Reviews
Garmin
iQUE M5
Garmin joins the Pocket PC camp with an almost-twin to
its Palm-based devices
Those
familiar with Garmin's terrific Palm-based iQUE 3600: this is
not anoth review of the 3600, and the new iQUE M5 is not another
version of the 3600, like the iQUE 3200 is. Instead, the iQUE
M5 is Garmin's first Pocket PC based PDA. However, anyone who
looks at the M5 and thinks it's another one of Garmin's Palm units
cannot be blamed÷the two series look almost identical. Put them
side by side and you need a sharp eye to see many differences.
For
starters, the M5 shares the 3200's very compact dimensions. It
has a footprint of 5 x 2.8 inches and is about 0.8 inches thick.
Weight is 5.8 ounces. All those specs are identical to the Palm
units, and they are almost unbelievably compact for a unit that
includes a full GPS receiver and also a flip-out GPS antenna.
Yet, the M5 is no larger than your typical, run-of-the-mill iPAQ
or Palm device. A little bit thicker, perhaps, and a bit heavier,
but still amazingly small.
The
Pocket PC-based MS, however, is clearly a newer product than the
company's Palm-based devices. It uses a state-of-the-art 416 MHz
Intel PXA 272 processor. That's complemented by Pocket PC stan
64MB of RAM and 64MB of ROM. There is a Secure Digital card slot
with SDIO capability, IrDA, and the usual microphone, speaker
and 3.5mm headphone jack. Unlike its Palm-based brethren, the
M5 has built-in Bluetooth, which means it can communicate with
Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, PCs, printers and other PDAs.
Power comes from a replaceable 1,250 mAH lithium-polymer battery
that should provide five hours of use with GPS on and up to 12
with GPS off. On the software side, the MS is based on Microsoft's
excellent Windows Mobile for Pocket PC 2003, Second Edition. This
is a full-fledged Pocket PC, and not some GPS device that also
has a few PIM applications.
About
the only area where the MS falls behind the Palm-based units is
display resolution. It sports a traditional 3.5-inch 240x320 transfiective
LCD that's no match for the iQUE 3600's gorgeous 3.8-inch 320x480
display. We're talking twice as many pixels on the Palm device-and
that can make a huge difference when it comes to mapping. With
full VGA displays now both available and supported for the Pocket
PC platform, we're not quite sure why Garmin didn't go all the
way and spring for a state-of-the-art display as well, especially
given the M5's top-notch price of US$749.99, which is more than
either of the Palm-based products.
Maybe
Garmin's decision to use the low-res display is because in the
Pocket PC realm, there really isn't any competition. The only
other comparable product is the Mitac Mio 168 DigiWalker which
we reviewed in issue 7.1 of Handheld Computing. The DigiWalker,
which was picked up and sold with a different software bundle
by Navman (named the PiN), is even smaller than the M5, but it
is based on older and slower Intel technology.
The
MS's main attraction is undoubt that it comes from one of the
foremost names in GPS and mapping systems. There are many third
party GPS pucks available that work with most Pocket PCs, but
it's always safer and better to have an integrat system from the
experts.
On
the GPS hardware side the MS includes a 12 parallel channel receiver
that continuously tracks and uses up to 12 satellites for once
a second updates. CPS accuracy is less than 50 feet standard,
and less than 10 feet using WAAS. On the soft side, you get a
number of special Garmin "Que" GPS applications: QueMap, QueFind,
QueGPS, QueTrip, QueRoute, QueTurns and a system manager. There
are built-in basemaps of North and South America that show highways,
railways, thoroughfares, lakes, rivers and borders. Specific maps
are created and then down from Garmin's MapSource City Select
CD that comes with the package. These maps have street-level detail
and let you navigate to any address in the US and Canada via voice
prompts and/or turn-by-turn directions. And if you miss a turn,
the system automatically recalculates and tells you how to get
back on track. The maps also provide access to more than five
million points of interest.
All
in all, definitely an interesting addition to the Pocket PC family.
ö Kirk Linsky
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