Review: Garmin 285WT GPS Device

[SIZE=2]Using the Garmin 285WT in the Philippines[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]I've been curious about these satellite navigation (or "satnav") devices for quite some time now, so I finally went out and bought one a couple of months ago, a Garmin 285WT. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]'Accessories'[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]First, there is no wall charger available with the unit, only a car charger, so can't charge it anywhere else. Battery life without the charger is very poor, only about an hour's worth, so it seems it was built to be tied up to the car charger as much as possible. You can leave the unit plugged to the charger the whole time, as it turns on when the car starts, and to give you the option to turn it off when the car is turned off. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The unit came in with an SD card slot, but so far I have found no use for it as the unit's internal memory is enough to store the map that I have been using, which is for the whole Philippines already. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The window mount device is top notch. The suction cup is strong, stays in place very securely, but easy to detach also if necessary as it uses a lever-type lock system. Its also surprisingly compact, and allows a good range of motion for adjustments. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]'Unit Details'[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]The unit has a touch screen, but it is not very responsive. I suspect it is a resistive screen, hence in terms of sensitivity, it is nowhere near that of an iPhone. I found the inputting of text to be a bit slow initially, until I learned to use the nail tip of my thumb to press down on the screen. That got better results, but still not so much. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]You input destinations by typing the name of the street or landmark (i.e., "Roxas Boulevard", or "Mall of Asia", for example), and the unit searches for it on the stored map. Or, you can select areas, like "Laguna", for example, and look at sections like, "Attractions", "Dining", "Gas Stations", etc., and select from the options. Information about how far a location is also available, so you can choose the nearest one if necessary.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]I like the unit's ability to automatically swith to a white background during most of the day, then switch to a dark background at night, thus making the screen easier to read in the dark (with less glare). I don't know if this is based on the time of day, or if there really is a sensor out there that tells the unit when it is dark.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The unit is quite accurate most of the time in terms of the fastest, or most efficient route, but not always. The accuracy of the unit in navigating depends a lot on both the hardware, and more importantly, the software, or the map. From the hardware point of view, I think the unit is pretty good, as recalculating new routes if you deviate from the recommended one takes only about 5-10 seconds. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]You do get audio directions from the device, normally how far it is to the next turn, which way to turn, and what street to turn to. And you can choose between a male or female voice, or with one with an American, or British accent. It is really neat to hear your car telling you where to go, and even more so, it is quite fun to hear these caucasian voices mispronounce Flipino street names. If nothing else, the voice and mispronounciation alone brings hours of entertainment. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The unit came with a pre-loaded Philippine map because I b[/SIZE][SIZE=2]ought it from a local buyer, but it is not very good, as it is the free map from Roadguide.ph, and I had to replace it with a better one (more on the available maps for Garmin units in the Philippines in a separate blog). There are updated maps now available online for free for the Philippines, and you can easily update the map on the unit by transferring a single file using USB connection with your computer. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The 285WT can also act as a speaker for your celphone, as you can pair it with the unit using Bluetooth. However, it can only pair with one device at a time, and it keeps trying to pair up with a celphone even if you don't want it to. I think a wired audio connection would be simpler, might try that later.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]'Usefulness'[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]The initial use of the device definitely is as a novelty item. It is somewhat amazing to have a device that can track your vehicle accurately as it travels down the road, and can talk back to you, and give you directions. Call it shallow, but you will appreciate what I mean once you've experienced it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The device would be most useful to new drivers, as they are not familiar with most routes, and would thus in that instance it would be some help to them, although not much, especially if the map is not accurate in terms of one-way streets, etc.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]For experienced drivers, those who've driven around the city for years and is familiar with the most common routes, it is a bit less helpful, at least in terms of regular usage. It is most helpful if there is a street or route that you have to go that you are not familiar with, and in that instance, the device excels.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Another situation is when you're going to a vacation to a new, far away place. However, such occurences are rare, and doesn't happen every day, or every week. Then again, when you do need it, it beats going around asking people (who might not know the directions, or throw you off for kicks), or consulting a map, which is not as easy as it seems sometimes.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The device also provide some useful information in terms of distance from point to point, or in terms of the street names. It tells you, for example, how far one corner is to another corner, as in, "... proceed 300 meters, and turn right on the next corner." They're not so important details, of course, but that's what it provides. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Or, if you're familiar with a route, but don't know necessarily know the names of the street, the unit can tell you the name a street, as in, "... turn right on chee-know roses avenue ...". So you say to yourself, "aah ... so that's chee-know roses avenue ..."[/SIZE]

'Vacations'
The device found its best use for me when we went to Subic for a short vacation. We were unfamiliar with the place, and stayed at Binictican Heights. So we used the Garmin all the way from Manila, to Binictican Heights, and it was amazing. There was almost no hitch, except when we made a slight detour around Pampanga for lunch, and had to go thru a small stretch of a dirt road that didn't show correctly on the map. But other than that, Garmin brought us from highway to highway, street to street, locality to locality correctly to our destination. If we didn't have it, I am sure we would've gotten lost, and got delayed in reaching our destination.

Another great use for it, was navigation at night. We went to a local restaurant for dinner, then went back to our place of stay at around 10 pm. At night, it is harder to see landmarks, or everything else, like street names. And some streets don't even have street signs, so that makes navigation even harder. There are also less people to ask around, and those that are around that time of night, I'm not sure would be wise to ask.

But I inputted our place of stay on the device beforehand, and all we did was trust Garmin (yes, we actually call it "Garmin" now) on where to go, and it took us home safely, despite the darkness, and the unfamiliar place.

And not only was it great for going to and out of our place of stay, but it also brought us accurately to the attractions around Subic. Those locations were relatively far from where we were staying, so going there on your own vehicle would not have been almost effortless were it not for "Garmin".

The same thing happened when we went to Batangas for a day-long visit. The unit gave us enough confidence that we would not likely get lost as long as we have it around.

'Parting Shots'
I don't get to use the unit as much anymore, but I definitely would not go anyplace new without it. I think what would make the unit more useful on an everyday basis, would be traffic updates. Then the unit can tell you first hand which routes to avoid, and where to go to for the most efficient route. But as of now, that feature is not available to Philippine users yet. So until that happens, I don't think I will be using the unit as much, unless I want to get entertained by the novelty of the talking car, or when it is indispensable for travelling to new places.

In a way, the unit is more of a replacement for the hardcopy maps that we use to keep around the vehicle. A much more expensive one, but then again, one that talks back to you, and is tenfold much easier to use.

The latest devices now come with "3D Maps", or maps that also show buildings around an area, not just the streets, so you may want to look for that feature if you buy one, along with other more useful features like the ability to pair with multiple devices using Bluetooth, and Voice Commands (as in, telling the unit to go to "Glorietta", for example).

^Very well said sir. Could have said the same thing to my Nuvi 255w that my girlfriend and I also call "Garmin". :grin:

Great commentary. Makes me appreciate my "Garmin" all the more.:nod: