Subject: [NEXTEL-1] If You're Lost and Frustrated Start Listening to the Voices ; Satellite Navigation Technology is Widely Available

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 08:25:09 -0400

If You're Lost and Frustrated Start Listening to the Voices ; Satellite
Navigation Technology is Widely Available, but Don't Ditch the Map Just
Yet, Says James Ruppert
Source: Independent, The; London (UK)
Publication date: 2004-07-13

NEVER MIND road rage, traffic cones or speed cameras: the biggest cause
of in-car friction and stress is getting lost. A misinterpreted map or a
wrong turn can cause untold grief in wasted time. Balancing a road map
on your lap just isn't an option; and that's why the satellite
navigation systems introduced over the past few years have been the
accurate way forward.
It isn't a new idea: the first satellite-based navigation tests were
conducted in 1964 and subsequently used principally in the shipping and
aviation industries. Today, 24 satellites - of the US Global Positioning
System (GPS) - circle the globe on six orbital levels at an altitude of
about 20,000km. These satellites transmit radio signals that enable a
position to be defined to within 100 metres.

With a calm voice telling you where you need to go, accompanied by
onscreen maps and directions, it is no wonder that those covering high
business mileages every year swear by these systems. Now standard on
some models as humble as the Nissan Primera, the reality is that they
are still expensive: from pounds 900 to pounds 2,500 across the Volvo
range for instance.
Some systems are better than others. The Jaguar's is very easy to use
whereas the Range Rover's isn't, and that fitted to the Aston Martin
range is too small, which is odd, as all companies are owned by Ford.
Toyota's guidance, which includes real-time traffic information that can
instantly reprogramme around a jam, is very good as fitted to Toyota and
Lexus models, while Audi's and BMW's systems are far too complicated.

There isn't anything you can do to change these systems much, and you
can't take them with you to your next car. Also, the CD-ROMs that supply
the information are not necessarily up to date. And what about traffic
problems? Surely there must be a simpler, better and more cost-effective
way of not getting lost?

One solution is to upgrade your radio. For pounds 1,200 Alpine's
INA-N033R provides a state-of-the-art in-car navigation and
entertainment system which fits easily into the radio slot of almost any
car dashboard.  The power lies in the DVD, with a database that covers
nearly all European countries and about 100,000 cities, while 300,000
"points of interest" can also be accessed at the touch of a button. When
not using the DVD, it functions as a high-quality unit, yet provides
clear voice-guidance reproduction during play of the tuner or a CD/MD
autochanger. There's an anti-theft detachable front fascia for added
security.
Garmin's Street Pilot range includes some of the most respected of the
dash-mounted systems, with prices ranging from just over pounds 600 to
more than pounds 1,200. They have full-colour map displays, deliver
voice-prompted directions and are programmable. An external speaker and
power adapter cable or battery are all that is needed to make them
work.  For pounds 600 to pounds 700 the Navman iCN is easy to use and
quick to transfer between vehicles. Available from Car Electronics
(www.cel-direct.com) it has a bright screen and contains SmartMAP
software, which provides detailed maps of the UK and Ireland.

But why buy another piece of electronic kit when we already have so much
technology to hand? Companies such as the GPS Warehouse realise this and
have put together a Laptop Navigation Bundle. For pounds 119 it supplies
a compact GPS receiver and antenna which provides fast GPS positioning
and instant real-time navigation. The navigation data is delivered to
the PC serial port, and the InfoMap Navigator software provides turn-
by-turn voice-guided navigation. You can also set Navigator to rotate
the map, keeping your driving direction towards the top of the screen.

If you are scared of technology, distracted by colourful screens or
really don't trust that detached voice, then maybe you should try
SmartNav (0870 050 3000). There is no screen and no wires, just a hidden
microphone and a small button positioned on the dashboard. Press the
button and you are connected to Trafficmaster, where a real human being
will plot your route, even if you don't have the full address or
postcode.  They send that route to the onboard computer and you're on
your way.
Trafficmaster has beacons on motorways and A-roads, and you get
automated voice guidance; and if you stray off the route it will make
another call and download another route. SmartNav is the only system to
use Trafficmaster's unique, live traffic information, calculating the
optimum route for every journey you make.

As well as guiding you past traffic jams, roadworks and accidents,
Smartnav links you directly to a personal assistant for emergency and
breakdown support, and even offers concierge services. It isn't a cheap
system: the recommended installation price is pounds 619, plus an annual
subscription of pounds 120. And if you like the idea of that system but
want to take it with you then QuickNav (0121 506 2502), provides the
same system in a bag with its own power source. It costs pounds 899.99
with a deposit of pounds 99.99, and QuickNav is currently offering a
scheme where you pay nothing for 10 months.
Then there is that little hand-held pocket PC or PDA that you've been
meaning to use as more than just a glorified notepad. The award- winning
TomTom Navigator 3 software is an easy-to-use voice-guided navigation
system which includes features such as postcodes, house numbers and the
ability to recalculate routes. Total PDA/GPS (www.totalpda.co.uk), the
specialist in the hand-held market, supply this for about pounds 115, or
offer a Hewlett Packard iPAQ 1910 with the software for an all-in price
of pounds 229.

To cut through all the confusion companies such as the GPS Warehouse
(www.gpsw.co.uk) are very good at taking you through the options and
offering some low prices and special packages. They also fit systems and
there really isn't much they don't know.

As clever as Sat Nav systems are when you are on unfamiliar territory,
the reality is that often they won't take you by the most direct route.
And in addition to the initial cost, you will have to remember to update
your system with the latest discs or downloads.

So if it's all too much for you, simply sit down before you leave home,
log on to a route planner at one of the major motoring sites - the AA,
RAC or Green Flag - and then put the information on some Post-its and
stick them to the dashboard. It works for me. High technology may mean
there is no reason to get lost ever again, but I suspect that the pounds
4.99 road atlas, whatever disputes it causes, isn't obsolete just yet.

Publication date: 2004-07-13

© 2004, YellowBrix, Inc.
http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/Story.nsp?story_id=53926554&ID=cnniw&scategory=Telecommunications%3AWireless&

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