Features

Mechanical mapping

1 May 2007 by business traveller

The emergence of cheap, portable satnav units really has revolutionised travel for most of us. No longer are you destined to spend hours driving randomly around city centres, and even the geographically-challenged now have a fighting chance of making meetings on time.

As the technology has got more advanced, the satnav gadgets themselves have shrunk, and now there are even mobile phones with mapping capabilities built in. When choosing a unit, it's key to decide what sort of features you want – while basic maps are free, many providers charge for add-on services like live traffic information, for instance. If you plan a lot of travelling, it's also worth checking you can easily change country maps – you don't want to discover on the ferry across the channel that you need to buy a new memory card for French maps, for instance.

Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox N100

£280
fujitsu-siemens.com

Looking uncannily like an iPod, the Loox N100 is a really stylish bit of kit. It's a combined PDA and satnav, so in theory will also work as your electronic organiser, although to be honest it's pretty poor at it.

As a satnav, however, it's great. Getting a satellite fix takes a so-so five minutes, but selecting postcode destinations or points of interest (POI) using the touchscreen takes seconds, and route calculation is similarly brisk. Navigation is comparable to TomTom's devices, with smooth, real-time 3D graphics, clear voice guidance at a volume that automatically goes up as you accelerate, and helpful on-screen info. You also get multiple route profiles and speed warnings, though there's no camera database on board. You'll need to buy a separate aerial for traffic updates though.
The more innovative additions include lane assistance, which indicates the suggested lane or lanes for your next manoeuvre, a function I've yet to see in action in my particular rural backwater. There are also some games, Pac Man – here renamed Smart Pixie – and a version of Breakout imaginatively titled Bricks.

The music player is better than you might expect, with superior earphones to the iPod (not that that's saying much). Battery life is on the short side at about six hours, but for the occasional in-car use and tourist walkabouts, there isn't a more convenient satnav around.

Pros: Most stylish GPS you'll see.
Cons: Limited features.

Nokia N95

From free
nokia.com

It is, supposedly, the phone that could mean you never get lost again. With streetmaps of 130 countries, Nokia's flagship N95 is the company's attempt to integrate satnav into a gadget small enough to take anywhere.

The handset is very small, roughly the size of a pack of cigarettes, and the keypad is initially hidden. Slide it one way and the keypad appears, while sliding it the opposite way reveals a set of music controls for MP3 and video-playback software. Setting the handset up is easy, and within a few seconds it will locate exactly where you are, and show you a map of the surrounding streets. You can then either enter a location and postcode, or access the well thought-out menus, which also let you search for nearby bars, restaurants and tourist attractions. We found the mapping software to be excellent, and it was even able to accurately tell us which side of the street we were on.

For the GPS to work you do need to be in sight of the sky, so in built-up areas you may lose the signal, but the phone is pretty good at dealing with the abundance of large office blocks in London. Users can decide whether they want walking or driving directions, which are either displayed on screen or spoken through the loud speakers. Once your route is set, you can even put the phone in your pocket and hear spoken directions via a hands-free earpiece. There's also a 5-megapixel digital camera, and it produces pictures comparable to all but the best digital cameras on the market – you really don't need to carry a separate camera any more.

The satnav software is excellent, although Co-Pilot software is also available to buy as an extra, and well worth a look if you do a lot of driving. However, overall it's a superb little gadget, and perfect if you're constantly getting lost around town.

Pros: Every feature you could ever want in a phone.
Cons: Screen size is small in-car.

TomTom One XL

£249 UK version, £279 Europe version
tomtom.com

The TomTom One XL has been designed to be easily pocketable following the increase in crime for these desirable units - just remember to hide the cradle.

A recent upgrade has also given it a large 4.3-inch widescreen touchscreen which dominates the front. There's just one power button and a SD slot, so the easy-to-use touchscreen is a simple way to get through the menus. The interface is easy to use and the maps clear and comprehensible when it came to following directions.

Of course, delving deeper into the spec sheet will show the differences between this and the more impressive TomTom 910 (see overleaf) – there is no hands-free Bluetooth connectivity, built in iPod controls or MP3 player, for example. Nor is there a 20GB internal hard drive or the text-to-speech option to have road names read out to you. Finally, the lazy will have to reach to the unit to change things rather than have to rely on the 910's remote control. But then, you have to ask, do you really need all these over and above the mapping software? After all, you still get traffic support via your mobile phone and find your way to your mate's house with little effort.

In use the TomTom performed well in most situations, although driving around the City of London with its high office blocks did cause the unit to get very confused, to the point that it even tried to get us to drive through a building to get back on to the road that we were still on. However, in most situations the TomTom One found the correct way to go and recalculated very quickly when we opted to ignore instructions.
At £249, the TomTom One XL offers a fantastic entry-level solution, and if you're on a really tight budget there's even a £199 version with a smaller screen.

Pros: Bargain price and simple to use.
Cons: Very little!

Garmin Zumo 550

£299
garmin.com

This is a great little unit for motorbike riders, although it does also work equally well in cars. The waterproof Zumo sits on your handlebars and wirelessly hooks up to your Bluetooth-enabled helmet, or displays directions on screen.

On the road the controls were a cinch to use and Garmin's new voice technology – which speaks the names of the roads as well as turning instructions – made instructions very clear. Using it is simple – pick a European destination by postcode or address with the chunky glove-friendly controls, and you can even move the map around with the touch sensitive screen, without removing your gloves.

There's also a great dashboard feature, which has information like your speed and petrol-tank levels, all of which is very useful, particularly as chances are the unit will make it tough to see your bike's instruments.

The Zumo takes an SD memory card so you can share routes before you set off. It's waterproof down to one metre, apparently, and the batteries last four hours between recharges. It's also got all Garmin's points of interest in it, so you can instantly divert to service stations, cashpoints, cafés or hotels. If you have a car as well there's a supplied cradle, and it works very well as a car satnav – you can even change the little onscreen icon from a bike to a car if you want.

For occasional or serious bikers it's a great piece of kit, although to get the best you'll need to invest in a Bluetooth-enabled helmet so you can hear instructions on the road.

Pros: Superb design, easy to use with gloves on.
Cons: You'll need a new Bluetooth helmet to get the best from it.

Evesham Navcam 7500

£299
evesham.com

The NavCam 7500 uses Navigator 2006 software provided by the AA. As well as the usual 2D and 3D mapping, the voice alerts, and full seven-digit postcode searching, this brings one unexpected delight to drivers of older bangers: a breakdown button. Now don't get too excited – what it actually does is display your precise location, in map co-ordinates, so you can tell the breakdown service where you are.

There's a basic MP3 player and photo slideshow viewer. More important, though, is the speed-camera warning functionality which provides both visual and vocal and fully directional alerts for all six of the current speed camera types in the UK, although it actually just reports on likely locations of mobile cameras. We liked the intelligent warning system that monitors your speed and only gives a gentle ping if you approach a camera under the limit, but goes slightly mad if you are bombing it. Well, OK, not ballistic but it does yell the camera type and display the speed limit on-screen and then return to a gentle ping as you become a considerate driver once more. The Traffic Message Channel gives you real-time road traffic congestion alerts and automatic re-routing. The TMC FM receiver is included in the package, as is a lifetime licence for the alerts, which is a nice touch and one avoided by many of the cheaper suppliers. The 3.5-inch touchscreen is good, and the unit was also quick to pick up a signal. Overall, it's a decent enough package, but doesn't quite have the slick features of the TomTom products, for instance.

Pros: Good for speed-camera spotting.
Cons: Limited features.

Garmin nuvi 660

£500
garmin.com

The Nuvi 660 comes with a 4.3-inch touchscreen, and is pretty simple to operate. With no buttons, control is completely orchestrated via the unit's touchscreen and luckily Garmin has designed the unit for use by people with large fingers, and the additional screen space means everything is spaced out even more, rather than just displayed with black boxes either side.

On start-up, the screen offers three choices: you can view the map, ask for directions or access the unit's multimedia features in the Travel Pack. The 660 offers a host of multimedia options including the ability to translate a foreign language, read audio books to you via an SD card or listen to MP3 tracks via the unit's MP3 player. However, as with most satnavs, these functions are inhibited by the fact that the unit's speaker is terrible.
The Garmin routing software is very good and easy to use, although we personally found the preferences menu a touch confusing – we had to look in the unit's instruction book to find out how to change road preferences, for example.

Maps for all of Europe come as standard in the UK, and overall it's a good, solid, straightforward little unit.

Pros: Packed with features – can even translate for you.
Cons: Menu can be a little confusing.

TomTom GO 910

£500
tomtom.com

At the top of Tomtom's range is the all-singing, all-dancing 910. With a 4-inch LCD touchscreen and a 20GB hard drive to store music and pictures on, it will take you almost anywhere in the world, with complete maps of Europe, the USA and Canada. It's a chunky little thing, but get past the size and the TomTom Go 910 offers more features than you can shake a stick at.

The mapping software and user interface are virtually identical to the other TomTom models in the range, and that is no bad thing – it's brilliantly simple. New features to the TomTom Go 910 include speed-camera data that warns you when you are approaching a camera and, more usefully, the speed at which it is set. In practice, this is great, although it can be irritating in central London where there are just so many cameras – you'll find it almost constantly beeping at you.

Aside from the mapping software the unit offers an MP3 player, picture viewer and even the ability to connect your iPod and control it through the screen – only really useful if you then hook up the Tomtom to your car stereo, as its tinny speakers won't do your latest Motorhead album justice.
When it comes to the picture viewer the lack of SD card means you can't even shoot pictures on your digital camera and then play them back on your unit in the field, as you need to transfer them to the GPS unit via computer – a big oversight. The hands-free calling functionality is great – connect a Bluetooth phone to the unit and you can make calls and send texts. You can also have your address book transferred over to the unit and the 910 also supports the calling of Points of Interest if the number is available.

You can't fault the TomTom for its feature list: maps of the world, Bluetooth, iPod controls, MP3 player, picture viewer. However, how often will you actually use them? Overall, it's really only for the absolute gadget freak – the TomTom One is almost such a good deal it renders this useless...

Pros: Every feature you could ever want.
Cons: Overpriced.

Mark Prigg is the Science and Technology Correspondent of the London Evening Standard

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