October 1, 2005

Navman iCN 550 - Now Available

More new products hitting the shelves these days, Navman has announced their new ICN 550, a moderately priced handheld/automotive GPS unit with a 4GB hard drive on-board. Yea, it contains maps and points of interest, but where's the MP3 player upgrade? It's ready to go out of the box with maps of the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam pre-loaded. Guam? Huh. It has an available live traffic module (see below).

The device has a great set of dedicated buttons for nearby gas stations and parking. Yeah, I know who needs parking in the country, but try finding parking sometime in Boston or NYC. It could be a lifesaver. The device is definitely targeted at automotive navigation, with its voice prompted directions, and nice screen. It can give you a 2D or 3D type view on its 3.5 inch touchscreen.

The TM 550 Traffic Module is an optional extra for the iCN 550 that tells you the latest traffic situation in your area and on your route, warning you in advance of traffic trouble spots ahead and allowing you to choose alternative routes on your journey.

The TM 550 Traffic Module provides on screen traffic messages which you can review as icons on your map screen, clicking on them for more details. A re-routing option allows you to choose an alternative route on your Navman, avoiding congestion and trouble spots on the way. This TM550 module is available in Europe only right now. Since Garmin has this functionality in the US for their StreetPilot c340 and the StreetPilot 2720, I would imagine that this would come state-side soon.

It retails at the Navman site for $799.

See our other articles about the Navman ICN 550, and the Navman ICN 320 flash based GPS.

Read More in: Automotive GPS | GPS News | Navman GPS News