With more and more GPS units hitting the market and becoming a staple in everyone’s car and backpack, it’s getting more challenging to know which model to buy for your needs. Some offer a wide range of features, while others are more simplistic and just focus on getting you where you need to be.
Today I have another GPS from Geeks.com, a small, simple, entry-level unit from Nextar. Model M3-03, it features a 3.5” touchscreen, fairly nice looking maps, a media player and just enough functions to get the average commuter to their destination. Most of the time, that is…
Info:
Nextar M3-03 3.5” Touchscreen Portable GPS Navigation System
This Nextar M3-03 Portable GPS Navigation System offers a multitude of features at an incredible price! It can show you how to get to ANY destination in the United States – by address, by intersection, or by a location selected directly from the map. With Text to Speech you get clearly pronounced instructions, including street names in English, Spanish or French. Plus, the included Secure Digital card comes pre-loaded with the entire USA map!
General Features:
-Plays MP3s
-Includes Stylus
-Built-in Speaker
-Built-in Antenna
-Power Source: DC 5V
-Secure Digital Card Slot
-Power button, Reset button
-Turn by Turn Voice Prompts
-Portable GPS Navigation System
-Dynamic Range: ? 80 dB (1 kHz)
-Audio Signal-to-noise rate: ? 65 dB
-Channel Separation: ? 70 dB (1 kHz)
-Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
-Displays Photos on the JPEG Viewer
-Audio distortion+noise: ? -20 dB (1 kHz)
-Built-in Lithium Ion Rechargeable Battery
-3.5-inch TFT Touchscreen Color Display
-Voice Prompts & Menu in English, Spanish and French
-US Maps – All 50 States – (Loaded on SD card – included)
-Trip Information: Mileage, average speed and distance traveled
-1.6 Million Points of Interest (Hotels, Shopping, Gas Stations, Restaurants, etc.)
-Text to Speech – clearly pronounces instructions including street names (English)
-Almanac: Provides information related to the sun and the moon, based on current geographical location
-Speed Alert: This feature will warn the user if the vehicle is exceeding the speed limit. There are 2 speed alert options:
—1) Auto Speed Alert: uses the type of road to determine the probable speed limit
—(2) Fixed Speed Alert: lets user enter a speed
Connectors:
-SD card slot
-Headphone jack
-USB Mini B port
-DC 5V input jack
Dimensions:
-3 x 4.1 x 0.8-inches (H x W x D, approximate)
Price: $59.99
What’ in the Box?
The unit comes buried in an enormous box – an obvious attempt at theft deterrent. It is very large, though, and teeters on the border between effective theft deterrent and being obnoxious. The box itself isn’t extremely appealing – it depicts a car dashboard and road with some basic text telling you about the tiny item inside.
The back is similar, and tells you the features of the unit: a 3.5” touchscreen, text to speech, MP3 player, maps of all 50 US states, 1.6 million points of interest, a photo viewer and a rechargeable battery. It also shows you the contents, which include a carry pouch, mounting cradle, windshield mount, car adapter, AC adapter, USB cable, stylus and SD card.
Altogether, its contents are quite good, and the features are what you’d expect (if not slightly more, with the MP3 player) for a unit at this price point.
The outer shell slides off to reveal a tray which holds all the aforementioned components.
There are a few close-ups of the accessories. The carrying case is fairly nice, is nylon padded and has a pocket.
The unit itself is small and has an entry-level look and feel to it. As mentioned, the screen is only 3.5”, but the plastic frame around it is rather thick and heavy. The top of the unit has the power button, and the bottom has a USB connection. The side holds the SD slot, AC input and headphone jack. The rear has the speaker, reset button, and mounting area.
Note there is nowhere on the unit to hold the stylus, so you’ll either need to keep the unit’s carry case with you at all times or have a very organized car where a stylus can go floating loose and not get lost.
Overall the look of the unit isn’t terrible, and while the screen size is an inch or so smaller than many GPS units considered entry-level and in low price ranges, this unit’s price is so extremely low that its aesthetics will meet your expectations.
What really matters is whether or not it works…
Usage:
I generally research products on other review sites before using them myself, to gauge other reviewers’ opinions and experiences. This GPS had some mixed reviews when it came to performance, so I didn’t know what to expect. Losing signal on cloudy/overcast days was a big complaint – and living in Pittsburgh, those are popular weather conditions, so the testing environment seemed a good fit.
Here’s a picture of it in the car above my very dusty dashboard, and another picture of the mount in standing position for those who don’t affix them to the windshield.
The mount is very nice and has a latching mechanism that creates a real solid bond between the mount and the suction disc. I hardly ever use my TomTom or other GPS in a mounted position because they always fall off, but I feel this unit might actually hold to the car for a while.
So does it work?
For me, it worked about 80% of the time. I used this unit to drive to a relative’s house (about 10 miles), to work (about 35 miles) and around town. During that time, it generally worked perfectly during sunny, bright days, but did manage to drop signal with some regularity on cloudy, overcast days. Twice during my 35-mile trip to work it lost signal, taking a good 4-5 minutes to regain a satellite connection after the drop. This was fine for me, but if I were traveling somewhere far away and had no clue where I was, 4-5 minutes could be pretty important. One can make a lot of turns and movements in 5 minutes.
Backing up a step – when you boot up the unit, this is the first menu you’ll see. It’s not the most beautiful thing in the world, but it’ll get you to the few functions offered by the device.
The menus are easy to follow and obvious. If you’ve ever used a GPS before, you’ll know how to use every function of this device right out of the box. If you haven’t, you’ll quickly learn, as it’s all very straightforward and simple. I didn’t take a picture of every single menu option because I find that unnecessary, but there are a few to give you a taste of how it’s laid out and how it operates.
It’s a basic unit, so your basic GPS features are there: addresses, points of interest, favorites, intersections, etc. The points of interest section is nice and can hook you up with ATMs, gas stations, hospitals, parking, restaurants and more. I’m not sure how often it’s updated, though. This unit was straight out of the box, and it told me there are no casinos within 25 miles of my house. There are, in fact, two of them, one less than two miles away, which leads me to believe a manual update of the information might be necessary on occasion.
You can also use options within the above menus to access the settings (for volume, localization, language, etc.) and GPS info. The GPS info screen is neat, not only showing you things like latitude and longitude, but altitude, speed, local time and the individual strength of your connection to each of the 12 GPS satellites.
Alright, we’ve made it to navigation – the most important element of the GPS. Above are a few map shots. I quite like the way the map is laid out and presented on this unit. The streets are easy to read, the names are clear, and different roads appear in different colors to indicate the type of road. The GPS updates with good response, once every second or two, like most GPS units. The speed is accurate, the time is accurate, and it never suggested I make any obnoxious turns or go any ridiculous directions during the time I was using the device.
Having said that, the only time I experienced any lag or delay in its instruction is when going off-path (into a driveway or side alley) or when making a turn it didn’t tell me to make. It’s a little slow to recalculate the route, usually suggesting a U-turn first, then coming up with a new option after 5-10 seconds go by.
Ultimately, when the sky is clear and you can use the unit without interruption, it’ll certainly do a good job getting you where you need to be. My only concern using it in a foreign location would be the signal dropping out. But if all else fails, you could just stop and wait for it to recover. Even on the ugliest of days, it never stayed without signal for more than a few minutes. However, even having to suggest that course of action is a pretty strong drawback and goes against the purpose of owning the device.
The touch screen is sensitive and responsive, aside from the occasional few-second freezing that many GPS units are famous for. There will be the occasion when you have to reboot the unit to get it to come back to life, but so far I haven’t come across a single GPS unit where that wasn’t true.
You’ll want to always make sure you have your car charger or AC charger with you, because the battery life is pretty terrible when disconnected from a power source. Even if you don’t use the GPS, it’ll be empty within a few days and require a charging.
The only voice available within the GPS is a rather awkward female. It’s not the best voice and will occasionally scare the hell out of you, but it’s the only one there is. Sorry.
Despite ultimately being a no-frills unit, this device does have two extra features: MP3 playing and photo viewing. The above pictures are of the music player interface. You can load some MP3s onto your SD card and play them using the GPS. It sounds about as good as you’d expect music coming out of a GPS speaker to sound…
Additionally, there is a photo viewer, where you can… view photos. I guess that might be useful for someone. I personally would never in a million years have a need for this.
Conclusion:
The Nextar M3-03 GPS is a good option if you want a GPS unit and you’re only willing to spend about $60. In reality, if that price limit is your cap, you’re probably alright with this unit’s limited features and performance drawbacks, and will therefore not be terribly let down by its abilities.
It’s certainly not going to replace your $250 Garmin Nuvi, but it’ll get the job done if you have the patience to live with its flaws and keep your wallet thicker. If you want a GPS more for the fun of it and for occasional navigation needs, it just might do the trick. If you’re a serious traveler looking for a truly capable, reliable unit- look further.
| PROS | CONS |
| +Terribly inexpensive +When it works, it works +A couple extra features for those who want them +Very straightforward and easy to use +Good construction +Quality accessories included |
-Ridiculous packaging -Doesn’t love clouds -Bad voice -Bad battery life |
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