I bought the Navman PiN 570 after looking for an all-round PDA that has satellite navigation. Most of the ones I found were phones that had PDA functions. Although they seemed nice they were very expensive and most required a phone contract – so no thanks.
Eventually I settled for the PiN 570. After doing some on-line research I found some good reviews. It was no longer being manufactured, though it was being supported by Navman – more importantly, it was cheap and came with all of the add-on’s needed for normal use.
The package
Apart from the unit self, you get a manual, which was better than most manuals you get these days, a USB cable and a recharging cable that you attach together, a SD card that contains the maps for the unit, some CDs, a holder and a charger for the car and finally a PVC case for the unit. The CDs contain map data, a maps viewer program and driver software (including ActiveSync to install software and backup data).
Setting it up wasn’t too bad, though it could have done better – like clearer instructions for a start. I was given two extra pieces of paper that seemed to have been thrown in the box to warn me to do things in a particular way – very professional.
The unit has Microsoft Windows for Pocket PC 2003 built in. It includes the basics; contact and appointment managers, that is similar to Outlook, a memo/notepad, and cut down versions of Word and Excel, Media Player 9 and other Window-type applications. It does include an Explorer-like web-browser and E-mail facility - though without any obvious way of connecting to the internet these applications are completely useless to the unit.
Other applications
Since the unit is Pocket
PC/Windows based, you can install other applications. I have installed Adobe Acrobat (from Adobe’s
home page) so I can read PDF files, the Microsoft Reader (from the Microsoft’s Pocket PC web site), so I can read e-books (.lit files) , and some
games (you don’t get FreeCell with Pocket PC so I found a free downloadable version). Strangely, Media Player doesn’t appear to play any kind of video files (AVI, Mpeg etc). I found a very useful (free) player called ‘tcpmp’ that plays every video file I throw at it. I bought a large
4gb SD card and converted some
DVD’s into small Mpeg files and copied them on to the card. I can now watch some nice movies on it while I’m out! You can get the player at http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?soft=1080 (links to other useful software too)
The Sat-Nav
The GPS software is quite good, though has a lot of issues I find irritating. It takes a while to load and I have to agree to the T&C every time I use it.
I can see a map of the surrounding area without having to choose a destination, which is useful if you want to view see a map of the area. Once the route has been entered it finds a route fast, though there is only gives one route, rather than a choice. You can change the preferences of quickest/shortest route and avoids toll roads etc. There is a choice of two voices (male and female), which give clear directions.
My only criticism here is that the directions at the top left (shown as arrows) can be confusing as the next turn could be many miles ahead and if you’re not careful you’ll make the turning too quickly. Always follow the map itself and listen to the directions.
It allows me to find the destination through a (partial) post code, area, road name or a POI (point of interest) or a combination of the three. The post code search only accepts part of the post code, which is frustrating at times. If I enter A12 3BC, it will only take A12 3 and you’ve got to accept that or enter a road name and area. I’ve noticed that some post codes are missing. My mothers’ post code doesn’t appear to exist in the database despite her house being over a hundred years old! I have to enter the area then enter the road name. I’ve found other post codes with this issue too.
Another frustrating aspect of the software is that it only uses map data from 2006, even then I have had some problems with it when some roads apparently have changed (according to the software) despite the road layout being quite old. An example of this is a junction on the way to work that used to be a roundabout many years ago - it’s now just a T-junction. The NavMan still thinks it is a roundabout – this is only a small niggle but can be misleading. I have tried buying new maps from NavMan but they are still out of date – keep that in mind when you’re using it on motorways and busy A-roads. The upgrade cost me 70 pounds and it didn’t make much difference, though I now have maps to Finland and Sweeden – thanks NavMan - what a bargain!
There are some bugs in the software that make it freeze. I have to push the small reset button underneath it to get it working again. This has happened four times since I bought it six months ago.
The POI (points of interest) is a very useful feature. It contains a database of many well known places, including
cash machines,
petrol stations and restaurants (though many of them are well known fast food places). I recently used this to get to
Luton Airport – it took me directly to the airport car park.
You can also pick an address from the contacts manager though you’ll need to put in the entire address (including country) otherwise it gets very confused and insists that the contact is in the USA.
The downsides
My main issues are the software crashes and lack of
memory. To use the GPS software I have to stop other software (though I can start up other applications like the Media Player after it loads). It has 64mb built in (55mb free for running applications) and allows a SD card to be slotted in. I have copied the map data onto a
2gb SD card and some MP3’s so I can listen to some
music whilst driving.
One thing I find missing from the software is an ETA feature. It would be nice to know how long the route is going to take, especially on long journeys. It is also difficult to avoid a road. Once I was in a long traffic jam. I turned it on and I decided to drive off through the countryside.
I knew the area fairly well and I knew there was a longer way to get to my destination (though I didn’t know the exact directions). After the unit worked out I was not on the main road I was supposed to be on it worked out a new route quickly. It told me it turn into a field then through the field onto a narrow road back on to the main road and into the traffic jam again (!)
The lack of updatable maps is unforgivable. I can’t see it being that difficult for them to update the maps every six months – once even a year would be nice.
Conclusion
It’s a shame they don’t make them any more. Apart from the downsides, it’s a great little gadget that has helped me immensely since I bought it - getting me to places much quicker and easier than before.
If you’re looking for a
SatNav only product – don’t bother with this. The software isn’t as good as others around, such as TomTom. If you’re looking for a cheap PDA with SatNav capabilities go to eBay and get one of these.
Neat little gadget 
