Jensen NVX225 GPS - Features and Performance
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Features and Performance
Because the Jensen NVX225 is such a basic GPS unit, it does not have a ton of cool features to speak of. There are a few, though. This device comes equipped with the SiRFStarIII GPS chip, which is the best chip available. The maps are from TeleNav, and they cover both the United States and Canada. The Canadian maps are not loaded into the device, but Jensen has packaged a CD ROM with all of the Canadian maps in with the device, so you will just have to get the Canadian maps from there.
One of the key features in this device is one that is becoming standard in all portable GPS units: the ability to use the GPS device to get driving directions as well as walking, biking, and bus directions. Since this GPS is so small, it would be great to use it while on foot. The difference between driving mode and pedestrian mode is that driving mode follows only streets, while pedestrian mode will give directions based on distance and not take roads into consideration.
The NVX225 contains a nice size database of points of interest (POI)--3.75 million of them to be exact. The POI feature is typical compared with other GPS units. You can search for things like gas stations, lodging, ATMs, restaurants, amusement parks, and more.
The navigation screen can be viewed in either 2D or 3D mode. This device will give you voice-guided directions, but not TTS functionality. The voice feature can be changed to either English, Spanish, or French. While navigating a route, this device does a pretty good job of picking the best route, based upon the user's choices; it also does a nice job of quickly recalculating a route when you accidentally go off course. The navigation screen displays your course, directions, and some warning icons such as a speed warning, unpaved road warning, and others.
This unit does take 3-5 minutes to get a satellite fix from a cold start, which is a little high, but not bad. It holds a signal relatively well, although you may lose a signal while driving through big cities with tall buildings. Those problems are typical of GPS units, though, so I wouldn't worry too much about that small issue. All GPS devices need a clear path to the sky in order to work correctly, which is why GPS units do not work well indoors most of the time.
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