Navigon Traffic Activation Service Reviews

• An excellent traffic monitoring chip for the Navigon GPS series

  
  By AUX9KZUUB3YCE on 2008-04-05
  A useful addition to the Navigon GPS line of products.
  
  This chip contains a key code, which once registered with the Navigon website, allows you to receive continuous traffic updates with your Navigon GPS units (including the 2100, 2120, 5100 and 7100 series).
  
  Having had a chance to assess this Traffic Service on a trip south and back, I'll comment on a few things I liked and didn't like...
  
  The good:
  
  1.)Once you've purchased this chip, the traffic service is a lifetime feature; no further monthly or yearly subscription fees or purchase updates required, ever!
  
  2.)The traffic information is monitored continuously around most major highways and cities.
  
  3.)You can set your unit up to give traffic info just on the route your driving, or you can get info within a radius of where you are at the moment.
  
  4.)If a traffic problem does occur ahead of you the unit will tell you several things;
  
  a.]it gives you the distance to the 'obstruction', giving you time to make detour planning.
  
  b.]the unit (on your GPS map) tells you which you which side the the 'obstruction' is on (e.i. your side of the highway or the other); this is actually a very useful feature.
  
  c.]the unit can automatically (if you set it up to do so) make a route around the 'obstruction' ahead.
  
  A couple concerns:
  
  1.)The charger cord from the cigarette lighter acts as an antenna for the traffic program. So if you don't have your unit plugged in (and you are running on unit battery only), you may not get good traffic info service.
  
  2.)There is little or no information on side roads, byways or small towns/cities. There were even a couple of sections of more 'remote' Interstate Highways that had no coverage.
  
  3.)There may be some delay in getting information to your unit (obviously a accident or delay must be reported before it can be relayed to your unit). However once it reaches your unit, I found that there was ample time and distance to try to detour around what ever was causing the problem.
  
  Conclusion:
  The traffic monitoring chip offers a great benefit by providing useful information to those traveling on the major highways and larger centers; it is, however, less useful in a more 'rural' or smaller settings. You should use your cigarette charger cord for reliable traffic reports, as the cord acts as an antenna for this service. 4 1/2 to 5 Stars
  
  

• Car charger needed for it to work

  
  By AZJK0A7AZTSN8 on 2008-03-24
  I did not see it mentioned on the Navigon website or in the quick start manual or even the comments left here, but... I had to call Navigon customer service to find out that the car charger MUST be plugged into the unit for the traffic monitering to work - the cord acts like an antenna to pull in the traffic signal. No cord, no signal. It's not a big deal if you have the unit mounted low on the dash - then give this another 3-4 stars. But if you have it mounted high on the windshield, you're stuck with a black cord hanging down in your field of vision - not good.
  
  

• Love Real Time Traffic

  
  By A3MJ5CFOLK0RBH on 2008-02-10
  Real Time Traffic has helped me a number of times, re-routing me in a way that I thought might be crazy but worked out beautifully. Amazon has the best price on it. I got it on sale for less than the typical $99, and it's a lifetime subscription!
  
  

• Not very helpful

  
  By AK2DIMU4AG8W0 on 2008-01-22
  Not the most helpful item. Traffic in the U.S. is still in its primitive stages. The updates that it gives are about 1/2 hr to 45 mins delayed. Also it does not reroute considering traffic.
  
  

• Navigon GPS Lifetime Traffic Card

  
  By AQ48RKWEYHD4M on 2008-04-07
  I purchased a new Navigon lifetime traffic card on sale on amazon.com for only $58 dollars (normal price is $99). I use it with the basic Navigon GPS which I will say does a great job. I've only had the product for a month or so and already I've avoided a few jams on the NJ Turnpike by following the traffic warning and taking an alternate spur of the Turnpike. Also when I was about to jump on Rt 46 going towards NYC, it directed me to take local roads towards the GWB, which I wouldn't have gone otherwise. So far so good.
  
  Look, if you already have a Navigon GPS which I recommend (even the basic model which I have, purchased from Staples on sale for only #119), or are considering purchasing one, it's a no brainer for a one time fee of $99 dollars...versus having a monthly bill for a subscription with another carrier which most likely uses the same technology. All of the tecnhology for now is pretty much the same apart from one new concept that I saw on Nightline that to my understanding uses live streaming of satelite images to determine and project volume of traffic flow, and thus predict tie-ups.
  
  The traffic updates are consistent also with contruction updates, which in the NY/NJ Metro area can really slow you down even in non-peak hours. Frankly, I should have purchased the used card in retrospect for $10 less. It doesn't really matter if you get it new or used, because it's only a code on the card that you intitally enter one time into your GPS.
  
  Bottom line, it's a lot of bang for the buck all things considered with technology, price, and productivity. Navigon is the only GPS that I know of where the traffic fee is a one time lifetime deal. Most if not all the other GPS brands have a monthly or annual fee. Also it doesn't matter which of the tree Navigon GPS devices you have, the traffic card works with all of them. It's a great addition to your Navigon GPS. Buy it!
  
  
  
  
• Works Pretty Well
  By A24QOAMNOZMJGY on 2008-07-01
  A great addition to any Navigon that doesn't already have Traffic Service. The only complaint I have is that sometimes with the traffic alerts it gives, it is difficult to tell the severity of the traffic alert. Sometimes I ignore it and I am just fine and sometimes I ignore it and wish I would have listened.
  
  
• Lifetime traffic
  By A1726SD7EVXL6A on 2007-12-29
  I love it when I'm going over the speed limit, the navigon will warn me. The traffic service will have real time traffic situation that would come my way. It is a great service.
  
  
• TRAFFIC IS SOMETIME GOOD
  By AYA1M144PZ9JE on 2008-01-23
  I have a navigon 7100 traffic is sometime delayed and sometime it hits traffic right on the button its better to have one that will alert you there is traffic a head. Most of the time i try looking a head to see the flow of traffic to determine should i get off or chance it on the freeway.But by and far its one of the best portable gps systems ive had and plus the traffic informer came free of charge.
  
  
• It works great!!
  By A3T7452S0K9357 on 2008-01-26
  Use it every day, whether I think I need it or not. I have it on and it alerts me to traffic not even being reported on the radio yet! Timely info for the Mpls/St Paul area. Displays a lot of info to make my own decision, if the re-route not to my liking.
  
  
• Lifetime service a good buy
  By A1TIRDH2ZAG1EU on 2008-07-09
  I live in Dallas and use this service a lot. Several times it has prevented me from getting stuck in traffic by telling of the traffic alert and giving me the option of ignore or reroute around it. I usually choose reroute and as I get to the exit on the freeway it wants me to use as a bypass I will asset the road ahead visually and may choose to not take the exit and it will recalculate the route. There has been a few times I was wrong and should have taken its advice to reroute, so I pay the price by getting stuck in traffic and saying to myself I will believe it the next time for sure. I have a 5100 which included this Traffic service but I bought this service for my daughter's Model 2100. Their website is easy to use and activate this service. On my daughter's 2100 she needs to have the power cord plugged in for it to work but on my model 5100 it works fine without any external antennae. Navigon includes an antennae that plugs in the speaker jack but I use the speaker jack to go to a cassette adapter where the sounds come out my car speakers so I can hear it much better.
  
  
• Navigon Traffic Service
  By A2868MO3L40TD5 on 2008-07-12
  This a a product that you really need with the GPS. The GPS usually takes you on all the freeway routes. But with the Traffic Service it warns you of impending traffic slowdowns and construction ahead of time and asks if you want to be rerouted. It is a must have.
  
  
• Easy installation
  By A1QBIFGNRTBJAJ on 2007-12-27
  Installs easily. Haven't used it on the road yet but list of cities covered is impressive.
  
  
• Great!
  By A3Q8ID1ACB99LO on 2008-02-09
  Works in Greenville, SC even though when I purchased my GPS unit at Radio Shack, I was told it wouldn't work in Greenville. I decided to purchase it online after a few weeks and what do you know, it worked.
  
  
• I don't use it often
  By A1AMN6B94S7CI4 on 2008-06-30
  I purchased this feature thinking that it would be highly useful, but discovered that it really is not all that often used in regular driving. The price is right at less than $100 for the life of the device, but it just isn't quite useful enough to help me out when driving.
  
  
• Navigon Life Time traffic update
  By A360CL3DYRTQBB on 2008-08-13
  It sounded great, live time traffic update in most major cities, etc. It has not given any information since the day I have activated it. And I live in NYC, and drive a lot, and I have Navigon 2100. Well, it is doing nothing in my Navigon 2100 so far, nada, absolutely nothing, kind funny, but true, wondering if one day in the future it will show at least some traffic update...?
  
  I really think it's easy money Navigon is making, and making a fool out of the buyers of this product. So disappointed and sad.
  
  

• Navigon 2100 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
• Navigon 2100 max 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech,and Fresh Maps
• Navigon 3.5" Protective Hard Shell Case
• Navigon FreshMaps Map Update Service
• Navigon ZAGAT Ratings and Reviews Activation