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Product Survey: GPS
Following the recent disappearance of Sony, Navman and ViaMichelin, only a handful of brands are left currently competing on the GPS market--but that doesn't stop them from offering a whole range of models.
Vincent Lheur
Updated: 2008-07-30
Updated: 2008-07-30
The tests
All GPSs were tested with various criteria such as trip calculation time and recalculation time if we changed the itinerary. We verified if the base was solid, the voice and vocal instructions were comprehensible and efficient, and also if volume was sufficient.
The address search engine and its pertinence was verified as well.
The address search engine and its pertinence was verified as well.
We checked the quality of traffic info and if it was taken into account in the calculation of itineraries.
How about the possibility of displaying radars and how we are alerted when approaching them?
Finally, if the GPS had a Freehand Bluetooth kit, we checked the audio quality of this function and how easy it was to use.
All sorts of factors separate entry-level Personal Navigation Devices (PND) from the very best models: screen size, voice recognition, or the inclusion of a remote control and a media player.
Don't ignore the cheapest models
The most basic PNDs make do with a 3.5'' (8.9 cm) screen and maps limited to a single country.
If they do offer live traffic information, then it is restricted to only the most important highways with little coverage of the inside of towns.
In any case, such systems aren't as helpful as the marketing would have you believe.
Too many areas remain outside of the coverage area, and a lot of work remains to be done.
Despite lacking these systems, the cheapest PNDs are perfectly able to fulfill their primary function of getting you from A to B.
They're helped in this by being based on the same software as more advance models.
When it comes to the voice instructions your GPS gives you, one feature to look out for is Text-to-Speech voice synthesis.
While almost all GPS systems can give voice instructions like 'Turn right in 100 yards', they usually can't handle the names of streets and towns.
Text-to-Speech allows them to give clear directions like 'Turn left onto Banbury Road', a much more natural way of getting round town.
On the subject of making these systems a little more realistic, that's part of the motivation behind TomTom's iQ Routes system.
This suggests different routes depending on the time of day based on journey times measured in real life, not just the theoretical average speed on the roads you travel;
Don't ignore the cheapest models
The most basic PNDs make do with a 3.5'' (8.9 cm) screen and maps limited to a single country.
If they do offer live traffic information, then it is restricted to only the most important highways with little coverage of the inside of towns.
In any case, such systems aren't as helpful as the marketing would have you believe.
Too many areas remain outside of the coverage area, and a lot of work remains to be done.
Despite lacking these systems, the cheapest PNDs are perfectly able to fulfill their primary function of getting you from A to B.
They're helped in this by being based on the same software as more advance models.
When it comes to the voice instructions your GPS gives you, one feature to look out for is Text-to-Speech voice synthesis.
While almost all GPS systems can give voice instructions like 'Turn right in 100 yards', they usually can't handle the names of streets and towns.
Text-to-Speech allows them to give clear directions like 'Turn left onto Banbury Road', a much more natural way of getting round town.
On the subject of making these systems a little more realistic, that's part of the motivation behind TomTom's iQ Routes system.
This suggests different routes depending on the time of day based on journey times measured in real life, not just the theoretical average speed on the roads you travel;
