Navman F30 review

Navman's F30 is the cheapest in-car navigation system we've seen with a built-in TMC receiver. This lets it pick up traffic information from RDS radio broadcasts, so you don't have to pay a subscription to use the service.

The F30 is neatly designed. The TMC module is built into the windscreen mount, and the aerial attaches to your windscreen with self-adhesive Velcro mounts. This makes it easy to remove the whole system when you leave your car parked, an important step at the moment for any GPS owner.

You operate the F30 with the touchscreen, but it also has shortcut buttons on the right. These control the volume, change between 2D and 3D views and provide shortcuts to the nearest car parks and petrol stations. The buttons are particularly useful as you don't have to go through several menu levels to change basic settings.

You can navigate to a city centre or a full seven-digit UK postcode, or just type in a city and street name and choose from a list. Typing in addresses isn't especially easy. There's a big delay between pressing a key and the letter or number appearing on screen, so parts of the address can get skipped. It's especially bad when typing a street name, as the software has to search its database at the same time.

Despite the slow user interface, the F30's route calculation speed turns out to be above average. The unit takes less than five seconds to plan shorter routes, and only took 20 seconds to plot our journey from London to Edinburgh. The F30 warns you about toll roads, but not about London's Congestion Charge zone, which is one to watch.

The F30 worked well for us on the road. The navigation map updates smoothly, and clear turn instructions are given in good time. You can choose between 2D and 3D maps and the Itinerary mode, which displays the turnings on your route in a list view. The Itinerary mode takes ages to appear, though, and the F30 lacks the Navman N series' simplified Safety View.

Author: Chris Finnamore