Panasonic Car CNGP50U Strada Portable Mobile Navigation System with 5″” Widescreen LCD Monitor

5 Comments

1. Gadgester says:

   April 3, 2010 at 10:28 pm

   This GPS from Panasonic features a large, bright LCD screen. It’s also got a loud speaker and a very solid windshield mount. (A dashboard disc is included for those living in Calif. and Minn.)

   Setup is easy, although practically no documentation is enclosed in the box. You get 3D navigation map view, choice of routing based on type of vehicle (passenger car vs. truck vs. bike, for example — can be a lifesaver). It also features an “electronic compass” that keeps keeping track of your approximate location even when you’re in a tunnel.

   But the software, made by Navigon of Germany (which has a line of its own GPS units), is really bad in terms of usability. The symbols and text on the navigation map are *small*, making it hard to see where you’re and where you’re going, despite the generous 5″ screen. The software, powered by Windows CE, is extremely slow, whether you try to pan a map or enter a POI. For example, I was in Yonkers, NY two weeks ago and tried to find a KFC. I waited 3 minutes before any results came up (even though there *are* KFC’s in Yonkers.) I finally gave up and reset the unit. Also, the software tries to auto-fill street names and zip codes for you, but it’s really slooow, making it painful to enter anything.

   Speaking of zipcodes, Navigon is such a great company that they make you enter address by zip code! If you don’t know a zip code, or choose a city like San Fran or Chicago or NY with many zip codes, you may not be able to find a particular street or house number. Real smart.
2. J. Puntel says:

   April 4, 2010 at 12:02 am

   I would have given 4 or 5 stars, but Panasonic doesn’t offer any software support for this unit. The major complaints about this unit can be fixed with a couple of patches. It’s been out on the market for 5 or 6 months now, and there are no patches or updates of any kind. Ranked 25th by Consumer Reports. I bought it for two hundred bucks and still didn’t keep it. This unit is very nice in many ways, just no support at all to fix its flaws. I used this unit for 3 1/2 weeks and I liked it. The lack of any support is mind-boggling in this extremly competitive market. Sent it back and bought a Garmin 760………….went online updated all the software and I love it.
3. Living in Budapest says:

   April 4, 2010 at 12:53 am

   Although I am usually an early adopter of new technology, for some reason I had never gotte around to getting a GPS system for my car. I finally received this Panasonic as a birthday present from my wife. It took me a month before I finally set it up and used it. The unit comes with seemingly a lot of instructions/manuals. However you only really need to follow the getting started paper to calibrate the compass…a one to two minute procedure. You also spend another minute or two setting basic preferences and you’re good to go.

   I’m impressed with the unit’s ability to quickly identify destinations. Also the routes that it has plotted have been perfect. The warnings to turn are quite accurate.

   My only complaint with the unit has to do with the mounting system. The mounting disk for the dash board was useless. This is somewhat surprising as the adhesive is from 3M which I’ve found makes good tape. However the 3M adhesive simply would not stick very well to my dashboard. Thus I reluctantly opted to use the suction cup on my windshield. This worked out quite well. My other issue is with the ease (or in this case difficulty) with which the unit can be removed from the bracket. The GPS clicks into a cradle. Removing the unit requires pulling with both hands. A better design would have a release button.

   Overall I give the Panasonic CNGP50U a solid 4.5 Stars. I have no basis for comparison with the two big names, Garmin and Tom Tom. However I can’t imagine that any other GPS is easier to use than this Panasonic.
4. John Buckley says:

   April 4, 2010 at 3:22 am

   This is an excellent unit with one flaw. They don’t supply a map interface for your computer. A map interface on the computer allows you to customize routes with stops and side trips EASELY. You can do that on the unit, but it’s cumbersome.
5. Fuzzy John says:

   April 4, 2010 at 4:56 am

   I should have thought twice but now is too late. I am stuck with this GPS unit. The only thing that is positive is the big screen, good resolution and viewable in most conditions.
   
   While navigating the display lags badly… almost a regular city block at 50 mph. At lower speeds the lag is less and when stopping at a traffic light it catches up.
   
   A lag is also present while using the on screen keyboard. You have to confirm that a character was registered before typing the next one.
   
   The voice guidance is so-so. I guess that is mostly because of the small speaker. The same speaker makes using this unit as a speaker phone almost impossible even though my 2007 Santa Fe is not noisy.
   
   Recently I found on the Panasonic website 2 updates. The latest is labeled v1.4. But after loading it my version changed from 1.004 to 1.006. The descriptions provided at the website about the updates is worthless. I hoped that the lag was fixed but that was not the case. Actually I have no idea what the update I applied fixed since all my gripes are still there. But this update uncovered another major flaw: it erased all my favorites and the software does not seem to have any way of backing them up. When I turned on the unit with the update SD Card inserted it went right to erasing files without any kind of warning. I spent several hours after that to painfully re-enter a portion of my favorites.
   
   I should have thought twice while I was still able to return it. But now it is too late.