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Navman iCN 635 Review - Hardware

Satellite and Global Position Systems (GPS) are rapidly becoming more and more accessible by the average consumer for a number of different purposes. Hooking into a number of publicly available positioning satellites, you can find where you are to the metre, no matter where you are on the planet. What may have once been a technology only affordable and usable by the military, can now be purchased by the consumer.

One of the companies that has been at the forefront of this technology has been Navman, which offers a range of different unit's for finding your way anywhere in the world, whether walking, driving a car, or floating in a boat.

We take a look at their Navman iCN 635 in-car navigation unit, which offers full featured navigation, a full-colour and easy to read screen, and comprehensive mapping data for all of Australia. Best of all, this unit is portable from car to car, only requiring your car's cigarette lighter to install. The iCN 635 is the premium model in the range, however also available is the Navman iCN 520 and iCN 620, which offer many of the same features.


What's included

• Navman iCN 635 unit
• Carry pouch
• Cigarette 12v power adapter
• Smart ST V.3 map CD
• Navman installation CD with full user manual
• Remote Control
• USB cable
• 128mb MMC flash card
• Mains power adapter
• Quickstart Guide

Form / Aesthetics

The Navman 635 unit comes in a nice matt aluminium casing finished in grey, with silver highlights for the buttons. As most car interiors are predominantly grey or black the unit blends nicely into most interiors and does not look too obtrusive. The unit is simple but also looks the part, and doesn't have a cheap or plastic feel.

Once turned on, the unit's screen is bright and gives a sharp and very readable display. Unlike a few navigation unit's I have seen, it is very easy to read from a comfortable viewing distance. The screen is full colour and displays at 320x240, allowing maps with lots of detail to be displayed.

Soft buttons sit along the right side of the screen and allow you to access all functions of the system. A slim-line infrared remote control is also included, which allows you to enter the same buttons from either the back seat, or allows the driver to operate the unit when safe to do so.


Functionality

The great things about the Navman iCN 635 compared to some other systems is that it works off your car's cigarette lighter. No need for complicated wiring installs specific to the vehicle, or having to hook the unit up into other parts of the car permanently. You simply plug it in, flip open the built in antenna, and it works right away. This means it ideal for the family that owns a couple of cars, and need to transfer the unit to another car at any time.

There are two methods to mount the Navman. The first (continued next page)