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Could you do a comparison with its competitors at this price range, the units from MMI ?

I would still any day use my android phone, which has offline maps, and doesn't need data connection.

Eg: Samsung Drive and Walk.

Thanks for sharing (TFS) the review.

I agree to the first point sir, that gps on a mobile chews up the battery more. But on the bandwidth part, there are android applications like the one I mentioned before that do not require Internet bandwidth for navigation once the maps are downloaded and saved on the device.

Also you can chose to keep the phone screen permanently on from the settings I think. Moreover, when I tried out the Sygic-MMI on my wives phone, the screen didnt keep switching off.

Yes the dedicated GPS may be more sensitive and optimised for navigation vis a vis a smart phone or a cheap tab bought specifically for navigation. But would there be so much of a difference in the GPS capabilities of a tablet and a stand alone GPS unit to over look the added versatality of having a tablet dedicated for navigation. After all there are times when you dont need navigation, and during those times a tab can serve you well.

I will think about five years. Much better than the two years as 'lifetime' of MMI maps!! Maybe they know the lifetime of their GPS units better.

This "Question" may be a bit OT but might help many,

Can someone list down the smartphones in the range of 15k? which might fit the bill better and highlighting its positives and negatives in this regard?

I second the point on buying this device for a single purpose only.

thanks

Nice comprehensive review Jalsa!

Though Garmin makes the best units, I am not sure how their Indian map compares to the Mapmyindia maps - which is considered the best. Someone please do this comparo!

I agree with Jalsa, if they are giving the Navteq maps that comes with Nokia, then using a smartphones would be better. They have a good navigator software also. BUT you need to buy a good spec phone to match the performance of the software of a dedicated unit.

It would be nice if you could post a picture of the unit mounted on the windshield, just to get an idea of the dimensions. Also the charging cable looks to be thick, does it pulls down the unit with its weight?

Also, how did you capture these screenshots? It doesn't look like photos taken with a camera.

PS. This month's Digit magazine has a comparison report of the GPS navigators available in India. I guess the editor's pick was a Garmin unit costing around 19k.

The 50LM does not have video input support. The Nuvi 2565LM from Garmin does have video in capability. Also, various MMI devices have that capability. Similarly, no mobile phone has video input capability. So, if you need that then you will have to go with a dedicated device.

1. You can connect a mobile phone to a car charger too. Bandwidth is not used while using Nokia Maps (NAVTECH and free) or the MMI maps application for Android, cause they allow maps to be stored onto the device itself.
2. Yes, the initial fix may be faster, but beyond that, there is no difference in the sensitivity that I could notice.
3. There are applications that keep the mobile screen always ON. I use a Nokia phone so there is 'Nokia Car Mode' for them. I am sure Android also has applications which do the same. And as mentioned before by vibbs, the Sygic-MMI application keeps the screen ON.
4. The assumption that a phone should always have the latest maps is wrong. The maps which are stored on the phone have a similar update cycle as with dedicated units. Or, if you're using the cloud based google maps, even these maps are not 'live' as we assume. They are only updated periodically.

Thanks bejoy.

• Coming to a 'good spec phone' I have noticed that navigation experience on a platform is independent of the processor and RAM but differs by screen size. So, a 'good spec' phone is not a necessity. Any phone would do. (Refering to smartphones here and the ones which do have a GPS chip).
• Coming to the performance of a dedicated unit, let me tell you that these dedicated units are not particularly fast. They take their time to load the POIs and the maps. My 2 year old phone (Nokia N8) is faster at that with the same maps! So, I am sure more recent phones will be even faster. So, performance wise, I wouldn't complain.
• Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the unit mounted on the windshield. But the picture with the samsung phones will give you an idea of the size.
• The windshield mount is very sturdy and is stiff enough for the unit to not loose its orientation. The charging cable has not effect what-so-ever on the unit's position.
• The device has a provision to capture screen-shots. When turned ON, all pages have a camera symbol, clicking on which captures a screen-shot. Really helpful feature.

In my perception, Nokia smartphones, even the older generation running on S60V5 like 5230, has better maps with worldwide free navigation. It Is better option, and accuracy of nokia maps are also much better when compared to google maps (it sounds strange, but kind of true in bangalore, where nokia) offers more detailed street maps for navigation and itz free.

Regarding battery life, yes GPS always drains battery range. But then, we have car charger with glass mount, It does not matter. Yes i agree screensize is smaller in smartphones. But i guess, capability wise smartphones are better or similar when compared to stand-alone gps units.

Nokia Maps are really very good, and navigation in nokia is really amazing when compared to competition.

I,am not really sure, whether android can stand competition when compared to Symbian and windows with respect to value for money and features.

I bought my Nuvi 50LM in US around 6 months back it costed me around $135 including taxes. Its quite strange here that the Nuvi 40LM cost more than Nuvi 50, its the other way in India :).

This GPS works well for me , I especially like the lane assist/ Junction view as on on some highways and spaghettii junctions it can be really confusing.

Speed limit & security camera warnings features are some of the noteworthy features. The display is bright & crips and the battery life is around 1.5 hrs. Picks up satellite signals real quick, had some bad experience with my friends Tom Tom.

I guess the main difference which comes about between Smartphone and PND are the following (apart from what being mentioned in OP)

- Smartphones are well integrated, have sharper display, can store more maps, have PC interface etc.
- Only issues are that one cannot easily think of mounting smart phones on the wind shield.
- Though you get mounts for some class of phones (iphones, S2, etc but not all)
- Talking while driving is not allowed, but this is still very prevalent.
- So the most common psychology is what if, while driving one gets a call and the phone is mounted on the windshield?
- Most phones are not paired to the HU of car.
- Though technically it is possible to handle these scenarios; but for many, solutions appear to be either clumsy or complicated.
- Hence to keep it simple they keep the two separate.
- That is the reason, inspite of the rise of smart phones, we see companies like Garmin/TomTom still surviving
- Though with a reduced market share
- The other point I am not sure about is the GPS Receiver sensitivity between a phone and a PND. I always felt the PNDs lock much faster
- The other breed of PNDs are the trekker ones which also support automotive.
- Phones may not work in such cases, as one would need external AA/AAA battery support.
- Here for sure I know these PNDs have good differences/advancements which warrant the use of such a separate device.

Pardon my ignorance, but didn't Nokia also use Navteq for their maps - the same as Garmin? According to Wikipedia ,the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nokia but operates independently.

Navteq - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hi Ironhide,
So, in my opinion if map sources are same for garman and nokia. So, i assume that map accuracy and features should be similiar. Apart from benefits like bigger screen , and it is independent devices, i see smartphones have almost same features as like PNDs.
Regarding mounting them on windscreen, if feel we already have solutions for smartphones. As regards to trekking function, i feel we have walk feature in nokia.

And one more important feature, i would have in smarthphone GPS system is the ability to import the routes or walking path into map overlay. Is this possible in garmin like PNDs.

Great review. I am going for 50LM soon and will post my experience soon on this thread.

I tried navigating using OVI Maps / Google maps (on my N97) but its not good. May be I needed a better phone. But a dedicated device is always better coz if you get a call on your mobile, you will lose your navigation for sometime.

Posted from another thread :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadget...ml#post2797594



@ Jalsa - Could you please confirm whether same is the case with the Nuvi devices? Do they have adequate coverage and map support for J&K and the Northeast? Providing free maps is not going to solve the problem if your map doesn't cover the area one has to drive to.(In this area I feel the MMI maps are fairly detailed, even the Google ones are good, though both are not up to date ,nor comprehensive) Does Garmin have to say anything on this? Lack of coverage and map support for the remote areas (like in the case above) is going to be huge dampener for the people who have decided to go in for a Garmin unit. Garmin will have to update their maps and provide coverage for every remote corner of country if they hope to take on the monopoly of MMI in the PND market in India.

Jalsa - Thanks for detailed evaluation.
I drove by fitting 'map my india' device in my figo windshield (just above the centre of the dashboard) and it fell down many times. The windshield alignment was just around 30 degree if you measure by keeping dashboard as a horizontal line.
How is the Garmin holder and was it shaky on the roads?

@RGK; I have had my Garmin 265WT for a couple of years, and I never had a fall off. I may add that of late I have mostly used the friction mount (Civic dash is from here to eternity). I am add that my son in law, has a MMI and I do not think he has had a fall off in his City either.

With Garmin there is a pad which you can glue to the dash, glass or whatever and then the Garmin unit is fixed to that. There is a plate which is stuck on to this pad, and then you use the suction mount naturally.