Motorola TN20, TN30 GPS Reviewed
Even though the company is known mostly for its cell phones, Motorola has explored nearly every segment of the electronics spectrum. Now it’s jumping into navigation systems with the introduction of the TN20 and TN30, costing $199.99 and $299.99, respectively. The only noticeable differences between the two models are screen size, Bluetooth connectivity and the number of points of interest available. The systems are a small start for Motorola, which still has lots of room to grow compared to the heavy hitters in the industry.
It took some time to figure out the controls and how things worked on the units, but after a bit of practice it began to make sense. The guidance, however, is unclear, meaning it takes a lot of common sense to get to your destination. On a normal highway route, both units made multiple attempts to exit and re-enter the highway for no apparent reason. For someone not familiar with an area — which is when a person is likely to use a navigation system — this can be very confusing and extremely frustrating.
Motorola created an excellent graphical menu but came up short of the standard for navigation graphics. The map’s jumpy animation can be distracting and annoying to the driver. This sort of poor animation is something you would have seen seven years ago, not in 2008.
Overall, Motorola has taken a small step toward becoming part of the portable navigation industry. From route guidance to graphics, however, it still has a lot of room for improvement in its systems. I look forward to what it will offer once it’s figured these things out.
Motorola TN20: $199
- Ease of Use: 13 out of 15 pts
- Routing: 7 out of 15 pts
- Map Quality: 5 out of 10 pts
- POI Content and Accuracy: 7 out of 10 pts
- GPS Accuracy: 6 out of 10 pts
- Multimedia Features: 0 out of 5 pts
- Mounting Kit: 5 out of 5 pts
- Voices: 3 out of 5 pts
- Design: 4 out of 5 pts
- Value: 10 out of 20 pts
- Total: 60 out of 100
Motorola TN30: $299.00
- Ease of Use: 13 out of 15 pts
- Routing: 7 out of 15 pts
- Map Quality: 5 out of 10 pts
- POI Content and Accuracy: 8 out of 10 pts
- GPS Accuracy: 6 out of 10 pts
- Multimedia Features: 0 out of 5 pts
- Mounting Kit: 5 out of 5 pts
- Voices: 3 out of 5 pts
- Design: 4 out of 5 pts
- Value: 15 out of 20 pts
- Total: 66 out of 100
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I'm not sure if I would trust a GPS navigation device that can't seem to do what it's suppose to do right. It makes you wonder how this some gets past the Quality Assurance department.
When you have behemoths like Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom on the market, it may be a good idea to see what they have to offer. If you can't match their goods, it may possibly mean your product isn't quite ready for the market yet.
... ... ... that, or Motorola just thinks you may need to make a pit stop every 5 minutes.