Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 40
 The most complete PND that I have ever used!! March 12, 2010
Irwin M. Fletcher (Valkenvania)
23 out of 32 found this review helpful
I would like to start off by saying that I feel bad that this device has received some bad marks. From what I have gathered over the last week, it either has to do with the user not installing the two updates that are available, not understanding how to function the device or a niche feature that has been left out. Or about things that are minor and probably correctable with a map and/or software update. Ultimately it is all opinion (just like I'm writing here) and based on wants/needs, but I thought I would throw that out there.
This will be a fairly long but thorough and unbiased review. I am not a fanboy of any one particular PND company other than Navigon, but they are long gone from North America so that doesn't count. My Navigon 7200T was stolen about a month ago which made me a PND free agent. In my search, I simply couldn't find anything to match the Navigon so I purchased a used one from Amazon Warehouse Deals. Then not even a week later, the Motorola Motonav TN765t was released. And now? Goodbye Navigon, it was a great run while it lasted!
This Motonav is quite simply the most complete and beautiful PND that I have ever used. Is it perfect? No. That doesn't exist. Is it perfect for my needs and wants? Yes, hence the 5 start rating.
Right out of the box what is better than most PND's in the market today? The 5.1" cinematic widescreen display (which I will touch on later) and the beautiful graphics. Next would be how well they utilized the extra widescreen with their slideout panel on the left which houses a wealth of information. But enough of that, let's dive into my pros and cons.
Pros:
1. The screen: Cinematic widescreen display & resolution is superb. Better than anything on the market.
2. Map detail: The map graphics are gorgeous and the detail is superb. Better than anything on the market. Doesn't have that cartoonish graphic look like most PND's today. It is very detailed and very easy to read. It's very easy on the eyes and the street names are big and in a balloon for easy readability. It also shows overpasses, train tracks, etc.
3. Map smoothness: While navigating the map moves as smooth as butter. Best refresh rate that I've ever seen.
4. The layout: The left slideout is genius and works extremely well with the cinematic widescreen display. It was utilized perfectly.
5. The TTS: It is super clear and almost flawless in pronunciation.
6. The turn warnings: It is the perfect balance of giving you enough reminders but not too chatty like some PND's. It's a perfect amount.
7. Turn warning detail: I love that it says the exit number and the exit name together. For example it will say "take exit 23b, Sea World Drive". Also while driving in the city at 0.5 miles away from your next turn it will say "prepare to turn right in half a mile". Then at 0.25 miles away it will say "in a quarter mile, turn right on Main Street". Then at 100 yards and less the turn icon turns blue to let you know that you are very close to your turn. Then about 30 yards or so away it will say "turn right on Main Street". It's truly excellent.
8. Satellite acquisition: It's phenomenal. This unit is always in "sleep" mode unless you hold the power button for 10 seconds or you don't use the unit for 4 days. So if you use your PND frequently you will always get a lightning fast acquisition. When I mean fast, I mean fast. As in under 10 seconds fast. Actually the fastest that I've ever experienced with any PND that I've used.
9. Entering a destination: It is very easy and intuitive. There are many different ways and it's super fast and easy. Want to find 123 Main St.? Just type in 123 Main and it will find it in no time. It has predictive search so each number or letter you are entering, the device is looking for the best probability as you type it.
10. Lane Guidance and Junction View: They are both very well done. It doesn't flash a full screen graphic either, so it's not obtrusive. It's very helpful and implemented well while still keeping your map and navigation screen as your priority.
11. Photo enforced traffic light warning: This is a superb feature. Whenever I come close to a photo enforced traffic light it gives me a nice graphic on the screen of a photo enforced light icon.
12. Speed trap warning: This is a great feature too. If you are in a speed trap area, it will notify you and then your current speed shows up on a graphic on the screen in red.
13. Sending a route from Google Maps: This is super intuitive and a very cool feature. You just send a destination or POI, turn on your GPS, go into the "Favorites" folder, then the "Google" folder and press update. It syncs every destination or POI that you have sent since you last updated.
14. The left slideout panel: It is one of a kind and works extremely well. This is where the extra wide 5.1" cinematic display really comes into play and shines. While navigating you can have this slideout panel open and still have plenty (about 2/3) of map view on the screen. In this slideout panel you can choose aerial view, nearby POI's, dashboard (current location, speed, altitude, etc.), turn by turn directions, way points, trip info (your destination address, estimated arrival time, distance to destination, time remaining & elapsed time) and traffic. It is truly an exceptional feature and implemented perfectly.
15. Bing: The Bing service is a pretty neat feature that isn't vital but definitely can come in handy. I searched movie times with it the other night. You can also search stocks, news, sports scores, etc. I searched by saying "NFL" last night and it gave me all the current NFL news. Cool feature.
16. 3D landmarks: 3D landmarks is a cool feature but also not vital. I've already seen some major attractions in San Diego on there (stadiums, etc.). Doing a simulation route in Las Vegas was cool to see all of the hotels and such.
17. MotoExtras: The MotoExtras are very cool in my opinion. The fuel prices, weather, flight status and Google Local Search are cool. The Google Local Search is vital to me. It makes the POI database limitless and it's implemented well. You would be surprised how useful it is to have unlimited POIs at your fingertips. I will be using this extensively when we got out of town.
18. POI: The pre-installed POI database is extremely robust. Motorola confirmed 7 million POI and it shows. It has been finding almost anything that I can throw at it. Then if it doesn't, which is true for every PND, there is always Google. A win-win.
19. Traffic: The traffic feature works very well and I haven't had a problem with it yet. I haven't been in too many traffic situations yet so I can update more as I use it. But it has worked well for the couple of times that I was in that situation.
20. Build quality and design: The build quality and design are superb. The device is very well built and solid. I also love the frameless design of the screen. I love how the traffic receiver is built into the cradle as well. The cradle and mount are very sturdy and work great. The device is super easy to pop on and off of the mount. It's one button push on the bottom.
21. MotoExtras cost: I think $49 for one year or $99 for 3 years (best value at $2.75 per month) is very fair and less than competitors.
22. Route calculation: This is another area where this unit shines and pulls away from the competition. It calculates routes extremely fast and if you make a wrong turn or move, the recalculation is insane. In most cases it has updated the route before TTS can even finish announcing that it's recalculating. It's amazing.
23. Routing: It has done a perfect job for me thus far. No issues to report yet.
24. Bluetooth: The Bluetooth functionality works seamlessly and is the best of any PND I have used to date. It easily connects to your phone and syncs your contacts, recent calls and text messages (if you have a compatible phone, mine is not). It is easy to use and the call quality is good. My girlfriend has said I sound good on the other end and I can hear her great. It will also read text messages to you as they come in and you can respond as well (if you have a compatible phone, mine is not).
25. Voice command: The voice command features work surprisingly well. I've had issues with other PND's in the past with this feature, but not with the Motonav. You can command a ton of functions with your voice and for the most part it has understood me. I am amazed about how many commands you can give it. Very well done.
Cons:
1. Speed limit info: The speed limit icon doesn't show up enough. It definitely shows up on all highways and freeways, but not much on city streets. I assume this will change with a map update.
2. Current street: I don't like that it doesn't show you which street that you are currently on. It just shows the next street on your route. I'm sure this can be added with an update?
3. Map update: My device shows Q1 2009 but according to Motorola's website, they are up to Q4 2009. The device is supposed to give you a free map update within 60 days of purchase. I can't seem to get it. I contacted Motorola and they said there must not be an update available for the device, which there should be.
4. Customer support: It seems lackluster and when I did talk to someone he didn't seem very well versed on this device. He had to put me on hold to get information.
5. Current speed: While your current speed is available in one of the left slideout screens, I would really like to see it on the main navigation screen next to the speed limit icon. Otherwise you have to be on that specific slideout screen to see it which isn't ideal.
That is honestly all that I can complain about so far. This is the most complete GPS for my needs that I have ever used.
I will try to update this review as I use it more.
Bottom line? I highly recommend this unit. It does what it's supposed to do and should fit right in with a market who wants a full featured PND that acts like an in-car GPS (Ford Sync, etc.). A car integration kit is coming out in May that will mount the PND, keep it constantly charging without a cigarette adapter, pass the audio through your sound system and it will have an iPod/MP3 connector. It's not a needed add-on, but good to know it's available.
Overall this PND is amazing and has HUGE potential and upside. When Home Shopping Network debuted this device, the host said that Motorola invested over a year just designing this thing. And it shows. Everything is well done and implemented. For a device only over a week old, the sky is the limit. I'm sure they will iron out the wrinkles and make this device even better than it already is. The MotoExtras website shows a lot of features that aren't available yet, but they sound promising (Maps, safety cameras, POIs, free PC extras, skins, 3d extras, traffic information, service bundle, guidance voice and backgrounds).
And if it sounds like I know too much about this device, it's because I do. I did a ton of research over the past couple of weeks and I have been very active on [...]. If you're looking for a new PND, this has to be on your short list.
The best for my needs (so far) May 2, 2010
Comdet
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I love GPS units. Ever since first using them when they first came out for the consumer market years ago (and were horribly expensive) I'd no sooner drive a car without a GPS than I would without a spare tire. For me, it's a must have.
Given this, plus my enjoyment of anything that has buttons, I've owned several, and have tried out several more. So far, the Moto is the hands-down winner.
GPS' have matured quite a bit over the past few years, so the days of having one manufacturer being worlds better than another is pretty much over. What I mean by that is that a GPS from any of the major manufacturers (TomTom, Garmin, Magellan, etc.) will do the basics of getting you from point A to point B just fine. It's the fine-tuning that has begun to matter.
This is where it gets difficult to provide a recommendation, since what's important to me may not be important to others. For example, I've always shunned units that didn't "ding" at an upcoming turn, or always display the next turn direction regardless of how far away that turn is. Others may find those features not all that important.
So, what makes the Moto best for me? Basically the form factor. I love, love, LOVE the extra wide screen! You can maintain a good map view but still have a portion of the screen dedicated to all sorts of useful info, such as the complete turn-by-turn list, an aerial view of your trip (both close distance as well as the entire journey), all sorts of stats such as arrival time, elapsed drive time, traffic notifications, upcoming POIs and so on. Absolutely wonderful. Plus it has the upcoming turn ding and the always-visible next turn direction.
The build quality is solid, routing is good, the PC interface (the Moto Toolbox) is far more stable than the TomTom Home software (at least for me - running it on Win 7 64 bit), and I love how they have integrated the POI database into the address database. For example, with other GPS if I wanted to go to the XYZ store and didn't know the street address, I'd have to open up the POI database, then select the store category, then find the store. With the Moto I just type in the name of the store using the same screen as I use to type in an address.
Also like that it has real buttons on each side rather than be forced to use the touchscreen. For me, that makes key features (such as muting it) a lot easier to use. The screen is very clear and easy to see even in bright sun. Excellent refresh rate. In fact, very speedy in every aspect, from searches to plots to route recalc's.
The Moto gives you a lot of value for the money. I must confess, however, that I didn't purchase it at Amazon, but rather at another online store when they had it on sale for under 2 bills. At that price, it's a fantastic value. But, even at the regular price of less than 3 bills, it's a solid value.
Can't comment on the services such as the Bing search or Google connectivity since I have never used them (those are some of the features I don't see much value in). But, the traffic info is solid, and just as good (if not better) than the XM traffic feed I have with my built-in GPS (in an Infiniti EX35).
Downsides are that it runs hot. You can toast a sandwich on it after just a short while in use in the car. Doesn't seem to cause a problem, but don't know if that's a long-term reliability issue. Moto is also relatively unproven in the GPS world. So far so good - they've provided software and map updates at no charge without any problem, and have responded promptly to an email for support info. Lastly, the quality of spoken directions is just OK. You can understand them, but it's not the best out there by any means.
For me, this provides the best mix of features I've seen so far. Granted, in a few months I'll be looking at the next newest and greatest one out there, but for now, I could not be happier with this.
Its a keeper April 19, 2010
GJT
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fast satellite acquistion. Like the split screen view. excellent screen even in sunlight.Routes are just as good or better than the garmin 855t it replaces.Way better than the garmin 885t for lane guidance, voice recognition commands & traffic. Case seems very well made As soon as I received , went to site to update software and the free map update. there were 2 software updates and 1 map update to 4th qtr 2009. Updates took less than 1 hour and no problems. very impressed with map update. The garmin I had with 2010 updates did not have roads shown that the motonav had. Motorola has a 60day map update for free.
From a directionally challenged Mom.... March 4, 2010
R. Litzell (Oviedo, Fl United States)
12 out of 18 found this review helpful
As a Mom who has never been good at getting from one place to another and who lives near a big city (biggest one I've ever lived in anyway), I've got to say that this Motonav has all the features needed to get me where I'm going. I love the fact that I can sync my phone book and make calls without having to pick up my phone and dial. Our family particularly likes the search capabilities of the Motonav to get us to a specific place and to know just how long it will take to get us there. I can't think of anything that was left out of the features of this GPS. I have owned a GPS prior to this one, and just the sleek design and size of the Motonav is a huge upgrade. Easy to see, hear directions and easy to use. It's an investment, but when you need it and it gets you where you need to go- it's worth every penny.
My Parents were able to use it . . .that says it all! June 3, 2010
Douglas Figueredo (New York, NY USA)
The BEST thing about this unit is that you can speak the address to it. This worked for me perfectly with no problems. My parents have a slight accent and it was still fine for them. My best compliment is that my parents were able to figure it out and use it fairly fast - so it's pretty user friendly.
The wide screen is very nice compared to the nuvi they had and I found the 'speaker' to be much more polite, helpful and less intrusive than the nuvi. I really dislike how my parents former navigation unit's speaker was always talking and correcting them and warning about every single thing that was coming up, even with all the extras disabled. This unit, the Motonav, seems to have a much better balance of help versus too much help.
I especially like how you can leave the connector and dash mount in place and just remove the actual screen to take with you for security purposes (or use when walking directions are needed). It's about the size and weight of an iPhone.
The extra google features are nice, but not really needed if you have an internet connected phone. A big plus is that my Parent's address book completely synced over from their not-so-new flip-phone, so they were able to use voice dialing right away with the names and numbers they already had.
Highly recommended!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 40
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