Medion GoPal E3410 Review

Medion is an international group of companies that supply a whole range of consumer electronics incorporating the latest technology and excellent quality.

What you get in the box is the GoPal E3410 navigation unit itself, the software, 1GB memory card, 12V power adapter, USB cable and suction cup installation hardware. From there, the manufacturers have crammed a whole host of features into the unit.

Starting with the obvious, the navigation software and abilities… Full 7 digit postcode searching, maps viewed in 2D and 3D mode and turn by turn voice and visual instructions. More than that, there is a text to speech function that will give you the name of the next road to turn on to avoid confusion (and collision?). A voice recognition feature allows you to input your destination without your hands leaving the wheel.

NAVTEQ maps of Western Europe are preloaded, and the processor used is the Centrality Atlas III. Batteries have a life of up to five hours and the unit is small and compact at only 99 mm by 85 mm and very slim at only 21 mm deep. The whole thing only weighs 160 grams.

Added features and functions include Bluetooth connectivity, an MP3 player and a picture viewer. Better than that though is that TMC (Traffic Message Channel) reports are included in the system at no charge, as is a preloaded safety camera database. There is an annual fee for updates of the database, but as it is under £10 per year, this will not break the bank. Another feature to take into consideration is the motorway lane assistance. This graphically shows you with signs similar to those you would expect to see on the road itself, which lane you should be in. And it is not just motorways but roads as well.

Bearing in mind the size of the screen, there is an option to change the alpha-numeric keypad to one in the style of a mobile phone rather than a PC. This is not as daft as many people are proficient at sending text from their telephones so they will not have a problem with this.

The problem does come, however, from destination input and searching. This unit, for all its wonderful features, is not very clear when it comes to choosing where you want to go. A little more learning might be required on this as opposed to its competitors.

The most amazing part is that the unit costs under £200 making it one of the most affordable yet fully loaded devices around. So why is the GoPal E3410 not the one and only unit to go for? Because with all this small packaging Medion can only afford to have a 3.5 inch touchscreen. It is about £50 more expensive than the TomTom ONE, but lighter and packed with way more features. It is around £70 less than the Mio C520t which has similar features, but the Mio has a 4.3 inch screen. All in life is a playoff.