Pimp My Technology

Like all technology before it, when satellite navigation devices were first offered for sale to the public at the turn of the 21st Century they were incredibly expensive to buy and not particularly user-friendly. Often bulky and with awkward user interfaces early sat navs were more of a novelty than a practical device, other than for the dedicated gadget geek.

However, the next stage in sat nav development around 2002-2003 saw devices became smaller and much easier to program. The outlandish price tags also dropped making them far more affordable to the man in the street; although to many they were still considered an unnecessary luxury.

It wasn’t until sat navs became widely available in stores other than specialised electrical retailers that sales of the devices soared. The third generation of sat navs, available from 2005/6 were much more user friendly and even cheaper than ever. But, some potential buyers still had issues with the way units operated.

Users of technology have come to expect their electrical appliances and gadgets to work straight out of the box with little or no set-up required. They also want their devices to be intuitive to use and therefore do not wish to read through reams of instructions. That is the stage we have now reached in terms of usability. Reasonably priced sat navs are available everywhere and even discount sat nav devices are just as good as expensive versions in terms of their functionality and portability.

More expensive models certainly do not get you to your destination any quicker than their cheaper counterparts, but they may offer more ‘bells and whistles’; meaning that they may have nice little features such as a choice of different voices to deliver directions, or more readily available instant updates with added traffic features allowing you to divert around accidents, road works or other hold-ups. But, in terms of getting you from A to B, there is very little difference indeed!

The latest sat navs, whether cheap or pricey, offer touch-screen technology with a choice of views – either birds-eye or straight overhead and there are many quality devices available for under £100, especially from specialist online electrical stores.

With satellite navigation now being introduced onto a range of smartphones, the prices of dedicated sat nav devices are dropping even further – giving those who just want to use their phones to make calls even more reason to buy a sat nav to find their way around!