I spent a lot of money on the Navman N60i and it is now stuck in a cupboard. I don't recommend this if you live in Northern Ireland, only picks up Belfast post codes, might as well through it in the bin and buy a street map.

The Navman N60i....where to begin but the start? I decided upon the Navman after a long drawn out read of many others on offer, and found that this one would suit my needs the best...I used to have a proper one fitted by Philips Carin....the bees knees in my opinion...so I was prepared for the worst when putting my trust in one of these take out the box and go anywhere ones, but my worries were soon put to rest. I suppose the one feature that swung it for me was the Navpix feature...what a great idea to be able to point at the photo of the place last visited and just press go and your off. After opening the box I switched it on and after a couple of minutes had put an address in and was off in the car being directed by the voice, and very smooth it is too....it's that simple to use even if you don't read the instructions first. When you first get the unit it's best to make sure it's charged fully before going into the details of what this great device can do....in the mean time check through the very easy to follow booklet just to familiarise yourself with the controls....After the initial turn on the device will ask you if you accept the terms and choose a country...the maps will then automatically load (this will not happen again unless you have syncd with the computer). And it will start to search for the satellites that will track your every move, and this can take up to 12 minutes the first time due to it being in a new area from the factory....The next time it is turned on it takes around a minute or even less depending on your location to find the necessary sats .....this is quick compared to some other models...There are different ways of finding your destination and by far the most popular is the post code method (this has an 8 digit one, more than enough) and it even has house numbers too depending on the accuracy of the mapping...It comes with ALL the roads and motorways of Great Britain and Europe already installed....any extras can be purchased through the Navman site, but I doubt anyone would need to expand on what is on offer. You can search by city/town then add a street name if you don't want to trust the post code method..but whats the point...everything has a post code so why not just use that? Any routes navigated are stored into a memory for you to return to at any time, but these can be deleted as necessary. Points of interest are well covered,such as hospitals, doctors, banks, and places to eat etc. On the fascia, Navman saw fit to deploy a dedicated toggle button...one for petrol stations,the other for Parking facilities, a nice touch. And talking of nice touches, thats exactly what you do to this model, it has a 90% touch screen to navigate and alter any situation you might see fit, but the nice thing about this unit is the fact there are actual buttons to push to enter a mode, then you use the touch screen. One main button enters the address system the other enters the set-up..a sort of customising screen to suit the individual and the last button to mention changes the screen view depending on what navigation is on tap...Example...when the Navman is just tracking you, you have 3D and a 2D mode...but in navigation mode you have 2 extra..this includes a map and direction arrow split about 50/50..or you can have a detailed explanation for each road and turn...whichever one you decide it still uses the voice instructions, the choice is yours...3D seems to be the most popular and as you get nearer your turn the map automatically zooms closer for a better view of the upcoming turn. The voice warns you in plenty of time of a turn your about to make and just before you have to make it, so no excuse to miss any. The screen itself is nice and bright and is smear free to a point, but a quick wipe with the supplied cloth soon gets rid of any grime. Now to the interesting party piece this device has..the Navpix function. It has a built in 1.3 megapixel camera and is a doddle to use. It comes into it's own when you are visiting a place of interest OR you are passing a place you might like to return to but don't have the time at that moment. These pictures can be stored or sent as Email also to those valued friends to show them where you have visited..Example: Imagine your going to a destination ....routed by the Navman..and on your journey you see a place you might like to eat at on the return trip..then...stop the car snap the Navman out of it's cradle (conveniently fixed somewhere on the screen safely) press the camera button which will then put the camera into action, the view will appear on the screen ...then all you do is press the button again and thats it...It stores the location automatically ready for you to go into the Navpix album and then all you do is touch the picture and tell it GO and it will take you there....no address needed or post codes this time...although the address and post code are saved to memory for you to save on your computer or anywhere you so desire.I love this feature myself...so very often my wife and I are on a day trip and we pass several points of interest and we cannot always remember what and where it was...no need to rake the old brain cells now..What the Navman is actually doing is storing it's Longitude and Latitude co-ordinates, but with a picture too...no need now to wonder what that address was you forgotten..the picture should be able to jog the memory. You can in fact use the Navpix site to upload and download places of interest on the Internet, but to be fair it's a bit sparse at the moment. Are there any gripes I have...well...yes there are....but none to shout about...NO Sat Nav is perfect and sometimes you will hear the voice driven directions say something that does not quite match what you are seeing in front of you, but a quick glance at the map screen will soon be clear what to do...and of course the mapping is only accurate to the date of manufacture...the day after it's made a road can be blocked off or a mini roundabout added at the drop of a hat, so only treat the Sat Nav as a 'get me close affair' and not a precision tool...Like I said earlier..NO Sat Nav is perfect but this one does a hell of a good job with simplistic instructions to get you there. One thing I haven't mentioned...a few extras that come with this model. It comes with pre-installed speed cameras and this can be updated for a small fee and you can set it up as to how far or near you need the warning (you can even set an alarm to go off should you go over a certain speed)..It also comes with a remote control covering the more basic controls but necessary ones. A nice carry case is also supplied and the power supplies for the house and car plus a USB lead and software to attach to the computer. One extra Optional which might be necessary if you are on the road a lot is the Traffic Module.A traffic control device,which will keep the Navman up to date with any traffic hold-ups en-route and will re-direct you to avoid them.On the Tom Tom and other units this carries a yearly cost...not so with the Navman..with the T.M...once you have bought it thats it. It fits neatly under the main unit and the aerial is routed around the screen. SO...In conclusion....I have used the Navman now for the past 3 months and despite the odd hiccup (all Sat Navs have them) this one seems to be a sure fire winner. Using the Navman has been a pleasure and has already proved it's worth.Shopping around should get you one for about £290 delivered and personally I think it's worth it for what you get.Would I recommend one ...in a nutshell ..YES...get one now and get out there and explore those roads you thought never possible ...only this time you shouldn't get lost. Happy Motoring.