Review by Karen E. Koch for Nextar Q4 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
Rating:
This unit is ok but it’s lack of built in POIs makes it not as usable as others. This brand of GPS cannot download POIs from usual internet sources like Tom Tom and Garmin can, so you are stuck with just what is already loaded, which isn’t much. I was in the central valley of California looking for a Wal-Mart and the nearest one it showed me was in San Diego. I contacted the company and was told that downloading POI’s from other sources would ruin the unit and void the warrenty. I was also told that the company has no real plans to offer it’s own POI upgrade packages. I would spend the extra and get one that has more POI’s.

Review by R. Surber for Nextar Q4 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
Rating:
i travel quite regularly, frequently 1k miles or more a week with my job. i received a Nextar GPS for Christmas last year. i left it in my car (go figure) and within three days the product would not start up… i had a black screen. So, i was able to return it, and opted for this larger version of the GPS system. Firstly, the web site is incredibly slow and i could not access the information on the site, but that was hardly enough reason to hate the product. Then, i noticed that while the GPS will update itself if you miss a turn, there is absolutely no way to add a detour. So, the stupid thing will have you traveling in circles if you happen to find yourself in a situation where you have to take a detour as it is determined to put you back on the road you were on. i travel in many rural areas; frequently the GPS will tell me i have arrived at my location when there is nothing there… On numerous occasions the GPS has told me i have reached my destination when my real destination was more than a mile away… a real pain when you have no clue where you are, resulting in me having to fiddle with my phone to call someone for directions! i finally had it with this product when i was traveling through snow (having just passed a 40 car pile up on the other side of a 4 lane highway) when the thing gave me an “out of memory” message 33 miles from my destination right as i was supposed to take an exit! It reset itself, and the only way to get the destination back was to type in the location again… Then, there is the time it told me that i had arrived at my location, which was an open field in the middle of nowhere… my actual destination was about a mile and a half down the road. On another occasion, this piece of crap had me travel about 25 miles down the interstate only to have me get off at an exit and get back on the interstate going in the opposite direction to reach my destination! On multiple occasions it will just totally wig out and start telling me to take every single exit or turn that i am coming upon! No kidding! Need i mention the constant updating that it will do while you are driving? This is a sweet feature, especially when you are on the freeway and knew that you were fastly approaching your turn and it is updating from the satellite! What should one expect from a product made in China anyway? If you have just simple navigation and time to fiddle, and like wasting money on unreliable products, go ahead and take the dive. Otherwise, avoid this product. This thing is generic, cheap, unreliable, and can be dangerous to a driver who doesn’t know the territory and is depending on this crappy thing to help you arrive to your destination quick and safely. Mine is in the trash, and i’m getting a Garmen Nuvi! This thing is not inexpensive, especially when you can get a far more reliable system for the same or cheaper. This thing can barely get your around the block, much less safely to your destination on a four hour trip or more! Have i said i hate it? i hate it. It is everything that is bad about chinese “technology” all wrapped up into one horrendous and dangerous piece of hardware.