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(More customer reviews)I seem to have a GPS for every kind of activity I do and everyone of them excel, and also have weaknesses in one way or another.
I recently parted ways with my BMW 330 that had a build-in Navigational system that was an excellent product once you got past the user interface. My new car doesn't have a Nav system, and I didn't want to mount a laptop like I did previously, so I checked into the offerings described at http://gpsinformation.net/. The NuVi looked great and I was all set to buy that one, but it had features, like the MP3 player that I didn't need. Then I discovered the M4, and after a few days of contemplation, that's the one I picked.
Now that I've had it for a few weeks, I have to say that I'm quite happy with it. Like any new product, the user interface takes some practice to get used to, but after awhile, you can run through the interface quite rapidly.
I went with the M4 over the M5, even though it's a slower processor because of the SiRF chipset. This is indeed a superior chipset to my Garmin Rino for example. *Most* of the time it picks up satellites almost immediately, however, there are times when it does take a few minutes. I usually experience this when I turn it on when I'm already on the move.
I really love how Garmin inverts the map colors at night time. This way you can still have the display set to bright, yet it doesn't distract you from night time driving. Handy since there is no auto-dim of the screen based on the ambient lighting.
However, this is not the best screen for full-on day use if the sun is beaming right on it. Compared to the built-in screen on my ex-BMW, there is no comparison. The sun pretty much washes out the screen and makes it difficult to read. It's readable, but certainly not the best-in-class.
Having said all of that, the only thing that is really annoying is that if you deviate from the plotted course (route), the Garmin will recalculate a new course. Hey, that's great, but why make the map disappear while that's happening? With a complex route (or even not so complex really) it can take quite a bit of time to recalculate. An example: There is road construction in downtown Portland that causes me to travel a few blocks out of my way to get home. As I make my first deviation, the M4 recalculates, perhaps to make a turn at the next block. The problem is, I have to pass the next block too, and I pass that block either before, or when the M4 finishes its recalculation. Now it has to recalculate again, and again and again for every block I pass and never catches up. While I travel these 6, 8 or 10 blocks or so, all I see is the "Recalculating Route" dialog, and not the map. Fortunately , I know my way home, but in a new and strange city I can cover quite a distance and perhaps become lost or be needlessly far out of my way by the time I get the map back. I suspect this isn't specific to the M4, but others as well, like the NuVi. This is the "feature" that keeps me from giving the M4 5 stars.
Otherwise, it's a Pocket PC device that allows me to run typical Windows CE applications. It can take the Outlook address book and use the addresses as destination for the GPS, that way you don't have to type in all those addresses again. It's also easy to put your own addresses in via the M4's interface. In otherwords, you're not required to enter data in the PC and transfer it. It's much more useful to me as a day-to-day tool than the NuVi would have been. BTW, as far as I know, it only imports addresses (contacts, to-do's, calendars, etc, from Office/Outlook, not Outlook Express) A voucher is included that allows you to purchase Outlook 2003 for $29.99 though. If you're using Outlook Express, this is a recommended purchase anyway, because Outlook is indeed a superior product.
The windshield mount is superior. You can angle the M4 to any orientation you like and the M4 is very easy to slide in and out of.
The sync cable that comes with the M4 charges the M4 while it's connected to the PC, but with a separate powersupply - connected into a "Y". If, like me, you purchase another "travel kit" for the office, you don't get the same thing - you get a powersupply that plugs in to the M4 and a sync cable that plugs into the M4, but you can't do both at the same time (no "Y"). In otherwords, when the M4 is plugged in to the PC with the travel kit, it is not charging. When it's plugged in to charge, you don't have an extra sync port to connect to the pc. I hope that made sense :-) Why can't the M4 charge only off of the USB connection? I dunno :-)
I'm also using a 1 GB SD card with no problem in the expansion slot for extra storage. Weirdly enough, this seems to have slowed down the overall performance somewhat. I don't see the connection. Hmm...
I also lost the stylus already :-( and the closest replacement I found (while I'm waiting for my OEM replacements) is the Tungsten T5 stylus. It's not a perfect fit, but will fit without falling out. Mostly it's a little short and you need a thumbnail to get it out of its slot.
If I had to do it all over, I would certainly buy the M4 again. I love it and I use it daily.
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