5. Powering on the S700 for the first time

Figure 16: Accessing the battery compartment

Before we can power up the S700, we'll need to insert the Li-on battery. The battery compartment is located at the rear of the unit, and is accessed by sliding the compartment door open.

Figure 17: Inserting the battery

The battery is inserted and locked into place.

Figure 18: Inserting the map data SD memory card

The SD memory card slot is located under the protective flap on the left side of the unit. Inserting the included SD memory card pre-loaded with, in this case, US and Canada mapping data from TeleAtlas was a snap.

Thankfully, there were no activation codes or registration requirements to deal with.

Figure 19: First Power-on

With the battery and map memory card inserted, we're ready to power on the S700. Note that the master power switch on the bottom of the unit needs to be in the on position before the power button on the front of the unit will work.

Pressing the power button on the upper-left corner of the unit turns the S700 on. The first time the S700 is powered on, you are prompted for your language preference.

One minor annoyance I noticed was that every time the master power switch was turned off, the next time the unit was powered back on I had to re-enter my language preference. This was especially odd given that all other settings remained, including previous destinations, GPS preferences, and address book entries.

A much larger problem I experienced was that the power button on the front to the S700 only worked from the Main Menu. If I tried to power down the unit while navigating, or from a different menu page, or from the map screen, nothing happened -- no matter how long I held the power button down. In those cases, I was only able to turn off the S700 by turning off the master power switch on the bottom of the unit. This was the first of several bugs I encountered with the S700.

Figure 20: Li-on battery notice

After setting the language preference, you're prompted to accept an "Important Notice" regarding the Lithium-Ion battery. I don't know if there's special legal issues with Li-on batteries in Europe or something, but there are several pages dedicated to the subject in the manual, and you're forced to agree to this disclaimer each and every time the unit is powered on.

Figure 21: Legal disclaimer

Yet another legal disclaimer - this one is the standard "don't use GPS while driving, talking on the cell phone, and eating a Big Mac" disclaimer. Like the Li-on battery warning, there's no way to disable this disclaimer -- you must agree every time the S700 is powered on.

Figure 22: Booting

With the language preference set, and both legal disclaimers agreed to, the Novogo S700 BT begins the boot process. Notice in the figure above (Figure 22) the small white text that says "languages" in the lower-right corner. A series of cryptic boot messages briefly appear here (i.e. starting, loading maps, etc.).

Boot time is acceptable at around 26 seconds, though not nearly as speedy as some other units, such as Garmin or Magellan (for comparison, the Garmin nuvi 660 boots in about 17 seconds).

Figure 22: Main Menu

Once the Novogo has finished booting up, the Main Menu appears. From here, four icons are available for selection:

1. Find - allows you to enter a destination address, or search for a Point of Interest (POI)
2. Browse Map - displays the map
3. Cockpit - takes you to the navigation view of the map
4. Settings - accesses the configurable options

6. Installing the S700 in the Car

Figure 23: Attaching the windshield suction mount

The windshield mount is a sizable amount of hardware for such a light weight GPS, but I must admit I was impressed with the effectiveness and ease of use of this mount. The viewing angle can be adjusted by loosening the horizontal and vertical screws and moving the GPS into the desired position.

Figure 24: Adjusting the windshield suction mount

Notice the lever in the center of the column: push the lever towards the windshield, and the mount is locked securely in place. Squeeze the lever to release it, and the mount easily detaches from the windshield.

Figure 25: Connecting the 12v power adapter

The supplied cigarette lighter adapter is relatively small, easily fitting into the 12v adapter in my car's ash tray.

Figure 26: Connecting the 12v power to the S700

I found myself wishing that power was provided through the windshield mount, rather than having to connect the power cable on the side of the unit.

Figure 27: Novogo S700 BT, mounted in the windshield

Docking and undocking the S700 is easy: hook the bottom of the unit into the dock, then press the GPS into the dock until it clicks into place. To release the GPS, lift the upper tab on the dock slightly and rotate the GPS towards you.

Figure 28: Novogo S700 BT, mounted in the windshield

A side view of the S700 BT mounted in the car. With the Novogo S700 BT mounted in the car and powered-up, we're ready to start navigating.