Garmin iQue M5 - Garmin iQue M5

The options for routing are very good, enabling you to choose between faster times or shorter distances. There’s even an ‘off road’ option for all those mums who want to take a more direct route in the morning on the school run. The software will also optimise routes for other vehicles such as taxis or delivery cans, or even cyclists and pedestrians. Additionally, a custom mode enables you to select the level of major, medium and minor roads you choose.

Route recalculation when missing a turning was smooth and efficiently handled. A nice touch is how the software will switch automatically to night time viewing mode based on the time.

The in-car set up is pretty good, with a suction mounted cradle that neatly holds the iQue in place. Garmin has solved the problem of the limited volumes of the PDA not having enough volume by supplying an external speaker that slots into the car power socket. This distorts when played too loud but it’s a good solution. However, it also carries power to the PDA so you have to have the cable running around the dashboard, which is a shame.

However, there are two reasons why I wouldn’t want to part with my TomTom Go. Firstly you can’t add custom POIs, which for me is a major loss - the speed camera database is too just too valuable. Secondly, twice in a couple of weeks the unit locked up and on the second occasion I had to reinstall all the map data. If this happens out in the field you could be left going back to a map.

That aside I found that I was very impressed with the iQue. The software takes a while to get used to, but once you have it’s a powerful GPS tool and a PDA that’s decent enough that you’d like it even if it didn’t have in-built GPS. The only real downside is the price, with most resellers offering it for around £500. This isn’t cheap but when you consider what your getting and the quality of both hardware and software it’s actually excellent value. And at the price that Comet (of all places) is offering it for online, it’s something of a bargain.



Verdict

It’s pricey but the iQue M5 is worth it. The hardware is sturdy, the specs reasonable, the GPS software is powerful and the integration with Windows Mobile is elegant. You’ll need to budget for an extra card but if you do you can take all of the UK with you, so to speak, on the best GPS/PDA combo currently available.