For a start the 3.5" non reflective screen mostly displays a moving map, either a 2D or 3D map with auto zooming in stark contrast to the iCN320 which was the claimed low cost system. It seems that having a moving map is a key feature that SatNav users demand and the snapshot approach of maps which appear as you get to the junction has gone from this new F20 unit. Measuring 116 mm x 79.5 mm x 24 mm and weighing 200 grams it's not a large unit and the styling although basic is quite attractive and will sit well with the interior of most modern cars.

As with almost all systems the Navman F20 comes with a mounting kit that enables it to be suckered to your windscreen and a 12 volt power cord that when in place allow near perfect placement of the unit for easy sight of the screen and also operation of the touch screen. Inside the F20's black plastic shell lies an Intel PXA 255 200Mhz processor and the latest incarnation of the Navman SmartST software which in this version is using Tele Atlas 2006 updated maps (the most recent). There is 32Mb of on device memory however this is barely enough to navigate out of Luxembourg so maps are provided on SD cards, our review unit came with UK and Ireland maps pre loaded onto an SD card and other maps are available for additional cost.

Navman have ensured that the F20 is built on the latest SiRFstarIII™ technology which promises the highest GPS accuracy available today of 5 meters and also the quickest TTF (time to fix) plus much improved accuracy when in less the optimum GPS conditions like built up areas or tree lined roads. So with the F20 bolted to our dash and the UK mapping card inserted we first set out to test Navman's claims that the unit is ready to drive out of the box.

Sat out with a clear view of the sky we powered up the F20 and left it to get it's first fix a process that can take some time especially with the older GPS chipsets, however 45 seconds later the F20 reported it was ready to go. The menu system is really rather good and streets ahead of some of the newer SatNav systems who a bit like the newer mobile phone manufacturers are still making their first mistakes. The touch screen works very well and the largish 3.5" screen is just enough for our big chunky fingers to operate the on screen keypad when it comes to putting in a destination.

The main menu uses 6 big icons to represent home, destination, POI, favourites, recent addresses and preferences. Alongside the screen there are also function buttons for calling up the menu and changing the navigation view plus 2 POI specific buttons which we'll cover later. So without the need for a manual we were already at the point of entering our first destination, like many new units the F20 takes a full UK postcode which is the way most of us choose to navigate, of course you can enter an address or partial address and there is support for navigating to a POI (point of interest).

Route planning is swift and the 200Mhz processor seems to cut through a long UK route pretty quickly, a nice touch is that your destination is shown on a 2D map for you to confirm before the route is accepted, this is good as we've managed to go to a location with a very similar name by mistake!

En route guidance is as you'd expect from a much more expensive Navman unit, gone is the snapshot maps of the iCN320 with your icon arriving and then driving out and back comes the full screen scrolling real-time map. The Nav button on the lower front of the unit changes the view between 3D / 2D, next turn, turn by turn (mostly textual) and a route summary view. The 2D / 3D view is the most comprehensive and includes an info link to lots of data about your journey, press this icon and you get a configurable screen which clearly displays things like ETA, distance to destination, speed, battery left, the kind of things that are normally too small to read on a map screen.

The map scrolls with you as you drive and is very smooth in its operation with auto zooming as you approach turn instructions, the next turn is always visible and you can even change the angle on the 3D map to suit your preferences from a 3D like gaming view to something more overhead. The voice instructions are clear and concise as has become a trademark of Navman, the small unit does struggle a little with volume output which could be a problem in a noisy car and the rear mounted speaker needs to be close to the windscreen in order to reflect the sound back to the driver.

Our first journey was a pleasant experience, we stuck to following the directions and the F20 steered us turn by turn on our standard test route, the route chosen was nigh on perfect and was a good balance between high speed motorway and local roads. Instructions are very clear and despite the lowish volume we found it easy to let the F20 do the driving for us. Time to shake things up a little, while there is no standard traffic warning system on the unit you can add a subscription free system as an option, this should provide input and may make you divert. Simulating such a situation we headed off onto the A41 to avoid and M25 queue and pushed at the touch screen expecting some kind of divert menu, sadly all we found was a cancel route or pause route option and no "roadblock" or alternate route menu as with some systems. Perhaps the traffic system option adds these but as standard we had to drive using our own knowledge around the queue and eventually the F20 picked up our new route and guided us back to the M25 one junction later.

Further tests proved that re routing or "back on track" as the NavmanSt software calls it works very well indeed and manages to avoid the dreaded "make a U turn" instruction most of the time, but clearly the lack of a manual avoid queue button could be an issue if you hit a jam in unfamiliar territory. 

POI's are fully supported by the F60 which has an inbuilt POI warner ideal if you are going to load up a speed camera map which is the most common use of POI databases. However the unit does have 2 dedicates buttons for navigating to 2 classes of POI's, these are for nearest petrol station and nearest parking. At this point we could make some sexist comment about them being special girly buttons and how only women couldn't find a petrol station or somewhere to park. But given that we nearly ran out of petrol on one of our test journeys we'll just keep quiet.

The battery is supposedly good for 3.5 hours navigating even on the brightest backlight setting which isn't bad and as the unit is quite slim and portable it is entirely possible that you may use it in someone lese car without the charging cable. Further TeleAtlas maps are available for most of western Europe and Aus / NZ and the USA all chargeable and requiring a bigger memory card.

We were unable to test with the pocketgps speed camera map, however as the F20 runs SmartST V3 software on paper it should be compatible with the popular speed camera map which costs "12 per year to download updates.

Priced at around £160 the Navman F20 is good value for money and seems to offer almost all the features we'd ask for, but it is up against tough competition from cheaper systems like the Garmin i3 and established market leader TomTom with their TomTom One unit which has recently had a refresh. You won't regret buying an F20 but it doesn't really set the world alight either, a safe and solid SatNav system that is ever so slightly girly even if it isn't pink!

Published - 22/10/2006

More SatNav Reviews-

[ Up ] [ Navman iCN510 Review ] [ Garmin C320 Review ] [ Mio 268 Review ] [ Magellan Roadmate 300 ] [ TomTom Go 700 ] [ GPS Navigation System Reviews ] [ Mio 269 Review ] [ TomTom One ] [ Mio A201 Review ] [ TomTom Rider Motorbike GPS ] [ Medion GoPal 350 Review ] [ Mio C210 Review ] [ Sony Nav-U Review ] [ Garmin i2 Review ] [ TomTom One Europe Review ] [ Navman N60i Review ] [ TomTom Go 520 Review ] [ Navman N20 Review ] [ Mio GPS Review ] [ Garmin Zumo 550 Review ] [ TomTom One XL ] [ Navman F20 Review ] [ Loox N100 Review ] [ Snooper Indago Review ] [ Acer D100 Review ] [ TomTom Go 910 Review ] [ Garmin i3 Review ] [ Garmin Nuvi Review ] [ Navman iCN320 Review ] [ TomTom Go 500 ] [ TomTom Go 300 Review ] [ Acer N35 Review ]