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With prices falling and the portable navigation device (PND) market booming, here's a look at three products from three of the big players.
The TomTom One, an imminently portable device, has the type of pricing - as cheap as $245 on the Internet - that is propelling consumers into the market. The StreetPilot 2730 is complex and sophisticated, and might already have been supplanted in Garmin's lineup by newer models. The Magellan Maestro 4050 represents the top end of that Santa Clara company's product renaissance, as it offers both AAA ratings and voice-recognition routing.
Consumer Reports rated 21 PNDs in its February 2007 issue, priced from $300 to $850. I'm guessing the average price of those 21 devices - $519 - has fallen since then.
Here's how I evaluate navi devices. I put in addresses of places I know and see if the routing matches my local knowledge. I drive around in unfamiliar areas and see how quickly a unit can get me un-lost. I type in points of interest - restaurants, post offices, gas stations - and see what it tells me in terms of nearby locations. I measure how fast a PND routes me, or re-routes me when I ignore its directions, vs. embedded units in the cars that I'm test driving.
Here's a typical example. I sat in the Mercury News' parking lot in north San Jose with
TOMTOM ONE
List price: $499
Web price: $245-$500
Unit size: 3.8 x 3.2 x 1.0 inches
Screen size: 3.5 inches
Weight: 6.5 ounces
Coverage: Pre-loaded U.S. and Canada map on a 1 GB SD card
Memory: 32 MB Ram 1 GB SD card
Power: Rechargeable 2-hour lithium-ion battery
Points of interest: 5 million
Web site: www.tomtom.com
First impression: I'm immediately pleased with the sleek design and small size of the TomTom One.
How it works: Processing time is very rapid.
Reception: No problems
Likes: The 3-D map view offers an easier-to-understand look at the roads ahead. You can choose your instructions in 36 languages and with 55 different voice. Go to tomtones.com and you can buy additional voice, from actor Gary Busey to pitcher Curt Schilling to a New York City cabbie.
Dislikes: I had no problem reading the small maps, but touchscreen buttons were a bit small when finger-typing.
Extras: Built-in Bluetooth connection. TomTom Plus pre-wiring that offers traffic, weather information for an extra charge. USB port for charging, updates.
The verdict: Perhaps my favorite GPS device to date. It's no bigger than a cigarette pack, works rapidly and operate flawlessly.
MAGELLAN MAESTRO 4050
List price: $699
Web price: $626-$700
Unit size: 3.75 x 5.0 x 0.88 inches
Screen size: 4.3 inches diagonal
Weight: 8.5 ounces
Coverage: 50 states plus Canada and Puerto Rico
Memory: 64 MB SD Ram / 2 GB Nand Flash
Power: 3-hour rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Points of interest: 4.5 million
Web site: www.magellangps.com
First impression: As usual, it works right out of the box. I plotted my first destination in less than 15 seconds.
How it works: Tap one of three icons - Map, Enter Address or Points of Interest. Or use the unit's voice recognition feature, a first for a portable unit.
Reception: No problems. Signal remains strong even while under freeway overpasses.
Likes: So many nice touches, from the choice of regular or 3-D view, to a sensor that automatically switches to night mode as the sun fades.
Dislikes: Voice recognition often requires repeating commands, and you can't input addresses by voice. AAA rating icons are too small to read.
Extras: AAA TourBook information on restaurants, hotels, includes useful information such as hours and phone numbers. A three-month subscription to Magellan TrafficKit provides information on wrecks, construction and slow traffic ahead.
The verdict: An excellent, higher-priced unit. I'm not sure Magellan's AAA ratings are as useful as the Zagat restaurant ratings I find on Acura navigation systems.
GARMIN STREETPILOT 2730
List price: $1,199
Web price: $480-$1,200
Unit size: 5.6 x 3.2 x 2.0 inches
Screen size: 3.8 inches diagonal
Weight: .93 pounds
Coverage: United States, Canada, Puerto Rico
Points of interest: Nearly 6 million
Web site: www.garmin.com
First impression: The strangest navigation device I've tested so far. Instead of a suction cup for the windshield, there's a heavy beanbag for the dashboard. There's a FM transmitter so instructions can come out via my stereo speakers or via a little 12V plug with a tinny speaker.
How it works: A bit too many wires for my taste.
Reception: In two cars, I had no trouble. In a third, a Mercedes-Benz CL550, it didn't work at all. I could hold it, in my hand, outside the Benz, and it worked. A Garmin spokeswoman told me, "Vehicles with a heated windshield have a very thin metal foil in between the layers of the glass that is the heating element. That element blocks the GPS signal." I'm glad I didn't spend $1,200 before knowing that.
Likes: Surprisingly, the unit never slid off my dash. It's a bigger unit with a bigger screen than some others. Cumbersome, a critic might note, but it was better with my middle-age eyes. Trip computer told me my maximum and average speed as well as my moving and stopped time.
Dislikes: The tinny sound from the speaker. Besides the reception problem, this unit twice routed me to incorrect points of interest. Once, it sent me to a home rather than a restaurant. Another time, it sent me to a restaurant that obviously had been closed for several years. Finally, when I searched for a post office, it didn't send me to one I knew was less than a mile away, instead sending me to one on Walsh in Santa Clara that isn't even a full retail postal facility.
Extras: Unit includes a subscription to XM Radio and that company's XM NavTraffic, which provides real-time updates. With it, the Garmin moves a step beyond basic navigation into something much more useful.
The verdict: Although I tested this device in March, it's already listed as "Discontinued" on Garmin's Web site. Look elsewhere.
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