 | AutoBahnShop.com Navigation | |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Cobra GPSM 4000 Nav One Mobile Navigator | 
 enlarge | Brand: Cobra
Category: CE
List Price: $999.99
Buy New: $214.99
You Save: $785.00 (79%)
Buy New/Used/Refurbished from $130.55
Avg. Customer Rating:  (15 reviews)
Sales Rank: 5410
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: 320 x 240
Special Features: Array
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 6 x 2 x 4
MPN: GPSM 4000
Model: GPSM 4000
UPC: 028377500329
EAN: 0028377500329
ASIN: B000ATT8I6
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent Product October 4, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I purchased this item after spending days reading other reviews on various products. I have a navigation system in my BMW and was hoping for one just as good to use in my motorhome. This one is actually better than the BMW navigation system.
Solid Affordable Aftermarket Navigation, but... January 23, 2007
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
After a disasterous experience with a Sony NavU70 unit and after considering the Garmin system owned by a friend, and after doing extensive research and demoing some products at the local Circuit City, I finally selected the Cobra GPSM4000 sight unseen and bought it through Amazon. Frankly I wasn't expecting too much, and the appearance of the unit struck me as a little retro (too much chrome for my taste, as though this unit had been designed as an add-on for old GM vehicles). But when I put it in my 4x4 I was impressed. Although the manual warns you that it can take up to 20 minutes for a brand-new unit to orient itself based on the signals received from the orbiting satellites, the Cobra 4000 oriented itself within 60 seconds of being turned on. It was so quick that I found myself wondering if the people at the factory had somehow pre-programmed my location.
The screen is nice and bright, the touch-screen functionality is just the right degree of sensitivity, and all the key parameters are tunable through the menu options so you can customize the unit to perform according to your own preferences. New locations are simple to store (which makes waypointing easy) and the system provides breadcrumbs which is essential for off-roading. The Sony unit referred to earlier in this review was an ergonomic disaster and didn't support breadcrumbs nor simple location storage. It was pretty, though.
As real-time traffic data comes on-stream in the USA the real-time traffic option will become more worthwhile. I didn't purchase this option with my unit because it's not really available yet in my region and besides, there's no alternative when the local freeway is jammed. There is no route work-around possible, so it wouldn't help me much on a day-to-day basis. But one day, when the service is cheap and there are alternative routes to be found, it will be a worthwhile addition to the repertoire of all in-car navigation systems.
I really like the larger screen size, though while it is technically 5 inches in diameter the actual map size is about 4.5 inches because the borders are occupied with soft keys. Still, that beats the 3 inch and 3.5 inch screens found on other units like Garmin and Magellan and TomTomGo.
Voice prompting is nice & crisp, but the on-screen direction arrow with distance indicator is a little small, for those situations when you want to check whether it's the next turn or the one 50 feet after that.
Some GPS units scroll smoothly as you travel, keeping the cursor in the center of the map. The system in my Acura does that and I've become used to it. The Cobra unit works the other way: the cursor representing your vehicle travels across the screen and then, just as it reaches the edge of the screen, the entire map "jumps" to a new page and the process starts all over again. While my preference is for the Honda/Acura approach, the "jumping page" is something I can live with and isn't too distracting in practice. I care more about the accuracy of the unit and the Cobra is very accurate and fast to adjust.
The unit comes with a windscreen mount, but there's also a base plate in case you want to mount it to a horizontal surface. I was somewhat concerned about placing the unit in the windscreen area because off-road in the desert in the middle of the day it can get awfully hot right there, even with the A/C blowing hard. So I chose to purchase the optional external GPS receiver, which I mounted in the windshield area, and I placed the Cobra unit in the center binnacle where it is easy to see yet out of the direct sunlight (which also improves general visibility, as the screen never washes out because of being hit by direct light).
UPDATE: February 26th 2007. After taking the unit on its first extended trip (3 hours) it exhibited a major defect. After 25 minutes of continuous operation the unit began emitting a hot metal smell and the upper left portion of the screen became hot to touch; simultaneously the upper left portion of the screen turned dark and no longer displayed anything. After another 5 minutes the screen began to blink on and off rapidly, rendering it useless. Turning on the A/C and directing a stream of icy air at the unit did nothing to ameliorate the problem.
Beach Audio accepted the return of the unit and shipped me a replacement; I have not yet taken the replacement on a long (3+ hours) trip to see whether the new unit overheats like the old one did. Hopefully it was a one-off manufacturing defect as apart from the malfunction I was pleased with the previous unit.
Second Update: as of August 2008 the replacement is still functioning as intended. I'm irritated by the fact that it can take up to 15 minutes to acquire satellites upon start of the journey (afterwards it acquires almost instantly), and I've discovered that the database of street addresses is quirky - a location in Tahoe Vista was listed as being in Sacramento, even though the on-map icon was correctly placed in Tahoe Vista. Now that the unit has come down to around $200 I think it's OK for the money, but as I originally paid about $500 I think it was overpriced back then. Realistically there are much better units on the market now, and I'd definitely advise people to go with an integrated Bluetooth and MP3 functionality in any new standalone unit these days.
Superb GPS January 21, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is my 3rd GPS and I finally got it right! The Cobra 4000 has a beautiful huge screen and is very intuitive to use. The maps, as with most GPS units, could be more up-to-date since my house address, which has been here for 20 years, is not listed. The POI database, however, is phenomenal compared to my previous GPS units. I find about 90% of the places I look for in the POI info. The unit gets confused if you make a lot of changes while it is trying to follow a route. It also has given me conflicting instructions at times but I think this is due to problems with the maps rather than the unit itself, and one which I have seen on multiple GPS units. The combination of soft and hard buttons is effective, the volume is easily adjustable and can be very loud if desired. The day-night mode for the display is great! I see lots of complaints about the mount but I love it! I have a flat dash in my van and could not use the dash mount on my last GPS because it wouldn't pivot enough for the unit to be seen easily. The Cobra mount works great on both the windshield and on a flat dash. It is heavy but has not come loose yet on the two vehicles on which I have placed it. I am very happy with this unit and glad that I bought it.
Good, with a few glitches November 3, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I actually love the Cobra GPSM 4000 Nav One. However, there is a problem it has that is not just some small problem to me. On several occasions, it gives the incorrect names for exits. The saving grace is that the distance until you reach the exit is correct. For example, I needed to take interstate 64W. Exit 64W was 1 mile away, and exit 64E was 0.5 mile away. The Cobra told me to take exit 64E in 1 mile. Therefore, I have been able to take the correct exit because it gives the correct distance, but it shouldn't be that way.
Other than that issue, I love the Cobra 4000. It is great to have it in the car and have access to Points of Interests immediately. I also like that I can plot the point of someplace I want to return again, and save that place to my address book. It is also quick to find where you are.
Awesome visibility, great usability August 23, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Our primary criteria were good visibility while mounted on the dash (or windshield) and, naturally, something that would be reasonably easy to use. This certainly meets those. The only visibility problem we had was that the screen was *too* bright while driving at night-fortunately there were two of us so the screen could be turned towards the passenger & away from the driver. Bright sun-never a problem. Driver's ability to read the screen when unit was mounted in front of the passenger-never a problem.
We had a problem in one area where roads that, according to the unit, crossed the freeway didn't. It kept telling us to take left turns that didn't exist, but we just kept going until we found a road that did cross, and it re-computed the route nicely.
Our salesperson warned us that the database only contained 'yellow page' addresses, but he was nice enough to suggest that we use the Map function to locate the nearest intersection & route to that when trying to find an address that wasn't in the database. That worked pretty well for us although we have a lot more learning to do before we'll feel really comfortable moving around in the map.
Similarly, we have quite a bit more learning to do before we'll be really comfortable designing a route we actually want. I'd like to see an option to say 'take this road' as well as the 'avoid this road' option-but I can realize the programming problems involved with that (e.g. the road you want to take may not take you where you want to go). Once both of the choices (fastest & shortest routes) took us on confusing winding paths when there was a more easily navigable option I could see on the map-but I couldn't figure out how to get the unit to map that route. An 'easiest navigation' option would be nice but I have no idea how a program could determine that.
Never had any problem or significant delay in finding our current position, never any significant delay in re-routing when we took a 'detour' (or missed a turn), very good voice prompts (although it prefers to use route numbers rather than street names, e.g. WA 529 vs. Meridian Rd.). Considering the current state of the art, this is an awesome unit.
|
|
|
The BMW Part Store From AutoBahnShop.comInternational Orders & Shipping
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
Shipping Restrictions
Warranty issues and manufacturer restrictions prevent us from shipping certain products to all geographical locations. You'll be notified while placing your order if we're unable to ship specific items to the address you've selected.
International Addresses
The following items can be shipped to destinations outside the U.S.:
* books*
* DVDs
* music
* VHS videos
Additionally, some software, tools, and kitchen items can be shipped to the following countries:
* Australia
* Austria
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Japan
* Ireland
* Italy
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Sweden
* United Kingdom
These items can be shipped only via Priority International Shipping and are subject to an import fees deposit.
*Note: Books that require special handling because they are extremely heavy (for example, multi-volume sets) cannot be shipped outside the U.S. If this is the case, it will be noted on the product detail page.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Shipping date estimates will appear in the order form. After placing your order, you will see both shipping and delivery date estimates in the order confirmation e-mail and in the order summary in Your Account.
Calculating Cost
Shipping costs depend upon the method and option you choose.
If you choose to group items into as few shipments as possible, you'll be charged for one regular per-shipment fee, as well as a per-item fee for each item in that shipment.
If you choose to ship items as soon as they become available, we'll charge you full per-shipment fees for each shipment as well as a per-item fee for each item.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound. |
|
|
| | |