SmartNav (Traffic Master) Review
SmartNav is a new GPS Navigation Product for in-car use. One thing that people always ask is, do you have a cable less setup ? People don't like cables trailing all over the dashboard, but they will would like full Street Routing and Navigation. Now comes SmartNav.

If you have owned a company car with Traffic Master installed you will know that these come with a TM button. The TM button when pressed speaks any traffic congestions warning you to choose a different route.

SmartNav is based on this fundamental technology and has been dramatically enhanced to give you one of the best and affordable in-car Satellite Navigation systems without the need for cables.

SmartNav also has a T button. A small computer is hidden away in the boot of the car out of harms way. It has a GSM mobile phone module and SIM card connected. When you press the T button it connects you over a loud speaker in the drivers cabin to SmartNav Call Centre where you will be greeted by a SmartNav human representative greeting you by name and asking where your journey will take you today.

At this point you tell the operator any of the following:- business/company name, house number, street, town/city, postcode or even a location nearby you would like to be navigated to, they will search multiple database systems within a matter of seconds, find the location, confirm with you that this is the correct location, and then send this to the computer in your boot. The call will disconnect, the whole call has taken less than 1 minute with no Mobile Phone charges! The on-board computer now plans your route and will tell you when to commence driving.

Sounds good doesn't it ? No screen, so you won't be distracted by constantly looking at a map, no cables (everything is hidden behind the dashboard and in the boot, it's a perfect setup. What's more, SmartNav will constantly check for updates en-route and will warn you if it needs to take a new route, for instance if there's a traffic jam ahead. If you drive off route, it will re-calculate a new route for you, and if you stop en-route, for say petrol, it will remember you haven't completed your trip and still guide you to destination.

This really has to be the ultimate system for in-car navigation with the least amount of hassle. What's more there are also extra services available at an extra cost per call where you can talk to the concierge, arrange flowers to be delivered to your partner and much more.

Installing SmartNav
SmartNav really is a great system, and what's more there's no mess of cables to untangle. It is a professional install which is included in the price of SmartNav.

When you purchase SmartNav you will receive a box with the hardware. There will be a card on the box with a telephone number to call and this will allow you to arrange installation at the location most suited to yourself.

When the professional installer comes out to your home or work place, all they need to do is fit the hardware which will take no more than 1 hour.

Dashboard Install
On the dashboard, the installer will fit a round TM button, this will be cabled back to a computer (and the cable will be concealed for a neat setup). A microphone will also be fitted into the drivers cabin usually by the sun visor and wire the speaker up to the car stereo so that when you are talking to SmartNav the person at the other end of the phone will speak over your muted car radio through the car stereo speakers.

Optional Extras
If you really do want a screen to make re-routing or searching for addresses easier without having to make a free phone call to SmartNav, then you can purchase an optional screen. The screen is approx £150 on top of the SmartNav installation but gives you more flexibility.

The screen will also provide turn-by-turn arrows on-screen and show you the road name to take as well as give you an option to implement and be warned about speed cameras en-route (optional extra).

The optional screen will only allow you to lookup addresses if you use a full UK postcode, but can be of use if you have these on you.

Some examples of the optional extra screen are available below:-

Conclusion
One of the great points about SmartNav is, the maps, addresses, postcodes and Points Of Interest are always up to date. Unlike other In-Car Satellite Navigation products which become obsolete when you purchase them as map data is constantly being improved, so when you compare this system over 2-4 years, it works out considerably cheaper than it would if you were to purchase a dedicated system and updated the maps at least once a year.

Before we started selling SmartNav we decided to try this for ourselves and tried to request a destination that we didn't have an address for! All we knew is that it was near a safeway store in a specific town. SmartNav managed to direct us directly to where we wanted to go. There's just no fooling SmartNav! SmartNav's success is complete and updated maps and geographical data from multiple sources combined with human input being able to search all of these services in one go. This is something you would never be able to achieve with a dedicated or removable In-Car Satellite Navigation product on the market today.

What's more, SmartNav is backed by Traffic Master, so you know there's quality there!