After using Garmin and Tomtom gps's, I decided to try the Navigon 7200T hoping to find a unit that took the best from the Tomtom and Garmin offerings. The 7200T is quite different from both. Like the Tomtom, the Navigon shows a lot of info on the screen. It has speed limit, eta, speed warnings, and even an icon that changes as you get closer to a turn. It also shows you the street you are on and the street you will be turning on. Most side road names are displayed as well. This is much different than the Garmin (755T) which displays a basically clean screen and you need to switch to a different screen to get extra info about your trip.
The 7200T also has lane assist, 3d maps, reality view. They were the pioneers in this I believe but both the Garmin and TT do this now as well. Lane assist is nice, the reality view stuff is eye candy that doesn't affect anything.
The extra info on the 7200t's screen doesn't come without a price. Buttons are small and sometimes hard to tap. The Garmin 755T, Tomtom 920 and the 7200T have the same size screen but the Navigon looks a lot smaller.
Haven't had the unit out in bright daylight yet and I hope it is easy to see. It is a bright screen so I think it won't be a problem. The Garmin I have is easy to see always, the Tomtom is horrible if it is a bright day. The road you are travelling is highlighted well but unlike Garmin or Tomtom, the other roads are almost pencil lines. Garmin & TT show the other roads the same width as the road you are on. This doesn't really affect anything but the screen is something I am not used to.
The 7200T also comes with lifetime traffic and with their Freshmap offering, was able to purchase 3 years of map updates for $20 (had to search the net for that price though!).
Routing is quick and the routes it chooses seems reasonable and on par with Tomtom and Garmin. Its spoken directions are clear and easy to understand but are wordier and more sentence like than Garmin and Tomtom. Its kind of neat.
There have been reports that bluetooth doesn't work well. I have not tried as I have been disappointed with other units in the past. For better quality, use a headset.
The biggest disappointment is the POI database and handling. First the database is missing retailers like Home Depot & Target. There are also no health clubs or gyms or doctors or dentists. Haven't found what else is missing. But the way it searches POIs it does have is flawed. You have 3 choices, NEARBY, in a specific city, in a specific state.
Sounds like this should work but it doesn't, here is an example. If I search for a movie theater nearby, it comes back with 2, one is 3 miles away, the other 4.5 miles. Neither is a theater I would go to. If I search the city where the theater is I want, it finds it (it is about 12 miles away). If I search by state, it doesn't find it. So if I am travelling in an area I don't know and want to go to the movies, it doesn't give me enough nearby choices and since I don't know the area well enough to know specific citys, I would not be able to find a theater. Same would be true if I needed a dentist as an emergency. No dentists seem to be in the database. The hospitals are there but I wouldn't go there for a tooth ache.
I will be taking it on longer trip this weekend, will see how it does but I think once I get used to it, I will like it alot!!
For those looking for both style and substance, the NAVIGON 7200T is a standout among other GPS devices. Behind the 7200T s elegantly designed extra-w...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.