Nokia 500: solid, but lacks subtlety

At the end of 2006, the Finnish telecom giant Nokia released its first PND: the 330 Auto Navigation. We had mixed feelings after reviewing this device. The solid system was an excellent navigator, but it also lacked a lot of extras which were standard on competing products. So naturally we were very curious when we got our hands on a review sample of the successor to the 330, the 500 Auto Navigation. This led to the following review.

Package

The Nokia 500 Auto Navigation was sent to us in a nice no-nonsense package, comparable to the ones we know from the mobile phones of the Finnish company. Not too loud, but appealing nonetheless. There’s a small description of the contents of the box in eighteen languages. There's also a small note about the built-in FM transmitter for the PND, which –it seems- is not available in all countries. We’ll get back on this later.

We also see this Nokia device uses European mapping material supplied by Navteq. The navigation application itself is the Nokia Maps software, which is based on Smart2Go.

Inside the box there’s a large amount of little bags and parts. Obviously there’s the navigation system itself, but besides that, there’s also the car mount, a holder which attaches to the car mount, a 12 volt power lead, a USB lead, a carrying bag, a CD-ROM containing mapping material and the manual, an SD card with navigational software and mapping material, a quick start user manual and also a little bag containing a screw and a cover plate. These last two parts seem a little odd to us, since we have no idea what they are for. We’re sure we’ll find out as the review progresses though.

The supplied manual is as said, a quick start version, which is also written in no less than eighteen languages, comparable to the box. Each language only fills a brief twelve pages. For a more extensive manual, Nokia refers to the CD-ROM.

Mount

Normally we always start our reviewing without reading the manual, because this way we can get an adequate indication of how user friendly a device really is. Not so with the Nokia 500, because we really could not figure out what to do with that screw and cover plate we mentioned earlier. Fortunately the manual provided the answer with some clear information and matching image.

The car mount for the Nokia 500 Auto Navigation consists of two very large parts. The part containing the suction cup as well as the clamp which needs to be clicked onto this system are immense compared to the car mounts of competing manufacturers. This may make the mount more solid, but there’s no denying it also makes it too big.

Now it also becomes clear what the screw and cover plate are meant for. After placing the two aforementioned large parts on top of each other, we need to attach them to each other by means of the screw. This is the first time we’ve ever needed a screwdriver before we could install the mount in the car. Not a real plus. The rubber cover plate is used to cover up the screw hole. The choice of using a screw is not only bad for the user who immediately wants to start using his new PND, it also means that this unit cannot be shifted in all directions any more like most other PND’s can. Not good.

System

Just like the Nokia 330, the Nokia 500 is a very solid device. To be honest, a bit too solid, since it weighs approximately 230 grams. Its colour is anthracite grey, with a light grey edge. There are a number of big buttons on the system, on the front underneath the screen and on the top. The device has a very indestructible feel to it.

The Nokia 500 Auto Navigation features a lot of buttons and connections. On the top there are three buttons, or at least we thought they were buttons, because after closer inspection, two of them turned out to be covers. To the top left there’s a cover for the external GPS antenna (1). A rather unorthodox place for such a connection, because this would mean the cable would always be visible in plain sight if it was used.

The cover to the right is meant to cover up the headphones connection (2). We’re also not really convinced this was the perfect spot for such a connection. In the midst of these two covers is the on/off button (3). To the top right there's the indicator led which lights up green when the unit is connected to an external power source.

On the front there are three buttons beneath the 4.3 inch screen. In the middle there’s the button for the main menu (5) of the 500 Auto Navigation. To the left and right of this there are two buttons (6) for turning the volume up and down. During our test it turned out that these buttons only seem to control the volume of the music played. The volume of the navigational commands need to be entered in a different way (via the screen).

On the bottom of the system there’s the reset button (7), in case the unit hangs. It might be good to know we’ve never needed this button throughout our tests. There’s also another cover which protects the mini-USB connector (8) which is also used to provide power to the unit. Finally, there’s also a second on/off switch (9) which is meant as the main switch. Unique for PND’s we think, and we’re also not quite sure about the added value.

To the right of the unit there’s the mini-SD card slot (10) and to the left there’s the microphone (11), which is needed to be able to make phone calls. The speaker of the unit is located on the back.

Software

Our review unit uses software version 4.1 (date: 13th October 2007) of the Nokia Maps navigational software. This software is based on Smart2Go, developed by the German company Gate 5. Whose company has been owned by Nokia since 2006. The 330 Auto Navigation still used Route 66 software because by that time the takeover of Gate 5 had not yet been completed.

To be honest, we don’t think the switch from Route 66 to Nokia Maps was an improvement. This new software is not as user friendly as Route 66 is. For one, there are too many possibilities to select a menu: two different buttons on the screen and the large button below the screen will cause confusion, especially for the new users.

The display of the mapping material also could have been better, but we realise this is often a case of personal taste. At least: we find the 3D map view disappointing. Still, there are a great number of options to arrange the navigational screen to your personal preference and eg. choose which POI categories need to be shown.

There’s also an option which calls up an overview of the selected route. In this list, the route is written out in detail, including distances, street names and directions that need to be followed. While the idea of this option is good, the implementation is lacking because it takes too much time before the unit can translate even the simplest routes into readable text.

Those are about all the negatives we could find about the 500 Auto Navigation. Rest assured, this unit also contains a lot of good features.

Sound

One of the first things we notice is the excellent sound quality of this PND. The volume can be set to pretty loud levels, and the voices are also crystal clear.

Also when playing MP3 files, the sound quality of this navigation unit is far above average. We’re also very pleased with the quality of the sound when the built-in FM transmitter is used to play the music or navigational instructions through the car stereo. The software allows the storage of up to five fixed frequencies for the use of the FM transmitter. This prevents constantly having to look for, and tuning to, available frequencies.

A large downside is the automatic deactivation of the FM transmitter after one minute. According to the screen this is because of ‘legal issues’. But the use of an FM transmitter has been made legal in most European countries by now, also in the UK, and we’d very much appreciate it if Nokia would fix this issue with a software update.

Traffic information

An essential feature of any modern navigational system is the use of traffic information. Well, if we disregard the entry-level PND models for a moment, which we certainly do with the Nokia 500 Auto Navigation. An RDS/TMC receiver is built into this unit as standard, and it performs very well. This is also the first time we’ve ever encountered a PND which doesn’t use an external wire antenna for this. Everything, including the antenna, is built in. The automatic scan function makes sure a new RDS/TMC radio channel is searched for when the current signal becomes too weak or simply drops.

Phoning

Unlike the 330 Auto Navigation, the 500 Auto Navigation does feature a hands free phoning option. A mobile phone can be paired to the unit via Bluetooth. A device which caries the Nokia brand is expected to do this without any problems. The Finns certainly have not disappointed us in this area, and that’s an understatement.

The first pairing of a new phone to the unit does take its time. But once this connection has been made, the 500 Auto Navigation is just a perfect phone. A clear contacts list (which includes the option of having multiple numbers per contact), eight clear ring tones to choose from, clear log files and a sound quality which is second to none. It’s clear that Nokia is thriving on its years of experience here to make sure this feature performs without a hitch.

The sending and receiving of text messages was still not possible on this version of the software however, but we fully expect this will become possible with a software update.

Multimedia

Like most competing manufacturers, Nokia has also included several multimedia functions into the navigational system. Most likely not often used, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t work well.

For the playing of MP3 (music) and MP4 (movie) files and the viewing of photos, Nokia had included some simple but easy to use playback options into its software. The files can be stored on a mini-SD card in a user determined folder structure. There is approximately still 500 MB of free storage space on the supplied mini-SD card, which should be adequate for the not-so-demanding user.

Honesty does force us to mention that the image quality of the screen is not so good when viewing photos and movies. This sadly is a large contrast to the sound quality this unit is able to produce.

One year after the release of the first Nokia PND, the 500 Auto Navigation has seen the light of day. It shows that this year has been a learning curve for the Finns, because very welcome improvements have been made to this unit compared to the 330.

One might wonder if the switch from Route 66 to Nokia Maps was a good idea. For now, we’re still inclined to say no, mostly because the mapping material in Route 66 simply looked better. Most other differences are not that noticeable.

In general we’re very happy about the way the most important features for this unit have been implemented. The sound quality is excellent, RDS/TMC traffic info performs as expected, hands free phoning works without a glitch and –last but certainly not least- navigating with this unit is really a piece of cake. The GPS fix is stable and very prompt.

It has become clear though that the ‘extras’ of the 500 Auto Navigation have not received the attention they deserve. They all lack finesse and subtlety in one department or the other. Eg. The lack of a text function, the odd place for some of the connectors on the device, the confusing location of some of the buttons, the automatic deactivation of the FM transmitter and even the excessive robustness of the device overall.

We usually are very understanding when it comes to solid hardware and software. Unfortunately with this device, it kills some of the subtlety every PND needs. And even if we still believe this PND looks a bit boring, there’s no denying the Finns are on the correct track.