Test Drive the Palm Pre
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 19 reviews
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Product summary
The good: Color and compressed maps; long battery life; accurate GPS tracking.
The bad: Doesn't locate street addresses; no compass.
The bottom line: A solid, competitively priced performer, the Magellan GPS Companion for the Handspring Visor is currently the best in its class.
Specifications: GPS receiver: 12 channel ; Weight: 3.7 oz See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 05/30/2001
- Updated on: 03/28/2003
Captivating color
Weighing in at 3.7 ounces with a size of 1.13 by 2.06 by 4.75 inches, the GPS Companion is not quite as sleek as Nexian's HandyGPS module, but with the added dimensions come added features and a ten-hour battery life (up to six hours more than the HandyGPS). Included in the package is the GPS module, which is a 12-channel receiver; a CD-ROM containing MAP Companion and NAV Companion software; and two AAA batteries. The GPS Companion slides into the Visor's expansion slot and initializes immediately. In our case, we tested it with a Visor Prism.
Right off the bat, we were impressed with the color maps. Unlike the HandyGPS or the Geode from GeoDiscovery, the GPS Companion takes full advantage of the Visor Prism's color display, providing icons such as familiar red or blue interstate markers and red crosses for hospitals. Other points of interest (such as golf courses; air, train, and bus terminals; shopping centers; and lodging) have colorful icons to mark their position on the map.
The included software is what we'd expect from Magellan. MAP Companion allows you to search for destinations, enable GPS scrolling and positioning, and switch between Map and GPS mode. In GPS mode, you can view the current latitude and longitude, the altitude, the bearing and speed of travel, as well as which satellites you are locked on to. The NAV Companion program provides the same information as the MAP Companion, plus the ability to create waypoints and routes, which can be beamed to other Palm handhelds. You can also create track logs that show where you've been and the distance, speed, and bearing of your trip, then convert those logs to a route for future reference. Perhaps the only missing feature is a digital compass screen, which is always a handy tool when traveling in unfamiliar territory.
Load 'n' lock
Getting started is relatively painless. We installed the necessary components from the MAP and NAV Companion CD using HotSync, loaded all of New York City's and Long Island's street maps (using only 1.4MB of memory, which is impressive) and the NAV program, and hit the highway. One downfall is that the GPS module takes about ten minutes to lock on to satellites on first use, but if you know your approximate coordinates, you can punch them in to reduce locking time significantly. We did this and obtained a 3D fix (four or more satellites locked in) within five minutes, with subsequent initializations taking less than a minute to achieve a fixed position.
We selected a destination from the drop-down list of street names in the Options menu (unfortunately, the GPS Companion will not locate addresses) and tracked our progress through the streets, with our positioning icon always pointing toward our destination. The GPS functionality was very accurate, pinpointing our location on the map right down to our position in the middle of an intersection. At one point, the receiver was even able to hold satellite signals indoors, as long as we stayed close to a window. If you plan on using the GPS add-on mostly in a car, we recommend purchasing the vehicle-mounting bracket ($42) for the Visor, which provides hands-free operation and map viewing while driving.
Even though the Magellan GPS Companion for the Handspring Visor lacks the ability to locate street addresses, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise fine and affordable ($149.99) product. As a matter of fact, we think this is one of the better GPS add-ons for a Palm OS device we have seen to date.
User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 19 reviews
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