This is the second article reviewing the Medion MDPPC 250 which is a combined Pocket PC PDA and satellite navigation system. Last week I looked at the Pocket PC side of things. This week I take a look at the satellite navigation features of this device.

Navigator Setup

The satellite navigation software on the PDA is called Medion Navigator. I tested version 5.1 which has a software date of Nov 21 2005.

The first thing to note is that the Medion comes with a separate detached GPS receiver. The GPS receiver is not built into the PDA like the HP iPAQ 5720 previously reviewed.

The setup consists of a a power adapter which you plug into the cigarette lighter of your car. This power adapter has a two way splitter cable. One cable connects to the PDA. The other cable connects to the separate GPS receiver which you need to stick to the dashboard using the provided velcro tape.

The instruction manual does a good job of explaining the initial setup, but there are no instructions on using the satellite navigation system. The documentation could be improved in this area. For example, a couple of pages explaining the basic navigation features would have been nice. If you’re familiar with satellite navigation systems then you should be able to find your way around the device fairly easily.

GPS Receiver

I had no problems picking up a GPS signal with this device. It took a little longer to establish a satellite connection than other GPS systems I have tested, but once established it worked fine.

The GPS draws power from a set of batteries inside the GPS receiver. These batteries need to be charged for 2.5 hours using the cigarette lighter socket in your car before the GPS can be used.

Whilst the GPS receiver is connected to the cigarette lighter socket it is constantly drawing power. It is therefore important to disconnect the GPS receiver from the cigarette lighter socket if your car is parked for a long period of time. If the GPS receiver is not disconnected then you run the risk of draining your car battery.

Personally I didn’t like having the GPS receiver separate from the PDA. This means an extra set of cables dangling around the car when driving. It was too much clutter for me.

Navigator Maps

The Medion Navigator software comes with full maps covering the UK and Ireland. It provides limited support for travel in other European countries, covering main roads but not detailed street level. If you require detailed European maps then these can be purchased separately.

Navigator On The Road

You can navigate to either an address or Point of Interest (POI). This can either be a POI near your current location, or a POI in another town you specify.

The first thing to note is that this device does not support full postcode entry. You can enter a partial postcode to confirm the city/town you wish to travel to, but you must then type the street name using the touch screen keyboard. I found this a bit disappointing

Requiring a user to enter full address details makes the satellite navigation system both awkward and time consuming. If you’re going to be using the Navigator frequently then you may find this irritating. Having said that, you can store regular destinations in your favourites list for easy access later. In addition the Navigator keeps a list of recent destinations which you can also access.

I planned several routes using this device and the Navigator worked fine on all occasions. I deliberately took several wrong turns whilst using this device and it was able to recalculate a new route without any problems.

There were several features that I particularly liked.

Road Names: The Navigator voice instructions include the road names, for example, “take the 2nd exit onto the A4″. I found this a nice touch, not seen on more expensive GPS systems I’ve tested so far. Including the road name helps to confirm you’re travelling in the right direction.

Traffic Flow: The maps shows the traffic direction for each road. This is quite useful for identifying one-way streets on the map.

Automatic Points of Interest (POI): I like how POI such as garages are automatically displayed on the map whilst driving. These can act as good visual indicators to confirm you’re travelling in the right direction.

Routing Options

You can adjust the speed profile on the Navigator depending on the vehicle you’re using. The following profiles are supported – slow car, standard car, fast car, motorcycle, lorry, bike and pedestrian.

I couldn’t really see the point of having slow car and fast car profiles but these options are available if you need them. Motorcycle and pedestrian modes are not really practical either due to the separate GPS receiver. There are too many cables to carry around. If you want a GPS receiver for pedestrian use then I would consider an alternative system.

The usual routing options found on other satellite navigation systems are supported, such as choosing the fastest or shortest route. You can also instruct the Navigator to avoid motorways, ferries and toll roads if required. It also supports measurement in either miles or kilometres.

Volume Controls

The volume on the Navigator does not automatically adjust to the speed you’re driving. You have to adjust the volume control manually. Even at the maximum volume level of 100% I found this device too quiet. If you travel with the windows open you may have difficulty hearing the voice instructions.

Points of Interest (POI)

The Navigator includes a POI database, although pretty basic compared to other GPS systems I have used.

You can refine your search using the following categories:

Petrol station, Parking, Garage, Accommodation, Restaurant, Public Transport, Shopping, Sightseeing, Culture, Nightlife, Recreation, Sports, School & Education, Health Care and Tourist Information.

On some of these options you can refine the search criteria further. For example, if you only want to search for a BP or Esso petrol station then you can do that. But on most of the options you are pretty limited in being able to refine the search criteria any further.

Overall the POI is very basic. Not too much thought has gone into the design of this feature. There is definite room for improvement in this area.

Navigator Summary

This is a budget system so don’t expect an all singing, all dancing satellite navigation system. Having said that, there are some nice touches to this system, such as voice directions including road numbers. But overall it is let down by a lack of full postcode entry, low volume levels, and a basic POI system.

If you’re on a tight budget and don’t mind the weaknesses mentioned above then it is worthy of consideration, especially if you’re only going to use the GPS on an occasional basis. When you consider the cheap price which gives you both a decent spec PDA and basic satellite navigation system it represents good value for money.

If you’re going to use the GPS regularly and can afford to stretch your budget further then I would consider taking a look at something like the HP iPAQ 5720. If you don’t really need a PDA then there are far better dedicated satellite navigation systems for the same price.

What I Like
- Road numbers included in road directions
- POI automatically displayed on map

What I dislike
- Does not support full postcode entry
- Voice directions too quiet
- POI very basic
- No integrated GPS receiver

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© Dean Taplin - Gadget reviews from Technical Itch.

This article reviews the Medion MDPPC 250 Pocket PC PDA with GPS Navigation. This device is at the budget end of the combined Pocket PC/Sat Nav market, so I was interested to see how it would compare to the more expensive HP iPAQ 5720 previously reviewed on this site.

This review will be split into two. This week I take a look at the Pocket PC and what is has to offer. Next week I will give an in depth report of the GPS navigation.

Box Contents

Inside the box you will find the following items:

- Medion MDPPC 250
- Touch screen stylus
- Docking Station
- External GPS receiver
- Car kit – includes windscreen mount, holder and car charger
- Battery
- USB cable
- CD-ROM (includes Microsoft Outlook 2002 and ActiveSync software)
- Instruction Manual

Detailed Specifications

- Model ID: MDPPC 250
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003
- Pocket PC versions of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Reader, Internet Explorer and MSN Messenger
- Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 Series
- Medion Navigator 5 (on provided SD card)
- External GPS receiver: SiRF Star II
- Samsung S3C2410 300Mhz processor (ARM)
- 3.5” colour touch screen
- Display Pixels: 240 x 320
- ROM/RAM Size: 32 Mb / 64 Mb
- SD / MMC expansion slot
- Headphone jack
- Microphone/speaker

Setup

When the device is first switched on you are guided through a few initial setup screens to configure the PDA. Once this is done you can start using the device.

The PDA comes with a CD-ROM containing Microsoft ActiveSync and Microsoft Outlook. ActiveSync enables information on your PC to be synchronized with your PDA. This is information like your Outlook calendar, email inbox and contacts. You also have the option to create a shared folder on your PC which allows you to synchronize other documents between your PC and PDA, such as Word or Excel documents.

The whole setup process went smoothly. Once ActiveSync was installed it automatically transferred my Outlook calendar, email inbox and contacts over to the PDA.

The best place to start exploring the PDA is the ‘Today’ page, otherwise known as the Start screen. This is the page that is displayed when you switch on the device. It shows you at a glance the current date and time, your calendar appointments for the day, any unread email messages, and any tasks you have setup.

The Medion comes with an instruction manual which does a pretty good job of explaining the PDA side of things, but there is not enough documentation on how to use the Navigator satnav software/GPS.

Usability

You can navigate around the Medion Pocket PC using either the provided stylus or by using the program buttons at the bottom of the screen.

These buttons provide access to the following commonly used functions:

- Start screen
- Email inbox
- Contacts
- Calendar

There is also a navigation pad which moves up, down, left and right. Pressing the centre of this pad confirms a selection. This navigation pad can be useful for navigating items like your email inbox. These buttons can be adapted to access other programs if you’re not happy with the defaults.

People who don’t like using a stylus on the touch screen will welcome these buttons. I found the stylus pretty easy to use and rarely used the buttons.

On the side of the device there is also a button for recording voice notes. Unlike the HP iPAQ 5720, there is no option to rotate the screen, but that is only a minor niggle.

The 300Mhz processor overall performed pretty well. Applications loaded quickly and I didn’t observe any sluggishness or undue delays whilst using the device.

Docking Cradle

The Medion comes with a docking cradle which was a welcome addition. The more expensive HP iPAQ 5720 which I reviewed recently had no docking cradle. The docking cradle is a bit fiddly to use at first, you need to press the PDA firmly into the docking cradle before a connection is made. After a few attempts you will soon find this straightforward.

The PDA does not draw any power from the USB cable so don’t rely on your PC to keep the PDA fully charged. If you intend to keep the PDA connected to your PC for long periods of time then you must keep the docking cradle power supply switched on. If you don’t do this then the batteries will drain rapidly, in around 6 or 7 hours.

You can also purchase a separate battery pack if required which fits in the bottom of the docking cradle. This would allow you to charge the PDA without the need for an electrical socket.

Office Software

Outlook is probably the best piece of software on the Medion PDA. I found it straightforward to check my emails, manage my appointments and lookup contacts.

I personally found using applications like Excel and Word on this device too fiddly. The screen is just too small to work effectively with any documents, although if you just want to store documents or transfer documents from one PC to another, then it will perform fine.

When using applications like Word and Excel there are several different handwriting modes available. You can either use an on screen keyboard or use one of the handwriting recognition methods. I found the Block Recognizer and Letter Recognizer very difficult to use, the PDA had difficulty recognizing my handwriting.

I had much greater success using the Transcriber Only method. I found this method much more natural, more closely resembling using a pen on paper, although still a bit fiddly at times. It takes a bit of practice but after a day or so you soon get used to it. Providing you don’t write too fast then the PDA should be able to recognise your handwriting without any problems.

Connectivity

There is no connectivity out of the box with this PDA which is a shame. That means no Bluetooth or wireless. If you want Bluetooth or wireless capabilities then you will need to purchase a separate SDIO card. Bear this in mind before purchasing.

When the PDA is connected to your PC the ActiveSync software will automatically download new emails to your PDA. Once you disconnect the PDA from your PC you lose that capability. You will need to periodically connect the PDA to your PC to pickup new emails.

If you only need to synchronize your emails and calendar once a day then this PDA will perform fine. You could for example, synchronize the PDA first thing in the morning, and then check your calendar and new emails on the train whilst commuting into work. For these types of task it will perform great. You could then synchronize the PDA again once you arrive at the office.

I found the whole synchronization process worked well. It was useful being able to synchronize my calendar in the morning and then take the device out and about, and get reminders about forthcoming appointments later in the day.

Media

The Medion comes with Microsoft Windows Media Player 9. I downloaded a few MP3 tracks onto the device and encountered no problems using the Medion as a MP3 player. There is a headphone jack on the side of the device if you want to use it for this purpose. The Medion also comes with two games – Jawbreaker and Solitaire.

Medion Add-Ons

As mentioned earlier, the Medion PDA does not support Bluetooth or wireless out of the box. The Medion does though have an SDIO slot. If you really want Bluetooth or wireless capability then you can purchase a Bluetooth or wireless card separately and plug it into the SDIO slot. These cards retail in the UK for under £20 so they are not too expensive.

Medion Pocket PC Summary

Overall this is not a bad PDA device offering easy integration with Outlook on your PC. I found Outlook worked very well with the screen size although you may find power applications like Word and Excel too fiddly to use.

The overall usability of the PDA is good and it has a reasonable battery life. The lack of Bluetooth and wireless may put off power users who want to regularly connect up to a network to synchronize the device. If you only want to synchronize the PDA once a day using the USB cable then it will perform fine. A separate SDIO Bluetooth or wireless card can be purchased to overcome this limitation.

What I liked
- Good integration with Microsoft Outlook
- Pocket PC easy to use
- Docking cradle included

What Could Be Improved
- No Bluetooth or wireless out-of-the-box
- Ability to rotate screen

Medion Navigator

The Medion Pocket PC also comes with an external GPS receiver and Navigator satellite navigation software. How does it compare to the TomTom that comes with the HP iPAQ 5720.
Read the Medion Navigator review.

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© Dean Taplin - Gadget reviews from Technical Itch.