Navman S90i review

Since Navman now owns Mio, we were a little surprised that the company chose not to submit a device from each brand. Mio won our last GPS Labs, and we've always been fans of its clear mapping engines and competitive prices. Still, the firm's top-of-the-range S90i is hardly expensive at £149, and it's got most of the features you'd expect at this price too.

There's traffic information included via the integrated TMC aerial, Bluetooth for hands-free phone operation, full maps of western Europe and speed camera data, too. Like the Medion and Sony systems, it's based on the Navigon mapping engine, and the maps are accurate and cleanly displayed onscreen.

Route calculation is swift - the test route was dispatched in 20 seconds - and once we were out on the road the Navman performed adequately. Voice instructions are clear and easy to understand, and the S90i didn't put a foot wrong on our test route: this device will get you from A to B without fuss.

But the S90i has its weaknesses. Its screen update is slow and, despite a bright and friendly interface, it isn't as intuitive as the Sony or TomTom. Route planning was another problem: it doesn't let you plan multipoint routes without a current GPS position, and adding waypoints by browsing the map is hampered by a sluggish map redraw and awkward zoom controls.

On the plus side, the S90i's digital camera lets you attach photos to locations and share those geo-tagged pics online. But this isn't a core satnav function and can't paper over the cracks in the S90i's performance and route-planning abilities.

Author: Jonathan Bray