You are here: Home > Navman S90 Review > The All Important Test

Navman S90: The All Important Test

part of our review of the Navman S90 on Monday 9th June 2008

The all important test! This is where we determine the overall score for the Navman S90.

The Score Sheet

Appearance

Out of a possible 11, the S90 scored 10. It only lost points on the screen size. Whilst 4.3 inches is adequate, we would like to see a 5 inch screen or above on top of the range models.

In terms of looks, the S90 is slim and compact, yet durable and well built.

Navman have also resolved the problem seen in the N40 where the camera button and the power button were too close together. The power button has been moved to the left hand side and the cametra button is on the right.

Packaging

Out of a possible 15, the S90 scored 11. There's no PC dock but there is a USB cable. No mains charger means that if you need to charge this up away from your computer or vehicle, you'll have a tough time.

A chunky pack of documentation reveals an enormous legal terms and conditions booklet and a quick start guide. A printed manual would have been better especially as this is a top of the range model. It has more features than a budget model such as the S30 so there's more to learn and tweak. Furthermore, we couldn't find a pdf manual on the CD. We found one on the Navman website but that means you need an internet connection to view the manual.

PC Software

The Navman S90 scored full marks on the software front (NavDesk 2008). It installed incredibly easily, picked up the S90 within a minute and was very easy to use.

Support

The S90 scored 3 out of 5 for support. Remember that 'Support' also includes making sure the system is up to date when it is first synced. We couldn't see any option to check if the maps were up to date and in all fairness, we couldn't find any option to upgrade the maps at all. We found the option to buy unlock codes on the Navman website to open up new country maps but nothing to update existing maps to the latest maps.

Speed camera updates are available as a paid upgrade and a set of speed camera locations is included with the product which is a smart move.

The System Itself

Out of 23, the S90 scored  1. It's quick to turn on and the widescreen display offer superb clarity. The display is not cluttered at all though it still makes use of hide away menus. It would be great to see essential information such as the current time, time to destination and distance to destination permanently displayed. There's plenty of room and would allow for perhaps two sidebars to the right of the display - one with quick access POI links and one with route data.

Whilst the S90 lacks an MP3 player, it does offer a photo viewer as part of NavPix. Whilst on the topic of great features, the camera deserves a mention as does the tripometer feature. It's a niche tool that may not serve everybody's needs but from a business perspective, knowing how many minutes your driver is stuck in traffic jams could be advantageous.

The S90 has a built in traffic receiver which requires no extra plugins or cables. This is a great feature though we didn't manage to test it out as we didn't experience any traffic congestion on the road trip.

Planning a route on the S90 is easy though it didn't appear to offer an itinerary planning facility. For example, you may want to navigate from London to Oxford then on to Cambridge. Rival top of the range systems offer this whereas the S90 didn't. It's not too much of an issue but features like this would help to boost interest from people who are planning journeys with multiple stops such as holiday makers or even couriers.

Another bug bear is with toll roads. We have two choices - a) warn of toll roads and b) avoid toll roads. The system can't warn of them then re-route if we want. We would have preferred a third option of c) warn of toll road and ask whether a re-route is necessary. We may not want to avoid all toll roads, just some.

The Road Test

Scoring 27 out of 30, the S90 performed well on the road. Everything is a breeze to use and the mapping is accurate.

It was slow on the re-route taking 22 seconds where our target is 15.

It told us the overall journey would take 23 minutes and 16.7 miles. In reality it took 29 minutes and 15.9 miles. We cannot fault the distance but the time difference is too large to go unnoticeable. As it stands there's only a 6 minute difference on a 29 minute drive but that's an extra 26% on what the S90 predicted. This appears to be quite a big flaw in the planning algorithm though it is important to state the distance was correct.

With regard to test specifics, the system failed to get us to Castell Coch correctly using the built-in POI location, leaving us to fend for ourselves a mile away. Given it's an important historic tourist attraction in the area, we would have expected the same level of mapping quality as the postcode mapping and the Tesco test (though we only found that as a petrol station and not a shop).

Would We Recommend It?

We scored the Navman S90i 10 out of 10. It's a fantastic system with Western European mapping, Bluetooth®, a 2 megapixel camera and built-in traffic receiver all at a very low price in relation to it's equally specified competitors.

This system would appeal to all kinds of driver from private users to business users. It's got superb features and it's very affordable.

We would recommend the S90 without reservation to anyone looking for any of the features listed above.

The Totals

Given everything that we have discussed, the Navman S90 was been awarded 88% in our thorough test. It lacks in some tiny features but packs in a punch against it's rivals in terms of price versus features.

Additional Navman S90 Review Pages

• Appearance
• Built In Camera
• Drawstring Bag
• Explanation of the Screen
• Packaging Photographs
• Product Photographs
• Quick Summary
• Screen Photographs
• Specifications
• Windscreen Mount