Magellan RoadMate 1470

We all know that technology is on the roll and it helps us in numerous ways. Yes, some Stone Age guys may say that technology leads to disaster. But, does that mean that we need to avoid it and call it as one of the most bizarre alien concepts? Not really! When it can do good, use it to make the good, better! This thought really pulled me out of the nut shell to look into the box of Magellan Roadmate.

The general feel of the Magellan Roadmate 1470:

The first thing that captured my curious eyes was the piano-black casing made of plastic. The BIG 4.7 inch screen was a sheer pleasure to look at as the buttons on the screen looked big and the text was easier to read! Phew… At last! The possibility of malfunctioning external buttons is discarded. The unit did not keep any external button except for the power switch (placed on the top of the unit). All operations are to be done by the touch screen. Coming to back panel, did an outstanding job to impart a crisp look by using a silver plastic of matt-color!

Speaker and dimensions of Magellan Roadmate 1470:

When it comes to navigate through the roads, voice navigation is the most convenient form. I guess that everyone will agree to the fact. Looking at the screen and then concentrating back on the road can be a problem for some people. I am newbie and due to this it is at least difficult for me. Magellan Roadmate 1470 was probably designed to meet the requirements of people like me! This GPS navigation unit has an in-built speaker placed at the rear left hand corner of the unit. It is bigger than other GPS navigation units available in the market. Ah! What I like most is the crisp and clear sound. It never gets distorted even at high volumes. Now, if you want your eyes to do a lot of exercise and switch randomly between the screen and the road, the big screen accommodated in the 5.2 x 0.7 x 3.3 inches unit will surely solve your purpose.

The technical aspects:

This was kind of a surprise for me. The unit has a mounted Micro SD card slot but the card is not necessary to use the navigation unit itself! The only reason to use the slot is for backing up and restoring data. Also there is a USB connector, which is used to power up the unit either from the power adapter cable of the vehicle or you can also use the AC power adapter, which is optional.

The Mount:

The Magellan Roadmate 1470 comes with two types of mount. One can be used to mount the unit on the windshield and the other one (adhesive mount) can be used to mount the unit on the dashboard. The windshield mount has a lever at the base. I was really impressed with the design and the elegance. The lever ensures that the suction cup is secured to the windshield and mount has a cradle that is used to keep the GPS unit in place. The cradle has a tab and when I lowered the unit, the slot on back of the unit was aligned with the tab and finally rested on the foot of the cradle.

Design Flaw:

One thing I really found annoying is that the GPS unit needs to be connected to the USB power cable so as to make it work. The port where the power cable is to be plugged in is at the bottom of the unit. Once the unit is mounted on the cradle, the port goes out of sight and it can be difficult to plug the cable. I tried plugging the cable first and then mounting the device. I was awarded with frustration as that was not possible. I hope that Magellan will fix this.

Using the device:

When I powered the device by sliding the power button, it took 34 second to start and then prompted to select the language, time zone and measurement unit and then renders it as ‘ready to use’.

Functionality of Magellan Roadmate 1470:

Navigating with the GPS device was sheer pleasure for me. The quick spell function of the device allowed to find the city I was looking for from a list of cities and then entering the street address was another fun stuff. The quick spell function allowed only entering a valid street name by fading the keys of the onscreen keyboard, which would lead to an invalid entry. The next thing that I had to do was to enter the street and the building number and tap the ‘GO’ button. It was easy and it allowed me to search for POIs (points of interests). The added advantage is that the device allows you to find alternate route when you want to avoid a particular road. This feature is not present in every GPS navigation system.

Conclusion:

I will say that the price tag for this masterpiece is quite reasonable and justified at $249.99. The comfort and the ease of use ensure that the journey is comfortable and easy. I guess that everyone will like to pay for this!

Garmin GPSMap 478

Garmin thinks of people who are just as crazy as me! I have a nasty habit of going to places which are unknown to me and driven by the spirit of the great Columbus, one fine morning I decided to explore the waterways- perhaps the most unknown of the turfs for a freaky land rover like me!

Thank God, the Garmin GPSMap 478 was there to help me and I guess that without this smart fellow, I would have had to wait over the scarily silent and at times furiously moaning water with albatross flying high over my head until a rescue team appeared like some divine souls!

Thank God, the data of sea cartography and the Marine Details Charts of US Coastline (which includes Alaska and Hawaii) showed me the way back to my Sweet Sweet home!

Into the details:

Garmin GPSMap 478 has a lovely technology by the name BlueChart g2. It provides the details of the waterways with the shaded depth contours, restricted areas, wrecks and others. Along with navigational instructions in verbal format, the Garmin GPSMap 478 makes use of the WAAS technology (Wide Area Augmentation System) so that the navigational error margin lies below 3 meters. Now, that is a great deal of accuracy on the waterways! This 12 channel global positioning device enables information sharing, updating the database maps as well as adding programs by making use of the USB port of the receiver which can be connected to the computer for these dynamic updates. The most enchanting feature that perhaps played the most crucial part in guiding me back to my family from the clutches of the filthy and confusing waterways is the track log function. This function automatically recorded the traveled path and stored the same as points which became handy for my return errand. Guess what? My hands are still shaking as I remember that ‘DAYMARE’.

Though this device was my savior, I think that a review needs to be honest and now driven by the power of divine truth; I will address both the pros and the cons of the device.

Pros of Garmin GPSMap 478:

• It is waterproof and suitable for every kind of weather.
• It has a TFT display of 256 colors.
• The device has MapSource trip & way point manager and MapSource city navigator North America NT.
• The GPSMap 478 is capable of storing 3000 way points.
• It stores 10,000 track log points and accommodates 50 navigation routes which are quite outstanding!
• It has a detachable antenna just in case you are short of space- well, while on water, the space is limited only to the sky and I guess that you will never need to detach it at least due to space scarcity.

Cons of Garmin GPSMap 478:

There are several shortcomings of the device and the worst being the display unit. Let us have a look at them separately.

• The Garmin GPSMap 478 has a screen size of 3.8 inches and this is a clear cut drawback simply because other GPS receivers with 12 channels provide up to 7 inches of screen where visibility is prominent and the maps are more vibrant and clear.
• The next in line is the absence of any removable storage media. The device only has an internal memory card and therefore, adding too many data is not possible. This is a very big drawback and Garmin perhaps need to rethink on this aspect.

Included Accessories:

There is not too much of offering to make you drop your jaw down and/or open your eyes wide. Only a few things come out of the box and they are listed here: USB cable, Mounting bracket, Protective cover, Data/Power cable, AC power adapter and Car power adapter. Wait! Car Power Adapter? Ah! Yes, you read it right! The device can also be used on land as simple GPS navigation units! Cheers!

Conclusion:

It is a real handy fellow when it comes to water adventures! Though it will cost you nearly 600 bucks, but still you don’t have to wait for those divine angels to rescue you from the barren waterways!

Humminbird 383C

Hey, let us go for a day’s outing in the inland waters and catch some fishes. We can fry them for our dinner and relish with some fine champagne! Don’t worry, the Humminbird 383C is there for your help and more importantly, I am there for your rescue! I guess, it is enough of kidding and especially if you learn about my waterways experience in the past, I am surely going to enjoy a dinner with some extraterrestrial creature on the farthest end of the Milky Way since I will be out of this earth because of a kick from you! Ouch… it hurts!

But honestly speaking, I feel far more confident when I am out in the inland waters and I know that I will be back home safe and sound unless I receive a huge kick from a Tsunami or something else of that kind. The DualBeam PLUS sonar of the Humminbird 383C makes my life easy and the built in UniMap adds up to my confidence. Guess what? I never found so much success while fishing before without the aid of Humminbird 383C. Until last week, people used to call me as a novice fisherman! Even my wife was not an exception! Sad, isn’t it?

Into the details:

The Humminbird 383C is an amazing fishfinder which is preloaded with advanced sonar and built in maps to help a fisherman. The GPS receiver with 16 channel WAAS technology is a treat for everyone. The antenna is omni directional and delivers a high performance every single time I am out on the waters! The most amazing fact is that the Humminbird 383C has a built in UniMap which has a resolution of 4 nautical miles. The UniMap gives the details of the inland lakes of USA and details of the coastal areas and the rivers are inbuilt. Completely waterproof, the Humminbird 383C operates at a very low voltage and the power eaten up by the unit is as low as DC 10 – 20 V. With over 3000 way points the GPS navigation unit features 50 routes, 50 tracks and 20,000 track log points. That is simply amazing! If you have a different view, please let me know as I will like to know the reason behind the difference. The advanced DualBeam PLUS sonar features sonar echo enhancement, TrueArch and Selective Fish ID+.

A bit of operational details:

The operational details I found in the Humminbird 383C were simply amazing and I guess that once you come across the details, you are surely going to love this and the desire to own the unit will be set ablaze. With a beam width of 20/6 degrees, the Humminbird 383C has a peak to peak power output of 2400W and a RMS power output of 300W. With an operating frequency of 82/200 KHz, the device can scan for a maximum depth of 1000 ft. Wow… 1000 ft! I will never ever dare to go down that low! I am scared! Getting back, the device has a XNT-9-20-T – dual-beam Transducer with a target separation of 2.5 inches. The color TFT display with a resolution of 240×320 px just that last bit of perfection required and Humminbird 383C did not put me down! As far as the diagonal size of the screen is concerned, the size is 3” and is considerably large for a clear visual effect. The most fabulous feature of the display unit is that provides a split-screen zoom facility and has a RTS window (Real Time Sonar Window). These features make this device a must have GPS navigation for those who love fishing.

Conclusion:

The Humminbird 383C with its loaded features is perhaps one of its kind available in the market and with its distinguished features, the price tag becomes justified.

Garmin zumo 550

Waiting for the Garmin zumo 550 was a bit long but it paid off! Released nearly a year after the Tom Tom Rider had hit the market, the zumo 550 has a bit of wonder stuff to attract your attention. I will not call myself to be a rich fellow but somehow I managed to adorn my garage with a car and a bike but I have a soft corner for the boy with two wheels and love to be with him most of the time. No! Don’t get me wrong fellows… I was just talking about my bike. And now the Garmin zumo 550 has given that extra bit of gloss to my little friend and guess what, it has become a super cool dude in no time. Thanks Garmin!

Out of the box:

Out of the box, the Garmin zumo 550 GPS navigation system for the bikers has left a lot to be desired with other GPS systems. The surprise element was the boat-loaded box! So, here is what I found in the box: a mount for the bikes, a plastic adhesive car mount to fix the navigation unit on the dashboard (just in case someday I have a bit more affection for my four wheeler), black colored face plates made of plastic (in case the gray color annoys you), car charger, a power cable which connects to the battery of the bike, an AC adapter, a USB cable to use it with the computer, tools needed for mounting the zumo 550 on the handles of the bike, City Navigator DVD, a screwdriver for the unit’s “safety screw”, owners’ manual CD-ROM, quick setup guide and some stickers. Well, isn’t that a boat-load? For me it is and I guess that same applies to you. But something I missed was a Bluetooth earpiece. But I guess that the company did a great thing by concentrating on the unit itself and not on a thing which is readily available in the market!

Let us see the design:

SEXY! A silver shell along with a couple of removable caps, one place on the top and the other at the bottom so that you can customize the design. And, this cool dude has an IPX7 standard. So, if you accidentally drop it in water, it will come out unhurt from a depth of three feet. But more than 30 minutes and better luck with a new zumo 550. The unit possesses a sturdy shell but for added security there is a safety screw! The screen of the unit is a bit on the smaller end with a size of 3.5 inches but is UV resistant and touch screen. It allows choosing large icons. A real handy feature! You can turn on the device by pressing the power button for a couple of seconds, which is place carefully on the right-hand lower corner! Four other buttons on the left allows a plethora of functions like zoom in and zoom out, menu scrolling, volume control and many more! There is an SD expansion slot, USB port and a mount connector of 24 pins. Guess what? There are many other features!

Navigation:

Garmin zumo 550 has a high sensitive GPS receiver and preloaded North American map that helps in proper navigation. The menu is quite simple and all that I had to do was to select the one that I wanted and then I had to either go to the sub menu or just put in the details and that is all! The navigation unit gave turn-by-turn as well as voice-guided directions. Additionally, the zumo 550 has TTS (text to speech) functionality. Among the other options are the automatic route calculations, detour, POI database of over 6 million POIs and also provides real time traffic updates via Total Traffic Network of Clear Channel but alas! You need to buy a traffic receiver, which is compatible with zumo 550. Everything cannot be given right? Whether you are a 2D lover or a 3D lover, see the maps in a way you want! I prefer it to be 3D. The integrated Bluetooth helps you to make hands free phone calls with the unit and your mobile once they are paired!

Conclusion – The Pain:

Well, a couple of glitches always remain and you accept them. In case of zumo 550, some of the POIs are out dated but detour can recalculate a more realistic tour but the calculations are a bit slow. Hopefully Garmin will fix this. However, I was quite happy to shell out $625 for this wonder boy!

TomTom XL340

Someone asked me: “Is GPS technology easy to use?” Instead of using words, I decided to take him for a drive even though he was a complete stranger! After an hour’s drive, he mentioned a POI and asked me to stop there. I navigated using my Tom Tom XL340 and reached there. It was a coffee shop and he offered a cup of coffee to me. I asked why? He said, “Because you have shown me something that I can use to be back at home right on time and avoid clashes with my family for being late!”

Was that a joke? Perhaps not! The  TomTom XL340 can real make a difference when it comes to navigating through the roads and surely it brings a marked difference in your lifestyle! And honestly, I never found anything else that can go against this claim of GPS technology! And honestly speaking, TomTom XL340 uses the complex and advanced technology in simplified state so that the road navigation becomes easy and simple. Advanced lane guidance, IQ Routes, fuel prices on day to day basis and many more features ensure that you desire for more.

A closer look into the design:

The touch screen of WQVGA wide-format is the immediate attraction and a loud and large speaker rules the rear. Speaker for navigation? Yes! The text-to-speech feature of the TomTom XL340 ensures quick recognition of the POIs and streets because the device is designed to read out their names. While the power button adorns the top of the device, an USB port at the bottom allows data connection from the car charger of 12 volts, which is included in the box pack. With on board storage capacity of 2GB, the device allows easy access to some pre-installed maps and a database of millions of POIs. I consider it as a drawback, because I am unable to increase the data storage capacity which would have been possible in case there was a Micro SD expansion slot. The EasyPort mount makes sure that the device is mounted on the windshield of the car. The mount easily integrates with the cradle of TomTom XL340. I find it quite easy to mount the unit on the windshield. All I need to do is to open the suction cup, place it on the windshield and then simply turn the ring provided for locking! It is as simple as 1,2,3 and go… Want to try it? If you read carefully, I mentioned about the cradle of TomTom XL340. The cradle is integrated and therefore makes the GPS unit a bit bulky by adding weight to the already big device. It therefore becomes difficult for those who want to carry it with themselves when they leave the car. But placing the same in a bag will make things simple and life easy! Carry a bag!

A talk on the features:

I can really continue for hours when it comes to the feature of my TomTom XL340 but I will not as I don’t want to sound talkative. The Advanced lane guidance is something that I like most because it give a complete and most comprehensive details about the lanes and also provides detailed illustrations of the very complex interchanges on the freeways. The text-to-speech function is supported with 14 different voices in three different languages…choose the one that soothes your ears. Another good thing is the Tom Tom Map share service. If you want to make changes to the street names, POIs and anything else, you can always do that and upload the same and get it approved and then let others share it with you. That is real fun! Isn’t it? I think I am an expert and Tom Tom must hire me! Jokes apart, you can real consider your chances to get approved if you think that you know a place in and out! The TomTom XL340 is really an intelligent fellow and it will calculate the fastest route from point A to point B based on historical data of your driving speed and time! This feature is termed as IQ Routes and remember that it will never be the same as the data of real time traffic. Why? The calculations are based on the historical data of your driving nature!

Performance:

Nope! It is not light! However, the boot as well as the satellite acquisition were fast and were completed within less than a minute! Also, the onscreen keyboard layout can be changed to suit your style. I personally love QWERTY but you can have A-Z or AZERTY layouts as well. You are free to choose! TomTom XL340 is a considerate fellow and understands that my fingertips are fat as pumpkins and therefore provided generously big keys for input!

Conclusion:

OK! It is enough of brain eating session and I guess that you people aren’t bored enough to take my head and bang it against the wall or ZIP my lips and tie my fingers! But still, I will like to say that you can go for it and experience the change. You will not be paying for something which is actually good for nothing!

Garmin nüvi 855

Garmin never seems to get tired of giving new GPS navigation devices to us! How fool of me! Why shall they be tired? It is their business. The Garmin nüvi 855 is a sheer eye candy for the GPS lovers like me and when it comes to simplicity of usage and sophistication of the technology, the nüvi 855 is in one word, a masterpiece.

The time isn’t perfect to loiter around with words of appreciation but to key down a true review of my experiences. So, fasten your seat belts and here we go.

Visibility and interface:

The Garmin nüvi 855 has a crisp and clean interface that allows clear visibility. I can have a clear view of the screen even with my semi-dusty eye glasses! It also allows voice-activated navigation (just in case the glasses are too dusty)! Jokes apart, the most outstanding feature of the device is that it supports junction view and provides lane assistance. I really love this feature.

Enhanced user experience:

The Garmin nüvi 855 has a set of advanced features, which help to enhance the experience of the users. They are discussed below:

• Speech recognition:

  This is a new innovative feature of the Garmin nüvi 855. The technology is extremely user friendly. At least I think it is user friendly because it never asked me to go through a different set up process (I really hate doing this) and nor did it offer any kind of training before I used the feature. Sorry fellows, I am a bit lazy dumbo out here! There is a wireless, which can be fixed with the steering wheel of the car. The push-to-talk feature of the remote helps to make your device recognize your voice command even when you are driving. Shall I call it ‘Artificial Intelligence’? I really don’t know but yes the feature is capable of recognizing various business establishments and more surprising fact is that, it can answer simple questions like the users location or the location of a particular place. More interesting is that the voice interactions of the device simulate real life interactions.

• Maps and POIs:

  The device comes with pre-installed maps (in large numbers) and millions of POIs. For maps, the device supports both 2D and 3D modes and gives at par performance in both the cases. Guess what, I love the 3D one! It looks so nice!

• Easy to use functions:

  The functionality of the device is easy and simple. The Garmin nüvi 855 provides a wide screen interface that allows the users to have a clear and non-clumsy look at the maps and every single detail. The functions are easy and intuitive and are in the style of easy wizards. The Garmin nüvi 855 turns out to be a great companion for the pedestrians. The ‘where am I’ functionality shows the details and the exact location of the place where the person is currently stationed. More importantly, the ultra slim and sleek design of the model ensures that the pedestrians can easily carry the device in their pockets.

• Direction:

  The Garmin nüvi 855 is capable of giving highly accurate directions as it is coupled with the new HotFix Satellite Prediction technique. All that I had to do was to give a destination to the device either by voice instruction or by the touch screen and the device generated a plan -a real smart fellow pent in a small box! The direction is then dictated by the Garmin nüvi 855 and you can enjoy a smooth drive based on the voice instructions. Is that not easy and simple. Just to add up to the flavor, the nüvi 855 is capable of recognizing the road signs and as well as the junctions so that the drivers can pick up the correct lane.

Conclusion:

Navigation seems to be an easy task with the new Garmin nüvi 855. The enhanced features and the simplicity of usage properly justify the price of $499. The additional micro SD card slot is yet another justification of the price! Grab it guys!

Nextar Q3

I have a friend who drives to earn his livelihood. Well, that is not a big issue! He is using the Nextar Q3 and the way he was bouncing off the ground made me decide that I must have a look at it. Before anything else, I would like to mention that this GPS system is made for cars. If you want to claim yourself as Vasco da Gama, probably the good old paper maps are for you and if, in case you do not want to get lost in a big continent like the USA, the Nextar Q3 is undoubtedly a smart choice. Well, I really cannot say that it does not have any cons! If I do, I may be the most cynical human being on Earth and the Almighty is obviously waiting to grab me by neck!

Jokes apart, the Nextar Q3 discards the concept of getting lost! While Nextar Q3 imparts accuracy to your driving skills with the aid of satellite based way finding! I was amazed to find the built in maps of all the 50 states of America. Even catchier of all the features is the presence of more than 1.6 million POI (points of interest). The points of interest included in the Nextar Q3, range from hospitals, landmarks, restaurants, ATMs, airports and many more.

Device specifications:

Let us now have a look at the specifications of the model. No wonder, this is the first thing that we look at for a quick overview of any device or gadget that we buy.

The included device specifications look quite interesting however, the presence of additional accessories undoubtedly make it one of the most favorite GPS devices available in the market. Well, stay excited while I give you a quick list of the available accessories. You will surely love them. Once I had a look at the list, I could understand why my friend was bouncing!

Additional accessories:

Below mentioned is an exhaustive list of additional accessories, which are available with the Nextar Q3.

• Mounting cradle
• Dashboard mounting disk
• Suction cup mounting bracket
• Carry pouch
• USB cable
• AC adapter
• Port adapter for car accessory/DC adapter
• Day and night mode. It is notable that night mode features additional lights on the screen for better view.

The features and the additional accessories ensure that you can always keep track of your destination and be on time even when you are out for a business meeting in any unfamiliar part of the town.

As I said earlier, there are several shortcomings of the product. It is not perfect. Though it is an awesome product, I had some unexpected experiences. I will discuss them in the next section.

Cons:

• The system crashed several times and every time I used the product, the date and time had to be reset. This is annoying.
• Yet another aspect that I do not like is the customer service. Every time you call up a number, you will be speaking to an automated machine. I will rather like to speak to a human being.

Conclusion:

Apart from the cons that the device has, I liked the device a lot with respect to its overall features and performance. The simplicity of usage is wonderful and no doubt, it will bag some good ratings from me!

SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf

I wish I were a golfer! Unfortunately I am not! One day when I was testing my expertise on this seemingly uninteresting game for a novice like me, I came across the SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf… It is indeed a sheer piece of eye candy immersed in the serum of technology! Do I sound a bit poetic? Perhaps but I really can’t help! My friend who was trying to teach me the ABC of the game suddenly pulled out this little device from his pocket and it seemed that the little fellow who came out of the pocket was attractive enough to grab his attention and pull it away from me! As usual, my curious ugly brain acted and my mouth responded with several questions. He gave it to me and my response was, “OUCH…It’s a feather!”

Indeed! The SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf is something that demands praise! It is one of the lightest rangefinders you will come across in this world! Surprisingly, it weighs only 3.8 oz! It is small, it is light but still, it has a fair amount of technical expertise working behind it in a perfect harmony! This little fellow has actually succeeded in patenting the IntelliGreen technology! This wonderful piece of technology is actually capable of providing a vivid and wide range of features that becomes handy for the golfers and in particular, the golfers find this technology to be very helpful in measuring the full depth and the shape of the green topography of their gaming kingdom from whichever angle they choose! And guess what? This is possible on the fairway and off the fairway! That sounded impossible to me and my friend and guide took no time to give a hands-on experience of the proclaimed truth! Still I wonder! As an added advantage, the SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf helps in getting the distances to the hazards and the bunkers, which appear on course!

My findings:

Pardon me for any mistakes that I make because I am a novice in this field of gaming and the SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf was nothing less than an ultimate surprise for me. Yet, being a techno freak, I figured out some interesting facts about this Golf GPS and perhaps they will entertain and help you in case you are a golfer.

The first thing I noticed was that the device called SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf can successfully rule out a major chunk of guess work from the game and help the golfers to perform better every single time!

The second thing that I found was that people are really hard working! Ahem! I am sorry but yes, it is the fact. The device does not use any satellite mapping. The SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf uses SkyCaddie human mappings for the course data. People actually go to the courses and map every single feature of every single hole hand by hand! Can you imagine that? Ah… that is unbelievable! That is not the end! The information accumulated is then passed through three rounds of valid checks and it is done for every hazard and every hole on the course! Goodness gracious!

Third in line was the knowledge about the display unit of the device. Do you play golf at night? I hope not but yes, the day time light conditions do vary depending on the weather. The manufacturers are aware of that and they gave a gray scale unit for display and they kept the unit large. This was just to ensure that the data is readable in every kind of lighting conditions.

Fourth was the ease of access or the accessibility option. The user interface is really simple and the SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf provides single touch controls for the users and not to mention the software packages which are extremely easy to use.

Fifth was the memory option. The device is a real smart chap to me. It can hold the information of 10 courses at any given point of time and also provides an option to increase the memory. Well the more you expand, the more information it holds. Simple!

The Cons of SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf:

Well, as every great person has a bad hidden history, every great piece of technology has a negative side too. Though unknowingly, I came across the facts, which are negative in nature.

The first negative aspect was that the device had no option for saving a particular round and analyzing the same. Some other Golf GPS systems do have this feature.

The second problem is that people complain about poor customer service. Some people faced problems with the software installation on windows PC and they never received any customer support. Awww… that can be frustrating!

Conclusion:

If you hate flashy buttons and feature, the SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf might be the best option for you but even if you do like some flashy stuff but ready to compromise when it comes to sophisticated features with easy usage, the SkyCaddie SG2.5 Golf has indeed no other competitor which can make you think. Now I dream on becoming a golfer just to use this BLACK HOLE of golfing technology!

Lowrance iWay 600c

I feel like singing a self-composed song: “I love the water, I love the land”. Why? The reason is nothing other than the Lowrance iWay 600C GPS device. Well, this has caught my attention because of the terms of engineering! Unlike the standard GPS devices, the Lowrance iWay 600C is a masterpiece, which does not only provide street maps but also provides marine charts! Undoubtedly, this device has something different to offer.

The interesting fact about the device is that it is complete with satellite images and point-to-point navigation. It has been priced reasonably at $799.99. It can be called reasonable because of the features packed in it and the size of the display, which is quite large and measures 5 inches.

Into the features:

The Lowrance iWay 600C as mentioned is packed with a bunch of features and the odd one out is the marine navigation mode. The first apprehension that came to my mind was its resistance to damage caused by water, however, the IPX-7 waterproof rating clears off the cloud. This rating ensures that the device can stay submerged under water at a depth of 1 meter for 30 minutes.

The device is loaded with a 30 GB hard drive. 25 GB is reserved for the following:

• Navteq-based maps of Canada and continental U.S.
• Shoreline details map by MapCreate. This includes information on more than 3000 lakes in U.S.
• NauticPath charts (which are high detail maps of coastal U.S. waters and great lakes).
• Satellite images.

What about the rest of the 5GB space? Simple! It is saved for storing your favourite music files, which you can play with the inbuilt music player. You can also store your favourite images. That is cool, right?

Display:

The Lowrance iWay 600C GPS device has a large screen, which many people like very much. At least I like it. The 32-bit color screen has a modest resolution of 640×480 pixels, which helps you to view high-resolution satellite images. This is actually a nice feature because you do not have to peer in order to see things clearly!

A bit technical- the specifications and the advantages:

The Lowrance iWay 600C comes with a WAAS enabled 12 channels (parallel) receiver, which is quite efficient. The device is also equipped with 5.5 million POIs. I should have mentioned it earlier; the maps by MapCreate include tidal data on depth contours as well as marine navaids. The specifications are compatible with both Mac OS X and Windows. This is good! The device also supports both 2D and 3D view of the maps and has both turn-by-turn and point-by-point navigation mode. The device needs to be connected to a 12-volt DC (VDC) power source because of the absence of an internal battery. The device also has a built-in speaker, which comes with a power chord. Interestingly, the speaker has a 1/8-inch output jack (stereo), which can connect to the audio input of a car or a boat. That is not the end! The device also has an in-built FM modulator, which can be used to send audio to any FM receiver located nearby.

Design and build:

The Lowrance iWay 600C mounts five blue backlit buttons (for Menu, Find, Map/Music, Power/Brightness and Speak/Volume). The moment you tap the menu key, you are taken to a tabbed menu with four selections. The device also has a virtual QWERTY keyboard. Dimension wise, the device is 6.1 x 4.5 x 2.15 inches and does not have a multi-vehicle support. The screen has touch functionality and if you tap anywhere on the screen, you will find a vertical menu, which allows a zoom in and zoom out function and it allows configuring the new satellite views.

Cons:

The thing that I did not like about the Lowrance iWay 600C is that it does not have a feature of text-to-speech conversion, which is actually very useful in any GPS device.

Conclusion:

The shortcoming of the Lowrance iWay 600C is excessively small to bother you too much because of the features set, which you are surely going to love. ]]> http://www.gpsnavireviews.com/roadmarine/lowrance-iway-600c/feed/ 1 http://www.gpsnavireviews.com/outdoor/delorme-earthmate-pn-40/ http://www.gpsnavireviews.com/outdoor/delorme-earthmate-pn-40/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:17:54 +0000 admin http://gpsnavireviews.wpt.com/?p=14

DeLorme Earthmate PN-40

When it comes to hand held GPS navigation, DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 is my idea of a perfect navigation unit. There is perhaps no harm in saying that a state of the art design and a solid performance has always been a trade mark of this company. The DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 calls for undivided attention when you actually look at it and think of purchasing one. And, if you are a professional who is in dire need of a hand held GPS navigation system, count blindly on PN-40. It will never let you down! You can take me at my words because I have some experiences with this device. Just to give you a feel of what it really means, I decided to take you through a small review wherein I will try to cover as many features as possible.

The overall look and design:

It is rugged, it is waterproof (IPX7 standard, which means that the device will survive for 30 minutes under water at a depth of 30 feet) and is an outright performer when the outdoor conditions are very demanding. The screen is transflective and can be easily read in daylight conditions. This TFT screen of 65-K colors is produced by Sharp and is suitable for any kind of light conditions. Going deep into the hardware, the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 uses 32-channel STMicroelectronics Cartesio GPS chip set, which is highly sensitive. The chip set has images and maps preloaded on it.

Features that impress:

I came across a very interesting and impressive feature and I personally feel that not mentioning it in this review will be an outright injustice. To begin with, the most interesting thing that will come to your notice is that DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 data layering. In this feature, the device allows the user to select the type of image or map that he or she wants to use for any particular location. It therefore allows a more comprehensive and encompassing view of the geography in his or her surroundings! That is cool. Honestly speaking, when I do nothing and get bored, I switch to different types of images and maps and learn more about my immediate location. It is fun!

Advanced and updated:

The DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 is equipped with the updated and advance DeLorme Topo USA mapping software. This software is the full version of the Topo USA software and includes all the enhanced GPS and desktop features. DVDs for East, West and Central regions are also included and contains maps which cover every single details on the streets of USA and its topography. The box contains Quick Start Guide, one 1-GB SD card, two AA batteries, and detailed user manual, annual subscription for a Map Library worth $29.95, which allows unlimited data downloading.

Is it really rugged?

I asked this question to one of the experienced users of the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40. He informed me that the device has been used in expeditions in the Antarctic and Arctic regions. I was really unable to respond but he continued and said that the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 stays fully functional under situations of high humidity, sustained humidity (90% sustenance level) and heavy rain. It also copes with the situations of high vibration. Last but not the least; the biggest surprise was still to be highlighted! The DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 has an operating temperature range of -20°C and +75°C. I am surely going to die in any of these two extremes! He also mentioned that DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 rapidly adjust to temperature changes between this range. I somehow finally managed to say WOW!

Conclusion:

It is really difficult to find a GPS navigator of this stature. With dual-core processor, raster rotation of 360°, electronic compass having 3-axis, the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 is undoubtedly the best GPS navigator that money can buy for you. If you think twice, it is better that you go for something else otherwise, stop thinking and get a PN-40, which surely will become your lifetime asset.