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On the Road with GPS Devices

17.02.2009
Exactly one year ago, PC World looked at the state of GPS devices in India. That story studied the emergence of GPS and mapping devices in our country, and explained how GPS works. Now, one year on, GPS is increasingly becoming a standard feature even on relatively low-cost phones. Most towns in India have been mapped, with both MapMyIndia and SatGuide claiming street level maps for over 200 cities. More importantly, GPS apps for Smartphones are now available. These work on a subscription model and pull the information they need over the air. Does this mean that there's no need for a standalone GPS device anymore? To find out, I tested two standalone GPS devices and compared them to two Smartphones: a Blackberry Bold and a Nokia N95. GPS devices can do a whole lot more than just take you from point A to point B. In the second part of this feature, we'll take a look at how you can extend the utility of your GPS device. Knowing your location accurately opens up a world of interesting possibilities, and there are a plethora of free and commercial applications that are using this knowledge to do cool things.

The Players

Having a GPS chip on the phone isn't enough to start navigating. Though it is possible to download Google Maps onto a smartphone, and get location information, this does not provide turn-by-turn navigation with voice prompts. Nokia phones come with Nokia Maps and Navigation, which is free to use for three months. After this, you have to pay approximately Rs.600 a month to continue the service. If this seems too expensive, you can also download Amaze GPS. This is a free software available across a range of smartphone platforms.

The Blackberry doesn't have a native application, since Blackberry Maps does not work in India, so we used both Amaze as well as MapMyIndia's iNav Connect application. iNav Connect is derived from Wayfinder, and it's based on a subscription model. It costs Rs. 1,190 (US$24), and comes with a six month subscription. Once this expires, a monthly subscription costs Rs. 250. You need an active GPRS connection to run this. However, MapMyIndia has another product, iNav Loaded (and WF), that can be copied and run directly off the SD card on the phone. Support for this is limited to phones that use Symbian S60 or UIQ (iNav Loaded WF), and Windows Mobile 6 (iNav Loaded). This costs Rs. 3,490 for maps that cover the whole of India.

SatGuide sent us their entry-level standalone device, the C230, while MapMyIndia sent us a more advanced device, the 430 Classic. Both these devices came preloaded with maps for the whole of India.

Playing it by ear