GPS Devices Life

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I recently decided to get a GPS solution for my car. I’m a computer consultant, so I travel a lot. I used to use Microsoft Streets and Trips to create a map of where I was going that day, but, there isn’t exactly any easy way to flexibly change the order of the route or add new stops when I’m already in my car (although, I should note that Microsoft Streets and Trips is a top pick in any mapping category).

I tried three GPS devices total before settling on the Garmin. In order, I tried the Navman Bluetooth GPS device, TeleType, and of course the Garmin GPS 10. I’ll briefly touch on the first two devices, then, give the more comprehensive review on the Garmin.

The Navman was a waste of time. It actually was the only one of the three to completely fail to work. The software did not allow me to search by ANY field, the device barely acquired a GPS lock (losing it frequently).

The TeleType GPS, a top-pick from CNet also gets thumbs down. The software is difficult to use, and is super slow. If you don’t manually ‘unload’ maps, a simple search for, say, the closest gas station takes about 5 minutes to perform. Needless to say, in 5 minutes, the ‘closest’ gas station is probably not the closest gas station anymore. The maps and directions were also sub-par.

I live in Southern California and traverse the CA91 and I-15 interchange often. It’s not a particularly complicated interchange, but, it just plain didn’t get it. The software told me to exit right onto the I-15 from the CA91. That much was right. But, it neglected to mention if I wanted North or South, and in addition, the ‘exit’ from the 91 forked into the two choices–North and South. So, ‘exit right’ as the only direction isn’t exactly clear enough. Also, the screen itself didn’t help as it didn’t display if I wanted the North or South exit. This same lack of detail was persistent in the database. Some freeway entrances were on the wrong side of the road (i.e. turn right onto the I-15 when in fact it was a left-turn onto the I-15), while others just simply lacked the detail needed to determine which way to go!

It should be noted that the CA91 and I-15 are some of the most traveled freeways in the nation. You would expect such important roads to be properly indexed in the database…

The TeleType did acquire signal quickly, and if you spring for the ‘12+ million POI database’, makes a great phone-book on your Pocket PC. But, alas, that wasn’t what I wanted.

Finally, I purchased the Garmin GPS 10. The device comes with a car-plug adapter, piece of Velcro to attach it to your car (although, Garmin sells a much nicer suction-cup mount for the device), and of course the software and maps. The maps are by Navteq, and are on 2 CD’s. The software installs on the Pocket PC (or laptop), you choose the Basemap you want, then, you fire up MapSource (the program that installs to help you transfer maps to your PocketPC) and highlight the areas you want to upload. There’s an animated tutorial to help you understand how to select the maps you want, etc.. Once you get past the, “What do I do here?” initial reaction, you’ll realize that Garmin created a very clever way to easily deal with the immense amount of information contained in the maps.

The maps are very complete, and up-to-date. The standard disclaimers apply that roads that were built after or shortly before the maps were published, probably wont be there… But, it’s not too big of a deal.

Now, onto the fun part of the review. Routing. I fired up the software on the PocketPC, and obtained a GPS Fix. Not just any fix, but a 3D Differential Fix. I had never obtained that type of fix with the TeleType (for those who wonder, the 3D-Diff fix is a more accurate fix). Anyways, I clicked on the find icon, told it to find a point-of-interest I wanted to go to, then hit ‘Route to it’. In about 3-5 seconds, it told me it was ready to navigate, and to proceed on the route. Directions given were ACCURATE and clear. It was easy to understand where to turn, and when to turn. Exits and entrances were properly labeled, and it told you things like, “Exit right, then stay right” to navigate through the same interchange that the TeleType died on. Also, on screen it actually said, “CA 91 to I-15 S” (notice, it gave the actual DIRECTION I needed to go!!).

You can also add ‘vias’ within the software and have it automatically route you to those locations on the way to the final destination. Say you wanted to go from you home to your office. But, on the way you needed to stop at Costco, then Walmart, then Sam’s Club. You would search for each of the destinations based on how far off your current route they are. So, something that is 5 miles away, but directly on the route would be shown as a better option than something that is 1 mile away, but, that is actually 1 mile off your route. It will also determine the best order for driving there–thereby preventing extra driving where you overshoot one location then have to double-back to get to your next location.

The software will detour you around problem roads, you can enter ‘avoid’ areas, complete with an expiration date! So, if you know that a road is being worked on until June 3rd, you would mark it as avoid until June 4th, and it will automatically route around that area, then, on June 4th, it will use the avoided road again.

The POI (Points of Interest) database is cleverly indexed, and accurate. Also, it is VERY quick. Finding the closest gas station takes only a few seconds, and about 3 taps of the stylus.

Garmin really did a great job on this device, and the software that it comes with is top-notch.

There are some negatives–Garmin really should have included some PDA and Windshield mounts with the device, but, they are available seperately, so, while not ideal, it isn’t a show-stopper.

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Tags: bluetooth gps, car gps, Garmin, garmin gps, gps device, Initial, Microsoft, Navman, Teletype Gps