Product Listing

Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 - A Budget GPS Smartphone

By Seow Tein Hee - 26 Apr 2010
Launch SRP: S$638

Features

Going Places

While the G60's operating system is based off the Linux engine, the M20 and now, the Garmin-Asus M10 that's in our hands, is powered by Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5. To be more precise, the M10 is supported by an updated Windows Mobile 6.5.3 edition. The differences are minute for the two Windows Mobile variants, and you'll notice a customized user interface (UI) that's similar to the earlier M20. The home screen is populated by a 3 x 3 grid per page for your most accessed applications. Customization is possible, allowing you to add or remove applications. There are still some limitations, and in this case, only 5 pages, or 45 applications, can be added onto the UI at maximum.

Three other icons are locked in place at the bottom of the screen, the first of which opens up the phone dialler. The second and third are named Search and View Map, and both are directly related to the M10's GPS-centric feature - navigation. In the M10's case, you'll find the same interface and software used on the Garmin nuvi 1460, except for some slight modifications such as answering calls and reverting to navigation mode right after. If you are a GPS user, then you'll find the Search function familiar, which lists out search criterias such as addresses, nearby points of interest, favorite locations that you earmarked and even your recent search history.

A 3 x 3 grid that houses your favorite apps for easy access.

If you run out of space (the UI is limited to 5 pages, or 45 apps max.), add or remove apps to make space.

The map is a faithful representation of what you see on the nuvi 1460, right down to the 3D and 2D maps. Our experience with the M10's navigation aspect is mostly limited to performing a quick search, waiting for a satellite lock and allowing the device to do the routing and provide us with directions. Like most personal navingation devices (PNDs) out there, the pre-loaded maps available depends on your point of purchase. For the market here, the M10 is bundled with Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei maps with voice navigation.

The Search interface resembles what you see on the Garmin nuvi 1460 GPS device, with searches your query to nearby or specific locations.

Maps look simple, represented in either 2D or 3D format

For its GPS feature, we are focusing our attention on not just its satellite lock speed, but also its accuracy and frequency of voice guided navigation. For the former, we were impressed with its fast lock speeds of 30 seconds to about a minute. Mind you, this was timed after we did a full reset of the device. Its voice navigation, however, has room for improvement. At times, we were having trouble making out the pronounciation, though ample advanced warning was given for specific turns. Technically, as we drove, we were doing our best to rely just on the voice navigation, but found our eyes drifting to the 3.5-inch screen. Unfortunately, the small screen size and challenging keyboard layout makes it hard to view the map and do a proper search before we make a move.

You might find the 3.5-inch screen and virtual keyboard to be a hindrance to fully make use of the M10's GPS features.

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6.5
  • Design 6.5
  • Features 7
  • User-Friendliness 6
  • Performance 6
  • Value 7
The Good
Affordable for a GPS smartphone
Free maps and voice navigation for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei
The Bad
Unresponsive touch screen
Sluggish interface with heavy app loading
Thick profile
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