HPのiPAQ 312旅行友達GPSと実地

私は私が地図とかなりよく、従って決してGPS装置を必要としたあらないことはことを言う。それでもやはり、私はまた技術に深く興味をそそられる。今日私はaを受け取った HPのiPAQ 312旅行友達検討に。

これ前に、私はHEWLETT-PACKARDがGPSプロダクトを作ったことをわからなかった。実際はこれは秒である。まだ、私は不慣れな領域に少し心配してそれら歩むかもしれない、このプロダクトの質は分野の経験の欠乏を反映する。それと今遊んで、それは私の恐れをすべて克服し、GPS装置を捜すだれでもリストからこれをなぜ除くべきであるか理由がないことを私は信じる。私が見つけた何をここに私がある。

第一印象で、美しいユーザ・インタフェースがこの豪華な高解像の(800×480)決断スクリーンにいかにあるか賞賛することを来る。各アイコンは精巧に詳しく述べられ、沢山のそれらある。涼しく青い主題はであり一貫しているけれども新たになる。

接触のために最大限に活用されるインターフェイスはまた健康入力の唯一の方法である。容量性とは違って貫入、この装置使用に表示に強制された目的を登録することを意味する従来の抵抗接触技術多触れなさい。スタイラスは含まれているそして装置の上にスロットに坐る、しかしボタンが従って大きいとにかくあるので少しがそれらを使用するあらゆる理由ある。

実際はこの装置が注文のオペレーティングシステムを- Windowsを動かす他のHPのiPAQ装置のほとんどのような多分Symbianかジャワ、動かすがことを信じるために導かれるかもしれない、 Windowsのセリウム5.0 厳密があるため。そしてNO、それは衝突しなかった。これはWindowsを叫ばないWindows装置のすばらしい例である。

この装置の昇進HPのイメージのいくつかを見ることによって、実際はこれが大きい装置であるが、非常に密集していること容易に確信するかもしれない。相対的に、それは私のマウスより小さい。寛大な4.3インチスクリーンのまわりに最低の斜角がある。スクリーン・サイズは可読性を妨げない間、より小さいボタンのやや間隔をあけるちょうど少しより大きかったらもっと素晴らしかろうだろう。

On the right side is a rotatable and clickable scroll wheel - similar feel to a mouse scroll wheel, this serves as an easy way to zoom in and out of maps as well as changing volume and screen brightness. There is also a rubber flap for antenna, headphone and USB connectors. And at the very bottom, a small reset button.

On the left side is the slot for the Secure Digital card. No SD card is required to operate the device, however you can access the media stored on it.

A big selling feature of this device is the 3D map capability, which is a combination of the software and third-party mapping data. Unfortunately the digital map data in Australia is very primitive and does not show buildings and other structures as it would in US or Europe, but you can still see some of the 3D effects on bridges as above.

Personally, I find myself switching back to 2D view again and again because 3D view is quite processing incentive, and doesn’t give the fluid experience of panning around a map very well.

This device had no problems routing all the routes I threw at it, including those in outer suburbia. All the returned routes were exactly the ones I know are the best from personal experience. Routing journeys of around 40 kilometers (25 miles) took less than 4 seconds. Route recalculations such as those from a wrong turn were under 2 seconds. In the route details screen, it was smart enough to show me how many kilometers were traveled on highways and if there were any tolled highways or roads.

However if you’re a freeloader like myself, you can easily set up to avoid toll roads as well as many others unfavorable road features.

The turning point of this device for me from just a digital map to a useful driving tool is this feature of address filtering. I’m not too familiar with GPS devices so I’m not sure how many of them offer similar functionality like this, but what it does is it prevents you from typing addresses which do not exist such as road names and suburb names.

For example, after you input a suburb, it will only allow you to type the roads that exist in that suburb. This filtering continues to cut down letter-by-letter. When appropriate, it will switch views to present you with a list of options you can select.

The same applies to street numbers too.

The text-to-speech synthesizer is equally impressive as well. Whilst it doesn’t announce street names, but does provide very clear and natural directions via the loudspeaker on the back.

Having walked around on foot with the device, the GPS accuracy has an error margin of around 10 meters which is not that much of a deal in a car. However after turning a corner and changing orientation, it is able to correct itself pretty much instantly. Surprisingly with the internal antenna, I was even able to receive some GPS signal on and off under a tin metal roof.

In addition to the navigation features, this device also includes a range of basic entertainment functions like viewing pictures, videos, music and a range of arcade games. I applaud for HP for trying to extend the device with useful multimedia features, but it really falls short.

The Achilles heel of this device is that it is severely underpowered. For example, when trying to play a standard-definition Windows Media Movie video, it was downright unwatchable almost like a picture slideshow. On top of that, when the announcer informed me the GPS signal had been lost, the video actually froze so the speech synthesizer could do its job. Either the multimedia software is severely unoptimized or the processor is not powerful enough, I hope HP takes this problem seriously for the next version. It could have been a serious PMP-contender, but the software and hardware is just not up to scratch.

Since I don’t have a Bluetooth phone, I wasn’t able to check out the Bluetooth connectivity features but at the least it offers hands-free answering capability to receive and dial calls. Most points of interest on the map also has a telephone number which makes it even easier to book reservations at your destinations without ever touching your phone.

The device comes with a standard set of accessories including USB cable, wall-socket power charger, car charger, car windscreen mount, dashboard mount as well as faux leather pouch.

At a recommended retail price of US$450, this GPS device does slip a little into the pricey side. Having briefly compared it with some competing products, I think the user interface alone might be worth its difference. For its second try, HP has built a very solid device with a great piece of software that really shows they’re committed to the GPS experience as much as any of the other competitors. Can’t wait to see where they’ll go next.

Check out my Flickr gallery for more pictures of this device.