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The iQue M5 from Garmin Ltd. is not the first PDA with integrated GPS (Global Positioning System) hardware, mapping, and navigation software, but it is surely one of the most powerful.

It is not your average Pocket PC. The price, $750, isn't average either.

The M5 is a complete navigational system.

It comes with a bracket for mounting the device on a car dash, plus a car lighter power adapter with a small-integrated speaker. Once you create a route—by selecting start and destination points on the included detailed maps of North America—the M5 speaks directions to you as you drive.

With the GPS system working, it knows exactly where you are and when you're approaching an intersection where you have to turn.

For those who can't afford a luxury automobile with this kind of GPS and navigational functionality built in, the M5 is the next best thing. Plus, you get a Pocket PC into the bargain.

Note, however, this is not a smartphone. Nor does it include built-in Wi-Fi, though it does have Bluetooth.

Garmin, a maker of GPS hardware and mapping software, already had two Palm-based GPS PDAs, the iQue M3200 ($535) and M3600 ($590 or $640 with car dash mount and integrated speaker).

The M5 is its first Pocket PC model.

Specs
It is not terribly well endowed as Pocket PCs go. The M5 does use the latest operating system, Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, nevertheless.

Garmin adds in a 416 MHz Intel PXA 272 processor, 64MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM, and includes an SDIO-enabled Security Card slot for memory and peripheral expansion.

The device's 1,250-mAh lithium-polymer battery delivers five to seven hours of continuous PDA/GPS use, according to Garmin. The backlit TFT screen measures 3.5 inches diagonally a pretty good size.

By way of comparison, Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ hx models ($450 to $650) have more powerful processors (520 or 624 MHz), as much or more memory (up to 128MB ROM and 128MB RAM), screens as big or bigger than the Garmin product (3.5 or 4 inches), more powerful batteries, plus built-in Wi-Fi, a Compact Flash slot, and a Secure Digital slot.

Physically, the M5 fares a little better in comparisons with other current Pocket PC models, perhaps surprisingly given that it incorporates the extra GPS hardware.

It measures 5 x 2.8 x .74 inches and weighs 5.2 ounces. The iPAQ hx models are all heavier (5.8 to 6.6 ounces.) but slightly more compact, the smallest measuring 4.71 x 3.01 x .65 inches.

Of course, they don't have the GPS or mapping and navigation applications.

Where Am I
I did notice when the M5 was drawing maps—which it does all the time when you're using the included QueMap application —that the drawing process is sometimes slow, though rarely irritatingly so. This may be because the M5 is underpowered.

Otherwise, M5 is a fairly conventional looking Pocket PC.

It does have a somewhat unusual leather screen cover that flips up from the bottom and can clip right back out of the way. One of the four hard buttons below the screen launches the QueMap application, or when pushed repeatedly, cycles through the program's five different displays: QueFind, QueRoutes, QueMap, QueTurns and QueTrip.

QueTurns

The GPS antenna folds out (see top image) from the rear surface after you press the release.


Antenna Folded Down

Are the QueMap application and GPS hardware worth the extra $200-plus you're paying for this Pocket PC?

They certainly provide powerful functionality, but they're naturally only really useful - and worth the price - if you spend a fair amount of time in the car. You also have to be willing to spend some time learning the ins and outs of the program.

QueMap

This is not your typical stripped-down simplified PDA applet.

QueMap, which is the mapping and navigation application on the M5, comes preloaded with base maps for North and South America that show major cities, highways, and rivers.

To use the detailed maps for North America, also included with the product, you have to first install the MapSource program on your PC, and then install the map images from the two CitySelect CDs.

You can then download sections of maps from PC to Pocket PC as needed.

Base maps for Europe and the Pacific Rim are on the installation CD and can be downloaded from to the M5. Detailed maps for other regions cost extra.

MapSource City Select Europe, for example, costs $350.

With the detailed North American maps loaded on the M5, you can zoom in from a view that shows the entire continent to one that shows a radius of just 120 feet. This is easily enough detail to resolve individual street addresses.

One of the first things you can do with the program is establish your home position, either by keying in (or handwriting) the address or zooming in on the map and pointing to the exact location.

I was immediately stymied when trying to use the first method because the street name for my home address is West Mile Road. MapSource, like other mapping software I've encountered, wants to render this as W Mile Rd.—on the assumption that the address is actually at the west end of Mile Rd.

In fact it's a three-block street that is West Mile from end to end. It was still possible using the map at high magnification to pinpoint my address.

But are there similar errors in other addresses? I don't know.

The North American maps also include over five million Points of Interest (POIs), including restaurants, hotels, and attractions. You can enter a location - or let the GPS system find you - and then use QueFind to search for POIs near your location.

QueFind

If you're on the road, looking for a restaurant for lunch, this could be a great boon.

Automotive Routing
The in-car navigation experience with the M5 is impressive.

Mounting gear includes a lever-operated suction cup that holds solidly on a car windshield. The cradle for the device, which attaches to the mounting bracket by a simple threaded hinge, has a power cord with a car lighter adapter at one end, and the speaker that amplifies the audio directions.

Extending the GPS antenna turns on the GPS radio, folding it back in turns the radio off. It takes a few minutes to lock into enough satellites to locate the device accurately on the map, and you may have to take the device out into the open air, away from buildings and trees to get a solid connection.


QueGPS

The Garmin product worked about the same in this respect as other GPS navigation devices I've tried.

Once you have a GPS location and you've mounted the M5 in the car cradle, you can activate a route you set up and saved earlier—or you can create a new route on the spot. Either way, once you activate the route, the system starts feeding you audio directions based on your location, which is determined within a few yards by the GPS system.

It Speaks
Voice navigation is produced by stringing together pre-recorded snippets rather than with a simulated computer-generated voice. So it sounds quite natural.

The M5 gives you at least two warnings of turns, including one a few hundred feet before the intersection. Once you've turned a corner it summarizes the next part of your route.

One potential problem is that while the M5 is giving you audio directions, it is also displaying the map, and showing an arrow moving along as you drive.

I found it difficult not to look, which obviously could be dangerous—although it may be that you would get used to this after awhile and be able to keep your eye on the road, relying solely on the audio directions.

Conclusion
The M5's GPS and mapping and navigation tools are very impressive.

For a car-bound road warrior this product could be a god send. In virtually all other respects, the M5 delivers a standard Pocket PC experience.

It offers the same interface and the same applets—Pocket Word and Outlet, Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Reader, MSN Messenger, and so on.

We highly recommend the M5 for users who have a real need for the GPS and mapping functions. All others should look elsewhere for better price performance.