Garmin iQue 3600

Nick Ross, Clive Webster | Dec 14, 2005 11:56 AM

GPSOZ | http://www.gpsoz.com.au

RRP: $849 (time of review)

We expected great things from one of the most established GPS brands, but the iQue 3600 has outdated software that lacks a 3D view.

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Garmin is a brand that’s been synonymous with GPS navigation since the days when only mariners were using it. So it’s somewhat disappointing that the iQue 3600 doesn’t compare well to the competition here.

It’s the only Palm OS PDA with an integrated GPS aerial at time of print. However, even if you’re a Palm OS fan, the flaws in the Que navigation software will be enough to make you look at the Windows Mobile-based units on test especially as they come at a similar price – an attraction of Palm PDAs has always been their cost undercutting of Pocket PCs.

These problems are mostly to do with the software being two years old. While competing software developers have forged ahead with 3D maps, Que has remained the same. The 2D maps are quite hard to read compared to the others on show this month, mainly because roads are shown as thin lines rather than the wide coloured roads seen elsewhere.

Onscreen directions are either too small to be read easily or, when enlarged, restrict the size of map that can be displayed. If you’re determined to go the Palm OS route, the PDA itself isn’t at all bad. The 200MHz Motorola processor can redraw maps almost in real-time, unlike the processing pauses when scrolling on the likes of the Acer.

The screen offers the highest resolution here: 320 x 480. This is a blessing and a curse, since it makes road names and other text too small to read when driving. In other applications, like an image viewer or spreadsheet, the extra pixels are more than welcome. We also didn’t like the auto zoom feature which displayed an overview of your entire journey unless a turn was imminent – you couldn’t quickly glance at the screen and see where you were.

Data storage could be a problem, though. The iQue 3600 has only 32MB of internal RAM and isn’t supplied with an SD card for its SD/MMC slot. Storage for contacts and work will be tight. But unlike a Pocket PC device, the 32MB flash ROM complement is fine for a Palm OS PDA’s data backup. Fortunately, our supplier, (www.gpsoz.com.au) supplies it with a 256MB card as they believe it should work out of the box.

With an odd mounting kit that’s essentially a beanbag with a grippy rubber base, the iQue 3600 doesn’t look as secure as we’d like, although it does the job well enough unless you’re jerking around off road. Ultimately, though, unless you are desperate for a Palm device, there are many better buys this month.

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