Gopher Visi-O Lite GPS Navigator Review

Gopher Visi-O Lite GPS Navigator Review

Gophers Technologies Sdn Bhd, the supplier and distributor of Gophers GPS in Malaysia, who incidentally also design, develop and manufacture the GPS, can really be proud of themselves as they have not only grown in such a short period of time but also have come on par, if not better, with other more well known international GPS brands.

The people behind the design and technology of Gophers must have really listened to their customers as major improvements have been made to their current units. I previously tested the 3.5’ Tri-O and encountered numerous flaws such as a slow processor speed, inaccurate vocal instructions as with the directions shown onscreen and difficulty in searching for past GPS coordinates and sometimes locations as well.

The test unit given to me this time is a 5’ Visi-O lite model released in April this year. Fresh out from the box, the unit felt solid yet light and its smooth black rubberised casing is a joy to hold in the hand. The windscreen cradle and mount are very easy to fix on although prolonged exposure of the GPS navigator in the scorching heat, especially during long drives, proves to be slightly worrying as we are unsure if exposure to such extreme conditions will affect the unit both internally and externally in time to come, especially with the rubberised casing. Well, let’s hope the good people at Gophers Technologies will allow me to have the unit long enough to test that out.

The “On / Off / Sleep” button has been re-located to the top of the unit as compared to the previous Tri-O where the “switch” is on the side and takes quite a challenge to switch on. However you must press the button for a few second before the unit actually switches off. Otherwise, the system will slip into “Sleep” mode and continue to consume battery. The stylus pen, located at the bottom right is nicely flushed to the unit and quite easy to pull it out. It is even extendable for those with bigger hands. The AV-in /TMC-in, Earphone socket, mini-USB port and SD/MMC slot are all located at the right hand side of the unit, designs that makes it easy for the driver to use.