Delphi Mobile Navigation 64MB GPS with Double-Disk CD Smart Map
By: Delphi Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 4
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 On: 2004-08-13
Although this product works almosts as good as Magellan and at one time was cheaper than the magellan 500 - nothing still beats the "Hertz never get lost" original which is magellan. And now Magellan 500 is selling cheaper than Delphi at Frys. Buyer beware, you may get "free software update" offer when you buy the Delphi unit, but this will never get to you at all. I bought my product since April, called them up again and again and again to inquire about when I can get the updates because some streets just are not in their software database yet. But its been almost 6 months now and after a couple of broken promises from their tech support ("In 2 weeks the CD will be sent to you...") The purchase date was well within the offer date, I filled up their online software update form, etc. I even called their tech support and suggested that they have a page where I can download their updates instead of waiting for the CD. So far I have been pretty civil about this. Didnt scream at the tech support, no snide remarks, nor sued for false misrepresentation - so Im just going to settle for warning any potential buyers about the software update rip-off.Potential buyers beware! There are better and now cheaper GPS models out there - try the Magellan 500 for one - it now sells cheaper at Frys than Delphi is at Circuitcity.
 On: 2004-07-09
The Delphi Mobile Navigation is a clone of the Navman iCN 630 (only the colors of the physical unit are different--silver for the Delphi, gray for the Navman). In my area (metro NYC), the maps are quite good and I was able to navigate out to eastern Long Island without difficulty. (YMMV with respect to how good the maps are for your area, but thats true for any GPS unit.) The display is crystal clear and bright, and the speaker is plenty loud; even on the highway with the radio on, I only needed the volume set to the halfway mark to hear the instructions perfectly. On the negative side, some of the directions can be confusing--for example, when the name of a street changed, the voice instructions told me to make a turn even though the map display indicated I should just go straight.Having said all that, its important to note that Delphi is a consumer electronics company, while Navman is a GPS company. The critical difference is that Navman has come out with a couple of service packs for the iCN 630 to improve routing and the color display, and these service packs WILL NOT WORK on the Delphi unit. No GPS is perfect today, but its a comfort to know that a company will make steady improvements to its product. (Garmin and Magellan also release firmware updates for their products.)
 On: 2004-06-22
After renting a car with a GPS navigation system, I was hooked and set about finding a quality, affordable GPS solution. My parameters were that the unit had to be portable, able to hold a lot of maps, and provide good audio prompts. After much research, I settled on the Delphi unit. After several days of use, here are my initial thoughts:Pros:
1. Display quality is brilliant under all lighting conditions -- absolutely top of the line. 2. Ease of initial set up and use. I had the unit up and going in about 30 minutes. 3. Unit comes loaded with several important accessories (e.g., 2 mounts, carry case, AC input). These are often an extra expense on other units. 4. Audible directions are loud and clear. 5. No problem obtaining satellite connections (even through the sky light in my home!) and I am yet to ever lose the GPS signal. 6. The price was about half of the Magellan Roadmate 700 or Street Pilot 2620. It was also significantly less than other card-based units, such as the Roadmate 500 and Street Pilot 2610. Cons:
1. There is no ability to search for Points of Interest closest to your current location. Instead, you can only search by area, and even then results are limited to indicated town. 2. Roads are clearly marked, but there is no indication of highway exit numbers. This can be an issue when multiple exits are in close proximity. 3. An internal battery might be useful, for example, for hiking or biking. 4. It might be nice to have a beanbag mount, in addition to the windshield and dash mounts that come with the unit. Tips:
1. Be sure to buy an SD card (256 MB will get you almost half the country). 2. There is an update to the mapping software, available free from the Delphi website. 3. I believe this unit is a clone of the Navstar iCN 630, so if you can find a better deal on that model, you may want to buy that instead. Overall, I am pleased with the unit and feel that it is an excellent value.
UPDATE: I just got the software update with 3D mapping and it is spectacular! The upgrade also improved the quality of the routes provided. Further, it allows you to select roads or areas that you want to avoid. It has been a couple months and, overall, I am still very pleased with the product.
On: 2004-01-06
I went to a local store to pick up a couple dvds to watch during New Years Eve and the weekend, on my lunch break. I came back to work with this product.
I have a 2002 ML 320 Mercedes Benz. I was looking for navigation solutions for the car. Original parts were going to cost me in between 1650 and 2300 USD. So, I was about to give up the idea of having a navigation system until I replace the car. I am glad I saw the Delphi unit that day.
So, it was like love at first site. The sharpness of the screen, slim design, and ease of use caught my attention.
Now, I know much more about the mobile navigations, read Delphi manuals in and out, tested the unit on the road couple times already. Plus, I checked out Magellan, and Garmin products after I bought this unit as well. I can say that Magellan 500 is the closest competition to this Delphi, or I should say the opposite.
The Delphi is actually very high quality. The parts are as well. It comes with two mounting units, A/C power supply, a very nice protective carrying case, USB cable, and car cigarette lighter supply.
I used the glass mount unit. I have no problems with it and it is very useful. The GPS antenna is very sensitive. I have not lost any GPS connectivity yet, plus it is very accurate. I used to use the neverlost feature on Hertz cars with Magellan GPS. This was four years ago, and the GPS car products have changed a lot since. Now, I am very pleased with Delphi. I have been comparing with Magellan. I think Magellan came to this point after many years of trying. I am thinking if Delphis first consumer navigation system is this good, how much more they could improve this year. The unit is very easy to upgrade with the new firmware and the map software. When I installed the software, it upgraded the firmware automatically. It comes with free map upgrade as well. Even though I live in a small CA city, it already knows every street from the box without any upgrade.
On the other hand, Delphi is not touch screen configurable. First I found it as a missing feature but now, the more think about it, the more it make sense. I do not want to touch and make the screen greasy all the time. Plus, I believe touch screens are not as sharp as the normal high resolution LCDs. Plus, both products are very easy to configure with he button options. Delphis buttons are quiet, very functional buttons. They have a built-in light source that looks very nice at night. The unit has day and night mode so it changes the brightness. Plus, it has other screen schemas as well. I can say a lot more, but I would suggest the documents from www.delphi.com.
I loved the quality of the unit and found it very useful and acurate. I hope this helps navigation hunters.Update: Its been couple weeks since I purchased it and testing it almost every day. So far it is great. Plus, I talked to tech support couple times about the free map upgrade. When ever I called the support, they answered the phone very quickly and I talked to a person knows the product very well. They are coming up with very nice 3D and more updated maps in the middle of Feb. So, they are going to ship the new version soon, I will keep you guys updated.
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