Mobile XT Vs. nüvi – You DecideBy Mike Craven (The Office Maven)

Document Version 1.03 – August 23, 2006

As you may or may not know, I've been commenting over on the GpsPasSion forums quite a lot lately about Garmin's new Mobile XT software. Especially in comparison to my own experiences with a nüvi 360 (as well as hypothesizing about the user interface in the upcoming Zūmo 550). Well, I've decided to go ahead and put together a small document that shows you a bit of what the nüvi lacks when compared to Mobile XT from a user interface perspective.

Please note that I'm not trying to "bag" on the nüvi in anyway here as I really do think that it's an awesome little GPS device. I simply want to show folks what they're missing in the nüvi as compared to Mobile XT from a user interface perspective. Also, I realize that there's already a "wish list" thread going on over in GpsPasSion’s nüvi forum and so my intent here isn't to create a document that's all about the features we want to see in a future version of the nüvi.

Instead, what I'm trying to show is that there are LOTS of features that other Garmin GPS units have that the nüvi is missing out on and I'm just pondering the question as to why Garmin decided to "dumb down" the nüvi so much so by leaving out these extra features and/or options that already exist in many of their other devices (and have existed for years now – If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the user interface in the Garmin Quest and/or Quest II portable GPS units. Besides the newer 3D map display, the Quest has had many of the features you’ll see mentioned in this document since it was first released more than two years ago now!).

For those of you that don’t already know, “Mobile XT” is Garmin’s new GPS application that will be used in their upcoming Mobile 10/GPS 10X and Mobile 20/GPS 20SM products. Garmin will also be releasing Mobile XT as a update to their aging “Que” Pocket PC software that’s included with the GPS 10 Bluetooth GPS receiver package (which I assume will be discontinued as soon as Mobile 10 and/or Mobile 20 are released). Mobile XT is basically a newer/enhanced version of the “Que Nav” application that’s included on Garmin’s iQue M3 and iQue M4 all-in-one Pocket PC devices. Currently, Mobile XT is ONLY available as a beta test version in Windows Mobile Pocket PC format for use with the GPS 10 Bluetooth GPS receiver. You can download a copy of the Mobile XT beta from Garmin’s web site here.

By looking at Mobile XT's user interface, you'll see that it's very similar to the user interface on the nüvi (note that this document assumes that you are already quite familiar with the user interface on the nüvi. If not, then you should take a good look at the Quick Reference Guides for the nüvi 310/360 and/or the nüvi 350.). However, let's take a closer look and find the differences...

I'm currently running the latest beta (i.e. version 3.81.10) of Mobile XT on a Dell Axim X51v using Garmin's GPS 10 Bluetooth receiver. As you can see, Mobile XT looks absolutely stunning on the huge 3.7" VGA (480x640) display of the X51v. And yes, the display really is that large and that good looking in real life! <GRIN>

When you first start Mobile XT, it automatically switches on your Pocket PC’s Bluetooth radio (if it’s not already enabled) and you are taken to the main menu screen (actually, you’ll see a standard nag screen first warning you not to use the program while driving just as you do on the nüvi and many other GPS devices):

The little Bluetooth icon in the upper corner shows that Mobile XT is currently scanning your Bluetooth devices looking for the GPS 10 Bluetooth GPS receiver. If you touch the Bluetooth icon the following screen appears:

Once a connection with the GPS 10 has been made, the screen changes to look like this:

Touching the "GPS Info" button shows:

As you can see, there's still some minor VGA display problems going on with the beta version, but I’m expecting them to be fixed in the final release. I’ll point out more of them as we go along.

Here’s the same screen on a QVGA display (much better!):

Returning back to the main menu screen we see that it now shows a GPS signal strength bar where the Bluetooth icon was. Also, just like with the nüvi, the "Stop" and "Detour" buttons appear during an active route:

Note that you can also click the “Disable” button in the GPS Info screen in order to disable the scanning of your Bluetooth ports. This is useful when you want to plan a route, simulate a route, manage your data, etc. while indoors. When in GPS disabled mode, you’ll see a small satellite icon with a red circle and slash over it in the main menu screen:

Clicking on the "View map" button in the main menu screen brings up the default 3D mapping screen which is nearly identical to the one on the nüvi (except that it can be viewed in either portrait or landscape mode). However, the resolution on a Pocket PC (PPC) device is worlds above the nüvi’s display and it really shows on the map page (especially in VGA mode!).

Just before I received my nüvi 360 I was using a PPC. When I turned on the nüvi, one of the first things I noticed was how poorly the display looked in comparison to my PPC. However, I soon got used to the display on the nüvi and it didn't really bother me too much after a while. However, just look at how beautiful Mobile XT’s map screen display is:

Here’s an example of the main menu screen rotated into landscape view on a QVGA display (shown in night color mode):

So far, things are quite similar between the nüvi and Mobile XT. However, lets dig a little deeper into the Mobile XT application and see what differences pop up... Touching the "Where to?" button on the main screen brings up the following screen in Mobile XT. Right away, we can see some really nice differences. Most notably, the "Home" and "Recent Finds" items aren't buried down in the "My Locations" item as they are on the nüvi (which allows routing home or to a recent location in fewer clicks). Also note the "Contacts" item which allows quick access to the addresses of all of your Contacts:

Another area of interest on the “Where to?” screen is the "Extras" item. Touching this item brings up the following screen:

The "Fuel Prices" item is a new "Garmin Online" service that will present you with the current prices for gas stations around your current location (Apparently, the fuel pricing information is taken from recent consumer credit card receipts). Note that you can even choose the grade of fuel you're interested in seeing the current prices of:

I’m not able to test this feature any further as it’s a premium (i.e. pay) service and so I only get the following screen when I click on one of the grades of fuel:

Also available from the "Extras" screen are your "Custom POIs" (loaded via Garmin's POI Loader application) as well as the "SaversGuide" and the "Travel Guide".

I’m not exactly sure why Garmin decided to bury the “Custom POIs” item down on the Extras menu instead of just adding it onto the main “Where to?” screen. I guess it’s because these type of waypoints are generally used with proximity and speed alerts and won’t be accessed as frequently by the user (otherwise, they should be placed in the “My Locations” menu instead).

Note that the "Language Guide" is not available since Mobile XT doesn't have a Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine built into it. This is the only real bummer about the Mobile XT application in my book and the one place where the nüvi really outshines Mobile XT. TTS is a really nice feature and so it’s a shame that Garmin has left it out of Mobile XT.

Back on the main "Where to?" screen we can see another area where Mobile XT really out does the nüvi when we touch the "Food, Hotels, ..." item. From here, we can see a wealth of Points Of Interest (POI) categories that don't exist on the nüvi:

Mobile XT takes this categorization one steep further by subcategorizing the various POI categories (the level of categorization here is absolutely AMAZING!).

Also, note how each subcategory has its own icon associated with it (albeit a little too small on a VGA display). This is a minor thing I know, but it's a really nice touch and it’s quite helpful when viewing other POI lists that have multiple types of POIs in them such as the "Recent Finds" list.

Food & Drink

Lodging

Fuel

Attractions

Recreation

Entertainment

Shopping

Auto Services

Transportation

Community

Bank/ATMNo subcategories for this item.

HospitalNo subcategories for this item.

Other

Another POI area where the nüvi is VERY limited is when using other maps sets such as topo maps, Bluechart maps, etc. For some really weird reason, Garmin made the nüvi’s "Where to?" screen static. Whereas in Mobile XT, when you load additional map sets on the unit, it's "Where to?" screen changes/adapts to show additional POI categories that are relevant to that particular map set. For example, loading topo maps on Mobile XT gets you the following POI categories and subcategories:

Manmade Places

Water Features

Land Features

Here's a example of what the topo maps look like on Mobile XT:

As you can see, Mobile XT has an amazing array of POI categories, one that is unmatched by any other GPS interface I’ve seen to date.

Now, lets take a look at the options/settings offered by Mobile XT. When I first looked at my nüvi 360, I was quite baffled at how Garmin had taken away much of the user control over the unit (as compared to many of their other GPS units I was used to – like the Quest, Vista C, etc.). The nüvi is really limited in the way that the user can change what's happing on the unit whereas Mobile XT is absolutely bursting at the seams with user-controlled settings. To see this for yourself, select "Settings" from the main menu screen and you’ll see the following:

Map

Note how the orientation option allows you to set the distance you want the Track Up setting to apply.

You even get full control over all of the labels that are displayed on the map screen:

System

Note the “Device has Keypad” option in the above screen shot. Enabling this feature adds numbers to all of the touchable/selectable items in Mobile XT. This way you can select the user interface elements using your device’s keyboard instead of having to actually touch the screen (this also adds full support for Windows Mobile Smartphones that don’t have a touch screen):

Routing

Note how you can set the automatic off-route recalculation prompt to be silent or announced (can’t do that on the nüvi!):

And look at this! Mobile XT has a lot more control over avoidances (note the “Major”, “Medium”, and “Minor” Roads options):

Going even further, Mobile XT allows you to create custom avoidances where you can tell the program to avoid whole areas and/or individual roads:

Once setup, the new custom avoidances are added to the main Avoidance Setup screen:

Display

Just like on the nüvi, Mobile XT supports a wealth of different language options for its on-screen text:

Audio

Garmin Online

Proximity Points

Mobile XT also has a “Tools” menu providing you with even more options that aren't available on the nüvi. From the main menu screen select "Tools" and you’ll see:

Garmin Online

Subscription Status

Weather (Mobile XT offers FREE live weather reports over the Internet!)

Traffic (Mobile XT offers FREE live traffic reports over the Internet!)

The traffic services are very similar to what’s on the nüvi with the exception that they are free as long as you have access to the Internet in order to download the traffic reports. On a Pocket PC or Smartphone this is generally done using your mobile phone’s GPRS service (or via a WiFi connection). Personally, I like this option a lot better than having to purchase a RDS FM-based traffic receiver for hundreds of dollars and then pay a $60 per year fee on top of that in order to use the service after your trial period expires as you have to do on the nüvi. Way to go Garmin!

An interesting thing to note is that the traffic services REQUIRE use of the City Navigator NT formatted maps (If you don’t have access to NT formatted maps, Mobile XT simply tells you that your detailed maps don’t support the traffic services.). This is evident from the “Building traffic

files” message that displays in Garmin’s MapSource program when you are sending the NT formatted maps to Mobile XT:

When you select the Traffic tool, Mobile XT connects to the Garmin Online server and downloads a list of recent traffic events for your current location:

Apparently Garmin is subsidizing the cost of the free traffic feature with advertising. As you can see in the above screen shot, there’s a McDonalds icon. When you click on the icon, you get a list of McDonalds restaurants around your current location:

You also get a bit of advertisement in the route calculation status display when you have the traffic features enabled. Personally, I find this perfectly acceptable as long as Garmin doesn’t take a more “in-your-face” approach at some point down the line:

On the main Traffic Events screen, the traffic reports are listed with different icons and colored lines making it easy for you to judge the severity of the traffic report. Clicking on a traffic event brings up more detailed information about it:

Clicking on the “Map” button in one of the traffic event details screen brings up a detailed map showing you where exactly the traffic alert is on the map:

Notice how the traffic event details map also shows different colors indicating the current traffic flow state for the particular road segments:

If you have the avoidance rules setup to avoid traffic (under Settings | Routing | Avoidance Setup), then Mobile XT will download updated traffic information whenever you calculate a route and it will alert you to any potential traffic events with a beep tone and a yellow traffic diamond shown in the lower right-hand corner of the map view screen:

Traffic alert icons are also shown on the map screen making it easy for you to see where exactly the traffic related problems are located on the map (however they’re quite small on a VGA display making them fairly difficult to see):

When you touch the yellow traffic diamond in the lower right-hand corner of the map view screen the list of current traffic events are displayed (in the same manner as shown above), but this time when you click on one of the traffic events, the traffic event details screen includes an “Avoid” button allowing you to tell Mobile XT to avoid that particular traffic event:

All-in-all, the “Live Traffic” feature is a great addition to the Mobile XT application (especially since it’s FREE!) as long as the servers hosting the traffic information are robust enough to handle the load that will be put on them and that the traffic information is available in your area and is somewhat reliable.

Safety Cameras (Mobile XT offers a safety camera download – pay - service for its European customers!)

Route Details (note that you can have multiple via points in your route!)

The screen shot above shows another minor VGA display problem. It displays properly in QVGA:

Clicking on an item in the Route Details list brings up a preview of that particular turn:

Again, notice how small the (POI) icons are on the map screen in VGA mode. I sure hope Garmin fixes this problem in the final release:

Clicking on the “Edit” button on the Route Details screen allows you to edit and sort the via points in your current route:

Browse Map

Where Am I? (note the nearest major intersections feature!)

Trip Computer (poor VGA display in the current beta)

Here’s the same screen on a QVGA display (much better!):

Simulate Route

Manage My Data

My Locations

Routes (Mobile XT lets you create and save routes!)

Tracks (Mobile XT has full tracking capabilities!)

You can even change the color of your saved tracks:

Note that Mobile XT even allows you to import/export waypoints, routes, and/or tracks from/to Garmin’s MapSource program (although it doesn’t seem to be working properly in the current beta):

Contacts (Mobile XT allows you to edit the waypoints it creates for your contacts!)

Map Sets

Another area where Mobile XT really pulls ahead of the nüvi is in detours. With Mobile XT you can actually set the detour for a set distance or for any one of the upcoming turns on your current route:

Mobile XT even has nicely formatted user information display screens (styled just like the c550). Again, not very important, but they really do add nicely to the overall user interface experience in my opinion.

Just as a bit of a teaser… Here’s something else that you’ll never be able to do on the nüvi… Run awesome video games (like old SEGA and Nintendo games) while you’re killing time. Not that it matters in the least bit as far as being a good GPS unit is concerned, but it’s still pretty darn cool and it provides you with a small glimpse into just what a good PPC can do (in addition to being a great GPS unit):

So… As you can see, there are lots of features to like in Mobile XT! Stay tuned as this document isn’t quite finished yet!

<<Still need to add a list of what nüvi offers that Mobile XT doesn’t like TTS, customizable vehicle icons, POI dialing, etc.>>