The Delphi NAV300 GPS is medium priced ($399.99) and loaded with features. Slightly heavier than its predecessor (NAV200), it weighs 7.6 ounces. At 4.6 x 3.1 x 1.1 inches thick, it’s a nice size for easy transport. The antenna flips up on the back of the unit. The maps are from the NAVTEQ mapping database and are preloaded onto the SD card included and it has Text-To-Speech (TTS) announcing street names and turn-by-turn instructions.
With the 300, there is an optional real time traffic/weather service with a one-time charge of $199.99. This is provided via Clear Channel, using RDS-TMC (Radio Data System-Traffic Message Channel). The information is used seamlessly to update your route by avoiding traffic jams. Another nice function is speed limit alerts, which while not a radar detector, will make you aware if you’re speeding.
One of the highlights of this unit is its Points-of Interest program (POI), and to the 300’s credit it has an excellent database with 24 different categories. You place them in order of importance and even temporarily hide some of them. For me, it’s restaurants, gas and parks/beaches in that order. A first of its kind, the ZAGAT’s review feature is way cool. After all, what good is learning that there is an Italian restaurant nearby without knowing if it’s any good and in your price range? Another nice feature in the POI is national chain’s logos displayed on the screen (think golden arches).
The NAV has a multimedia player including music/video, picture viewer and a lame matching game. The entertainment function supports MP3, WAV files and AVI video format. For images, there is JPEG, GIF and PNG, but you cannot use these while engaging the navigation functions. The unit is stereo, with speakers included. There is Bluetooth with built-in microphone but with a caveat; it is only compatible with a limited number of cell phones.
My girlfriend and I get in the car. She mounts the NAV300 on the windshield, flips up the antenna and adjusts it easily. It takes about two minutes to find the satellite (consistently). When she starts the GPS the screen loads up. It’s a sunny day and the 3.5-inch touch-screen with antiglare coating (320x240) is easy to read. After some discussion we choose navigation. There are four choices: New Destination, My Destinations, Take me Home (her fav) and Voice Command. We choose New Destination and then we have a choice of either a street address or search for POI. The screen opens up to Canada and her sunny smile slips behind the clouds. Now, she has to scroll down to find USA and the State. She’s getting annoyed and I can see her thinking about the Take me Home option. We find our State and enter the street. The screen response is a bit slow and takes a little getting used to. Eventually, we get the address loaded in and off we go to the park. I make the mistake of going past a mall and she makes me jump off the Hwy to shop for clothes. Two hundred and fifty dollars later, we get back in the car and the 300 recalculates the route nicely and we are humming along to the park. We arrive at closing time.
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