So what else can you do with your PDA?

Well what about navigation but does it really work, is it practical and is it really any good?

Tomtom provides the increasingly popular GPS navigation systems for cars and personal use and can claim to be one of the market leaders. A number of recent reviews have rated their products as "best in class." The good news is that if you have a compatible PDA (see the Tomtom site) then you do not need to spend £300 to £400 on a good system, for £200 or so you can run Tomtom on your PDA.

The out-of-the-box kit contains the application software, an SD card with maps, a PDA specific holder, cables and a bluetooth GPS receiver (the size of a credit card but a bit thicker). The blue tooth device means you do not need cables other than for recharging. (There is a cable version if you do not have Bluetooth).

Getting it up and running is relatively easy though there is a laborious one off registration procedure to go through.

The application software is packed with a range of features covering most of what you are likely to need and it is in general easy to use. Dynamic updating, status bars, waypoints (i.e. interim places before your final destination), points of interest and spoken route instructions are all features and in general the level of information is very detailed with most roads and streets included. Additional add on features include traffic information, speed camera alerts and additional voices (including if you wish John Cleese!).

The credit sizes GPS receiver is supposedly very advanced it can be positioned for example on the windscreen or anyway where it can grab signals from the GPS satellites. It will even work in your pocket. With such systems there is always a delay before the GPS signal is first captured. This receiver is supposed to be quick and sometimes it was but on other occasions it could take a few minutes to acquire a lock. Once acquired the map and direction features generally work very well. The large display shows with a quick glance where you are and where you need to be going with plenty of warning for turns and the voice instructions are clear and timely. Accuracy is pretty good; generally you will know where you are to within a few metres.

Route planning (i.e. getting from A to B) is reasonably straightforward and generally good though not altogether perfect. For example on planning a journey in France I found that it wanted to take me on a short detour off the main road to a small town and then back to the main road. Strangely it was a place I had thought of visiting but as physic powers do not seem to be in the functional specification I am sure this was an error. Overall it was a trivial problem, it pays to quickly check the suggested route and then make any necessary correction.

Should you happen to stray off route it will quickly calculate an alternative and get you back on course.

The out-of-box option includes local country maps only however further maps are available covering Western Europe, Australia and North America these are available on CD or in some cases SD. If you buy the CD version then you need to download the maps to your PDA's SD but bear in mind that you will need a high capacity SD i.e.1G or more.

I bought the products as separate parts i.e. receiver, holder, cables and CD maps but first time round did not realise that the application is not included on all the CD maps and therefore it will not work. Tomtom were however helpful in resolving this problem and allowed me to exchange the wrong CDs for the right ones - their website is not fully explicit on this point so do take care.

Overall Conclusion:

Pretty good. Possibly a bit expensive though it is less cost than buying a Tomtom device and it works very well and there is nothing wrong with making your PDA "work for a living." If you need a GPS system or just like gadgets then this is worth a shot.