Apr 23

Review : TomTom Navigator for Palm   Posted by sharps, tagged with

I first tried a portable in-car nav. system about five years ago - I think it was a a Garmin; it was big, clunky, had an awful UI and basically didn't help much with navigation - it could just about tell you where you were on a not particularly detailed map. I tried it on one trip across the UK where it constantly told me I was driving through fields along-side the M4 motorway. I took it back on my return and got a refund (about 600 pounds sterling).

Five years on and how things have changed - in terms of price, quality and general usefulness. I had been toying with the idea of buying a portable in-car GPS for some time because I'm fairly new to California and don't know my way around that well, also I find US streets signs virtually impossible to see at night; my car is usually littered with mapquest printouts to the extend that it is probably a fire hazard. Another use is when travelling to other US cities - I rarely find the local maps that Hertz give out all that useful - the Palm + GPS is small enough to take with you.

I did a bit of research and finally bought a TomTom Navigator for my Palm Tunsten C. I initially looked at the dedicated TomTom which provides screen, software, GPS all in one, but eventually decided to save some cash and go for the software and GPS bundle for the Palm. I specifically wanted a portable device so I can use it in my own car and the familly car also looking at the price of factory fitted GPS systems (should I buy a new car in the future) - a portable system makes more sense.

Basically you install the Software and maps onto the Palm - you'll need an extra memory card as the maps can take up a fair bit of space (ie. California is about 80Mb). This is where I hit my first problem - I generally sync my palm over Wireless but there are problem when synching a lot of data (or big files) - I tried several times but in the end had to dig out the wired cradle to download the maps. Then I hit my second problem - when I plugged the GPS in the Palm crashed pretty much every time. I checked the versions of TomTom Navigator and Palm OS and upgraded them both to the latest; after that no more crashes.

The GPS connects to the Palm via the Serial port - this is a worry as the Palm serial port is just about the most fragile design you could imagine - there is also a BlueTooth version but unfortunately the Tunsten C doesn't support BlueTooth. You mount the Palm to your Windshield or some other position in your car (that doesn't obscure your view) using the mounting cradle (additional cost).

To operate the device, you simple tap in the address, using either the Zip code, the city, street until you find your destination and go - the UI is very (very) nice - the amount of tapping really is kept to the absolute minimum. Once the route is set you start driving and the Palm displays a birds-eye view of where you are and displays distance (and street name) of your next turn; you also get voice prompts which is helpful. Should you decide to take an alternate route (due to a road block or because you know better) then the software will very quickly recalculate your route. A nice touch is that the voice prompts are customizable - you can download different voices - for example I'm using English Jane who speaks BBC English and says Motorway instead of Freeway - I think someone has developed some more amusing voices (including HillBilly Girl).

It's worth reiterating the quality of the UI - it really is first class - and applications for the Palm often set a high bar - the UI designers at TomTom really put a lot of effort into it and it pays off.

One minor let-down is that the maps seem to be a little dated - anything built or changed in the last 18 months probablywon't who up - I say this is a minor problem because the Software is very good a replanning when you get out of synch. Hopefuly TomTom will provide regular updates. I can forgive this because generally the accuracy is absolutely great. We recently drove up to Bear Valley (about 200 miles) in the dark to a Cabin we have only visited once before and English Jane told us we had arrived at our destination just as I was driving past the concealed (and dark) driveway.

Another fairly minor niggle is that the Palm Tunsten has a green charging light on top which is pretty bright and reflects off the windscreen at night - I'm fairly confident there is a hack somewhere to control it; alternatively some electrical tape would suffice to reduce the brightness.

All-in all The TomTom gets a big thumbs up, my wife no longer has to navigate on long trips and my own car is a cleaner and safer place.