Navigon may not be as well known a GPS manufacturer here in the US as Garmin or Magellan but you'll find Navigon behind many of the new cars and cell phones with built-in GPS capabilities. Based in Germany, Navigon was one of the pioneers in commercial GPS navigation. Creating the world's first dynamic personal GPS unit in 1996, Navigon went on to offer the industry's first navigation software for the Pocket PC in 2000. In 2002 the company introduced the first Traffic Message Channel (TMC) for mobile navigation gear. (That's where the GPS unit helps you avoid traffic snarl-ups, which can be a real time saver in this day and age!) Now Navigon has decided to make its presence better known in the US.

What's In the Box – and what's not

In the box is the very handsome looking GPS unit itself with its glossy black bezel. Measuring 4.05” x 3.09” x .72” (about the size of a pack of cards) and weighing 5.4 ounces, the unit will slip into a pocket for easy carrying.

The unit runs on a rechargeable 1150 mAH lithium ion battery (rated for up to 4.5 hours). It comes charged but you should charge it up in your car as soon as you can. There's an SD card preloaded with software and maps of the continental United States. (My advice is to make a backup of the card using your computer. It will be a safety net in case something ever goes wrong with the memory card or during a software update). There's the ubiquitous window mount adapter and some very minor assembly is required for the mount. There's a car charger cable – which is also used as an antenna for the optional Traffic Service. A 3 1/8” round black disc with sticky tape on the back of it that will let you mount the unit on the dash or other flat surface.

Quickstart Guide – you can download the entire 104 page manual online from Navigon's website. Printing is expensive so its not a big deal to me if it means they can offer a GPS unit this nice for the price.

Optional accessories:

NAVIGON Lifetime Traffic service – This lets your Navigon 2100 display traffic conditions and you can have the unit give you an alternate route. No extra hardware needed. MSRP $99.99 (do some shopping around)

* Link to Real Time Traffic City Listing. real time traffic city listing.rtf

* Zagat Survey Ratings and Reviews – Over 21,000 reviews covering more than 70 cities in the US and Canada. Restaurants, golf courses, hotels, spas and attractions nationwide. MSRP $39.99 (again shop around)

* Two different carrying cases

* 3-way car power adapter

* AC wall charger (uses the car charger cable so there is less to carry around)

* Touchscreen protectors (One package includes one set of two 3.5” and 4.3” protectors.)

Graphical interface

The 3.5” graphical interface of the Navigon 2100 display is clean looking and I found it very easy to read at a glance, much more so than with certain other GPS devices. The color LCD display has a resolution of 320x240 pixels and runs under Microsoft Windows CE Net 5.0.

As I sit here at my desk I have the Navigon 2100, in simulation mode, giving me directions to the local Islands Restaurant. I decided to use simulation mode since its safer than trying to write this review while driving. The display is actually simulating the entire trip acting as if I were really in the car driving at the posted speed limit. In a clear voice the unit is warning me of upcoming turns, with street names, and then telling me when to turn. Getting voice directions with street names is a fantastic feature! Lesser GPS units at this price point will only beep and display directions, better units might say something like ”right turn – 500 feet” but that won't help you distinguish between two closely spaced streets as are found in every neighborhood. The Navigon will say “Turn right at Bristol Street”. For me, having a GPS unit with voice directions giving me street names is a MUST. You'll save yourself from going off track and making U-turns as often.

Also on my simulated trip, the Navigon showed me nearby points-of-interests I've chosen. [insert link to file ‘Navigon 2100 Points of Interest list.txt’] I've set it to show me nearby gas stations, restaurants, and banks. For the most common POI, the 2100 will display the appropriate graphic. For instance, when I'm passing a MacDonald's it shows the Golden Arches symbol, when I pass a 76 station it shows the orange ball 76 corporate symbol. It really helps to pick them out when glancing at the screen while driving. One warning, don't pick more than two or three POI groups or the screen will get too crowded.

Handy for more than just directions

During my first trip with the unit I found a restaurant I never knew existed on a street just parallel to my normal route to work. That is just one of the MANY features of the Navigon that I found immediately useful. And again, this on an entry level unit! On my second trip I decided to be sneaky and not follow its directions, taking a different route home. At first the Navigon warned me I'd made an error and then tried to re-route me back on track. But was I nice enough to follow the directions? Nope! Soon enough the unit gave up and recalculated directions to my home from where I was at the moment. So if for some reason you are driving dazed and confused, not paying attention to directions, this Navigon will still get you to where you want to go.

Now for this price you know you're not going to have some features found on the more expensive units like being able to use it as a music player or watch your own videos on it, but I don't think that's much of a loss for a very affordable GPS unit.

The model 2100 does feature the following:

* 1.3 million Points of Interest

* Blocking route sections – use to alter your route manually to avoid traffic jams, parades, etc.

* Password Lock

* Auto Complete

* Preview Mode

* Navigation Mode

* 2D or 3D view

* Reality View – Shows road sign postings simulating the highway junction, returns to normal map view once past the junction. This is a good feature with complicated highway junctions.

* 2D Map Orientation - direction of travel or magnetic North

* Altitude

* Speed Limits

* Your Speed - you can turn on this feature to warn you if you are going over the speed limit. Set to 5, 10 or 15mph over.)

* Compass

* Remaining Distance

* Duration of Journey

* Time of Arrival

* Crossing Borders

* Show/hide coordinates

* Day/Night display - again a very clean and easy to read display

* Speed Dependant Volume

* Type of Transport – Car, bicycle, walking

* Type of Route – Fast, Optimum, Short and Scenic

* Use/Avoid Highways, Toll Roads, Ferries

* Multiple Stages – plan for rest stops, gas, lunch, etc.

* U-Turn Allowed/Not Allowed.

Final thoughts

In my opinion the Navigon 2100 is a solidly built, compact unit that beats their competition with a cleaner, more polished interface. Since the interface is what you have to deal with the most with any GPS unit I give the Navigon 2100 high marks, especially for the price. Add to that the capability to upgrade your service to show traffic conditions and Zagats Guide, then you have a hard to beat little GPS unit for the roadwarrior and vacationer.

Navigon also sells a model 2120 which is the same as the 2100 but data covers Canada, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Also in its lineup the models 5100, and 7100 with larger screens, 6 million points of interest, included traffic and Zagats guide.

The Navigon 2100 has a MSRP of $249 but there are some good deals out there this season. It features a standard one year warranty. http://www.navigon.com