15. Configuring System Settings

Figure 68: Settings Menu

The settings menu is accessed via the main menu, and is the place where system-level configuration preferences can be set. Other than the obvious settings, such as volume (called Sound on the Novogo menu), map viewing preferences, and language settings, there are a few settings worth calling out:

Figure 69: General Settings Menu

Tapping on General from the Settings Menu brings up the General Settings menu, shown above. This page allows you to configure the following items:

• Safety Mode - Safety mode disables the touch-screen when traveling above 6 mph. Not sure why anyone would find this desirable, but the option is here.
• Set Favorite Destinations - favorite addresses management
• Automatic Night Colors - enables or disables the automatic switching to night view after sunset. Note that the night view is based on time of day, and not based on the ambient light conditions.
• Alerts - allows you configure custom alerts (such as, alert me if I'm within proximity of a favorite POI)
• Off-route recalculation - enables or disables automatic rerouting if you miss a turn

Figure 70: Safety Mode

Figure 71: Setting Route Parameters

The Route Parameters menu allows you configure a variety of important routing preferences

• Method: this slider allows you to set whether you want the GPS to favor route calculation speed or quality. In my testing there seemed to be no difference between Fast and Optimal, although there may be cases where this would actually make a difference (I just didn't encounter any)
• Route: allows you to set the overall routing preference:
  • Fastest (quickest possible route, assuming you can travel at or near speed limits on all included roads)
  • Shortest (the smallest total distance)
  • Economical (a hybrid between Shortest & Fastest. If there is another route that only adds a bit more time but is a lot less distance, the GPS will opt for that route under the Economical setting).
• Vehicle: allows you to set the type of vehicle you're driving. Based on the selection, some of the road types will be excluded from the route. Available options are: Car, Taxi, Bus, Truck, Emergency, Pedestrian, and Bicycle

This page also allows you to set certain road types to include or exclude, such as U-turns, tolls, and unpaved roads.

Unfortunately, there is no way to set the Novogo to prompt you each time for the routing preference (for example, the way the Magellan does).

16. Pros

• Large POI database (10 million)
• SiRF's high sensitivity Star III chip
• Integrated Bluetooth support
• Nicely designed windshield mount
• Excellent text-to-speech voice quality
• Support for many (19) languages
• Ability to route to latitude / longitude coordinates
• Ability to search for an address by Zip code (or postal code, for those of you not in the US)
• Easy route-exclusion feature (avoid a specific road)
• Tons of configuration options
• Supports multi-destination routing
• Includes route optimization feature
• Ability to adjust the 3D angle of the map
• User replaceable Li-on rechargeable battery
• Recently Cities feature is a time-saver when entering a destination address
• Ability to view legal speed limits on almost any road, and configure alerts if you're speeding

17. Cons

• Buggy software (the S700 crashed on me more than once)
• TeleAtlas mapping data not as accurate or complete as NAVTEQ (in North America)
• Slight delay when pressing keys on the GPS - overall performance was a bit sluggish
• Could not completely clear the "Recent Cities" history. Even after pressing "Clear History", at least one recent city would always appear on the list
• More complicated to use than similarly priced Magellan, Garmin, or TomTom GPS units
• Power on/off button didn't always work (only worked from certain menu screens)
• Couldn't get Bluetooth working
• Only way to access the Bluetooth menu is by pressing the telephone button
• Tedious process for setting local time zone (you have to tap one-at-a-time through dozens of time zones instead of just picking your zone from a list)
• Language preference must be set every time the master power is turned off
• You have to agree to two legal disclaimers every time the unit is powered on
• Included instructions are confusing, made even more complex by the fact that the hardware and software have different manuals
• Real-time traffic requires purchase of additional traffic receiver
• Use of yards instead of feet in navigation prompts is confusing
• No MP3 player or photo viewer

18. Conclusion

The Novogo S700 BT isn't a bad GPS, but it's definitely not for the faint of heart, or first-time GPS buyer. The software is powerful, and has many useful features not found on most GPS units. The ability to enter a bunch of addresses and have the GPS optimize the route, for example, is only found on a few other high-end units. Also unique is the ability to manually adjust the 3D angle of the map. Voice quality is outstanding and the text-to-speech is excellent. The S700 ships with a well designed, effective windshield mount, supports 17 different languages, and boasts a larger-than-average POI database of over 10 million entries.

However, the S700 BT suffers from two critical flaws: software bugs, and a complex user interface. Throughout my testing I noticed various software bugs, and the unit completely crashed on me three times in total. For example, the power button only functioned from the main menu, not from the map view of while navigating; the "Clear History" function never completely cleared the history; and I was never able to get Bluetooth working properly.

Overall I found the S700 quite complex to use. Even after reading the instructions I frequently found myself wondering what certain icons do, or how to perform common GPS navigation tasks. I'm no newcomer to GPS navigation, and even I ended up in a menu and wasn't sure how to get back to the map screen. Icons were named cryptically, or weren't named at all. I also found the unit slightly sluggish, and grew annoyed at having to accept two different legal disclaimers every time the unit was powered on.

Mapping data on the S700 BT is provided by TeleAtlas, which I found less accurate/complete than NAVTEQ's mapping data (Garmin and Magellan use NAVTEQ).

Novogo's S700 BT is priced at around $500. For that price, I feel you'd be better served buying a Garmin nuvi, c550, or Magellan RoadMate 2200T. If you absolutely need the route optimization feature, I'd recommend the Magellan RoadMate 6000T instead.