GPS Kits

by Nick Ross , Clive Webster on Dec 14, 2005

If you don’t have a car with built-in satellite navigation, the most cost-effective way to add it is by opting for a handheld device with a GPS receiver.

Mitac Mio 169

Navman PiN 570

Acer n35

HP iPAQ hw6515 Mobile Messenger

Garmin iQue M5

Garmin iQue 3600

Fewer arguments with the wife... guaranteed!

‘Why didn’t you take that turn? I told you to take that turn.’
‘You told me as I was driving past it, dear. Besides there was a car in the way.’
‘No there wasn’t’...

Does this sound familiar? OK, add some swearing and perhaps a long fraught silence. Familiar now? Follow our advice and transfer a large element of marital conflict onto a small inanimate object which can’t fight back.

If, like most people, you don’t have a car with built-in satellite navigation, the most cost-effective way to add it is by opting for a handheld device with a GPS receiver. Considering that prices start from around $575 (or $780 for a PDA unit) including maps, it’s a fraction of the cost of having a dedicated car system professionally installed. Not only this, but you have the flexibility to use GPS navigation in any vehicle you want (or even when walking).

This month we’ve focussed on PDAs with GPS built in. With these you gain the versatility of having a portable word processor, calendar, contact list, email client, spreadsheet, and more besides. Of the six GPS PDAs on test here, all bar the HP iPAQ hw6515 Mobile Messenger come with their own car-mounting kit and charger. Most come with detailed maps of Australia as standard too though HP’s device downloads map segments as and when you need them, wherever you are. In fact, the hw6515 is worth a special mention, since it has an integrated GPS receiver with no fold-out aerial and a GPRS phone.

The real question to answer is which package to choose. Some of the combinations are frustratingly slow to respond, while some navigation software is clunky and unintuitive. But there’s not just usability to consider features are arguably as crucial. Being able to tap a detour button can be a real time-saver, while advance planning, multi-destination trips and points of interest are often invaluable.

We’ve covered Windows Mobile and Palm OS PDAs, as well as CoPilot Live’s Bluetooth GPS kits to add to your existing Bluetoothenabled PDA. On top of this we feature lesscomplicated specialist units which sport only GPS functionality.

With satellites orbiting at around 20,000km and broadcasting a 50W signal, traditionally some devices had trouble picking up strong reception in built-up areas, or when cloud cover is thick. Plus, modern windscreens tend to use athermic glass, which adds yet another obstacle in weakening the signal. But all this month’s competitors managed with aplomb.

Of course, technology is fallible and, from our experience with these kits, we recommend keeping a road atlas handy just in case. And one other warning before you install your kit and drive off: don’t be tempted to change settings while on the move all these systems are designed to be used while stationary.

This article appeared in the January, 2006 issue of PC Authority.

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