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Garmin's iQue M5 Pocket PC's mapping and navigation tools plus accessory bundle impressed when we reviewed the Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled handheld a couple of months ago.

We found its $750 price tag a bit steep, however.

Today, Garmin introduced a less expensive alternative to the iQue M5. Like its sister handheld, the new iQue M3 combines a GPS navigator with a Pocket PC.

By bundling fewer bells and whistles and scaling back the iQue M3’s PDA specifications, Garmin is able to offer it for a still hefty (but not as exorbitant) $500—$250 lower than the iQue M5.

Where Am I
The iQue M3 comes with Garmin's StreetPilot C-series software for in-car navigation and automatic route calculation. Users may choose between a three-dimensional navigation view and the more traditional "bird's eye" overhead map view. The 3D navigation perspective lets drivers see an uncluttered view of what's down the road.

An integrated speaker gives voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions to your destination.

A built-in basemap of North and South America shows major highways, thoroughfares, railways, lakes, rivers and borders. Garmin also includes its MapSource City Select CD as a standard accessory, so users can download detailed street-level map data, look up nearly six million points of interest, and navigate to addresses throughout the U.S. and Canada.

World travelers can add European or Pacific Rim basemaps from the installation CD and purchase detailed maps separately. Since the iQue M3 is a Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition handheld, you can view maps both vertically and horizontally.

The GPS antenna on the iQue M3 folds flush with the back of the unit. Garmin said it patented the unit’s antenna release switch, which simultaneously powers up the Pocket PC, initiates the satellite-acquisition sequence and defaults to the QueMap interface.

Pocket PC Specs
Unlike the iQue M5, the iQue M3 won't come with a car cradle or Bluetooth. Neither PDA delivers Wi-Fi.

It has a slower processor (312 MHz to 416 MHz) and less ROM (32 MB to 64 MB). The iQue M3’s amount of RAM (64 MB) and display (3.5-inch, 240 x 320 pixel resolution & about 64,000 colors) are the same as the iQue M5's. There's a Secure Digital slot for memory and peripheral expansion.

Like the iQue M5, the new handheld measures 5.0 x 2.8 x 0.74 inches. At 5.9 ounces, the iQue M3 weighs a little less than the 6.6-ounce iQue M5.

Its swappable 1,250-mAh lithium-polymer battery specs out to deliver five to seven hours of continuous PDA/GPS use.

Garmin plans to ship the iQue M5 later this month.