Delphi NAV300
Manufacturer: Delphi Corp. Part number: NA20075-11B1
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Though the Delphi NAV300 GPS navigator may look appealing with its affordable price tag and integrated Bluetooth and text-to-speech functionality, real-world tests show some pretty ugly results.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Delphi NAV300 price range: $388.54
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Reviewed on: 08/17/2007
The good: The Delphi NAV300 GPS device adds integrated Bluetooth for hands-free calling and text-to-speech functionality. The compact device also has multimedia features, and Delphi's optional traffic kit includes a lifetime subscription to Clear Channel's traffic service.
The bad: The Bluetooth integration is limited, due to a small number of compatible cell phones, and route recalculations weren't accurate. You can't use the music and navigation features at the same time.
The bottom line: Though the Delphi NAV300 GPS navigator may look appealing with its affordable price tag and integrated Bluetooth and text-to-speech functionality, real-world tests show some pretty ugly results.
Design
The Delphi NAV300 sports a design that's slightly revamped over its predecessor's. The overall shape is the same, but it's slightly more narrow and heavier at 4.6 inches wide by 3.1 inches tall by 1.1 inches deep and 7.6 ounces, compared to NAV200's 5.3 by 3.2 by 1 inches and 6.7 ounces. The system also retains the flip-up patch antenna on the back, rather than integrating the receiver into the device. We much prefer the latter, since it looks neater and you don't have to worry about lifting the antenna every time, but it's certainly not a deal-breaker. The Delphi NAV300 is still a compact and ultraportable unit, so you should have no problems transporting it between vehicles.
On front of the device, you have a 3.5-inch, 320x240-pixel-resolution touch screen. The display has an antiglare coating, but we found that the map colors slightly washed out when viewing in bright sunlight. The touch screen is responsive, but once again, we found the virtual keyboard to be rather cramped. And while Delphi includes a stylus in the box, there is nowhere to stow it in on the device itself--a big pain that guarantees you'll misplace the stylus at some point. The NAV200 had a stylus holder, so we're not sure why the company decided to omit it this time.
Surrounding the display, there are four navigation controls. To the left, there are shortcuts to the main menu and Bluetooth settings page, while on the right, you have zoom-in and -out keys. The left spine of the Delphi NAV300 includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, an external mic port, and the power button. Other design features include a volume dial, a TMS-RDS traffic receiver jack, and the power connector on the right side, and an SD expansion slot on the bottom of the unit.
Delphi packages the NAV300 with a car charger, a vehicle mount (windshield and dash), a stylus, an SD card preloaded with maps, and reference material.
Features
The overall navigation and multimedia features of the Delphi NAV300 remain the same as those of its predecessor, so we won't go into too much detail here (you can read more about the other capabilities in our Delphi NAV200 review). Instead, we'll focus more on the new features that the company has added to the product.
For route guidance, you get Navteq maps of the United States and Canada preloaded on the included SD card; you can get directions by entering a specific street address, an intersection, a point on a map, or a location on your Favorites or Recent Destinations list. The system can create itineraries by the fastest or shortest route; with or without interstates and toll roads; and in vehicle, pedestrian, or bicycle mode. Once you have a trip entered, you can review a list of turn-by-turn directions, and much to our delight, Delphi has added text-to-speech functionality to the NAV300, so you get actual street names with voice prompts.
Other capabilities include multistop trips, automatic route recalculation, and detours. The points-of-interest database includes 1.6 million entries with branded icons for popular businesses (for instance, McDonalds, Chevron, and so forth), and starting in September, there will be a Zagat Survey upgrade kit where you can search for restaurants, accommodations, and more based on Zagat reviews. The Delphi Real-Time Traffic Kit ($199.99) is also available for the NAV300, which includes an antenna and RDS receiver, an SD card with a software upgrade, and a lifetime subscription to Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network.
A new feature to the Delphi NAV300 is integrated Bluetooth. With this, you can connect your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone or smart phone and use the NAV300 as a hands-free speaker system to make and receive calls. Unfortunately, the number of compatible phones is extremely small--just nine of them and only for AT&T and Verizon Wireless--at this time (you can check for supported phones on Delphi's Web site) so this functionality is really limited in mass appeal.
Finally, the NAV300 includes a music and video player as well as an image viewer. The media player supports MP3 and WAV files and AVI video format, while you can view JPEG, GIF, and PNG images. However, like the Averatec Voya 320, you can't use the navigation app and listen to music at the same time, since you have to take out SD card of maps to load another SD card with your multimedia files. Other extras include a calculator, a world clock, and a game.
Performance
We tested the Delphi NAV300 in San Francisco, and from a cold start, it took the unit about two minutes to get a GPS fix under clear skies, while subsequent starts took just as long or less. On routine drives throughout the city, the NAV300 did a good job of tracking our location. We also entered our standard trip from the Marina district to CNET's downtown headquarters. We reviewed the list of text-based directions and agreed with the route, then went on our way. The voice prompts were loud and clear, but when it came to text-to-speech, the system mangled some street names more than other GPS devices we've tested.
We also took several wrong turns to test the route recalculation rate. The first couple of times the NAV300 did a good job of getting us back on track in a timely manner. However, the system seemed to bug out when we took a succession of wrong maneuvers, as the new route didn't make sense to us at all. Since we were familiar with the area, we knew that if we listened to the instructions, it would take us farther from our destination or have us going in circles, and it even told us to take a turn in the wrong direction on a one-way street! Pretty bad.
User reviews
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out of date in less than a year.expensive junk
by lel2j on August 28, 2009
Pros: no redeeming features
Cons: difficult to use. out of date maps out of date poi. delphi does not even offer upgradeable maps. Hope know one else buys this product
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Turns on. Takes you the long way around sometimes
by brc1959 on July 26, 2009
Pros: does wat is advertised
Cons: Terrible customer service, No planned map updates
Summary: The product does what it is advertised to do, as long as no new streets are built in your city(or where ever you are using the system). I was ...
Summary: The product does what it is advertised to do, as long as no new streets are built in your city(or where ever you are using the system). I was told (by a very rude Delphi rep) that there will be no more map updates for the NAV300, unlike the NAV200. The Rep said they didn't know (and didn't really seem to care) why and didn't know who else I could talk to. They told me I had purchased an outdated product and that the company had no intention of doing anything to correct this. I asked if I should just throw it away and get another brand, and was told that was probably a good option. I'm still having trouble believing a company Rep would say something like that. The map is already missing some not so new streets in the area, so while it is still useful for some trips, it does nothing for trips using any street over 1-2 years old, and I guess Delphi has no intention of doing anything about it, especially since they seem to be in some major financial trouble now. I did get an email address for the "Customer Service" regional headquarters, but have had no response from them in over 2 months. DO NOT BUY A DELPHI NAV300 GPS.
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A whole bundle of features, but nothing works!
by knight_2004 on January 30, 2009
Pros: Bluetooth, Highway Speed, Current Speed, Speed warning, Elevation, millions of POI, Day/Night backlight, text-to-speech, hands-free calling, multi-media (MP3, Video, Picure viewer,) etc., etc. A WHOLE BUNDLE OF FEATURES....
Cons: Non of the above features works or works well.
Summary: I bought this GPS thinking it was what I was looking for. I mainly needed a GPS with bluetooth.
I have used GPS's in for the past 5 years. (...Summary: I bought this GPS thinking it was what I was looking for. I mainly needed a GPS with bluetooth.
I have used GPS's in for the past 5 years. (Garmin, Magellan, Apline, Cobra, generic names, etc.) I am not new to GPS's, but this GPS unit will certainly make you look like an idiot.
Non of the above features works or works well. Here we go. This is an actual experience.
Bluetooth never recognized my phone(s)
Highway speed worked for the first 6 hours, then stopped. I searched everywhere to enable it at no avail. Of course, the speed warning won't work as well.
Day/Night backlight is a pain. It always was set to daylight. You have to set it manually to night-time everytime you start your car. The screen is so bright, it kills your concentration on the road. It has only 3 degrees of brightness (low, med, high) you need to set it on low (still very bright) each time it has to restart. Like when you stop for gas.
Text-to-speech worked once or twice, then in most areas did not pronounce the street names.
Multi-Media is a joke. A real big joke. I thought I'd throw my MP3 player. Well, not so soon; you need to remove the SD card (which originally came with the unit) and insert your card. Well, the GPS gives an error message rightaway, and stops working. It turns out that all the maps and applications are on the orig. SD card, and it needs to be in the unit at all times. If you remove the SD card, then the unit acts as an MP3 player ONLY. (completely useless)
Another big issue which made me return the unit is this: You need to enter the destination address or a previous destination each time you turn off/on the unit. For example, you stop for coffee/gas; you start the car, then Mr. GPS has forgotten everything. Either you go to previous destinations and choose the last one, or re-enter everything again.
This unit is supposed to be filled with POI (points of interests) Interestingly, it gives the brand of the gas-stations on the road, name and icon. But, try to choose one of these. It is always locked to the last one you have chosen. There is a gas station a couple of miles ahead of me, and the GPS wants me to drive 7 miles and return 7 miles to the last gas station that I had mistakenly chosen. 14 miles, and there is a gas station just close by.
On the good side, when this unit works (as a GPS), it works well, just until you turn off your car. It acquires the GPS signal very quickly, and it is very accurate. That was good enough for me, but you need to choose the previous destination each time you restart your car. I return it to the store, and they has a big sale. I told him, I won't buy it for $10.
It looks like the programmers had everything you need in the unit, but they had a hard time connecting the wires and the code. It could be a very good unit, but needs reprogramming from scratch. -
Good features bad preformance
by ghod90 on January 11, 2009
Pros: Hands free calling, fully loaded with a mp3 player and a ton of other features
Cons: Slow performance, Bad maps, speaker volume always resets to half, hard to hear phone conversations
Summary: I purchesed this as an upgrade from my nuvi 200 by garmin and found out it was a bad descision.
I frequently travel 2 hours out of town to large ...Summary: I purchesed this as an upgrade from my nuvi 200 by garmin and found out it was a bad descision.
I frequently travel 2 hours out of town to large cities traveling to the same place with both units the Delpi sent me two miles down the road from the store i was going to and got me so lost a local that i know there (and has lived there all thier life) couldnt reconize the street names i rattled off of the map...
Features are good if you need them but id prefer to get to where im going then play music though a poor speaker...also the volume sets to 50% as default and i could never find a option to change that. Also slow route recalculations and startup for the nav menu laves you waiting on the side of the road for a couple minutes.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Delphi Corp.
- Part number: NA20075-11B1
- Description: The Delphi NAV300 integrates the latest hardware and software technology into a lightweight, portable device with an easy, intuitive interface.
General
- Width 4.6 in
- Depth 1.1 in
- Height 3.1 in
- Weight 7.6 oz
Acquisition Times
- Cold acquisition times 120 sec
- Hot acquisition times 15 sec
GPS System
- Recommended Use Automotive
- Receiver SiRFstarIII
- SBAS WAAS, EGNOS
- Connectivity Bluetooth-enabled
- GPS Functions / Services Lane Assistant
- Voice Navigation instructions, Street name announcement, Voice command recognition
- Antenna Built-in
- Features Calculator, Preinstalled POIs, Built-in microphone, Speed limit warning, 2D / 3D map perspective, Built-in stereo speakers, Hands-free calling via Bluetooth
- Built-in Memory 32 MB
- RAM: 64 MB
- Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card
- Maps Included USA, Alaska, Canada, Hawaii, Puerto Rico
- Software Included NAVTEQ ON BOARD
Navigation
- Trip computer Trip timer, Avoid U-turns, Trip distance, Avoid highways, Avoid toll roads
Digital Player
- Digital Player Yes
- Supported Formats AVI, GIF, MP3, PNG, WAV, JPEG, Xvid, MPEG-4
Built-in Display
- Type LCD
- Resolution 320 x 240
- Diagonal Size 3.5 in
- Color Support Color
- Features Anti-glare, Touch screen
Connections
- Connector Type Headphones - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, Microphone - Mini-phone 3.5 mm
Battery
- Battery Enclosure Type Internal
- Battery included qty 1
- Battery technology Lithium ion
Miscellaneous
- GPS design features MP3 player, Video player, Data transfer, Picture viewer, Calculator, Game
- Included GPS accessories Stylus, 2 GB SD Card, Car power adapter, Automotive windshield mount
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & support type 1 year warranty
Environmental Parameters
- Min operating temperature 32 °F
- Max operating temperature 140 °F
Manufacturer info
- Delphi Corp.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Delphi Corp. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.delphi.com/
- Address:
5725 Delphi Dr.
Troy, MI 48098 - Phone: 248-813-2000
- Fax: 248.813.2670
