Electronics Rand McNally StreetFinder Deluxe GPS for Palm V Series
Rating:  -
The first problem I had was with the Streetfinder software on my PC, it was unable to connect to the Internet so that I could get directions between two points. Customer service has so far been unable to resolve this, there's nothing wrong with my Internet connection, this is the only application that doesn't seem to be able to use it.
I tried downloading and installing the software update from the Rand McNally web site, but that was worse, then Streetfinder would crash frequently. I had to uninstall the whole thing and reinstall from the CD to get the app to stop crashing.
The Streetfinder software is bugy not very well designed and tested. For example, there are screens that say you can push a button to get an address from your address book, you click on the button and get your address book, you select an address and say to use that one and it doesn't put the address in the edit box, you have to find another button at a lower level that actually does that. Also, It is REALLY annoying that you have to put the INSTALL CD into your disk drive in order to move a map to the Palm queue.
I found that there were several operations, like zooming in a map on the Palm, that would crash the Palm OS. Having spent many years doing software QA, I find this problem inexcusable.
Finally, I was completely unable to get the GPS receiver to acquire the sattelite signals. I left the unit outside for two hours, plugged in to the car accessory plug, and it didn't acquire and it didn't time out. Then, when I stopped the GPS and tried moving to a different area and restarting the receiver, the Palm OS crashed again. I had to delete the Streetfinder app from the Palm and reinstall it to get it to stop crashing the Palm when I started the GPS.
Just to make things worse, there is an appalling lack of documentation that ships with this unit. Basically, there is NO printed documentation, no owner's manual, no software guide, and the online documentation is rarely helpful, especially for the problems I was having. There is no troubleshooting guide at all. The online FAQ was only partially helpful. You can email tech support at Rand McNally, but if you want to call and speak to a real person you have to pay for the call yourself, there is no 800 number.
All in all, I was very disappointed to say the least, and I'm returning the Streetfinder GPS to Amazon. I have very rarely seen a company take such a good idea and fail so completely with the implementation.
Rating: -
I got this for my birthday this year, about one month ago, and I can tell you I am sorely disappointed.
I figured a GPS-for-Palm would be a great product; a large screen, an interface I was already familiar with, etc.. made this product sound like a winner. Unfortunately, the product is riddled with problems. Not a single satisfying experience was I able to wrench from this miserable product.
To begin with, several of these units, if not all of them, are misprogrammed when they leave the factory to look for Asian satellites instead of US ones. I say several, even though I have experience with only one unit, because there is a FAQ on the website about it, and because many, many people have complained about it on usenet; look for yourself. This misprogramming causes it to take (according to Rand McNally) up to 30 minutes to acquire satellites here in the US the first time. It took much, much longer for my unit: over an hour of continuous operation, sitting on my deck *outside*, running a special program that a customer service agent told me to download, because the program that came with the unit was unsuccessful in acquiring satellites at all. Nice. It didn't help that the customer service department took almost a week to answer my questions regarding the satellite acquisition.
After I had made an acquisition (finally!) I was pretty disappointed with the results. The StreetFinder program for the Palm OS crashed my Palm V repeatedly. Reinstalling the StreetFinder software made no effect. I had read on usenet that other programs conflicted with StreetFinder; I removed everything but the stock Palm programs and StreetFinder (and the things that StreetFinder needs) and still had several crashes. My Palm hardly ever crashed and had to be reset before I got the Rand McNally GPS unit.
Subsequent acquisitions are quite slow, usually taking around 15-20 minutes, making it pretty useless for me to use in the car, since I'm already to my destination before the unit can acquire any satellites. This is my first GPS experience, however, so perhaps I have unreasonable expectations of GPS techonlogy in general.
The cigarette adapter which powers the GPS does not power the Palm V. This seems silly to me, but perhaps there is a good technical reason for this somewhat obnoxious oversight.
I found the very idea of a Palm GPS attachment, for $199, to be a bit overpriced. Other GPS units (on which I cannot comment, for I have not used them) are comparably priced and are seperate units. The StreetFinder maps take up a lot of space on the Palm V, and if you have a Palm V instead of a Vx, you might feel cramped for space. With the very cheap-feeling GPS attached (using a flimsy plastic/metal catch mechanism) the Palm V is bulky and cannot fit in my Palm V Hard Case (of course, this is true for any Palm attachment -- I knew that would happen before I asked for it for my birthday).
Overall, I just cannot say a single good thing about this product. I was unimpressed by the Rand McNally desktop software, their buggy Palm V client, their crappy misprogrammed GPS attachment, and their slow customer service. I cannot stress to anyone enough that this is a product to avoid.
I have noticed, however, that there are several good reviews for this product -- this is what lead me to request the product in the first place -- so perhaps my experience was merely the low end of the spectrum. Regardless, I was very patient with this product and tried very hard to get it to work. It saddens me, but I have given up on the Rand McNally Palm V GPS unit.
Rating:  -
I recently moved to a new city, and I thought a GPS would help me find my way around, so I bought this package to add on to my Palm V. It would be great, except that I can't seem to get it to work about half the time. Often it can't find the GPS signal, and causes my entire Palm to reset itself. At first it worked much better, but for the last two months, I have not been able to make it work at all. I'm quite disappointed with its quality, but otherwise, I think the size and functions it provides are right on.
Rating:  -
Having owned several GPS devices in the past, I bought this unit for my Palm V without hesitation. Unfortunately, some of the "fun" stuff is left out. There is no way to track current heading, speed, distance to next turn, etc. The last package for my Palm was from Delorme and had an entire screen devoted to this real-time data. The maps are very detailed, and provide excellent point-to-point capabilities. However, in order to get turn-by-turn directions, you need to have an internet connection available (Delorme doesn't require this). Overall, I'm a bit underwhelmed by this package, but will certainly find times to put it to use.
Rating:  -
If you are frequent traveller or even just a hiker/biker or hobbiest, this is a great way to get excellent GPS functionality out of your Palm V. I had been in the market for a GPS device for a long time, but the Rand McNally StreetFinder unit gives quality real-time mapping and positioning without having to carry around another electronic device!
The add-on unit itself does not add too much weight to the Palm V, making it a fairly non-obtrusive addition. The StreetFinder Software is also very good, and has a high quality Rand McNally maps. Although the unit is a little pricey given the fact that you are using your existing Palm computer to do all the "work", this is clearly the best GPS option for those who already own a Palm V or are about to get one!
|
