Box Contents

Out the box you get the latest Q1 2009 NAVTEQ Maps, a car cradle, a car charger with a built in TMC receiver and a 3 month subscription to safety camera updates.

Navigon Fresh

We tested the 2310 using software version 7.4, though we did notice an update was available just before we posted the review, so it’s best to check with Navigon Fresh as soon as you get the device. The latter installs to your PC and can be used for adding additional content (such as 3D landmarks, text to speech) as well as updates.

Familiarity

For those who have used a Navigon before you will not really notice a great deal of change from the original series, as the same click and retract style interferface is in place which works by simply clicking once on a menu option to extract additional content and once again to retract it back.

It’s only when you look closer underneath the surface that you will notice that a few additions have been implemented, which for the most part bring the Navigon range closer to the competition.

Though in some ways there’s still a nagging feeling at the back of our minds that makes us wonder, what with all the bolt-on's being done to the interface, could it be time for Navigon to make a change and improve things a little, for example entering a new destination still feels rigid in that you can’t refine a full postcode search further with say a house or street number, entering GPS co-ordinates (which is a new feature) also requires you to first click on the options menu at the base of the screen (inside the destination window) and then select another menu choice before being able to key in the co-ordinates, it works, but it all feels a little unintuitive compared to the likes of TomTom.

Of course you can still browse the map to add new destinations or save places as favourites, with a little flag showing up on the map, which is cool.

Anyways back to the new features for a second, we have already mentioned the GPS co-ordinate one above but the others become more apparent as soon as you have keyed in an address. First of all you are introduced to the new Clever Parking feature which allows you to browse nearby parking places along your route before setting off on your journey, which is self explanatory really, but this icon also flags up during driving so you can quickly divert to a parking place as an interim destination, like most system this is map dependant and worked better towards major towns/cities in fairness.

The next system is MyRoutes technology which works in a similar fashion to TomTom’s IQ Routes. In use it calculates the best route depending on the time of day and the day of the week, but it also adapts to your driving style as well.

Unlike IQ Routes the MyRoutes technology feels more like an advanced route planner, as once the route has been calculated it present you with three choices and then highlights the one it thinks is the best (based on the above info), at this stage you can browse the map or run route simulations of each of the chosen routes.

The only thing you can’t do is view step-by step itinerary lists for all of the routes, as it only works for the highlighted one and when all is said and done once the initial excitement of MyRoutes wears off we tended to pick the highlighted route every time, which possibly was not a great idea (more on this later).

Browsing the map in the above system was a little harder to do because the screen is only 3.5”, however saying that it coped really well in bright conditions and it was a sinch to carry arround due to its size.

Car Cradle Pit Stop

Before we go on about the next new set of feature we will quickly mention the car cradle which in some ways is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, needing to be fitted together in three seperate pieces, so Navigon could have made this a bit simpler, though its does stick to the windscreen quite firmly.

On with the Show

Ok so let’s get back to the other new features, firstly you may remember that Navgion uses corporate icons for POI? Well these remain but you have a new cool feature that allows you to press on the map and all the nearby POI are brought up in a list, allowing you then to navigate to them as an interim destination, which works pretty well.

Delving into the options menu also allows you to access TMC info, as would you believe it the 2310 comes with a TMC receiver out the box and contrary to what the website mentions we did not need to buy a licence either!?.

The only snag was we did not get any traffic problems during our road tests so we can’t vouch for the accuracy of the reports, but simulating a run out to an area with traffic did seem to verbally warn you to check the traffic situation and you have all the usual array of text info at your disposal such as where the problem is and the type of hold up. You can also set the software to automatically re-calculate an alternative route (if one is available). The MyRoutes screen will also show little traffic icons on the map display.

Another feature under the options menu is the MyReport button, so you can use the tool to report any cameras that are missing or inaccurate along your route, as well as flag up any Map errors, such as correcting a street name, speed limit or roundabout. When you get home or back to the office you can then link the device to Navigon Fresh to upload the correction report. We can certainly see the system becoming a pretty useful feature in the near future if Navigon can build Live services into the platform (taking a leap out of TomTom's books for example).

Driving Tests

During our main tests we found the 2310 to be a decent performer in terms of speed, primarily thanks to the software running on its internal memory, something which the larger 7310 could not do, initial calculations are relatively nippy to, but MyRoute calculations do slow things down a touch.

Route re-calculations were also quick, but we still have our doubts over MyRoutes technology at this stage, it seemed ok on our local roads by plotting some efficient routes, but plotting routes in more rural areas seemed to throw it out sometimes, for example we tried to drive to an unnamed road and simply picked the highlighted chosen route wihthout a second thought, it then went on to routing us down a busy town centre and by the time we got through it the Navigon still couldn’t find the destination properly (even though it could see the destination within its software), whereas other SatNavs could, so you may need to check the MyRoutes choices after all - especially for longer/unfamiliar routes.

On a postive note as we mentioned earlier the 3.5” screen was pretty good and it was kitted out with plenty of useful directional aides to match, we particularly liked the real sign post signs, Advanced Motorway guidance, lane guidance and the small boxes which show you your current and future roads.

Voice directions were pretty loud and you can adjust the volume from the front screen which is always a bonus, but text-to-speech is not part of the package, for this you will need to fork out around £15 (however if the text to speech is like the one on the 7310 this does tend to pair up more with the real signpost info and doesn’t speak as many road names as it used to, especially if a road resides along an A-Road.

Additional Features

As with most Navigons you’ll find a basic but fairly accurate safety camera database onboard which warns you of upcoming cameras in good time, with a verbal “beware noise” and a flashing circle on the map to further highlight its appeal, the only really gripe about the verbal alerts is that they are shared with the road speed warnings, so sometimes you think you are facing a camera when in fact it’s nothing more than you going over a set road speed limit.

Finally you won’t find Bluetooth support onboard, but for the price you can’t really complain too much, certainly with TMC and 40 maps of Europe enclosed in the price.