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Journalism of Courage
Our correspondent tries out a range of GPS devices that help you with daily navigation
MAYBE they invented the Global Positioning System GPS for people who never like to ask for directions and for those who end up more confused by maps and directions dished out by the roadside paan-wallah.
Till some time back, GPS was technology limited to Hollywood movies and English paperbacks. But over the past few years more and more people in India have started using it for logistics, fleet management, mapping and even daily navigation.
Though there are many players in the segment, Hyderabad-based SatGuide arguably offers the widest range of applications from car navigation to maps for laptops and desktops. It has mapped 200 cities with 1.5 million 8216;Points of Interests8217; or landmarks like ATMs, bar and pubs, hotels, schools, hospitals, markets and big offices. The company claims it updates its maps twice a year. Along with English, almost all its products have voice navigation in eight regional languages8212;Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada, Marathi and Oriya8212;though at times it is a bit tough to understand what the machine is trying to say.
THE Personal Digital Assistant Mio P360 doesn8217;t just offer high quality navigation but is also an option for all your pocket PC requirements. The PDA comes with vehicle and pedestrian modes and all you need to do is switch it on, check the signal and feed in relevant data. You can also sync your contacts and calendar book on the device and keep it as a backup.
The anti-glare on the device makes it easy to use in daylight. Unlike its competitors, this sturdy device has battery life of approximately 4.5 hours, with active GPS. Above all, it comes with a windshield suction cup holder.
The acid test for the device was when I had to take a detour in east Delhi, courtesy the Metro construction. It successfully recalculated the distance to be covered and gave me a new route. Though it takes just a few seconds to start and update the operating system, the touchscreen is a dampener. You need to click very hard for an item to be selected. If you are a first-time GPS user, do go through the manual.
PND C230, Rs 16,000
The Personal Navigation Device PND for your car comes with SatGuide8217;s ONE INDIA map, a user-friendly touchscreen interface, a built-in MP3 player and a photo viewer. It sports a 64-MB Flash drive with 512 MB RAM, which allows a much higher performance. A USB charging facility coupled with a car and room charger will not let your device go dry. The moment you switch on the engine, the device shuts down as well. This also has 2D and 3D modes. The day/night mode makes viewing much easier. A media player would have been a wonderful add-on. Moreover, the devices lack real-time traffic conditions of the like available to users in the US and UK.
FOR LAPTOPS/DESKTOPS, Rs 2,183
These programmes provide detailed maps without an active Internet connection along with turn-by-turn navigation and planning solution for laptops and desktops. The software allows you to conveniently convert your laptop into a live navigation device by attaching an external GPS Bluetooth receiver. But you have to access the maps and plan out your route before you venture out. The software will not be able to navigate without the GPS Bluetooth receiver, leaving you with a pre-planned route direction.
Go GPS Kit, Rs 2,200
This kit, which includes a GPS SiRF III Bluetooth Receiver and SatGuide CD with ONE INDIA map, works in sync with mobile phones that do not have an in-built GPS receiver. The receiver acquires the satellite signals and transmits them to the mobile phone. The maximum range of operation is 10 metres from the parent device. This software is compatible with Symbian OS devices like Nokia and Windows mobile like HTC, I-mate.
WHAT IS GPS?
GPS is a satellite-based navigation system comprising a network of 24 satellites. Think of it as several eyes in the sky, which see accurately and directly wherever you are and give you directions, minute-by-minute, lane-by lane, till you reach your destination.
GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day and transmits signals to the earth. The GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time diffeence tells it how far the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user8217;s position.
A minimum of three satellites is required to calculate a 2D position8212;latitude, longitude8212;and four or more satellites to determine the user8217;s 3D position8212;latitude, longitude and altitude.
