Customer Reviews

Magellan GPS Companion Springboard Module for Handspring Visor

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I bought the Nexian Handy GPS as a Christmas gift. It was an embarassing dud. It failed to lock to any satellite. The manual did not provide help. I then went to the web site for Nexian. It was down... for 3 days during Christmas.

I tried suggestions provided by Amazon users. That failed. I asked the recipient of my gift to go ahead and take their trip and see if it was just a location issue. No, it failed to work at any point in a 1200 mile journey. I returned it and bought this Magellan.

It gets 5 *'s. First, it worked. Second, it has so many utilities to let you know how many satellites it sync'd with, their individual signal strengths, their constellation. Not sure whether they have a help desk, but their web site was up whenever I needed it.

If you're comparison shopping, this one beats the competition in both functionality and (in my experience) reliability.

After shopping around for GPS devices for the Visor, I decided to go with the Magellan one due to its ratings for the Palm V version. Overall, I would say it is a good buy. It can sometimes take as much as 10 min. to lock onto a GPS signal when moving, but otherwise it acquires a location in about 2-3 min. The battery life is excellent (I can confirm the advertised 10 hours) and signal tracking is great too (once I got it, I never would lose it). Also, the two include programs, NavCompanion and MapCompanion, are both very stable and intuitive.

My only complaints are in line with just about every other GPS receiver for PDA's out there: the software is not what I desire. MapCompanion shows zoomable maps that scroll along with your position. You load them from the CD county-by-county. They have most major roadways, but often lack lots of roads in less crowded areas. When trying to take a trip to Vermont, I had to pull out an old-fashioned atlas to see all the counties from PA to Vermont that I had to load into the device. Also, the map software provides no capability for routes or directions.

The NavCompanion software is very good for what it does: give you specs like heading, elevation, speed, etc. although the trip functions aren't that helpful.

Overall, for [the amount of money] this is a relatively great GPS module. If you want something more akin to a car system that gives directions and stuff, look for better software (although I don't think it exists yet).

Unlike another Visor GPS receiver I've tried, this receiver worked right away. It found quite a few satellites as soon as I stepped outside my home. It works perfectly in the car, too. I also like that it doesn't drain the Visor's batteries. (Magellan sells a cigarette lighter cord so that you don't need batteries when using it in an automobile -- that's my next purchase.)

The software is the only shortcoming. You get three applications with this. One is built into the ROM on the receiver, so it gets installed and activated when you insert the module. There is an application that tracks you on a map and there's a navigation application that gives statistics as you travel. It also lets you set up waypoints and routes.

The problem with all the software is that it isn't integrated together. I'd like to set waypoints on the map. Or have it track my route while using the map display. Unfortunately, it can't do that.

The maps are pretty good (the data is as recent as '98). However, it is divided into cities stored in county directories which in turn are stored in state directories. If you are going on a trip, you'll need to find which counties you'll be travelling through and load the appropriate files. This is not a terribly fun thing to go through. It would be nice if they had a nation-wide map that contained only the major highways (hint, hint).

If you want a GPS receiver for your Visor, you should seriously consider this product.

I flew recently from San Francisco to Paris, I had a windowseat. I plugged the GPS the moment the aircraft started taxiing, got afix, and kept it showing all the different readings, altitude, speed,etc. it tallied with the aircraft display. I was impressed. Thesoftware that comes with it, considering the price, is quite OK sinceit covers all the US streets.

In Europe I used it in differentcities and it worked very well. I could find my way around withoutasking anybody. That is what the Map Companion (Quo Vadis) software ismade for. Find a street and show you where it is relative to yourposition. For that it works great. It is not intended for long tripsCoast to Coast, but to help find your way in a city.

For Europe,unfortunately, due to high royalties asked by the data vendors, no onecan offer free maps, but they are available. They are even better thanthe US version. I got them online from the company that made MapCompanion for Magellan...

This GPS is really compatible with anyother NMEA software anyway, so you have plenty of choices. I dobelieve it is the best deal one can get today for a Visor GPS"springboard" it is accurate, and easy to use.

I purchased the Magellan GPS Companion. I'm very pleased with its performance. When I'm outside it receives nearly every available satilite in position. The software that comes with it works great if you want to know where you are, But, it doesn't tell you how to get there. So, I purchased ... Rand McNally Street Finder Deluxe. The GPS Companion and Streetfinder Deluxe work great together. ... GPS + ... Software makes a great pair.

do NOT use firmware update - it trashed my GPS and I had to hassle an exchange.

So, DON'T load ANYTHING from the CD included EXCEPT MAPS - and do THAT after you load all the updates from the MFG website, EXCEPT DO NOT use the update labeled "gps updater" that they tell you to download to the unit - delete it - do not run it.

You will be VERY happy with the new software for GPS and MAPS.

The unit is fantastic

nice little piece of technology. I like the Marcosoft mapping that comes along with it (Map Companion) for it's size and fast redrawing and scrolling, especially while moving. I am annoyed by the county-by-county indexing of the companion's map CD. If I were to drive from Chicago to San Francisco, I'd have to know every county of every state through which I-80 passes on its way. I also wish there were a way to zoom out a little farther than 18 miles (for air travel), but that's just a minor gripe.

The module works well, so long as you put the batteries in correctly - look at the little diagram, seriously.

Hopefully future updates will have a combined application - the navigation AND the mapping should be combined so you don't have to exit your list of waypoints to see where you are on a street map.

I'm the guy who gets lost getting out of his own driveway. The original reason I purchased the Visor was for the easily-attached GPS module that was advertised, and while I had to wait over a year, the Magellan makes it worth it. Since the GPS is a standard (unlike, say, the Geode), other programs such as Vindigo's free city guide can work with it. The software is intuitive and easy to use, and I've only once encountered a section of a road that was not on the map... about 50 meters of a road that was expanded recently. It even has the roads inside my apartment complex. I've used this gadget in companion with AvantGo and Mapquest, and it's gotten me where I needed to go. It saved me from hours of being lost in Red Bank, NJ.

Oh, it's not actually perfect-- navigation is to a street (not an address) and it's as the crow flies instead of turn by turn. This, however, seems to be a limitation of all Palm GPS software, not just theirs. Getting a fix while driving rarely works, but I'm a fan of pulling over and looking at a map when lost. There also needs to be an interface to make adding maps easier... it's done in counties, and you can't always figure out which counties lie between your location and your destination.

But all in all, this was money well spent.

I bought this unit after purchasing (and subsequently returning) a Nexian HandyGPS unit. In general, this unit works fairly well, acquiring satellites in a reasonable amount of time. I've used this both inside a city (Boston), in the wide open plains of Nebraska and up in the Rocky mountains. When first turned on, it can take some time to acquire, particularly within Boston...even away from tall buildings. Using the satellite view, you can observe individual satellites getting blocked by buildings as you walk around. The accuracy seems to be very good, although occasionally Boston jumps in altitude to 300'.

The two software packages that come with the unit would be very nice, except the functions are split into to two programs that don't interoperate. I really wanted some of the navigation and trip functions available in the mapping modes. Some sort of large area maps would be nice also. On a trip from Ohama, NE to Winter Park, CO, I was only able to download maps for the trip endpoints. Having a large scale Interstate map would have been nice for intermediate checkpoints.

I also got this GPS based on reviews, and agree with what I've read: the two applications (Map & Nav) need to be integrated instead of switching back and forth... good lock once it's been made, and works surprisingly well inside a car, even sitting in the center console.

I picked a Prism (color screen) specifically because I had a GPS in mind. I've tried this GPS on a monochrome, and my conclusion is that a color screen is great at night, and the mono is better during the daytime. The biggest issue is battery life for the Prism, since it has to get re-charged instead of just popping in a couple of new ones. I have to carefully monitor battery life, or turn off the display on a longer trip. This is a pain especially since the GPS batteries do well.

I know it's not supposed to used while moving - but - it could be designed so the usual Visor icons and controls could be larger and more accessible. Actually, have a companion use it.

My gripe about Magellan: I e-mailed them with some questions - and they have yet to respond. It's been more than a week and not a word. I don't like supporting companies that don't support me...

Otherwise - it's more than I thought I would get for the price, and having one gives you the Trick Toy of the Moment award.. !