Trailblazing technology

location based services

Portable GPS systems can make that summer trip much easier
By HEATHER NEWMAN
Detroit Free Press
Don't want to rip into your dashboard to install a GPS system in your car, but want better directions than the printouts from a map Web site?
We tested two products that make packing directions easy: Sony's Nav-U portable GPS system for your car, and Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator service for your phone.
SONY'S NAV-U
Sony has until recently stayed out of the GPS business, and the company used its late entry to get its portable GPS device right. It's shaped just like a miniature Sony TV, has a bright, sensitive 3.5-inch touch screen and offers complete maps and points of interest for the continental United States.
One of the handiest features is one of the simplest. Like many GPS units, the Nav-U allows you to program a home location. But unlike most, getting directions home is only a two-tap operation. Almost instantly, no matter where you are, it'll give you the route you need.
The directions provided by the Nav-U were easy to follow, and the voice of the machine was pleasant.
Moving the Nav-U between cars is a snap - there is a bracket that attaches by super-strong suction cup to the windshield, which includes a lever that removes it smoothly.
The directions were generally reliable, although there were some quirks with the "fastest" route setting - periodically, that setting would so heavily favor interstates and other large roads that it would take you out of your way. The unit costs $450. A second vehicle kit with bracket and car charger runs $80, and an external GPS antenna (which we found unnecessary) runs around $100. A travel case is $30.
VERIZON'S VZ NAVIGATOR
As good as the Nav-U is, we absolutely swooned over Verizon's VZ Navigator service, specifically as displayed on the Motorola V325 phone (typically, that phone runs $79.99 with a new plan, though online discounts currently make it $29.99). The V325 is a standard color screen flip phone with brushed aluminum center plates and rubberized edges. Its bright display made the maps a pleasure to read, and its speakers were actually clearer than the Nav-U.
While the phone service suffers from the lack of a touch screen - something that makes the Nav-U and other portable auto devices more comfortable to use - it was dead-on with its directions, and routing around problems in the route was a snap.
The real benefit to having a mapping service on your phone, rather than in a separate device, is that you typically carry your cell phone with you anyway, so you've got access regardless of whose car you're in.
VZ Navigator is available as a download directly to your phone, and costs $9.99 a month or $2.99 for 24 hours. It does incur airtime when you first get directions, and again if the software has to recalculate your route along the way (if you make a wrong turn, or ask for a route around a traffic tie-up).