Garmin iQue M5 Integrated Pocket PC and GPS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have had about a week to use the M5. My first impression is WOW. This IS my first GPS and also my first PDA, so take my review for what it's worth. I would love to give this product 5 stars, but I will get right to the point of why I can't do it.
CONS :
No 802.11b/g - Not a huge deal if you don't mind plugging a bluetooth USB adapter in your PC, but honestly it is a little annoying that I can't connect right up to my 802.11g network out of the box. There are SD/MMC 802.11b cards available that are a option, but I have not ordered one yet.
GPS non-responsive - (see *Edit* at bottom of this review) As one other reviewer also noted, I also had a GPS problem where it acted like it was looking for the satellites, but couldn't see any of them. This was outside, and not indoors. I pushed the reset button, and GPS fired up just fine. As with the other reviewer, I also haven't had this problem reoccur after about a week of using it. The initial problem was about an hour after I took it out of the box. Since then I have used it a good 20+ times without any problems. I will report back if this problem comes back!
The leather flip case(?) - It is a little lame, and offers no protection except for maybe screen...and even that's a stretch.
PROS -
Wow, I opened the box, and it was very complete. A nice windshield suction mount, cig adapter with speaker and the other 'standard' PDA items (cradle, USB cable, travel A/C adapter, etc).
It's a nice size, not to bulky. The battery seems to perform as expected. I don't have any exact #'s, but from what I could tell it was at least 4 hours with some GPS usage.
One thing I would like to comment on is the 'cost'. A lot of reviews elsewhere talked about how expensive this device is. Yes, it's not cheap, but try buying a comparable PDA and a GPS add-on. You'll be close to, if not higher than what you would pay for this fully integrated PDA/GPS.
I have taken one trip (74 miles each way). It did a pretty good job getting me to the destination. I did notice that it was a little slow to recalculate the route if you miss a turn (5-10 seconds on average). Not a huge deal, but could be a problem in inner-city driving. It also did a random "Make U-Turn" in the intersection I was turning at. I believe the intersection came up later than the GPS/mapping software was expecting. The estimated time of arrival is nice, and right on target!
GPS performance : The GPS picks up the satellites fine in my car. My house (2 story) it's fine on the second floor, but the first floor it does not pick up the satellites unless I move over to a window.
Storage - I don't own a memory card yet, but even with the built-in memory I was able to get most of middle-TN and North Atlanta. I hear a 2GB memory card will hold all of the US, and 1GB will hold over half the US. I would say that is about right.
That's about all I can think of at this time. I will report back in a few weeks with an update. At this point I am very pleased.
Edit 4/28/05 - I did have one additional lockup of the unit that required a 'reset', so I went to the Garmin website and found out that there was a new firmware revision. I loaded the firmware and so far the unit seems to be performing perfectly. So, for those who are having GPS lockup problems, download the firmware revision. Garmin states that the firmware fixes several lockup issues.

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Item #: GINIQUEM5. The all new iQue M5 combines the popular Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 SE operating system with the dependability of Garmin GPS. Go from the boardroom to the hotel room without stopping for directions. Calendar and contact information is seamlessly integrated with the GPS navigation functions, so the iQue M5 will remind you of appointments, show the location on the map and route you there with detailed, turn-by-turn directions and voice prompts. The mobile office applications will give you the ability to read e-mail and view documents when away from the office, then sync to Outlook when you get back. Includes 64MB of RAM, 64MB of ROM (15MB of ROM is for safe storage) along with a Secure Digital memory expansion slot. Includes protective flip cover, metal stylus, USB Active Sync cradle, automotive windshield mount with integrated charger and speaker, AC power/charging adapter, Application CD-ROM, and North America data CD-ROM. Customers also search for: Metal Stylus;Protective Cover;GPS Function;Garmin International/PMC,Global Positioning Electronic Maps,Mapping,IQUE M5 Mobile PC,GPS

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