Review: Medion GoPal PNA 210 sat nav

It wasn’t so long ago that a decent sat-nav device wouldn't have given you much change from £400. However, bargain-providers Medion has launched the first sub-£100 GPS.

The GoPal PNA 210 costs just £99, leaving us keen to discover if such a cheap price means the device was light on features and poor in directions.

The device itself is small and chunky, with a 7cm screen. That rotund build is to hold four AA batteries, which operate the device when it is not plugged into the cigarette lighter and prevent settings being lost.

There’s little in the way of buttons on the GoPal PNA 210, with everything controlled by the touchscreen and a finger or stylus. For your money, you get Navteq maps of the UK and Ireland and a photo viewer (but no mp3 player). Additional European maps can be added – for a fee – using an SD or MMC card. Speed camera alerts cost €15 (£10) a year.

On first use it located a satellite pretty quickly, and seemed as intuitive as other sat-nav devices. We had no problems with its directions, which on the whole were clear and timely. It also supports eight-digit postcodes.

There was the odd niggle – a confusing instruction to turn left and then turn right when it turned out to be bear left and then turn right - but nothing to really complain about.

You can input addresses using eight digit post codes, plus it has neat touches such as possible road names being clearly listed in radio buttons across the top of the screen, changing as you tap in additional letters. It also gives you the option of being directed to the middle of the street if you don’t know, or can’t be bothered, to enter the number.

So, there must be a catch right? Well, it has a limited set of points of interest, listing only five categories and missing such mainstays as train stations. But it does include petrol stations, hotels and airports and you can set preferred options, such as the chain of petrol stations you want it to first find.

We’d have rather seen less important options, such as auto dealerships, dropped in favour of options like train stations, but for the price Medion is asking, it is hard to complain.

It comes with a windscreen holder, cigarette lighter power cable and a decent user manual, but no mains adapter or TMC receiver as standard – these are optional upgrades.

On the whole, though, there's very little to knock on the GoPal PNA 210. It’s a good sat nav with accurate positioning that, although light on features, costs only £99. If you've got the money to spend and want a GPS with more maps and features, then seek out a more expensive alternative.

But if you’re on a tight budget, or simply won’t use a sat nav that often, this is a great option and fantastic value for money.

It can be bought through PC World, Currys and Currys.Digital, as well as from the company’s website medionshop.co.uk, although unusually it costs £129 if bought online.

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