If you're the type who scans the wine list from right to left, then the price-conscious Fine Digital FineDrive 400 portable navigation device (PND) may be just what you want for your dashboard. Coincidentally, the model number represents the unit's best street price, which isn't a bad deal early in 2006.
Fine Digital is Korea's leading manufacturer of PNDs, and Fine Digital USA made a splash here during the 2005 holiday season, selling the 400 and similar 410 (with a different GPS chipset) for $400. That's a $100 discount off the regular street price.
A lot of other units are better built and have a nicer interface. But the FineDrive 400 and 410 use Navteq map data, which is the gold standard in the U.S., and the unit gets you where you're going. Planted side by side with an in-car nav system and a Tom Tom Go (one of our favorites for its all-touchscreen controls), the FineDrive 400 held its own.
True, more often than not the units picked different routes. But each was roughly the same elapsed time and mileage on 50- and 100-mile test trips, and we'd trust none of them over our personal judgment for the first 5 miles en route to the main highway, where we know the way and the quicker back roads. But you buy a GPS for when you don't know the way.
Look Ma, No Batteries
The biggest omission in the FineDrive 400 is internal battery
power. If you want to use your PND in pedestrian mode, you'd better stick a DieHard in your shoulder bag. We think that's a minor drawback, though, in pursuit of the greater good of a low, low price.
You'll notice the lack of internal batteries more when you're in a hotel room or at the breakfast table and want to plot your day's destination before you get in the car. Frankly, not many people actually walk around New York or Miami with PNDs, and at 3.7 by 5.2 by 2.7 inches (HWD), the FineDrive falls into the middle size range for portable nav devices.
The other knock on the FineDrive 400 is that it feels built with cost in mind. The power cord isn't as supple, the mounting cup is a bit clunkier, and the jutting antenna is harder to store than those of others that sell for $600 to $1,000.
Gets You Where You're Going
To use the FineDrive 400, snap in the GPS antenna by pushing hard (competitors typically fold out), mate the main unit with the windshield-mount suction cup, plug in the coiled power cord, and power up. You enter most commands by tapping the 4-inch, 320-by-200 color LCD, and you can also use zoom in/out keys on the left and menu and home keys on the right.
You can set your destination the usual ways, by entering the city and street address; the street address only, letting the FineDrive list cities with the street; the intersection (State Ave. and Maple St., for example); points of interest (airports, banks, entertainment, gas stations, hotels, parking, restaurants, and so on); stored favorites; and recent entries. Before you set off, you'll want to dig down through setup to try to quiet the annoyingly loud click that's emitted with every key press.
Once underway, you have a choice of traditional 2D or 3D birds-eye-view maps; birds-eye is the way to go, because at some zoom levels, the 2D maps were hard to read. Both kinds of maps are accompanied by voice prompts marking upcoming turns. Maps also display your current speed, the current street name, an arrow icon for the next turn, and the distance to the turn.
MP3 Player Too
When you're not using the FineDrive 400 as a navigation device, you can pop out the SD card containing the map data and stick in an SD card with your favorite MP3s. The internal speaker won't do justice to your songs and will probably undo all that careful studio reshaping of Britney's now deep and rich vocals, but there's also a line-out jack for connecting to your car stereo as well to as an FM transmitter.
The unit lacks any kind of antitheft protection. We believe portable electronics should all have the option of a startup security code (as many car radios do), and so far no PNDs do. Also, the screen washes out in bright sunlight, and there's no sunshade available, which is the norm for PNDs.
Is the FineDrive 400 for you? The answer is a qualified maybe. Currently it's the cheapest portable navigation device that's widely available and not on closeout, and it gets the job done. Most users can probably figure it out without reading the manual. As an occasional device, it works well, and it has no disqualifying flaws. But you may also want to look into available GPS units that cost $100 to $150 more but come with internal battery power and a better fit and finish.
We like the FineDrive 400 a lot more at $400 than at $500 (the list price is $699); if you're still torn about the price, check out the pending FineDrive 300, which should be even less expensive with the substitution of a small hard drive in place of the costlier 2GB SD card.
The FineDrive 400 proves that you can get a reasonable portable navigation device for less than $500; maybe for even less than $400, if you don't mind a few tradeoffs -- as the competition improves, this kind of products makes more sense at a lower price. It has a 4-inch display and operates via a combination of touchscreen and button.
Affordable dashtop navigation system with both 2D and 3D (birds-eye) displays. Uses Navteq map data. Plays MP3s via SD slot. Destinations can be entered while you're driving
So-so fit and finish. No internal batteries for operation outside the car. Smallish onscreen fonts. No antitheft features.
Idiot-proof: Plug it into a 12-volt outlet.
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