Palm GPS Car Kit (3224NA) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been using the Palm GPS Car Kit with my T5 for about six days now. It works well together with the T5 and, in spite of a few minor quirks and glitches, I give it a 5-star rating. Part of that is because I am just easily amused by cool technology that works, and the Palm GPS Car Kit clearly meets that criteria IMHO. The other part (of 5-stars in spite of a few quirks) is that even at the current Palm price of $179 (available for considerably less elsewhere), this thing is a *steal*.
Pro:
- The cradle is infinitely adjustable on your windshield, so it can be swiveled and rotated to any position you want to get the best view and minimize glare in the daytime.
- Cradle's GPS signal reception is remarkable. The Car Kit comes bundled with an external antenna, but I have not needed it in spite of several stretches of road on my way to work that are heavily wooded.
- Routine functions can be done simply by finger taps on the screen. This includes changing routes if you want to go a different way, bringing up traffic information if you use that component, changing volume, screen colors, destination (if you have them programmed as favorites or if you are using Points of Interest), and more. If you are changing destinations which require entering a specific location or address, you need to pull off the road to do that...though you can still do it by finger-touch, it requires more accuracy and attention, and you *will* drive off the road or have an accident if you try to do this while driving.
- On-screen information, even on the small-ish screens of a Palm, is clear and very readable. It gives lots of info (which you can turn on or off) including speed, time to destination, miles to destination, direction you are traveling (i.e. a compass), upcoming turns by distance, direction and name of next road.
- If you miss a turn, it simply and quickly re-routes you the nearest way back to the original route.
- It gives you many options to set route including shortest, fastest, non-highway, avoid tolls, and other parameters. If you don't like the route it shows you, you can have it recalculate the route and gives you the option of avoiding specific portions of that route.
- Included TomTom maps seem pretty darn up-to-date to me, though others have noted some errors. The Points Of Interest databases have many, many locations listed, particularly lots of hotel locations. Note, however, that these are more detailed in the State or Regional US maps, than they are on the Major Roads and Cities map.
- You can plan a trip off-line (advance planning) very much like how Mapquest works...i.e. enter city, street and addresses (or use Points of Interest or just "city to city") for your starting and destination points, and it calculates your route showing miles and time.
- Did I mention the great bargain this thing is?
Cons:
- Occasional freezes on the Palm. This has happened after I obtained updated traffic info via bluetooth phone. (You have to first Register with an email address and password on the TomTom site, then from the Palm you can activate a free 30-day trial of the TomTom Plus Traffic service.) I don't know yet whether this will be a persistent issue. Freezes are quickly remedied with a soft reset. After reset, power off the Palm, reinstert in cradle, power back on and you're back in action.
- Cannot navigate or plan trips across multiple maps. Even if you have more than one map installed, the software only works with the currently "loaded" map and you only have one map loaded at a time. If you need to navigate or plan a trip which spans more than one map (i.e. across country), you need to use the Major Roads and Cities map. It works well, but it does not have the level of detail (i.e. smaller roads and addresses, many fewer POI's) as the State or Regional maps.
- Maps are large, so to install a few US regional maps you really should have a 1GB card though this is by no means necessary. Regional maps are typically 140-170 MB in size. The Major American Roads and Cities map is something like 220 MB. Individual state maps are considerably smaller, but it is *much* more functional to install several Regional US maps onto your SD card.
- Included documentation is fairly sketchy. As for the hardware end of it, all you really get from Palm is a fold-out setup sheet. The TomTom software manual on the disc is "ok" but not great. The TomTom support site is likewise "ok" but not great.
All in all, the Palm GPS Car Kit is functional, flexible, and highly entertaining to those like me who are easily amused.

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Turn your handheld into a GPS navigation solution for your car. You can access maps covering the entire United States and Canada, including millions of points of interest to help you find fuel, restaurants, parks, airports and more through TomTom traffic. TomTom traffic requires an optional supported Bluetooth cell phone with a data plan. Additional fees may be associated with some features of TomTom service. A sleek, custom-fit mounting cradle for your Tungsten E2 or T5 securely attaches to your dashboard or windshield. The cradle integrates a high performance GPS receiver, a built in speaker, and a charging system. The built-in speaker amplifies voice prompts for turn-by-turn instructions that let you focus on driving and help you get where you want to go.

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