Review: Binatone Carrera X350 satellite navigation

Binatone is a name more commonly associated with home phones but, like many similar companies, it is also moving into satellite navigation.

The company's X350 product includes UK and Irish maps but other than that it's fairly basic. There is a 3.5in touch-sensitive screen (it's not widescreen, so if you're used to widescreen models, or even widescreen televisions, you might find it a bit cramped). The display is clean and clear, though, if not as polished as those found on big-name brands.

The only extra is a database of speed cameras, although obviously this is liable to go out of date after some time. It also offers full postcode searching, so you can get quickly to your destination on the map. We found it quite slow at first to figure out our directions – the first time, it took over 10 minutes to work out the route.

However, this was much improved on subsequent searches and journeys, so it's possible that it was just taking that time to figure out all the possible routes. Otherwise, navigation was easy, and the recorded voice instructions are also clear and easy to understand.

It can be charged using the supplied in-car charger, but it uses a standard mini-USB socket for this, so if you have a USB charger for a phone or something similar, you could charge it from the mains using that.
There's no traffic information, music player, or Bluetooth connection, but considering that it costs only £80, the Carrera X350 is a good if basic navigator that gets the job done.