In the meantime, I found that Space Machine was offering a stand-alone unit (running Windows CE.Net 4.2) based on the Holux GPSmile 51 running a new version of Pocketmap Navigator – 3.5 (the last Pocket PC release was 3.12).  The other big claim to fame is that this version uses Navteq maps rather than the TeleAtlas maps used by previous versions of PocketMap Navigator.  Since it was available from Semsons at a bargain price, I decided to purchase it and check it out.  I used it on a long drive from Detroit, MI to Mobile, AL, and then around the Mobile area. Let’s see how it performed!

Figure 1: The Space Machine GPS-306 in the car mount.

IN THE BOX

   In the box you get the receiver along with an AC adapter, a car power adapter, a windshield mount, an SD memory card, the disks containing the maps of the US and Canada, a USB sync cable, and a nice carrying case.  So once I opened it all up I charged it up and hit the streets.  So how did it do?

Figure 2: A close-up of the buttons. From top: power indicator, quick find, zoom in/out, D-Pad/selection, main menu and exit/up menu, power button.

Figure 3: The top of the unit showing the reset hole, the volume control, and the stylus in its slot.

Figure 4: The back side of the unit.

Figure 5: The seide view showing the antenna extended and the batery compartment.

Figure 6: This shows thebottom and the proprietary connector for power, etc.

Figure 7: The side of the device showing the SD slot and heaphone jack.

SETTING UP THE GPS-306

   Well, first off – The Holux-manufactured hardware feels a little on the cheap side, but no worse than any of my car mounts.  It’s definitely serviceable, but I don’t know how well it would survive even a moderate drop.  The windshield mount did pretty well, but I definitely had to push down on it to get a clean grip on the windshield. The unit fit pretty well into the mount, but I had to work it a little to line it up in the first place. As I used the unit more, this got easier.  The mount includes a speaker and, in general, the sound level was pretty good.

   Once the unit is in the mount you want to flip out the SiRF Star III based GPS receiver, hinge-mounted to the back of the device to gain maximum visibility to the sky.

Figure 8: The Space Machine GPS-306 insralled in my car

Using the GPS-306

   Fans of the PocketMap Navigator interface will like the interface on the 306 as it is pretty much the standard PocketMap Navigator interface.  Some of the menu pages have been redone and simplified (for use with the AIO buttons) so it’s definitely more “finger friendly” than the PDA version.  PocketMap Navigator was known for having one of the more “visually pleasing” interfaces on the market at the time when version 3.x came out.  Compared to some of the newer titles like iGo 2006, the interface is starting to look a little dated and could do with a little refresh and VGA support, but it’s still generally attractive and readable.  The buttons are easy to use.

Figure 9: The primary navigation window

Figure 10: The GPS Receiver Status Screen

ABOUT THE NEW MAPS AND ROUTING

   The PDA versions of PocketMap navigator used TeleAtlas maps, which were sometimes lacking in the thoroughness of their data (in the U.S.). The maps the GPS-306 uses are now Navteq maps.  Did it improve the routing and mapping?  Yes, and no.  Route selection is generally very good – I had very few complaints in that department. Route calculation on the long Detroit to Mobile route was a little slow (due, I’m sure, in no small part to the slower Centrality Atlas processor – running at only 200MHz in the unit).

   In addition, in a couple of areas the maps were out of date.  For example, I-65 throughout downtown Nashville was rerouted and reworked a few years back and none of those changes are reflected in the maps.  Worse for me personally, was that, although my neighborhood in Mobile is on the map, it appears to be mis-positioned by at least a block.  In other words, when I enter my neighborhood, it shows me a street other than the one I’m actually on and, using it I can never actually reach my house on the map.  I’d definitely like to see that map error corrected!  So far, however, those are the only serious mapping mistakes I’ve run into.  Still, these maps show an improvement over the earlier PDA versions.

   I mentioned a moment ago, that the route calculation is a little slow, especially on the 1000+ mile route between Detroit and Mobile.  When multiple reroutes occurred – like when you leave the route to get gas or food – this sometimes causes the application to lock up (3 times over the course of the 17 hour trip) requiring you to remove the stylus from the back of the unit and put it into the reset hole and soft-reset the device.  I didn’t run into any lock up problems during around town use – not even when using it on many trips throughout a busy day. Again, I suspect the extremely long route + multiple re-routes overwhelmed the available processor/memory of the unit.

   The good news is that resetting the device and re-choosing “GPS” launched you right back into the map and the current route was not lost.  Error recovery was very robust, although it could be argued that the error should probably not have occurred in the first place (although this wouldn’t be the first software that had difficulty with an extremely long route).

Figure 11: The Main Menu

Figure 12: The types of destinations from which you can choose

WHAT ELSE DOES THE GPS-306 OFFER?

   The GPS-306 also includes an MP3 player and a photo viewer application.  I didn’t have a whole lot of time to work with either of those features (hopefully I can add information about that to my comments soon). Those features seem fairly basic, but they are nice additions to the device.

Figure 13: The Settings Menu

PURCHASING

    You can purchase the GPS-306 for $399.95 from the PocketMap web site.

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PROS

• SiRFStar III chip set
• Pleasant PocketMap Navigator Interface
• Includes an MP3 player
• Good value for the price

CONS

• A Little slow on long route calculations and recalculations
• Occasionally hangs up on long route/complicated rerouting
• Maps, while improved, are still sometimes out of date

OVERALL IMPRESSION

   The GPS-306 is a nice device with the included PocketMap v3.5 software offering a number of improvements over the v3.12 PDA-based software.  This device will likely help me bridge the gap until the next release of the PDA software becomes available and offers WM5 support.  Additionally, the fact that they made the switch over to Navteq maps will be considered a huge improvement by many people in the US.  The GPS-306 is a nice unit and it is offered at a reasonable price, although dropping prices by the leaders like Tom Tom and Garmin may start to put price/performance/value pressure on this device.  I’d recommend the GPS-306 to anyone who was a fan of PocketMap Navigator and/or simply needs to pick up a good AIO GPS device.