Standalone GPS devices Review : HP iPAQ 314 Travel Companion

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Standalone GPS devices Review : HP iPAQ 314 Travel Companion

With a slim design and rounded edges, the iPAQ 314 Travel Companion (£246 inc. VAT) slips easily into the pocket.

The 4.3-inch display has a resolution of 800 x 400 pixels, and offers a sharper picture than most of its rivals. It's bright enough to use even in direct sunlight, and colours are vibrant and accurate.

Functions are carried out using on-screen menus and buttons, with only a couple of hardware keys for power and volume settings.

Clear screen

Unlike many satellite navigation devices, the screen is mostly clear from buttons when on the move. However, a host of secondary buttons appear when you tap the screen.

This is ideal, as it allows a good level of control without compromising map space. The on-screen keypad is large enough for comfortable use, but the numbers are on a separate screen.

The iPAQ accepts full postcodes, but it requires a space to be entered in the middle. The mapping is clear and concise with a variety of 2D and 3D viewpoints available. A night mode switches the maps to darker colours, reducing reflections.

As well as highlighting over ten million POIs (Points of Interest), the Travel Companion includes 3D images of the most famous landmarks.

Weak speaker

The GPS chip is a SiRF Star III - the fastest and most accurate adapter currently available. We found satellites were located rapidly, and the iPAQ was quick to re-route us if we took a wrong turning.

The speaker on the rear of the device is small though, and on our review unit was not loud enough to be heard in faster driving conditions.

Bluetooth is built-in, letting you use the Travel Companion as a hands free kit for your mobile phone. However, the poor quality speaker made this function next to useless.

The excellent screen, clear mapping and neat styling help the iPAQ Travel to impress, but those wanting audible directions to accompany the visual ones should avoid this device until the sound quality is improved.

[ganeshbala]

SPECIFICATIONS

MPN     FA976AT

Accessories    Stylus / Mini-USB desktop synchronisation cable

Additional Information    SiRF Titan ARM11 Dual-Core Processor / User available memory varies based on maps installed

Connectivity    3.5mm Headphone Jack, Bluetooth 2.0

Dimensions    110 x 18 x 87

Features    Integrated microphone, Digital music player (with Windows Media DRM), digital video player, photo viewer, games
Power Supply    Battery: removable/rechargeable 1700 mAh Lithium-Ion (user changeable)

Warranty Length    1 Year

Weight (g)    187

Bluetooth    No

GPS Receiver Details    Advanced SiRF embedded GPS receiver with InstantFix time-to-first-fix acceleration

Installed RAM (MB)    128

Installed ROM (Mb)    2048

Operating System    Windows CE.net 5.0

Processor Speed (MHz)    600

Processor Type Required    133 Mhz Processor

RAM Type    SDRAM

Software Provided    HP Navigation engine, Text to Speech, Maps, RDS/TMC traffic data support (selected countries) / HP navigation software with text to speech guidance and web based trip planning, digital video player, digital music player, picture viewer, games, Bluetooth hands free, calculator, world clock, contacts with Outlook sync

Speaker Details    1 large speaker for navigation volume

Touch Screen    Yes

Waterproof    No

Memory Card Compatibility    SD, SDHC

Memory Card Included    No

Colour Display    No

Built-in MP3 Player    No

Real-time Traffic Updates    No