Voxtrack 800 GPS
$799
www.voxson.com.au
Voxson now make GPS nav units, as a lot of companies seem to be doing lately. Because of this, your GPS unit better have one or more good unique selling points, or you’re fighting against all of those that do.
Out of the box, the Voxson ticks all of the boxes, It’s a GPS nav system powered by the latest Sensis 13 maps. It has a database of fixed speed cameras and red-light cameras, and when you’re not using it as a GPS device, you can use it as an mp3 player, a video player and photo viewer, with files accessed from the SD memory card that also contains the maps.
The user interface is primarily touch screen based, with a series of semi-transparent icons on the left hand side of the screen that, when pressed, activate different functions, such as entering in the address you wish to travel to, or seeing the name of an upcoming road. Having used a range of different GPS devices, I got used to it very quickly and have no trouble entering addresses of where I want to go.
If you take a wrong turn, the system quickly recalculates and within seconds has plotted a new course. The screen itself is quite high-res and in all, it’s a system that works well.
The GPS unit connects to a bendable neck which suction caps to your dashboard. Maybe it’s my shock absorbers, but I noticed that if I didn’t anchor the unit to the side of the dash where there was a raised part, the unit had a tendency to bounce as the car did. Other GPS devices have fixed necks which stop this from happening. But when the unit was anchored, as such, which I did, that effectively solved the problem.
I found at least one road where the Sensis 13 map wanted me to turn in a direction a sign said I couldn’t go, but that’s because of the map, not the GPS. In everyday use, the Sensis 13 maps were very accurate and the Voxson’s software handled complex turns on major roads very well.
The biggest standout feature that’s new to any GPS I’m aware of is the unique lighting system. As you approach a turn that’s 500 metres away, the left or right hand side of the unit has a vertical bar that slowly flashes blue. When you get to 200 metres away, the light starts flashing red, and when you need to turn the red light is solid. If you have the volume up, you’ll hear the voice prompts, advising you to turn. But if you have the volume down, you don’t have to rely on the arrows that can be drawn on the screen, you only need to look for the colour and which side it is coming from to get a silent warning of the next turn – making it easier to keep your eyes on the road. In practice this worked nicely, and is a nice addition. No doubt future GPS systems will be fully voice controlled and may even draw the GPS map and an outline of the road ahead and where to turn directly on the windshield as part of a heads-up display.
Until that happens the current generation of brand new GPS units is definitely a step above last year’s models and I’m sure they’ll be one of the hot presents this Christmas.
Alex Zaharov-Reutt
