Why You Can Trust CNET Navman MY60T review: Navman MY60T
It might not have the bells and whistles of some other large screen GPS units, but the MY60T does its job well of getting you from A to B well.
Note: This article is based on our review of the top-of-the-range Navman MY75T. The initial review has been modified to suit as the MY60T has a slightly smaller screen and reduced feature list.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Design
The matte 4.7-inch resistive touchscreen does it job well — the top-of-the-range MY75T has a 5-inch screen — and we had no problems viewing the screen in bright sunlight or with polarised sunglasses on. The compact windshield mount does its job well despite the rough Sydney road network, and unlike the mount for the entry-level EZY30 and EZY40, there's no need to fuss around threading the mini-USB plug through the mount.
Interface
The stark spartan look of the map screen from preceding generations remains. Tapping the map screen brings up a menu that lets the user adjust the volume, add/skip waypoints, zoom, detour and reroute, as well as view the current route.
To access the main menu one has to use a physical Menu button that brings up a suite of Windows Phone 7-style icons — there's also a physical Pin button that saves your current location to a recent destinations list, just by the by. Using a MY-series GPS is pleasant now that the slide-to-scroll interface, off-screen windows and history confusing clicks with swipes have all thankfully consigned to history's dustbin.
Destination entry is easy to do via the keyword feature, so long as you're not searching for, say, a George Street.
Performance and features
Features-wise there's the commonplace items, like text-to-speech, lane guidance, junction view, traffic messaging and automatic day/night mode switching. On top of which there's also verbal camera and school zone warnings.
Along the top edge of the MY range is a on/off/reset slider. On the top-of-the-range MY75T start up from sleep takes about 13.5 seconds, while there's a 35 second wait after a full reboot.
The MY's processor packs more punch than the one found the cheaper EZY line, so simple tasks, like changing the volume, don't end up in a laggy animation mess. That said, the MY's transitions and animations aren't as smooth as they should be. Also, be prepared to twiddle your thumbs or begin writing your treatise on gender politics in War and Peace while the GPS calculates three alternate routes for every destination.
Routes generated by the MY aren't too dissimilar to those of its competitors: there's a marked preference for major roads and the routes are rarely ever close to being optimal. Lifetime traffic messaging is included and is helpful for avoiding big delays, but there were times when we ran into incidents on side roads that aren't covered by Suna's service.
Loaded with the latest Navteq Australia maps, the MY's lane guidance is limited to freeway exits and intersections. Junction view and 3D landmarks are also included, although the modelled skyscrapers did often obstruct our view of the route path. Like other portable GPS units, positioning accuracy decreases greatly in the CBD, with the MY sometimes losing its bearings.
The speech-to-text system does a reasonable job of pronuncing street names as part of its verbal instructions, however it did prompt us to scratch our heads on a frequent basis. Verbal instructions are greatly enhanced by the MY75T's ability to guide you from local landmarks — "turn left at the traffic lights" or "turn right at the petrol station", for instance.
Speed and red light camera locations are fairly comprehensive, but we did pass a few (both new and old) without a murmur from the GPS. School zones are also included and unlike earlier generations the warnings are actually useful. For one, the zones stored in the device match up with the prescribed speed restricted area, not a radial area around said school. And, just as important, the zones are time and day dependent — so, no more school zone warnings at 2am.
In a neat twist, for all camera and zone warnings the generic alert tone has been replaced by a more detailed verbal warning. Annoyingly, though, bus lane cameras have been listed as speed cameras, making a drive through Sydney's CBD an endless cavalcade of erroneous warnings.
Conclusion
It might not have the bells and whistles of some other large screen GPS units, but the MY60T does its job well of getting you from A to B well.