NAVMAN iCN 520 Tested in my car and on my motorcycle
NAVMAN iCN 510 Vs. iCN 520 Portable GPS Navigation System

My original purchase was a iCN 510, After about a year I bought the software upgrade that now ships in
the newer model, the iCN 520. with the new software installed, my older iCN 510 now has the same specs
as the iCN 520. Only the color is different.

Both on my bike and in my car, I can give a more robust review, after having used this unit for several
months in addition to testing it with its original software. My updated review is in the works now.
Below you will find my first review.

Both units should display every road you come across using clear and robust graphics.

It's easy to use as a "where am I now" indicator. However, trying to set it to take you to a destination using
the iCN 510 seemed to often be impossible to program. Very difficult. It can be done, perhaps, if you study
the manual. I don't have the patience. The iCN 520, however seems to have addressed this problem using
updated software. The new software makes it MUCH easer to input the address of your destination.

It color codes roads so you know if a road is a main road or a secondary road as you approach it.

It talks when you use it to lead you to a destination. This feature does work well.

For use in your car you can just use the supplied suction cup. While I was testing it on my motorcycle I first
tried using it unit under the clear map area of my tank bag so I could just glance down at it (when was safe
to do so) to choose a new road or to stay on my present road. With the 3D angle I can tell if a road approaching goes a distance or just loops back onto the road I'm already on. More recently I used several nylon restraints (the type used by the police for instant handcuffs) to secure the suction cup shaft to a flat surface just in front of my instrument cluster. Now I can see it at a glance without having to look down too far. I strongly suggest that you get a good mounting platform from a third party and mount the device securely under your fairing or to your handlebars if you intend to use this unit on a motorcycle.

This unit is intended for use in a car or truck it has not been optimized for use on a motorcycle. The button placement does not work well while wearing gloves. This unit is much less expensive than the made for motorcycle GPS units. I use it as a cross platform device (car & motorcycle) to save money and because at the time I bought it GPS units for motorcycles were selling for $1000 and were not cross platform.

As with most, if not all GPS units, you will need a windows PC to install the software and maps.

These GPS units come with software CDs with maps for Canada and the USA and regional maps for the East,
Central and West of the USA and you store the maps on a SD card.

The new model (iCN 520) has a new color scheme, comes with a SD Card and most importantly, comes with
new improved software.

Also good news, if you already have a iCN 510 you can buy the new software and just upgrade the unit to
the improved software, essentially having a iCN 520 for the cost of the new software.

The iCN 510 may be available at discounted prices now! Also SD Cards are getting cheaper all the time. A 512mb SD card is supported by Navman and is big enough to get the job done.

Street price is about $325 to $500.

I will be posting a updated review in the next few weeks.

(This review is from my motorcycle / consumer electronics product review website ezrider.info)

Excellent GPS System
I have owned the product for over a year, and it has always performed wonderfully. Gets a GPS fix in 30 - 45 secs the first time you turn it on each day, and if you shut it off during the day, it fires right back up getting its GPS fix within 15 seconds. I have the 2005 Smart ST maps, and they are very accurate. I have only noticed a few incidents of mapping errors (telling you to make a turn that is illegal, house number range off, etc...) No major mapping problems though. I have tried the Magellan 360, and looked at others, Garmin, Tom Tom, and for the price, this is the best way to go. Get a fast SD Card, so you don't get lockups in the software - I had made this mistake initially - buying a cheap SD card, and it would freeze during route calculations. Picked up a 1GB Sandisk Ultra II, and it works great, no more freezing, and I have about 1/2 the USA loaded on the card. I absolutely recommend this to anybody who wants a quality GPS System at a reasonable price.

Horrible
Worked well maybe once! After that I couldn't get a satellite lock no matter what. I live in sunny Florida. No reason for it to have such a hard time locking on. Too bad the actual GPS part didn't work well because the graphics, user interface and shape were quite nice.

GPS
I bought this item as a suprise for my husband, he uses it every day for work. He no longer has to print out maps, he just types in the address and it takes him right to his destination. Good product for the price.

Navman 520
The unit started to send error messages when I was loading the state maps off of the CDs. All data was lost (I spent several hours loading the data at that point), and then it wouldn't take any data off of the CDs at all. I ordered a different brand, and am much happier with it.