LabsSatnav devices
We're huge fans of TomTom's Navigator and, as far as we're concerned, it's the benchmark for GPS software. But Mio Map 3.3, which comes with the DigiWalker P550, is a serious competitor. The interface is glossy and menus are reasonably well designed, but it's the guidance view that gives TomTom something to worry about. You have complete control over the view, including zoom, pan and tilt. You can vary the latter from a low-down 3D view up to a bird's eye 2D view, and it can all be controlled via the joystick and buttons at the bottom of the PDA. There's a dedicated turn symbol area, and a neat touch is the number in the centre of a roundabout symbol, reminding you which exit to take. You can flip from portrait to landscape mode, and customise the information shown in the three green boxes,
Despite the price, full street-level maps are included for Western Europe on a 1GB SD card. You can choose whether you're travelling on foot, by bike or in a variety of vehicles, plus you can avoid specific roads in the itinerary or avoid areas entirely between a radius of one and 30 miles. The latter option is useful if you know an area will be busy at the time you're travelling. The PDA itself boasts a 3.5in screen with great viewing angles, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a speedy 400MHz CPU, which makes it responsive. As it runs Windows Mobile 5, you won't lose your data if the battery runs flat. You also get the benefit of being able to run any Pocket PC software you like, and there's Pocket Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint preinstalled with Windows Media Player and a photo viewer. In the box is a car mount, car charger and a mains charger. There's no TMC receiver, though, or weather support, and you can't navigate to contact addresses. It's nice to have a proper QWERTY keyboard, though. Considering you get full maps of Western Europe and built-in Wi-Fi, the P550 is superb value. |
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