Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9306 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Navman/Mio
• Model: S500
• Released on: 2009-05-01

Features

• UK and IRELAND mapping
• 4.7 inch screen

Manufacturer's Description
It’s all in the design

Mio is taking a fresh exciting approach to navigation with its new Navman Spirit range for an experience that goes well beyond A to B./p>

With three models across two design options, what’s immediately striking when you pick them up is just how slim and lightweight each model is. Ergonomically designed with soft-curve edges, these are some of the thinnest Sat Navs in the world. But it’s beneath the stylish, compact exterior that the really innovative stuff happens. Switch them on and the new menus, maps and navigational tools are simply a joy to use.

The S500 range takes widescreen navigation even further to an impressive 4.7’ screen size.

Like most other Sat Navs available today, all the basics are covered, such as finding your destination easily, avoiding traffic, being aware of road speeds and safety cameras and helping the driver negotiate difficult junctions. In particular, Navman Spirit’s new Junction Views feature is a great help as the screen accurately, displays a motorway sign in 3D as you approach an exit.

Heralding a new ear of navigation, Navman Spirit is designed for a new generation of adventurers. Able to plan their trips ahead of time and take them down to the correct route, whilst providing more real-time information for exploring what's nearby, the ‘Spirit’ part of the name refers to the new software that powers the range. Redesigned from the ground up, Spirit uses a simple and colourful menu system that takes you to all of the features within a couple of ‘taps’. The Navman Spirit’s new Slide Touch™ screen brings up windows that glide on and off to help you find what you’re looking for quickly, so you only ever need to go back to the main menu when you want to.

Avoid traffic hold-ups and congestion. Using the very latest technology, the Navman Spirit gives you real-time traffic information so you’ll always know what’s on the road ahead.

A new approach to lanes and junctions

With Lane Guidance, the Navman Spirit helps you get into the correct lane to make a turn, so useful with today’s busier roads. The Spirit software also features realistic 3D Junction Views that match major road signs, giving you more time to understand what’s ahead as you approach an exit or major junction.

See clearly with TruMap™ views

Over the years GPS maps have become more complicated, so we took the bold step and redesigned ours from scratch. The result is TruMap™, a unique design inspired by paper maps. We’ve simplified graphics and colours for a clutter-free look that’s easier to understand. The natural white background allows your route to stand out, so you can see your way at a glance. At dusk, the screen automatically switches to night mode and brightness is reduced for safer driving.

Smarter, greener routing

The Navman Spirit’s Economical Routing option assesses and reduces the number of junctions on your chosen route, so you can cut down on stopping and starting, fuel usage and also help lower your car’s CO2 emissions.

Go with a guide

Pre-loaded into every new Navman Spirit are Travel Books from Wcities. Browse the in-depth listings of tourist attractions, places to eat, stay and visit, full of facts and photos. There are hundreds more to choose from, all quick and easy to download when you connect to MioMore™ Desktop 2 via your PC.

Go even further on foot

The Navman Spirit works brilliantly both in and out of the car. Walking Mode is developed to help you find your way around major cities on foot with buildings outlined for easier navigation. By helping you discover new places not accessible by car, Navman takes navigation a step further. Now you really can explore more.

Know your limits

Pre-loaded safety camera data helps keeps you on the right side of the speed limit. If you’re speeding or approaching a camera, a visual and verbal warning gives you time to safely slow down. The Navman Spirit can also flag up the speed limit of the road you’re on, encouraging safer driving.

Explore with photos

You can also browse through a huge variety of pictures such as tourist sites, hideaway beaches, hotels and restaurants with NavPix. And connect your Navman Spirit to your PC to upload from over a million geo-tagged photos, free on the NavPix™ and Flickr® websites. Then simply touch the picture on your Navman Spirit and it navigates you there.

Connect to Spirit

You can also connect your device to your PC and download geo-tagged photos (we call them NavPix), connect to online services and customize your own POIs and update maps and safety camera locations.

Box Contains

Customer Reviews

It's a SatNav, and less
Yes it's a SatNav, it works as such and five stars for doing what is says on the box.
Now I start deducting stars for its faults.
Bluetooth is supposed to be installed but could I find it? Nah. Read the instructions and looked where the option to turn it on should be. Not there.
Fair enough, it wasn't why I bought it anyway, I wanted it for the traffic info for my trip to work. That seemed to present me with a list of the roads around which had road works or other problems, no easy way to arrange an alternative route and no information on the speed of the traffic. Maybe there is a setting but the bad documentation meant I couldn't find it.
I used it to go on holiday to Devon and, as I said, it worked for getting from A to B, or even from A to B to C, when I asked it for the nearest petrol station in the depths of the South Hams it told me there were none present even though I was only a few miles from Kingsbridge. At Kingsbridge itself it found the petrol stations. On the way back there was no traffic information even whilst I was sitting in a traffic jam on the M3.
I have used TomTom and CoPilot before so know what to expect of SatNav.
So one star down for lack of promised Bluetooth and one down for Traffic info. I'd take another star off for rubbish PC software and rubbish documentation, but that would be too harsh as many people may not use them.
All in all I was very underwhelmed, sitting in that traffic jam I decided "it's gotta go back".
Maybe try a Garmin next.

Navman s500
After much searching between Garmin & Navman I decided to stick with Navman as my current satnav is Navman S90i.I'm glad I did stick with Navman the new unit is Fantastic,clear maps,lane guidence,thin design took a while to get used to the Mio system but practice makes it easy.All in Great unit would buy again,once again great buy at Amazon with free delivery

Navman s500
I am very happy now with my purchase as the first machine had to be returned as it appeared to have a faulty internal battery which rapidly lost its charge. As with most modern devices these days it has so many features that it will take some while to get to know and use them. The power connection port on the machine could have been better designed as either fitting onto the wind screen holder or at least the cable not clashing with the machine support slot.