The total impression is quite mixed. Compared with the difficulties of the top dogs from Garmin or TomTom I can despite the obvious weaknesses still highly recommended for people who are willing to deal with the unit in order to circumvent some of the weaknesses. If, like me not to pity is to read in the forums about it to tune something, then you get at the end of a quite useful product that does not need to fear comparison with the top dogs. Those who are not ready for it, you should look at the top dogs. But the fact is, there are NOT ONE motorcycle or truck Navi on the market, which is thoroughly recommended. So it's all about the find for oneself acceptable compromise. Maybe my experience with this and some other devices can indeed help.
Positives:
- The device itself is what the robustness As currently unmatched by any other motorcycle Navi beat. Thus it is ever the perfect base.
- The construction of the mount system is also significantly better than failed in the competition, even if there still has potential for improvement.
- The included Bluetooth free speaking for the helmet-mounting works great in conjunction with the SLX-350. even the battery lasts long enough. The voice quality is very good and loud enough. (If there are more than 160 km / h but the wind generated at the edges of the device in such a nasty noise that drowned out the device, but who is still at dm pace at Navi announcements interested?)
- The map is good and even right up to date (if you have updated to the latest version)
- The route calculation is excellent really good and as a target navigation. Find function would be nice track with a motorcycle Navi, in which the journey is the reward, have been desirable.
- The import / export of route plans in KML4.3 format works, however excellent.
- The navigation system also makes the car looks good.
Negatives:
- So you can use the navigation on the bike really meaningful is needed at some tinkering. Caution is offered something which then on Tips & Tricks on the forums moves in dangerous legal gray areas.
One finds there but a lot to improve the user interface. The unbedienbare motorcycle surface so you should absolutely exchange them for a normal car version, even if you think losing some features. One also gains which and the operation is then even logical.
- The display is not very good recognizable under Sonneneistrahlung. Why not at an outdoor Navi uses a transflective display remains the mystery of the Chinese. Unfortunately, most expensive brand devices are no better.
- The battery management software is very bad. The battery is almost always loaded, which makes the battery very quickly floored !! So when you go on longer trips since, you have to keep checking caps the juice of the cradle. Thus, the device uses the battery which charges otherwise broken. (On the third day of my 14 day France trip my navigator no longer wanted and went out every 10 minutes and then read more no longer start battery empty even though the would be full. That was the overloaded battery) So it's not a software error in the display as some claim but fact that the battery always invites. whether the last update WinCE has eliminated this mistake I could not even try.
- If you disconnect the unit from the mains and can enable the power-saving mode to thereafter continue once there, the device does not wake up again. here may require a reset. (Nervt properly, therefore exit the device always clean and only a button off) when there is the know bypassed.
- The associated PC software is a horror. on some PC it will not be possible to move the function. But the problem is Navgear generally and also occurs in Becker or other Navis which are based on. best to do about it only the map updates and will for the rest of a card reader. If you know the directory structure, you can do without the good fortune to the PC software.
(For me, as Linux users, it is not always used.)
Very important: Before you turn on the device at all the first time !!! Make a copy of the SD CARD !!! best double and packs the way at various secure locations. the software can damage yourself and then you need the backup copy. If you have changed something in that, (updates, new maps, whatever) always backup power. A directory backup on the card where the software is again in it in order to replace corrupt files again can also not hurt. I have previously used in conjunction with a card reader and a netbook in any vacation time.
Conclusion: For tinkerers a useful device. For the casual user to cope safely also very good with the software out of the box. For users, although without thinking and tinkering want a perfect Navi ... unusable.
Who, however, thinks of the big brands to drive better just believe me: TomTom has probably the most sophisticated software, however, is building rickety mounts and so the units are not very durable in hardware. With Garmin hardware was somewhat passable but crashes the software of the day (such as in the SLX-350 now and again)
I compare that then to accommodate the current price, then the Navgear SLX-350 is still a good choice.
Who does not want to TomTom tinkering should grab and hope to catch a device that is not a short time (usually shortly after the end of the guarantee) fails.
PS: there is a successor to the Tour Mate N4. The software is still based on iGo Primo2, but was more aligned with the surfaces of other manufacturers in optics. almost looks like the start menu of Becker. whether hardware and brackets what has improved or worsened looking but unfortunately still no, because it's still nowhere available. The disadvantage is likely in any event, the larger display to be, because in a motorcycle cockpit is hardly room for large Navi's. But I hope fervently for a transflective display! Here, the major brands have namely retrofitted! at least it seems to have a capacitive Tochdisplay. Whether that is good on the bike can hopefully tell someone.
