The fine folks at Beeline have just launched a new version of its compact sat nav device…
We’re big fans of Beeline. The London-based technology firm won us over with its original super-simple and seriously clever Moto sat nav, which stripped away all the faff and provided clear, concise directions via its stylish retro-clock-like unit and accompanying smartphone app.
It found favour with plenty of other bikers, too; easy to fit, easy to use, and easy to read, there wasn’t a lot to fault. However, not content to rest on its laurels, Beeline’s been hard at work developing an even more sophisticated version of its flagship model -taking all the stuff it’s learnt to create the new, aptly titled Moto II.
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DESIGN
It might look pretty much the same from afar, but the screen area’s actually double the size, and it gets a little bit of colour, too, to help make it even easier to see where you’re going. It’s also tweaked the buttons, making them simpler to operate with gloved hands. It’s reassuringly sturdy, too, with its IP67 rating giving confidence that it’ll take a proper beating from the worst riding conditions you’re ever likely to come across.
DIRECTIONS
One of the biggest changes is that there’s more choice for how you want your maps displayed. You can still opt for the simple compass-style arrow set up, which simply points you in the general direction you need to be heading and allows for a relaxed approach to getting to your destination. But there’s now the option to display the road, your next turn, and the speed limit, too. It might sound like that’s a lot to pack on to its diddy screen, but it’s well laid out and remains clean and clutter free.
MAPPING
Beeline has spent a lot of time working on the map and route side of things. As before, it’s all taken care of using the partnering Beeline smartphone app. It’s very easy to plan a ride no matter where you are in the world. Type in your destination, add some waypoints (and shuffle them round as you see fit). You’ve then got the choice of two different types of route: Fun or Fast, depending on how quickly you want to get where you’re going or if you want to have a longer, better blast. If you’ve used a sat nav device from TomTom or Garmin, you’ll be used to this kind of thing, but it’s a worthy addition. Effort’s also been made to make it easy to import a GPX file from another platform or provider. Oh, and the app will also record a bunch of data about your ride, including the route travelled (which you can then save if you want to ride it again), and some distance, speed, and time stats.
MOUNTING
Just like before, it’s child’s play to get it fitted to your bike. It comes with a universal elastic strap mount as standard, which is a surprisingly clever and versatile solution which makes it easy enough to whip the device on and off your bike when needed. There are a couple of additional options though, if you’re after something more permanent. The Moto II Bar Clamp Mount is a simple, sleek metal number which fixes to your bike’s bars. It’ll set you back another £29.99. And then there’s the Moto II Powered Mount Insert which’ll set you back £49.99 but will allow you to keep your Beeline topped up with juice constantly via your bike’s battery.
CHARGE
The Moto II has a healthy battery life that’ll keep the good times going for longer than most folks’ average riding day. We’re talking 14 hours between charges in Auto, and closer to nine hours if you push the brightness to full. That’s pretty good. Beeline also reckon it’ll happily sit on standby for a couple of months if you’re not using it. For more riders there’s going to be no need to wire it into your bike – just plug the included capable into its USB-C port every couple of days and you’ll be right.
WANT ONE?
You can’t quite get your hands on the Moto II just yet. It’s currently available for preorder and is expected to be fired out to the first batch of customers around now, so if you’re keen, at least you won’t have to wait too long. The Black one’s priced at £179.99, while the pair of metal ones come in at £199.99. It’s also worth noting that the standard Moto is still available – and Beeline has promised to keep updating well into the future. Good to hear. If you want to snag yourself one of the first, or you want to know even more about the brilliant little device, visit: www.beeline.co
