GPS manufacturers these days are locked in an ever increasing fight to win over customers, not a day goes by without this or that new feature, to entice you away from your money.
The one thing that never really keeps up with all this is the processing speed of each unit's processor.
Having city maps for use on foot or, pub guides is very good but it slows down things where you need it the most out on the road.
When I first started using sat nav units, the thrill of simply having a unit tell you where to go, was pleasure enough, and all this without even voice commands, just a beep to announce an impending turn or action, to see what that involved meant having a good look at the screen and figuring it out, which was always interesting while driving
Thankfully along comes voice guidance, which did save me from an inevitable collision gaping at a screen figuring out that beep.
Voice commands however do take more processing power, so same unit slower performance, especially in re routing calculations, often involving turns up one way streets, not clever at all.
The early re routing speed of the first voice guidance units, made for some interesting situations, 10 seconds is a long time to wait for guidance when you are in a complex driving situation, and a wrong move could get you on the motorway with a next junction 6 miles sign!!
More features on sat nav units, like speed camera warnings, and verbal warnings for speed limits, features for finding the cheapest fuel, and the most economical route, are now all demanding processing power.
Unfortunately even the dedicated sat nav units haven't kept up in the processing dept, not that they were ever there in the first place.
So what's the solution?
You probably own one, a pda or personal digital assistant, or a pocket PC
Pocket PC sat nav isn't widely used due to the need for some loading of software and and a spattering of computer knowledge, nothing that involves needing the intellect of Einstein.
Speed is the main advantage of pocket pc sat nav. Software is widely available that supports traffic information, speed camera's poi's in fact everything a dedicated unit will do only a lot better.
Manufacturers are now striving to make their units ever more portable allowing it to be used while navigating on foot, using say Garmins city navigator, or the other end of the stick, taking it with you so it doesn't end up being sold down the pub for a tenner.
Having pocket PC sat nav, gives you, portability, processing speed, up to 624mhz far faster than any dedicated unit, and if you are into venturing into the great outdoors, just load up a full ordnance survey mapping program for what ever area you need, and revel in lightning route calculations, map redraws and much better sat nav experience.
Pda's aren't waterproof so for use in your hillwalking ventures just drop it into a fully waterproof pack designed for the purpose and it will stay safe and dry.
Experts in satellite navigation. Software installation, using gps, advice on buying.
Hillwalking units, accesories for sat nav
tel:01709700571
http://atlasnavigation.tech.officelive.com/PDABasedSatNav.aspx
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