A GPS complete with voice controls, but it's little more than a gimmick

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Price: £279

Manufacturer: Novogo

Specifications: 3.5in touch-screen TFT

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Verdict

Pros: Good speaker; straightforward software
Cons: Buttons can be confusing; over-reflective screen
Overall: The core of the V30 is a good performing GPS, like Novogo's A30, but the voice control isn't good enough to be more than a gimmick

Nigel Whitfield, Personal Computer World 07 Apr 2006

The V30 GPS from Novogo looks similar to its popular A30 alternative, but features more buttons, including a four-way navigation control, swappable fascias for the style conscious, and voice control.

The package we tested included UK mapping, a car mount, car and mains chargers and a soft case to protect the unit in your bag or glove box.

The software on the system is the same Navigon software as the A30 and has a brightly coloured skin, with good colourful icons. The spoken directions are loud and clear, which helps when driving on motorways.

The main difference between the A30 and this model is the extra keys and the voice commands.

The extra keys, frankly, aren't that useful. Large Escape and Enter buttons are found in addition to the navigation control, but they didn't always do what we expected, so you still end up having to tap on the screen, which is frustrating.

We also felt that the screen coating was far too reflective, making it harder to see at times - a removable screen protector could fix this, but shouldn't really be necessary in our view.

As it stands, you'll need to site the unit carefully to avoid glare.

Voice command is one of the main features touted for this model. However, it's actually just a simple tool to add a voice tag to destinations you've saved; you can then press the menu button, tap Voice Command and say the destination.

That's the theory, but in practise it was very unreliable. We found it a lot easier to just go into the favourites list then pick from the destinations on screen.

In other words, it's another classic example of a gimmick rather than a useful feature.

If you really want to persevere with voice commands, or you like the quick-release car cradle, this model's worth a look.

It's slightly louder than the A30, and retails for only £30 more, but we still prefer the A series with the simpler selection of buttons. We feel just less fiddly to get to grips with than the A30.

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