Though the Android tablet market is a crowded space, Vexia’s Navlet tablets are niche enough in their pitch that they might sell well. As you might be able to tell from its punning portmanteau name, a Navlet is half sat-nav, half tablet.
There are four models in total heading up the range. The 5-inch Vexia Navlet 5600 H and the 7-inch Vexia Navlet 7600 H that come with routes optimised for cars, while the 5700 Truck and 7700 Truck come with (you guessed it) routes and sat-nav info optimised for truck drivers. Even RAC men stuck in gridlock need to play Angry Birds we guess…
Aside from screen size and vehicle optimisation, the core specifications of the Vexia Navlets is the same across the board; Android 2.2 Froyo, a 1GHz processor, FM Radio, 3.5mm stereo jack and 8GB of storage, plus microSD support up to 32GB.
Rolling with 2.2 Froyo seems like a baffling move in this 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich day and age, but Vexia says that 2.2 is ‘the best version for GPS’. We’ve not experienced anything Android 2.3 or above to exhibit inferior sat-nav performance, at least not from a software angle.
We’ve also not experienced first hand Vexia’s sat-nav software which claims to not only keep you informed of speed cameras, but also offers you advice on how to drive the most economically, so there’s a green angle there as well.
Whatever the reason for going Froyo, the Vexia Navlet range is pretty easy on the wallet. The 5600 H and 7600 H cost £202.36 and £253.22 respectively, coming with road maps for UK and Ireland pre-installed.
For the continental-bound driver, you can buy the Total Europe maps package, which works out at £242.40 and £273.55 for the 5600 H and the 7600 H.
No prices for the Truck equivalents are currently listed on Vexia’s English-language site. But on the Spanish homepage, we can see prices listed at €202.54 (£167.08) and €253.39 (£209.04). The Navlet tabs are available to buy on the 15th of this month, so expect to see more concrete and UK-specific prices around then.
If you’re just in the market for a cheap tablet however, you could always pick up a PlayBook or a Streak 7 for even less money…
Source: Vexia (1), (2) via Google Translate
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