September 2, 2005

GPS Review: Cobra NavOne 4500 Automotive GPS

Cobra announed that they are launching the Cobra NavOne 4500 that they started teasing us about a few weeks ago. according to the press release, the feature set looks impressive, and the large screen luxurious in comparison to some of the other products on the marketplace. It will be available in September.

"The NAV ONE 4500 builds on Cobra's legacy of knowing drivers' dashboards," said Tony Mirabelli, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Cobra Electronics. "We've combined our four decades of experience with innovative technology to design a product that is a step forward in the mobile navigation category. The NAV ONE 4500 is the only truly plug-and-go, totally integrated, portable navigation product with traffic that is off-the-shelf, out-of-the-box and into-your-car."

Cobra is using the Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network system that broadcasts traffic updates over the FM band to the GPS receiver. The data is taken in and incorporated into the GPS routing so that you navigate A-R-O-U-N-D traffic instead of through it. Cobra seems to be excited about it, this is a similar feature in the Garmin StreeetPilot 2720 and the StreetPilot c340 that were just released. The NAV ONE 4500 includes a traffic antenna that simply attaches to the NAV ONE 4500 mount and moves with the unit from car to car.

"In developing the NAV ONE 4500, Cobra conducted extensive consumer research to identify the features that are most important to drivers in a portable navigation device," said Mirabelli. "There was overwhelming support for a traffic solution in a device that is mobile and reliable. As a result, we're offering a product with features you won't find in any other portable navigation device." - huh, like the StreetPilot 2720? He must mean combination of features like the Traffic feed and the huge screen, etc.

The Cobra NavOne 4500 features:

- A HUGE 5 inch touch screen that is very bright, with automatic brightness control for easy viewing in the daylight and at night.
- Tele Atlas maps.
Personalized route options on the pre-loaded NorthAmerican maps. Like most units you get to choose what types of roads you want to go on..... highway, primary roads, etc.
- A whopping 7.6 Million Points of Interest categorized into 9 general categories and then around 200 sub-categories. This could be really useful or really annoying if you need to drive down a couple levels everytime you want a gas station.
- Addressbook - Store and then route to up to 1,000 addresses in the unit.
- Multi-point routing - add several addresses you need to go to, and then let it route you to each one of them in sequence.
- If you want to keep the Traffic feed service, it costs $59.95 per year after the first year.

With a street retail price of $1099 you wold need to compare the cobra Nav One 4500 vs. StreetPilot 2720 vs. the Magellan 760 and even the TomTom Go 700. Sounds to me that the Magellan 760 needs to be updated already with the FM traffic feeds that its competitors (Garmin and Cobra) have. Magellan is the leader in the Automotive segment and it looks like they are in need of some catch up. Do I hear a Magellan 780 model with traffic feeds in time for the Holiday season? Might just be needed to keep up with the ever evolving GPS lines.

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