Blaupunkt TravelPilot 700 review



Blaupunkt TravelPilot 700 tested
After pushing the blue dot in the middle for a couple of seconds you'll be greeted by a welcome screen and the menu which you can see on the photo below. The TravelPilot 700 is feature-packed and I found the menus of the device very intuitive.

The main menu has four large buttons which give access to the Infotainment, the Navigation, the DVB-T tuner and the Settings.



The Infotainment section gives access to six other menus: Phone, Phrase Book, Camera, Entertainment, Internet, and Office.



The Phone menu allows you to make a Bluetooth 2.0+EDR connection with your phone. You can then perform a wide variety of tasks, including hands-free calling, send text messages via your GPS, import your handset's phone book, or transfer music and data. The GPS recognized my HTC S710 smartphone without a problem.

One of the features of the TravelPilot 700 I like a lot is the Phrase Book for travellers, it features lots of built-in words and phrases in 18 languages. The Phrase Book not only contains text but also audio so it can learn you how to pronounce foreign words.

Next is the built-in digital camera, you can capture photos at a resolution of up to 1600 x 907 pixels and apply some special effects like sepia, black & white, and a negative filter. Additionally, it's also possible to record videos. The photo quality isn't superb but good enough for an occasional snapshot. Unfortunately, the device doesn't have a button to quickly access the camera feature so it's not possible to snap a shot in case you're suddenly seeing something interesting while you're driving. Oh and by the way, all pictures you take are automatically geotagged.

The Entertainment button gives access to the following applications:
  • Music player with support for MP3, WMV (without DRM), OGG, WAV and Quicktime. It also supports M3U and PLS play lists.
  • Video player with support for WMV, MPEG2, XviD (max 720 x 480 pixels) and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (max 480 x 272 pixels)
  • Photo viewer (and editor) with support for JPG, BMP, TIF, and GIF (max 1440 x 1080 pixels)
  • Five games: two puzzle games, Patience, Sudoku, and Freecell.
  • DVB-T
  • The entertainment features are pretty advanced and will help you to kill boring moments. The sound quality of the device isn't too bad and the 4.3" display of the device is just large enough to watch video or TV. The only thing it lacks is FM radio, but this isn't a huge miss as most cars already have this onboard.

    The unit also packs lots of Internet functionality. You can connect to the Internet via Bluetooth or WiFi hotspots to browse the web, send e-mails, make VoIP calls, and listen to Internet radio or podcasts. I tried connecting to a couple of hotspots, this worked flawlessly but I had some trouble to connect to a protected network. The display of the device is a bit too small to browse the web comfortably, but it's sufficient to quickly check some information on-the-go.

    The built-in Internet radio player gives access to hundreds of Internet stations. I think it uses the Shoutcast service, you can choose between various music styles including 70/80s, classical, dance, pop, rap and rock.

    The last feature of the Infotainment section is the Office suit. This includes a file manager, notes, a calendar, calculator, voice recorder, and Office viewer which allows you to view Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. There's also an alarm clock, but that feature is listed in the Settings menu.

    One of the special features of the TravelPilot 700 is the built-in DVB-T tuner for watching digital TV. I tried this feature at a couple of locations but couldn't get proper reception with the TravelPilot 700's tiny antenna. However, I should add that DVB-T isn't that popular in my country. There are only two stations which broadcast over DVB-T, and I'm not sure if the device is to blame for the bad reception. Perhaps an external DVB-T antenna would solve the problem, but I didn't have one laying around to test it out. The DVB-T tuner also supports Teletext and EPG (Electronic Program Guide).



    Added: January 25th 2009
    Product reviewed: Blaupunkt TravelPilot 700
    Reviewer: Thomas De Maesschalck
    Score: 8.75/10
    Page: 3/4



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    About the Author

    Thomas De Maesschalck

    Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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