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December seems to bring out the worst in my collection of GPS devices. One year ago, the 710 had a very odd failure. In the past week, the Edge 705 has misbehaved in a rather strange way too: heart rate monitor and cadence sensor recognized and data displayed, though I couldn’t seem to cycle faster than 0.1km/h and achieve an overall distance of 64m! That happened twice and powering the unit on and off multiple times made no difference whatsoever. At 90km/h in the car on the way home, the 705 indicated the correct speed and distance covered, but not when sitting in its cradle on the handlebar of the Anthem…

Once again, the easiest fix is a reset of the unit, but I had to perform a quick Google search to find out how to reset the Edge 705. It’s rather simple: power the unit off, then power it back on again whilst holding in the Mode button. The unit will request a reset of all user data – respond with Yes. No saved data is lost and the Edge 705 seems to be working without a hitch once again.

I followed my usual December GPS routine and searched for a new unit software update using the Mac version of the Garmin WebUpdater. On December 2, version 3.10 was released for the Edge 705 which includes the following enhancements and fixes:

• Added ability to use waypoint elevation as the starting elevation for an activity when the user starts within approximately 30m of this waypoint.
• Fixed issue where workouts using power zones based on percent of FTP or heart rate zones based on percent of maximum HR were saved incorrectly.
• Fixed issue where Garmin Training Center could give a data transfer failed error if the unit had a bike profile name longer than fifteen characters.
• Fixed issue with inaccurate display of history dates in some languages.
• Added support for updated Australia Daylight Saving Time start and end dates.
• Updated translations

The update to 3.10 to a scant three minutes and included a device reset. The Edge 705 is once again ready for action and updated with the latest software.

I haven’t bought a new GPS for the car since I’m unable to decide on a specific model or brand. Garmin units have served me well, but the recent availability of the German-made Navigon range has piqued my interest. Since I haven’t tried any turn-by-turn GPS product on the iPhone, I decided to spring for the USD 79 Navigon MobileNavigator for the iPhone to gain access to an interim solution. As far as I know, that price is valid until the end of December 2009. After that, the price of the software will probably jump back to USD 99.

For the claimed map coverage, Navigon’s MobileNavigator is extremely compact: the download is only 130MB in size and downloaded reasonably quickly over my wireless network. The map set includes South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho. For the South African map, Navigon indicates 82468 POI’s in 71 categories. With so much crammed into such a small base file, I was interested to see what extent of detail the application could provide.

The iPhone‘s GPS is rather quick to acquire a signal and in conjunction with the Navigon application that aspect does not disappoint. On first use, my location was determined in an extremely short period of time and I was immediately impressed with the quality of the display. Some options need to be changed, particularly the units of measure. Somehow, I just prefer metric values…

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With an eye on next year’s World Cup, Google has just announced the South African version of its online mapping resource, Google Maps. Anyone accessing maps.google.co.za should now see a default view of South Africa.

The usual levels of detail and various views are available.

One very useful addition is the ability to request driving directions. These are displayed on the map view and are also provided in textual form to assist in guiding eager tourists to the nearest shopping mall, B&B or liquor store. Locals will probably find the ability to request detailed route information useful to – we know where the cheapest liquor stores are located, natch!

And just in case you’re desperate for a drink, queries can be entered to assist you in finding what you’re looking for.

In time for the 2010 World Cup, Google Street View of five large metropolitan areas will be available online. For use on the go, Google Maps is accessible on most mobile phones that provide a browser.

A surprise announcement by the Garmap team: a second edition of the 2009 Africa Series maps is available for purchase. Even better, the smaller mapsets can now be downloaded directly from the Garmap website by registered owners of the software.

The second edition 2009 Africa Series sees some improvements with regard to the mapping data, regions covered, points of interest and also some new features added that were not present in earlier releases.

From a point of view of the mapping data, more than 100000 km of new roads have been added, as has Angola and additional detail for Zambian maps. Many more points of interest have been added and updated, including 300 wireless hotspots and the names of complexes and housing estates. Being able to download the mapsets is a major advantage. Only the smaller mapsets are available as a download and these include the TMC version of the South African Streetmaps (160MB in size), topographical maps (1000MB in size) and South African Waterways (105MB in size).

A new feature is the availability of TMC mapsets. Traffic Message Channel mapsets require a newer device to be able to take advantage of traffic information, though I’m not too sure how well this is already supported in South Africa. Another benefit of these mapsets is that they are slightly smaller and more compact, consuming slightly less space on the target GPS.

As always, users of older mapsets will need to purchase a license for the update, but for owners of the 1st edition, updates should be free of charge. I would still recommend buying the ZAR 10 DVD directly from a retailer – that way, you’ll have all the maps on a single disk.

As is to be expected, a flurry of activity is underway in all parts of South Africa to prepare for the big event in 2010. Not to be outdone, a new Garmap version is set to be launched in that year, hopefully with additional mapping detail, but definitely to include addresses for businesses. If there are tourists to keep happy and provide services for, then that strategy makes sense.

To get as much information as possible, the Garmap team is providing a service to allow business owners to enter information pertaining to their services. To register and enter information that may be included in the 2010 map set, go to this link. A fair amount of information is required, specifically contact details and a company registration number.

Users are assured that certain data will be kept confidential and will not appear in the listing…

This is an excellent initiative to promote South African businesses and to give those business owners the opportunity of increasing their exposure. It’s highly likely that a large number of foreign tourists will rely on GPS devices, not only during the period the 2010 World Cup takes place, but also beyond that.

Though promised for many months, the new Garmap Africa Series 2009 has only just been made available. After a number of fruitless attempts at trying to buy the ZAR 10 DVD from a variety of speciality stores, I went straight to the source and picked the DVD up from Avnic in North Riding.

The DVD contains both the Mapsource interface for users of Windows and RoadTrip for Mac users. A heap of extras are included on the DVD, such as the latest edition of the Garmin Training Center and USB drivers. Maps are the main reason you’d want this, as substantial improvements have been made. A much larger database of points of interest is bundled with the map data and more provinces now enjoy full map coverage.

I tried out the installation of MapSource on Windows 7 first. No issue with registration provided Internet Explorer is used. That’s a pity for Firefox fans out there. I was rather surprised that the MapSource version included seems rather old. Dated 2007, to be precise.

I don’t understand why the very latest version is not on the disk. The update of the product is rather easy, yet unnecessary as it could have been included by default. I suggest you perform the update immediately by selecting Check for updates from the menu.

The newer version provides a slightly improved interface and the ability to manage installed map products.

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After a fairly lengthy wait, the latest update to Garmap‘s Africa Series has been announced. Contrary to initial expectations, the new Garmap website is still not up an running and registration for the new 2009 mapset will be handled using the existing website.

Like the latest Mapsource software available from Garmin, the Garmap software will run on both Leopard and Windows. A double-sided DVD will contain Mac content on one side and Windows content on the other. Don’t worry about which side is up – the disk will let you know.

The inclusion of Mac support is quite exciting, but numerous updates and improvements to the all-important mapsets have also been made. The following mapsets are included on the DVD:

• Southern Africa Streetmaps 2009, both standard and DEM (Digital Elevation Mode)
  • Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe
• Southern Africa Topographical and Recreational 2009
  • topographical detail for South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe
• South African Waterways 2009
• Nigerian Streetmaps 2009
• Indian Ocean Islands Streetmaps 2009
• East African Streetmaps 2009

The South African Streetmaps boast full road coverage for six of our nine provinces, including 193000 points of interest and 300 wireless hotspots (no more driving around with that Pringles can ).

Digital Elevation Mode is supported by specific GPS units and provides a very attractive 3D view of terrain, incorporating topographical information and street-level detail. Check your GPS‘ capabilities to decide which mapset is more appropriate and supported.

The DVD should be in stores from this week and is said to retail for ZAR 9.95. Note that this price does not include any maps, simply the media. Online activation and variable pricing for the different mapsets on the DVD applies.

For more details, see the official Garmap announcement (this is a PDF link).

Another successful navigation and return to base camp has earned Lazarus a firmware upgrade.

Software version 4.60 for the 710 contains a few minor updates, none of them addressing the issue I have with the voice navigation’s hideous stuttering: in…200 meters….turn…left. None, either, that address the unit’s sudden freezing behaviour.

A hint regarding the popularity and reliability of this unit is Garmin‘s reticence to list the 710 in the Updates and Downloads section of its website.

You need to use the WebUpdater to find the 4.60 software update that contains the following major fixes:

• Correction to optimal route reordering
• Added support for two traffic providers
• Corrected issue with speed limits on certain roads

For those of you with a 710, connect the unit to a Mac or PC, install the latest WebUpdater and get the software down. For the first time, I performed the update using the Mac version of the WebUpdater.

Smooth operation and no trouble.

Some gadgets seem adept at miracles. The nuvi 710 has taken a sabbatical of several hours, during which time no amount of coaxing could make it wake up. The screen remained blank, the power switch was powerless.

The sole help item the Garmin support site can dish up is to attempt a factory reset. That involves pressing a finger on the lower, right-hand corner of the display and then powering the unit on. Since my 710 had no inclination at all to power on, that was somewhat useless. Not even plugging it into the USB port of the MacBook or the car cradle helped. So I left it, assuming I’d be navigating without the aid of that annoying female voice.

This morning, I simply had to try switching the unit on again. Surprise, surprise. The battery seemed completely drained, but the welcome screen appeared. Plugging it into the USB port charged the battery. Twelve hours before, that simply did not happen. We’ve been to Yatala (don’t ask) and back, aided by the miracle of electronic navigation. From now on, the 710 will be codenamed Lazarus. I do hope it refrains from exhibiting its miraculous powers ever again…

The Garmin nuvi 710 has been a faithful travel companion. Today, after navigating us quite successfully to Robina, it suddenly had one if its fits: the software hanging on this device is nothing new. The multiple firmware updates I’ve applied have done little to improve the overall seamless operation I’m used to when using other Garmin products.

A sudden freeze is often helped along by a quick reset, painful but necessary when dealing with traffic on a busy motorway. The lack of voice prompts was an initial indication that the reboot had been anything but successful: even an attempt to select a different voice from the menu showed the error no voice found.

So it goes. Another hard on-off and nothing. The unit is dead. Dead as a dodo, and we’re stuck in Robina.

Thankfully, human beings rely on memory and we found our way home. But the 710 is still showing little interest in actually waking up. In my opinion, either a dud or a badly manufactured and thought-out Garmin product. Since it’s still under warranty, I’ll be having a bit of a fight with the South African importer to get the unit replaced when I return in early January. For now, I’m really pleased I brought along the Edge 705 (sans bicycle). It has the maps for Australia loaded too, and won’t annoy with the female voice telling me where to go…