Plenio line of GPS navigation unit is manufactured by DVS. Little known in North America, the Plenio line of GPS navigation units stand apart from other units with larger than normal screen sizes. They boast 7 inch touchscreen which is almost twice as large as most GPS navigation units. They do this with price point that is lower than comparable units.

Screen

The screen size is the biggest attraction for the Plenio VXA-2100. The 7 inch touchscreen is easily the biggest screen tested. There are other GPS navigation units with better color and overall display quality. However, the sheer size of the screen easily makes up for less than stellar display quality. This isn't to say that it is bad. It is still very crisp and vibrant. The touchscreen is very responsive without any lags or having to tap it more than once.

Ease of Use

This unit very basic compared to other GPS navigation units such as Garmin or TomTom. The user interface is simple and easy to navigate. You can easily use it out of the box and navigate to Point of Interest or any address you input. The unit comes with external GPS sensor that needs to placed before you can use the unit. This was minor inconvenience.

Reliability

The routing and direction is adequate at best. The pre-loaded map was slightly outdated and did not recognize some of the newer road ways. The POI database seems to be outdated as well. Some of the POI newer that few years seems to be missing from the database. The unit took about 8 minutes to acquire satellite out of the box. It did not take that long after the initial acquisition. The rerouting was surprisingly accurate. It didn't just ask you to make bunch of U-turns.

Battery Life

No internal battery

Features

Plenio VXA-2100 is basically a media player with GPS functionality. The unit is run by Microsoft OS which means you can have more flexibility when it comes to software modifications. The GPS function has very basic features like turn by turn direction, POI, and rerouting. It's missing text-to-speech, Bluetooth, live traffic, and map updates. The media playback has variety of options when it comes format. You can also connect game console or any other audio/visual devices.

Expandability

There are no updates available as of this review. You might be able to update the maps as the maps are loaded on SD card.

Pros

• 7 inch touchscreen
• accurate rerouting
• Media playback
• SD card support
• User friendly interface

Cons

• No internal battery
• Outdated POI and Map
• No internal GPS
• Few random crashes
• No live traffic
• No updates

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	Plenio VXA-2100 7-Inch Portable GPS Navigator List Price: $399.99 Sale Price: $278.99 Used From: $150.00 Average Rating: