Navman iCN 750

The Navman iCN 750 has the most unique feature of any GPS device we've tested this year: a built-in camera. Called NavPix, the 1.3-MP sensor on this gadget isn't designed to replace your digital point and shoot; the pictures you take are saved along with their geo-referenced coordinates as a destination, making it possible to navigate back to that house for sale or out-of-the way cafe with a tap of the screen. This feature works well, but at $799 the iCN 750 has some stiff competition in the high-end navigator arena.
 
The iCN 750 comes with everything you need to get going, including power cables, a dashboard mount, a suction cup window mount, and a carrying case. The device features a nice four-inch touchscreen. Buttons to the right quickly direct the unit to a new location, the nearest gas station, or parking lot.
 
A press of the shutter button on top of the unit brings up the camera interface. If you're receiving a GPS signal, the unit will automatically map the location, and a handy picture menu allows you to navigate to that location by simply touching the picture.
 
Your options aren't limited to the pictures you take. Navman plans on having different tourist attractions available for download from your PC. If you're going to Los Angeles, for example, you might download pictures such as the Hollywood sign, the Santa Monica Pier, Disneyland, and Universal Studios. We were skeptical, but checking out the preloaded pictures on the device immediately made us want to head to Crater Lake in Oregon. The unit has an SD Card slot on the side for expanding the photo memory.
 
When you're not snapping photos, the iCN 750 manages to get you from point A to point B pretty effectively. The device had no problem providing great directions for in-town driving in Lincoln, NE and on a minor road trip up to Omaha. We really liked how the iCN 750 made it easy to change preferences, such as freeways versus surface roads, as well as add areas to avoid.
 
The user interface is very clean and bright, and the 3D maps are very readable. We especially appreciated the 3D arrows for making turns. That might seem like eye candy, but it actually helps you understand exactly where the turn is a bit better than some of the other units we've tested. If you miss a turn for some reason, the iCN 750 automatically recalculates where you need to go. The unit provides spoken turn-by-turn directions and was plenty loud during our tests.
 
While we drove, we noticed that the point-of-interest database on the iCN 750 was slightly out of date, missing a five-year-old baseball park, yet still containing the old one that had been torn down. We experienced the same problem with the TomTom GO 910, but it was still frustrating.
 
What really knocks the iCN 750 down a few pegs is the lack of features compared to the identically priced TomTom GO 910. That navigator features Bluetooth connectivity, so you can use the device as an in-car speakerphone for your Bluetooth cell phone, as well as download traffic information. It also doubles as an MP3 player, with 12GB of free space using its larger 20GB hard drive (compared to 4GB for the Navman iCN 750).
 
Ultimately, we really like the interface and navigation accuracy of the Navman iCN 750. The NavPix capability will undoubtedly excite those who want to explore new places in the U.S. after only seeing a picture. It's up to you to decide whether having a camera onboard is more worthwhile than Bluetooth and MP3 playback.