iPAQ Navigation System

Review:
Many Global Positioning System (GPS) devices and software tend to be extremely difficult to set up and use. And sometimes you need to get a completely different device, when you might just want to use a device you already have and just add a GPS receiver to the device.

That's what HP has done with its iPAQ Navigation System. The device is a very small GPS receiver that doesn't even attach to your iPAQ PDA. It connects via Bluetooth wireless to speak with the mapping and navigation software that sits on your iPAQ PDA.

The software is navigation and mapping software that lets you know where you are, and offers driving directions based on destinations that you input. Because the GPS receiver knows where you are, it integrates with the mapping software to give you step-by-step instructions. Furthermore, the software uses a computer voice to tell you when to turn, bear left, etc., so you don't have to look at the PDA or a piece of paper with directions on it before you make the turn. In fact, HP warns against using the device alone in the car -- give the device to your 'co-pilot.'

With the voice on, however, you can listen to the directions without causing an accident. The system gives you enough warning, too, so you're not immediately turning right when the system tells you to turn.

Should you miss a turn, though, there's no need to panic. The system can automatically re-route you to your destination, or tell you when the best place to make a U-turn is. The re-routing can be especially useful in cities, where one-way streets enter the equation, or when traffic is so bad that the suggested route would take you longer than you wanted to. I was amazed at how accurate the directions were, it always gave me the best route to take during our testing.

The software also includes 'points of interest' icons, including locations for banks, gas stations and other interesting points along the way. The system also can tell you how fast you are traveling -- including an alerting system when you are going faster than the speed limit (the speed alert can be adjustable by the user).

One downside -- you'll need an iPAQ or memory card with a lot of memory in order to download the maps into the device. We found that a 50-mile radius from the city we chose took up about 12 to 15M bytes of space. For maps of entire regions, you will need a lot of space on the device (or memory card).

The system is a bit pricey, but can be a valuable tool for a worker who is constantly traveling to different locations (such as a limo driver), and needs a better system than carrying around a bunch of maps or stopping at the gas station to ask for directions.

Reviewed by Keith Shaw