Review: Navman N40i sat-nav device

What immediately sets the Navman N40i apart from its competitors is the inclusion of a built-in digital camera. With only a small lens on the rear of the device’s slimline PDA-style casing and a shutter button on the top edge, the unusual feature is neatly integrated and adds little in terms of size. But then it’s not immediately obvious what it adds in terms of usefulness, either.

The manufacturer claims that the proprietary Navpix technology allows you to navigate using pictures rather than addresses. A selection of downloadable Navpix is available from the Navman website and N40i owners can also register and upload their own places of interest.

In practice, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a gimmick, especially since the results from the camera’s 1.3-megapixel sensor are poor.

Given that the inclusion of a camera has almost certainly increased manufacturing costs, it’s pleasing to note that the N40i’s standard functions don’t seem to have suffered as a result. The ubiquitous Samsung 400MHz processor crops up again, backed up by 64MB of Ram and a standard SD/MMC memory card slot. In our tests we experienced some occasional hangs when tapping on-screen buttons, but generally the system is pretty fast and maintained a strong link to the satellite signal.

In operation, postcode searches are simple and speedy, and the 3.5in LCD is easy to view, even in fairly bright light.

A mains adapter is provided in the box and the rechargeable battery lasts for about four hours, allowing the device to be used outside the car. Detailed UK and European maps flesh out the package, while pre-installed speed camera data is a welcome if slightly unreliable bonus. The N40i neglected to inform us of at least one speed cam in our tests, although naturally we were driving well under the speed limit at the time.

This article is part of a group test of 10 satellite-navigation devices
See also:
Introduction
Acer p610
Garmin Nuvi 310
Magellan Roadmate 3050T
Medion Gopal PNA465
Mio Digiwalker C510E
Novogo S700
Sony Nav-u NV-U50T
Tomtom One Europe
ViaMichelin X-950
A tables of features can be read via our pdf download above

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