Portable Navigation Systems

I have read quite a bit about how some people feel that the satnav is a
somewhat distracting instrument. Having not used one until recently, it was
difficult to comment personally, however I have formed a view and I thought I’d
post today looking at the other side of the coin.

For most authorities, the main issue with the portable navigation systems is one
of distraction, and I do agree with this. For instance if you are driving along and
decide to switch the satnav on, this could be a dangerous move as your focus isn’t
on your driving. If you have to peer at the screen to see where you are going
because you don’t have a voice activated system), then this again is going to be
distracting. If you’re anything like me, if my head starts to point in a different direction
to the road ahead, then chances are my steering follows the same direction! Even
using the volume button could be a major distraction.

Now with any of these practices, to the safe driver doing any of the above would
not make sense. But that’s really the point I suppose, because to be honest common
sense is not that common. I should point out here that all the manufacturers state
clearly that you should never take any action like the above whilst driving.  But as

we know….

Okay, so having looked at some of the unsafe practises that occur, let’s look at the other
side of the coin.

• Get a system that gives directions  in audio. The directions are given in advance of you having to take them. This way you don’t have to look at the screen and be distracted.
• The systems themselves remind you to take regular breaks, which in itself is a great safety feature.
• They can help to reduce stress (as you aren’t worrying about where you are going) and this can be a real danger when driving.
• The systems can alert you to the local speed restrictions.
• They can make your journeys shorter and therefore can help to reduce tiredness.
• You’re not reading a map whilst driving (something I’m afraid I’m guilty of)
• Some systems have features that show the nearest hospital, police station etc. which can be most useful.

So make an objective decision based on both sides of the coin if you are considering
buying a portable navigation system, and NEVER operate them whilst driving.

Technorati Tags: GPS Safety, portable navigation systems, Satnav

Today I’ve decided to record an audio post to ring the changes a little.

It’s only  3 minutes long and just goes over the sorts of questions to ask yourself if you are considering buying one of these nifty gadgets. As ever, if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

Technorati Tags: portable navigation systems, satn

Cartoon Credit:  www.whatthegregg.com

Technorati Tags: garmin nuvi, going dark, portable GPS, portable gps systems, portable navigation systems, route racing

If you are fed up being bossed around by ‘Sandra’ or shouted at by Brian Blessed, then this may be the solution for you.

Researchers at the University of Utah have created a prototype device that guides drivers by pulling their skin in different directions. Eh? What’s that you say?

I can’t begin to explain to you here how it words (far too complicated for me), however if you take a look at the video below, it demonstrated clearly how this works.

As you can imagine the system is fraught with loads of problems, however the early experiments seem to suggest that it’s pretty effective. In the tests carried out, drivers following the skin-stretching cues followed directions as accurately as those that followed the audible cues. They also followed directions more accurately when faced with distractions such as mobile phones. The reason given for this by the scientists is that whilst the drivers may not hear the instructions, they can certainly feel them.

There are plenty of others uses too for this unusual system.
1. It can be used to warn drivers if they are veering out of their lane, but this may not be as effective as those systems that actually turn the steering wheel to get the driver back on track.
2. The system could be used to give guidance to the hearing or visually impaired. An operator could issue instructions to a receiver, which would pass tactile instructions telling the use when and where to turn.

To see how the systems works, just take a look at the  interesting video.

Technorati Tags: navigation reviews, portable gps systems, portable navigation systems, University of Utah

Today I have invited a guest Blogger on to the site. Davina recently used a portable GPS system for the first time and there are definitely lessons to be learnt! Over to you Davina…

Technorati Tags: portable GPS, portable navigation systems, satnavs



I am please to announce that I have broken my duck. I’ve now used a portable GPS systems for the first time and thought I’d give you the run down on how it went. We borrowed a Garmin nuvi  (not sure of the model) from a friend of ours – the instructions didn’t come as part of the borrowed kit, I hasten to add. As a consequence, this was going to be a real test of how simple or how complicated the whole system was going to be. (Thinking about it, even if I’d been given the instructions I probably wouldn’t have read them first, I’m sad to say).

My friend and I agreed to meet at a hotel car park where we would then get into one  car to visit  Trafford Park in Manchester. Our purpose was to visit the Apple store and get a demo of the ipad. Exciting stuff I hear you say! Luckily we did have the post code (although I know that you can also enter an address into the gizmo, but how difficult this would have been for a shopping mall, we shall never know. (Answers on a postcard please).

So I put this into the system and we then attached the satnav to the windscreen with the heavy-duty suction pad. I wasn’t sure if this was going to withstand the weight of the system as my experience of suction pads run to using them  in my bathroom. I put my flannel on one, and sometimes at the dead of night, I hear a crash. I run out expecting to see an intruder, and it’s the suction pad in the bathroom, come unstuck from the tiles and rolling around on the floor.

Huh! I digress. The voice – let’s call her Sandra, gave us clear and precise instructions and apart from some faffing around at the very complicated junction into the Trafford Centre, we got there without a hitch. A couple of things that I would note:

• I was the passenger and had the screen right in front of my nose so I could see the instructions as well, which I thought was helpful. Otherwise I would need to rely totally on the verbal instructions.
• It took a little while to gauge how far 0.8 of a mile was, for example, but this soon came with experience.
• What happens if you go wrong? Easy peasy, lemon squeezy – you just hear Recalculate! (Sounded a bit like Exterminate!)
• We took the system out of the car (and took down the suction pad) when we went shopping. As we had borrowed it, we didn’t want some toerag nicking it. I think it’s very nick-able.

So, I am sold on these nifty little devices. I think they are really clever and quite easy to use and whilst I wouldn’t give up the map (see the footnote), I will be going and buying one soon.

Footnote: We used the portable GPS system to find our way to a pub on the way home (an excellent reason for using one) and when we got back in the car I asked the driver about putting in our destination. ‘Oh, there’s no need for that’, she answered airily, ‘I know the way back’. Hmmm, yes, you’ve guessed it. We did get lost, in such a silly way, that I’m not even going to to tell you about it. However, we had to resort to the map. So the moral of my story is to use both systems.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Navigadget

Technorati Tags: garmin nuvi, ipad

These days Portable GPS Systems are rapidly becoming an everyday navigational tool across the world and for many different uses.

For those of you like me who are not sure who the main players are, I thought I’d draw up a list giving you the top companies to get you started and let you get you familiar with these companies. I don’t propose to make any comment about these companies at this time, just to let you know who they are.  I hope you find it helpful.

Garmin

These are the global leaders in manufacturers of car satnavs, portable navigation systems, and GPS systems for marine and outdoor sectors. They have been confirmed by a number of industry sources as the No 1 position in the satnav industry for the past few years. Their market share increased in 2008 and continued in 2009.

TomTom  

This company is a digital mapping and routing company that focuses on car navigation. They have a large fleet of surveying vehicles that supply high quality precise maps for the end user. TomTom has the world’s largest historical speed profile database giving real time traffic information services to the end user.

NDrive

This company provides the navigation service using a turn- by- turn visual and spoken instruction. The service has been tailored for business as well as entertainment with detailed local information. You can also choose the best language for you, so this can give you a real personal service.

Navman

This company is owned by MiTAC (Mio) International Corporation and they provide GPS navigation systems across the globe.  

Mio

This company was established in 2002 and has grown hugely since then. Mio is known for its innovative designs and has won industry awards in a very competitive market place.

Brand names include Magellan and  NAVTEQ.

Navigon

This is a success manufacturer of mobile navigation solutions produces GPS software for the commercial market as well as the consumer electronics market. Again it is know for it innovative technology and exciting designs. There are over 400 employees in the company.

Snooper  

A pioneer leader in GPS navigation technology and speed camera for over 28 years. It is the No 1 supplier of speed camera detector systems.

So whilst these companies are  not the only companies, they are the main players. We have come across a very popular system from Garmin. Click on the link and check out the great navigation reviews – just take a look how popular it is – 80% of people who take a look at it buy it. It’s also currently a great price

If anyone wants to share their views on any of these companies, please do leave your comments. Until next time..

Technorati Tags: GPS Manufacturers, portable gps systems

I’m going a little off the subject here I know, but I’ve been doing some reading and I think there are even more advantages to these portable GPS systems.

Technorati Tags: GPS, navigation reviews, portable navigation systems, satnavs

So having mentally decided to purchase one of these devices, the next thing for me to consider is what do I definitely need it to do and which portable GPS system is for me?

Having done some research on this, the following features are important and I’ll try and explain my reasoning.

1. I need to have a wide as screen as possible. What I don’t want to have to do is to peer like a little old lady at the screen (Well, I still may do this with a larger screen) and take my eyes off the road for prolonged periods of time. Research suggests that 4.5 inch is one of the bigger ones.

2. I will definitely need a map of Europe. Whilst I’m going to be buying this portable GPS system to take to Europe, I will likely use it at home as well. The cost to download a European map will be a consideration.

3. I think I’m going to price a system that offers speech recognition. That is I can speak to it to do things as opposed to have to type in instructions/start points/destinations etc. I know that this will make it more expensive, but I’m going to take a look at these models as I think they are more convenient.

4. I read somewhere that you can get systems that give emergency locators. This means you can ask it where the nearest Hospital is (or a bar??). Lord knows I hope we don’t need to know about a hospital, but I think this would be quite useful to find out where the nearest bar is!

5. Obviously, as I’m looking at a portable system, I will need to buy batteries as well.

6. The other thing to consider is where to put the system in the car. One of the downsides of a portable GPS system is that it can be somewhat distracting. I’m one of those women who cannot do more than 1 thing at a time. Well, as I travel through Europe, I will delegate my sister to be in charge of the  navigation (so I can blame her if we go wrong), so I shouldn’t have to worry about being distracted too much. However I won’t have her when I’m at home.  I have read that the safest place to put the system in the car is in the lower outside corner of the screen. Now there wasn’t a picture with the research that I read, but I took this to mean bottom right hand side of the windscreen, as you look at it from the driver’s seat.

So this is my shopping list. All I have to do is find a model that fits the bill. Wish me luck!

Technorati Tags: GPS, navigation reviews, portable navigation systems, satnavs

Technorati Tags: GPS, navigation reviews, portable navigation systems, satnavs