Garmin Mobile XT Review

Introduction When you think of GPS, Garmin is one of the first names that springs to mind. With established markets in vehicle, aviation, marine and personal GPS they really are one of the big hitters of the GPS world. Garmin also produce one of the more highly rated Smartphone and Pocket PC GPS systems so I was eager to determine whether Mobile XT was as good as I'd heard. Has Garmin used its vast experience in commercial GPS to bring us a mobile solution equal to their impressive reputation? Read on to find out!

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Thanks go out to Joanne at Garmin for providing us with a review sample.
For more information on Garmin Mobile XT go to the Garmin Website

In the box The package I received contained a retail copy of the Garmin software and an OEM type package containing the Bluetooth receiver and charger. I cannot comment on the full retail hardware package, but the software package contained a quick start manual and the software itself. The software was supplied on a MicroSD with adapters for both Mini and Full sized SD also included.

Installation For the purpose of this review I have tested the Garmin Mobile XT software on a clean O2 XDA Orbit2 with its WM6 Professional operating system. I've used both the internal GPS system on the Orbit2 and the provided Bluetooth GPS unit for the satellite fixes. The installation footprint for Garmin mobile XT is: Main Application: 4.5MB Add-ons (voices etc): 20MB Maps: 314MB As with most of the GPS packages we've looked at the software itself can be installed to either the SD card or the devices internal memory. The other software component of the system, the maps, come on a provided 512MB MicroSD card with hardware adapters for both MiniSD and full SD. Installation itself is effortless as the provided MicroSD card auto installs the application on insertion. It doesn't get any easier than that! There is no registration process as such with the Garmin software. The installation is tied to the specific MicroSD card that the maps and software are provided on. Without the master card you cannot use the maps and without the maps the software will not launch. Garmin are not the only company tying the licence to the card but I personally find it cumbersome. I know the other members of the 4WM team have used products with the same security system and not had an issue with carrying around a second SD card. It's all down to personal preference so I'll leave you to make up your own mind as to whether it's something you like or don't like. On the plus side though it's just a case of plug and go, and the single Mobile XT card not only works on Windows Mobile Professional (Pocket PC) but also on Windows Mobile standard (Smartphone) too (There's also Palm and Symbian installations on the card too, but the less said about those the better..... ) One thing I have no doubt of is that the installation and activation of the Garmin product is very simple, and would be easily accomplished by almost anyone.

Hardware The review package I received contained the Garmin XT GPS software as expected but also came packaged with a Garmin Bluetooth GPS device too. The Bluetooth GPS receiver is relatively standard fare from a specification perspective: Unit dimensions, WxHxD: 1.65" x 3.04" x .7" (4.2 x 7.7 x 1.8 cm) Weight: 2.1 ounces (60 g) Battery: rechargeable and removable lithium-ion Battery life: 22 hours (typical use) Power supply: yes High-sensitivity receiver: yes PDA compatible: yes Smartphone compatible: yes BlackBerry compatible: no Interfaces: Connects to a compatible Smartphone with Bluetooth® wireless technology (serial port profile) Having said the receiver is standard fare, I have to say I was very taken with it. I've always been a sucker for blue LED's and for the gun metal effect paintwork and the Garmin device has both. Aesthetically it's very nice with its dual colouring and the supplied belt clip is an excellent accessory. I also liked the USB charging method too, it goes especially well with WM devices.

Software Features Navigation software Street maps, including Points of Interest (POIs) 4000 Waypoints/favorites/locations 50 Routes Voice prompts (e.g. "Turn right in 500 ft.") 3D map view Auto re-route (fast off-route and detour recalculation) Choice of route setup (faster time, shorter distance, off road) Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.) Garmin Online™ or Dynamic Content services compatible (displays real-time traffic, weather, fuel prices and hotels.com data) PeerPoints™ (send and receive GPS position).

Presentation Graphically Garmin Mobile XT is very tidy. Every aspect of the package is nice to look at. The 2D view looks good but the 3 dimensional view looks lovely, having a cell shaded look about it. The icons for the various options in the menu system are also very well drawn, and I like the 3D effect on the data entry buttons too. Both the default day and night themes are attractively and functionally coloured so that every time you glance at the display, and you do only have to glance, it is a pleasure. While we're on the subject of the day and night themes, the auto selection feature that sets the theme to match the time of day works seamlessly and is a good touch.

The main display screen is well laid out with a good large map. At the bottom of panel is the menu button which contains the product logo. I thought it seemed a little small and not easily recognisable as a menu button. Either side of the menu button are the information panels showing current speed and estimated time of arrival. I'd liked to have seen the option to configure the contents of these panels including things like current time, distance remaining etc, but this is not available. The "sky" area above the horizon is used as another information panel showing street names and directions. Also at the top of the screen are two buttons controlling the map zoom. The turn indicators are catered for with large white arrows attached to the map itself and are very easy to see. Finally the driving screen contains a compass that you can use to monitor the direction in which you are travelling. Generally I thought the driving screen was well laid out and easy to read at a glance. This is a must have for a GPS navigation package, so Garmin scores big here.

From an Audio perspective XT has a fairly standard feel about it. There are no unusual audio features but the voice implementation is loud and clear. You get a large variety of voices to choose from too, in many different languages. The one issue I did have with the audio is the lack of speed controlled volume. In order to change the volume you have to enter a couple of levels into the menus, and if you swap between urban and motorway driving often you'll find it difficult to find a sound level that fits all scenarios. This means you'll either be constantly accessing the device or alternately straining to hear and drowned out. As well as the aesthetically pleasing driving screen there are several very well presented status screens. The screen showing the European routing coverage map is very cool looking, as is the main menu screen. My particular favourites though are the satellite status screen and the trip computer. The satellite screen has both a "radar" type display and a bar chart showing the location and the strength of the individual satellites. The trip computer shows location, speed, direction, and various speed and time statistics all display in a nice dashboard format.

Ease of use With driving laws becoming ever stricter, and for general road user safety, a telling sign of a GPS systems quality is minimal user interaction with the system once the vehicle is in motion. In order to reduce user attention and physical contact with the device to a minimum the menu systems need to be well thought out and the interface graphics easily recognizable at a glance. The majority of the Mobile XT menu system follows these guidelines beautifully. The navigation system is one of these, being simple, yet effective. You get many different ways of identifying your destination including Home, Addresses, POI's, Contacts etc.

To plot a route from a cold start you need to tap the "Where to?" button on the front screen which will present you with a list of available options. If you then select "Home" or "My locations" you will be easily routed to one of your saved destinations. If you select "Addresses" you will then be prompted to select the country, your current location being the default. Your next prompt will ask you to enter either your destination post code or city and then to enter it. Next is your road choice and if available house number. Once your destination is found you hit go and XT will calculate your route..... and you're off!

The one badly implemented routing option is the contacts one. I think the issue is where the system is ported across many versions. I have my contacts stored within my exchange server and set using the standard fields. I.e. I have been careful not to just throw the whole address in the text box but have split it out into the appropriate Country, City, Post code etc fields. The way it should work is that I select my contact, XT pulls the country and post code and the routes to it. Unfortunately this doesn't happen. XT complains that a GPS location has not been assigned and you have to re-enter the details in separately again. Very inconvenient.

I found the keyboard keys using for typing in addresses and post codes etc a little small, but usable, for use in portrait mode, but fine in landscape. With the many different screen sizes available on Pocket PCs you'd find the larger devices easier to use in portrait. The only issue I had with the menus was the entry into the system itself. Garmin have done a great job of keeping on concurrent screen options in the menus to no more than 6 per screen attached to big colourful buttons. Accessing through the system is quickly and easily achieved......once you're into it. It seems bizarre that after having gone to so much trouble with the menu structure and that graphic design that the menu button itself be so small, and why can't you just tap the whole viewable portion of the map and get into the menus? It's a small, but in my view major, oversight. Garmin have bundled a large array of Point Of Interest (POI's) into Mobile XT that can be used in two ways. You can select any of the POI to always be displayed on your journeys with an icon placed onto your driving map in real-time as you approach the POI. The second option is to search for nearby POI's of a certain type. For example if you need cash in a hurry you can search by local ATM (cash) machines. Both options work well and certainly for the local areas I tested the software the POI information seemed very current. I particularly liked the list of closest POI's of a certain type and their relative distances that is produced. It's very easy to find a POI and route to it.

One feature I found especially well implemented in Mobile XT is the traffic information. The Traffic information feature picks up potential black spots and can route you around them. With the Traffic feature enabled, you are simply required to plan your route and the Traffic system will go away and check it for road works and lane closures etc. I found the road works facility to be particularly accurate when compared with the online systems of the AA and the RAC. While most GPS systems seem reasonably accurate at displaying road works I've always found the actual traffic flow warnings to be a bit hit and miss. Garmin seems to have this nailed though. Every morning I'd check for slow moving traffic around the motorway junctions and Mobile XT seemed to be accurate to within 10 - 15 minutes. For those road warriors out there living and driving in and around the major cities this would be an invaluable asset.

Another feature implemented well in Mobile XT is the real time weather function. At your request XT will go away to the internet and retrieve the latest weather information for either your current location or your destination and present the information to you with some nice graphics. I thought the option to retrieve the weather information for your destination was a particularly nice touch. Need to know whether to pack an extra jumper? Garmin will tell you! Sweet.

A feature included that will appeal to the more rapid amongst us is the Safety Camera notification. The Safety Camera warning system implementation here is a standard image and audible warning system that you can configure from a set distance. One facility I've not seen before in any of our other GPS reviews is the ability to converse over SMS/MMS with another Mobile XT users and trade GPS locations and Mapping information. Called Peer points, with SMS you can send or request coordinates to your "buddies" to find out where they are and let them know where you are. The MMS functionality adds a map snapshot to this showing a small map and your location within it. Once received you can use the received information to route you to your friends!

Performance The maps supplied with this latest version of Mobile XT are the latest 2007 iteration provided by NAVTEQ. This map base seems to be the most common used by the latest generation of GPS software packages. These maps are probably the most up to date reference available for vector mapping. As per the norm Mobile XT includes several different routing profiles ranging from Cars and Motorcycles to pedal cycles and even for pedestrians. These profiles are designed to route you the fastest or shortest route your method of transport can use. For example on foot you'll find footpaths included (where available in the mapping options) into the routings and cycle paths become available for the pedal cycle profile. I found generally the mapping and routing information for cars to be accurate and up to date. I didn't experience any unexpected routings for the cycle or pedestrian routings either, bar a lack of footpaths and cycle paths being recognised. Unfortunately this seems to be a limitation of the mapping data.

From a GPS navigation performance perspective, the Garmin product ran very well during my tests with the integrated GPS in the O2 Orbit2 (HTC Touch Cruise). Navigating through the internal menus was swift and with no noticeable lag. I clocked the in use memory footprint at start-up at 4.7MB, increasing to 7.5MB once a lock had been established and a test route entered. I timed the GPS lock from a cold start at 5pm in the evening and under clear skies. The lock itself from program start-up to location identification from the bench in my garden was 53 seconds. I also tried using the device for other applications whilst XT was running and found the device responded very well for tasks like searching the web and reading email. I did not experience any lag. The last performance test and possibly the important for my own use is how the device handles incoming and outgoing calls while the GPS navigation system is active. To this end I tested incoming and outgoing calls by default using the handset itself and in a hands free fashion using a Bluetooth headset (Motorola S9). Making out going calls with the handset was reasonably seamless with the GPS running and although the screen update of the caller ID is a little jerky for incoming calls it was satisfactory.

Value The Garmin Mobile 10 retail package will comes in 3 flavours: 1) Software & Storage card. Includes a DVD, 512MB Micro SD (with Mini and SD card adapters), UK & Ireland map licence (£51.06 ex vat). 2) Software & Storage card. Includes a DVD, 512MB Micro SD (with Mini and SD card adapters), Europe map licence (£76.59 ex vat). 3) Full Bluetooth kit. Includes everything in 1) + Bluetooth Receiver, Car Charger, In-Car mount and splitter cable, UK & Ireland map licence (£97.83 ex vat). Garmin have really priced Mobile XT at a fairly aggressive price point. Most of the packages retail for just under the going rate of their competitors and really do give you something to think about.

Pros & Cons Pros Lovely graphics in both day and night modes Great distance detail in 3D view Easy to install and licence Large selection of provided POI's Easy access to satellite diagnostics Attractive pricing options Cons Poorly implemented contact routing No speed controlled volume Menu button a little too small Requirement to carry second MicroSD card

4WM Rating

90%

Conclusion You can feel from the moment you start Mobile XT that the Garmin product is focused on usability. It's not the prettiest, cheapest, most full featured or the fastest package on the market. That said, it does still score reasonably highly in all those categories but without the usual pitfalls. Essentially Garmin have produced a system that is much more than the sum of its parts and Mobile XT is very much a tool as opposed to a gadget. For people for whom driving is a way of life and use Sat Nav every day you need to be able to rely on it. Mobile XT is going to get you where you want to go with the minimum of fuss and you can't say fairer than that. Good stuff.