LG LN740 GPS Device Reviewed

GPSMagazine has a detailed review on the LG LN740  portable GPS navigation device. The LG LN740  is powered by the SiRFstarIII GPS chipset and it features integrated media player, a 4-inch 320×240 color LCD display and the text-to-speech functionality.

LG LN740 has pre-loaded with maps of US, Canada, Puerto Rico. It has 2GB internal memory and a SD card slot supporting up to 2GB. It is priced at $499.

Overall the LN740 is an excellent GPS. However, I found the 4-inch display of lesser quality (brightness and resolution) than other competing 4-inch models from Magellan and Garmin. The traffic service requires an additional antenna that must be routed along the windshield, creating unsightly clutter and additional steps to connect/disconnect the GPS from the car.

I also found LG’s color palette on the map strangely foreign (and somewhat depressing). The map screen isn’t as refined as Garmin’s, nor is the LN740 as easy to use.

Pros

* Unsurpassed routing engine outperformed all other units in the test, including Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom
* Minimalist, slim design
* Easy, one-button access to the map screen from all sub-menus
* Convenient physical volume controls
* Large, 4-inch display
* Nicely engineered windshield mount is simple, effective, and easy to use
* 6 hour battery life
* Text-to-Speech (GPS announces actual street names)
* Large POI database (7 Million)
* Real-Time Traffic Data (provided by NAVTEQ with coverage in about 50 U.S. cities. Comes with 90 day free trial, then requires annual subscription)
* Supports multi-stop routing with route optimization
* Powerful POI search options
* Fast routing/re-routing
* SiRF’s powerful StarIII Receiver provided excellent GPS signal performance, even behind tall building, canyons, tree cover, etc.
* NAVTEQ mapping data
* Only GPS I’ve tested that supports searching POIs by multiple, user-specified categories
* Address book supports creation of folders for grouping similar addresses

Cons

* Screen not as bright as Garmin nuvi or Magellan Maestro 4000-series GPS units
* Screen resolution lower than most other 4-inch models
* Traffic service requires additional unsightly antenna to be connected to the windshield
* Occasional bugs during testing (these will no doubt be resolved via firmware updates, but during my testing I occasionally noticed quirky behavior. For example, the voice prompts stopped announcing during one trip, and twice I had to cancel and re-enter the destination before the GPS started routing)
* Underpowered speaker sounds tinny at louder volumes
* Menu icon on map screen is too small. Hard to press while driving
* Power cable connects directly to the GPS instead of the windshield mount
* Color palette on Map screen is bland, depressing to look at
* Text on map screen can be difficult to read
* Annoying “TMC” logo always displayed on map
* Slow zooming in/out on the map
* “Night” mode only darkens the map screen; all other menu screens maintain the same color scheme and brightness as “Day” mode, making menus blindingly bright in a dark car at night
* Lackluster MP3 player & Photo viewer cannot be accessed while navigating
* Music Player has no “Night” mode – only a manual brightness control
* “Home” address hidden within the “My Places” menu
* No Bluetooth
* Use of 2006 (Q2) NAVTEQ mapping data is not the most current mapping data available. For example, Magellan’s Maestro series is using 2007 NAVTEQ data, and Garmin is planning to release updated maps by August 2007
* Menus require you to press OK to confirm each command – slows things down and gets annoying after a while