Top GPS Guide

Garmin puts an end to a drought of Palm-based GPS handhelds with its Garmin iQue 3000 ($426). It’s just as useful for keeping a calendar and an address book as it is for finding your way in the world, plus the system’s digital maps are precise, routing is efficient, and its spoken directions are easy to understand.

On the downside, it’s bigger and heavier than some of its competitors, such as the Pharos Traveler GPS 525; it lacks the wireless creature comforts of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi; and it comes up short in the performance department. If you’re partial to the Palm OS and want integrated navigation features, the iQue 3000 is pretty much your only choice; that said, the PDA/GPS handheld does its primary job navigating and organizing; it’ll just require a little patience on your part.

Not much to say here, either. The 3000 features basic audio functions, consisting of a 3.5 mm headphone jack and an internal amplified speaker. The latter is plenty loud enough to make spoken directions or audio alerts heard in even a busy automotive environment, so it’s well suited to its navigation tasks.

The iQue’s battery life isn’t stellar. With the GPS receiver running it only averages about 3-4 hours. In some ways, though, the iQue’s battery life is entirely a secondary factor. It’s designed to be used while plugged in for large periods of time, and only be used for assorted PIM functions while away from a power plug. If you plug it in while driving, chances are that you’ll never notice the battery life at all.

I can’t get behind the use of a microSD card. They may be fine for cell phones and ultra-miniature MP3 players, but in a device this size there’s little excuse for using them. With SD card prices falling as swiftly as they are, it’s silly to force your customers to use a more expensive format with less capacity. Unless you’re Sony, in which case it’s company policy. Furthermore, the use of the microSD card makes it difficult to use the iQue as a car stereo component since MP3s are bulky and even a 1 GB microSD card is quite expensive.

The iQue 3000 shares the same 200 MHz processor that drove its Palm-powered predecessors, the 3600 and 3200. While not the most advanced or potent processor, it’s more than capable of handling the GPS nav software and most other things that one could conceivably throw at it. The iQue runs on Palm OS 5.2, rather than the OS 5.4 that’s used by Palm, Inc. and most other manufacturers. The differences between 5.2 and 5.4 are minimal, so you need not worry about not having the latest version. If anything, 5.2 retains more compatibility with existing programs.

The iQue does lack, however, the many hacks and extensions that Palm, Inc. has worked into its devices. No one-handed navigation, no Today screen, none of the other various refinements that have been introduced over the last few years. It’s pure Palm OS 5, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective. The iQue’s 320 x 320 pixel display isn’t the most stunning in the world. It does colors quite well, but tends to have a bit of a yellowish tint to its whites. This doesn’t really affect navigation or organizational use, but might be a concern if you wanted to keep photos on it.

The iQue comes with 32 MB of memory, not a huge amount even for a Palm OS device, but sufficient for most people’s needs. The device also includes, out of the box, a memory card, saving the end user the labor of trying to track down a compatible card themselves. The U.S. version comes with a 128 MB card, while the European iQue ships with a 256 MB card. The iQue is far from slim, but then it’s not really supposed to be. Durability is a bigger concern, and not many people are really going to be pocketing this PDA.

For reasons passing well beyond human comprehension, Garmin decided that with the 3000 model they would abandon their standard SDIO slot in favor of a microSD slot. If you’ve never seen a microSD card in person before, words don’t do it justice. It’s about the thickness of a human fingernail and the area of an M&M. Handling it, I felt that if I took a deep breath I’d risk inhaling the thing. To give you an idea, this photo compares the size of a MicroSD card, a standard GSM SIM card, and a U.S. quarter dollar. Not much to say here. The iQue uses a simple mini-USB plug, increasingly popular for low-end devices and some smartphones. It makes sync cables easy to come by, at least. Unlike many other mini-USB devices, the iQue doesn’t use the same plug for power, so you can’t charge directly from the USB port or a USB power supply.

Looking more like a leather notepad than a PDA, the grey and silver Garmin iQue 3000 is a beautifully designed and crafted handheld. From its fold-open cover to the flush buttons, it’s a device that not only slips easily into a pocket but also is useful and meant to be shown off. It measures a stout 20 by 71 by 119mm and weighs 147g, putting it between the Asus MyPal A636 and the Pharos Traveler GPS 525, although you can shave off 30g of its weight by removing the leatherette screen cover. Like the A636, it has a flip-up antenna to capture data from the orbiting network of two dozen GPS satellites, but this antenna folds neatly into the PDA. However, it doesn’t swivel like the A636’s antenna to grab the strongest satellite signal.

At 76mm diagonal, the Garmin iQue 3000’s 320×320-pixel display is smaller than that of the A636, but it presents a nice balance and has daytime and night-time viewing colours. On the downside, while using battery power, you can’t keep the screen on for more than three minutes - a major annoyance when navigating by foot. Even worse, Garmin said it has no plans to change the backlighting time.

Below the Garmin iQue 3000’s screen, there’s a spacious dedicated writing zone with six instant-launch icons (Home, Brightness, HotSync, Menu, Volume and Find) around it. During our tests, however, we found that hitting these icons was hit or miss. Sometimes they were extremely responsive, while other times we had to repeatedly jab at the icons with our stylus - a truly frustrating experience. The bad news continues as the navigation toggle lets you scroll only up and down - we much prefer the five-way joystick found on the Pharos Traveler.

On the upside, the four shortcut keys to the main apps - Calendar, Contacts, To Do, and Que - are spacious and easy to use. To get a GPS fix, just open the antenna or hit what Garmin calls the Que button, and the main GPS interface is activated. You can then go right to the maps, enter a destination, or adjust the system’s extensive settings, which range from metric or imperial units to the backlight level.

The casing is a heavy-duty gray plastic that reminds me of the old Palm III series. It’s bland to the point of being like plain oatmeal, but durable, and doesn’t feel bad in the hand. It’s got a sense of toughness about it, like you could haul the thing around and never have to worry about breaking it.

As you’d expect for a device designed for automotive navigation, the iQue 3000 comes with a suction-cup windshield mount for holding the device while you drive. Nothing too fancy, not even a full cradle to set the device into, just a basic clip-on design with a short flexible mount. There’s also an adhesive panel in the box if you want to mount it on a dashboard or the like.

Though the speaker is located in the back, the directions come through loud and clear, and you have a choice of 11 languages. Other design elements include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a Micro SD slot and a MCX jack for an optional external antenna - a recessed reset button is hidden under the fold-out antenna. As with most Palm-based handhelds, you can’t remove and replace the battery.

In addition to the iQue 3000, Garmin includes all you’ll need to hit the road. You get power adaptors for car and home, a USB data cable and a windshield arm with a mounting disk so that it can be installed any place in the car. There’s also a DVD filled with maps and a 256MB Micro SD card. As with other GPS handhelds on the market, there’s no desktop cradle, emphasising the road-warrior image of the iQue 3000.

The Garmin iQue 3000 comes with the latest software for organising a life or a business. Inside is an entry-level Palm handheld with a 200MHz Bravo 2.0 processor that has a built-in GPS system. While its 32MB of RAM and 32MB of ROM are about half that of typical Windows Mobile machines, the Palm OS is more efficient in its use of memory, but this leaves only about 10MB free for added apps and data, which will seem cramped.

The 3000, like most of Garmin’s previous devices, is based on their own GPS chipset rather than the more common SiRF chips used in other devices. The net result of this is that the iQue 3000 won’t hold as good of a lock as a SiRF II- or III-based Bluetooth device, particularly in heavily obstructed areas like cities.

To test reception sensitivity, I activated the iQue’s GPS module inside the upstairs floor of my house. My SiRF II-based Bluetooth unit has always been able to get a good lock even through the roof, but the iQue couldn’t, not even given several hours of trying. Of course, most people don’t need GPS navigation to get around their house, but this test was and is indicative of potential difficulty locking onto a signal through a dense tree canopy or in an area overshadowed by tall buildings.

Since I’d have to drive for an hour to find any tall buildings, I took the iQue out into the wild woodlands to see how it held up. While it maintained a lock most of the time, the signal was considerably less stable than the SiRF-based equivalent. Several times it dropped out and reconnected, while the comparison device never blinked. The GPS module supports WAAS, the Wide-Area Augmentation System used to provide improved GPS accuracy in North America, as well as the equivalent EGNOS system for Europe. These systems are designed to increase GPS accuracy to around 6 feet While it’s primary benefit is to aviation, it also aids land navigation, particularly things like hiking.

The maps for the 3000 are based on Navteq software and information, and are akin to what you get with other Garmin devices, or various packages for Windows Mobile and laptop PCs. Navteq maps are used by Google, and are sold under the brands iGuidance, PrymeNav, and others. It’s a fairly standard system, with all the options that one has come to expect out of a handheld GPS navigator: 2D and 3D map modes, automatic routing and rerouting, missed turn re-computation, the whole nine point seven two yards. There’s points of interest, major roads, minor roads - plus the occasional error, since no information is perfect.

By providing maps of Puerto Rico, Canada, and the United States, the included City Navigator North America NT 7 DVD is more complete than that of any of Garmin’s competitors. There are more than 6 million points of interest (POI) for restaurants, gas stations, hotels, and the like preprogrammed into the database. On the downside, you’ll need to set aside a lot of time for moving maps from your PC to the Garmin iQue 3000; a single state can take between 10 and 30 minutes to transfer to the device. The included 128MB Micro SD card is good for a five-state road trip, but we suggest getting a larger card to hold more maps and a bunch of music, given that the device has a competent audio player.

With accurate and detailed maps, predictive entry and efficient routing, the Garmin iQue 3000 is perfect for car trips. The main screen shows not only the road ahead but also the vehicle’s speed, distance and time to the next turn. As a bonus for those obsessed with time, the handheld gives you an estimated time of arrival. We like the small compass needle in the upper-left corner, and the unit’s up/down button zooms in and out of the action with ease. When planning your route, you can choose between the shortest or fastest route, and you can instruct the iQue 3000 to avoid certain routes such as toll roads. Garmin also nicely integrates the handheld’s PIM functions with its GPS capabilities - it can plot a course straight from an address in your Contacts list. You get 2D and 3D map views, automatic rerouting and saved routes, and the handheld even goes beyond the basics by including settings for emergency vehicles, delivery vans and taxis.

We tested the Garmin iQue 3000 in a built-up area, and it took just more than two minutes to get a position fix from a cold start. The handheld constantly updated the onscreen map and never lost contact, regardless of whether we were jogging to an appointment or driving up and down a motorway. We were impressed with its accurate plotting, and the routing was efficient. We also like the fact that it reminds the driver of upcoming turns, plus it took only 15 seconds to complete a new itinerary.

One thing is for certain - the Garmin iQue 3000 isn’t the fastest handheld on the block. It’s a RAM-starved machine, so it took several seconds to call up new applications or to draw maps, but perhaps the biggest drawback is its battery life. In our tests, where we looped a video clip using Kinoma’s 3EX player and set the backlight level to 50 per cent, the unit was able to run for only 4 hours, 26 minutes on a single charge. By comparison, both the Asus MyPal A636 and the Pharos Traveler GPS 525 lasted almost 9 hours. The iQue’s numbers rise to 6 hours, 48 minutes when playing music, but they still fall short of the competition.

Tags: audio functions, battery life, digital maps, downside, garmin ique 3000, GPS Device, gps receiver, mp3 players, navigation tasks, pda gps, performance department, pharos traveler gps 525, sd card

Related posts

• Xnew Factory Sealed Garmin Nuvi 260 Gps Receiver
• Tomtom One XL Car GPS Receiver
• TomTom GO 920T Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator
• Tomtom GO 720 GPS Navigation System
• Tomtom Go 720 Car Gps Navigation System US
• Tomtom GO 510 GPS
• Nextar W3G 3.5-Inch Lcd Color Touch Screen Portable GPS
• Newgarmin Nuvi 200 Automotive Gps In Box 2008 V9 Maps
• New Factory Sealed Garmin Nuvi 260 Gps Receiver
• More Garmin Nuvi 270 Images

Posted on August 9th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: GPS Device