By June 10, 2007

Acer P630 Portable Navigator review

A few weeks ago we started looking at the Acer P630 portable navigator. The P630 is a stand alone GPS navigation device similar to the Tom Tom Go units.

Acer P630 Portable Navigator

Acer P630 Portable Navigator front
Acer P630 Portable Navigator

Acer P630 Portable Navigator back

Regular visitors will have seen our P630 unboxing video so will have some idea of what you get with the device. In the box you’ll find:

  • The Acer P630 Portable Navigator
  • Car windscreen mount
  • A padded pouch to keep the device in
  • Car charger
  • PC USB cable
  • AC Adapter
  • 1GB SD Card
  • CoPilot 6 software
  • Part of the P600 series, the P630, is an all new Personal Navigation device from Acer. This slim and ultra-portable designed unit incorporates a clear and bright 4” display, perfect for navigation, viewing photos and accessing MP3 audio files.

    With the built in SiRFStar III GPS receiver, satellite acquisition is fast and reliable. Put this with ALK’s CoPilot Live 6 which uses the latest Navteq map data, and you have a winning combination. Simplicity is guaranteed thanks to the intuitive interface and the powerful features that this software incorporates.

    Make calls safely whilst driving, the P630 has on board Bluetooth connectivity allowing you to connect your mobile phone, using the Acer as a speaker and microphone. Also listen to music stored on an SD card with the devices integrated MP3 player, which will play music whilst you navigate, without interference!

    This is the first time that I have used CoPilot, in the past I’ve used Tom Tom navigator. I have to say that I am really impressed with CoPilot, the maps seem a lot more accurate than those provided by Tom Tom. We recently took a long trip across country and during the entire journey it only got one one bit wrong, coming up to a junction it said bare-left rather than turn left. Not a big problem though.

    The GPS built in to the Acer P630 is a 12 channel SiRF StarIII low power and high sensitivity chip. It picks up a signal pretty quickly and tracks accurately. On our recent trip it displayed our position on the map quite precisely.

    Acer P620 menu

    Acer P620 menu

    The CoPilot software is easy to use and is accessed via the large, 4″ touch screen.

    CoPilot Navigation Menu

    CoPilot Navigation Menu

    As the P630 screen is fairly hi-res (480 x 272) and is widescreen there is plenty of room on the screen for all the information you need while driving. As you can see in the screen shot below the map is displayed in the main area along with a count down to the next turn or road, with the next turn/junction shown in an overlay on the left hand side. At the bottom you’ll find your current speed, current road you are traveling on, arrival time and overall distance remaining.

    CoPilot Navigation Screen

    CoPilot Navigation Screen

    The supplied mounting bracket is the windscreen kind that uses a ‘sucker’ to attach. It has both tilt and swivel adjustment.

    Acer P630 Mount

    Acer P630 Mount
    Acer P630 Mount

    Acer P630 Mount

    Overall the Acer P630 portable navigator is a decent piece of kit, I found it to be much better than the Tom Tom equivalent. The added Bluetooth and MP3 playing features are a real boon too! I highly recommend this device.

    Acer P630 Specification:

  • GPS: integrated SiRF III LP with internal antenna
  • Touch screen TFT LCD 4 inches, 16/9, 480 X 272 pixels
  • Processor: Samsung S3C2440A @ 400 MHz
  • 64 MB of ROM and 64 MB of RAM
  • Hands-free Bluetooth
  • SD memory card slot
  • Lithium-Ion of 1200 mAh battery
  • Dimensions: 11.6 X 8.1 X 2.3 cm
  • Weight : 195 grams
  • Built in loudspeaker
  • Windows CE.net 5.0
  • Navigation software provided by ALK CoPilot 6 with preloaded maps from Navteq.
  • MP3 player
  • Image viewer
  • The Acer P630 is available to buy now from Clove Technology for just £239 (inc VAT).

    Posted by: Matt

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    Posted in: Reviews

    About the Author:

    More than 20 years in the IT industry. Blogging with a passion and thirst for new technology since 2005.
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