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Affordable GPS Navigation Device Puts Safety First
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Written by Brian J. Sero   
Monday, 09 March 2009
Job one for any in-car GPS unit is to help you get to your destination safe and sound. In the past you would have paid extra for such features as school-zone and speed alerts, and text-to-speech pronunciation of street names. Now Netropa brings these and other important safety features to the low end of the GPS market with its intellinav 3, which lists for only $330.

The Intellinav 3 preloads maps for the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on an included 2GB SD Card, along with a points-of-interest database totaling 6 million entries.

The downside to the Intellinav 3's small size is its crowded 3.5-inch touch-screen LCD. Moving between menus in the device's settings and other controls is clear and easy, but locating a specific item on the map, such as your next turn or estimated arrival time, can be a challenge while you're driving. The screen also washes out in bright sunlight. That's where the pronunciation of street names comes in handy.

The Intellinav 3's route selections were usually spoton, though I disagreed with a couple of the device's rush-hour suggestions. The product uses historical traffic patterns to choose your route and to calculate your arrival time--but in my testing, I did not see any actual reduction in travel times.

You cannot play audio files and view images on the device while navigating or viewing the map; I also missed being able to stream the navigation audio through my car's FM stereo. But the ability to hear street names while you navigate puts this GPS unit miles ahead of other entry-level devices.

Last Updated ( Monday, 09 March 2009 )