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GPS PDAs

By Roger Kirkwood

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Some say the PDA is dead, but we disagree, and it’s mainly because of GPS navigation software. Once you’ve used an application like TomTom Navigator to guide you to an unfamiliar address, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. But the prices of standalone units like TomTom’s Go range mean most people stick with their trusty A-Z maps.

Admittedly, GPS PDA kits aren’t significantly cheaper, but look at the benefits: you can look up a contact’s details, check your appointments, write text documents, edit spreadsheets, listen to MP3s, watch TV clips and much more all on the same device you use for in-car navigation.

And unlike built-in GPS systems in modern cars, you can take your GPS kit from one car to another as you please, as well as using it when walking or even cycling. Plus, you can protect your investment from theft by taking everything with you when you leave the car.

Every one of the eight kits on test here comes complete and ready to use, including software, UK maps and a full car-mounting kit. But although they all perform the same tasks, there are considerable differences in hardware and software, with something to suit every budget.

If you need full road coverage of Europe, you should choose a kit that includes licences for these maps, as it’s more costly to add them on afterwards. However, most providers offer maps of specific countries or regions for reasonable prices, which is handy for holidays and business trips abroad.

As you’d expect, some systems are easier to use and more accurate than others. We’ve looked at every feature on offer and taken every kit out on the road to find out just how well they cope in the real world – not all of them managed to direct us to our destination. To find out which one is right for you, just follow our directions.

	Asus MyPal A636	Dell Axiom X51v	i-mate PDA-N	Navman PiN 570	Palm T\|X
GPS Software	Destinator PN 5.1	Dell Bluetooth GPS navigator	CoPilot Live 6	SmartST 2005	TomTom Navigator 5
Ease of use without stylus	7	6	4	3	9
Map quality	6	7	8	6	9
Text legibility	5	9	7	7	8
Scaling of raods on zoom	6	6	5	7	9
Turn instructions	4	7	7	7	7
Voice clarity and volume	7	9	6	7	8
Total	35	44	37	37	50

Products in this Lab

Rating

Dell Axim X51v Bluetooth GPS

Palm T|X

Asus MyPal A636

i-mate PDA-N + CoPilot 6

Navman PiN 570

Click a product name to see the full review

Winner
A product with no equal at the time.

Recommended
This should be on your shortlist.

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Lab winners

PDA/Phone

Iomega StorCenter 1TB

Thecus YES Box N2100

Buffalo TeraStation Pro TS-1.6TGL/R5

Nexsan SATABeast

Infrant Technologies ReadyNAS NV 2TB

GPS PDAs

Palm T|X

Lenovo ThinkPad X60

Lexmark C522n