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Pagina 1 di 6 SoloPalmari GPS Test Drive (Part I)
Comparison of 6 PDAs and GPS
This is the report of a one-day travel. We had two objectives in mind: to test the accuracy of several systems with PDA-GPS components, and to reach Ariccia, a nice town close to Rome, in the area of the Roman Castles.
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ZioMeme, the youngest of the group, is at last available to disclose the name of his favourite "fraschetta", a typical Italian restaurant quite common in the area: he states we'll get the best food in our life. Guido, the oldest, would prefer to use a restaurant guide. Roberto, laughing, is convinced that we'll complain anyway at the end of the day. Myself, I just want to test the PDAs and to get some food, no matter in which restaurant.
- The tools
The track we have chosen consists also of road in the countryside: the first requisite of having a vehicle capable of travelling in those roads is satisfied by the car above.
For our tests we have used 6 different PDAs, ready for a very tough competition. Here they are, strictly in alphabetic order:  Fujitsu Siemens C550, the "multimedia PDA" (review), coupled with the GPS receiver Globalsat BT-338; N520, the entry level of FSC convergent devices (review); N560, currently the top of the Japanese-German vendor (review); HP hw6515, the first PDA-phone with AGPS; MIO A201, the budget model of the series; MIO A701, the PDA phone including a SiRFinstantFix system (review) 
Fujitsu Siemens C550, the "multimedia PDA" (review), coupled with the GPS receiver Globalsat BT-338; N520, the entry level of FSC convergent devices (review); N560, currently the top of the Japanese-German vendor (review); HP hw6515, the first PDA-phone with AGPS; MIO A201, the budget model of the series; MIO A701, the PDA phone including a SiRFinstantFix system (review)
These devices are not the only electronic companions of our tests. We also have some newcomers, but we are not going to publish the results for them, due to obvious reasons. An example is the T830 by Fujitsu Siemens (English review), still in a preliminary phase, that is expected to be available on the market by next July/September. The firmware it implements is at a too early stage to ensure an active participation to the tests and to guarantee reliable results. Side by side to this UMTS PDA phone we have included other devices: JasJar, the "king" (review); Globalsat GH-601, the wrist receiver; SD-502, the Secure Digital with a GPS antenna inside; some Nokia smartphones, and a long list of Bluetooth GPS receivers of old and new generation.
- Start and first phase
Finished with the presentations, checked our devices, planned our tour from the heart of Rome to a restaurant in the countryside (hoping that Zio is not wrong  ), our trip can start. First step, "Appia Antica". Let's go.
We are in the archeological area of the Roman, just for a quick test of Globalsat GH-601, a receiver to use for outdoor activities, like geocaching, a sport of increasing importance for those who love both nature and technology.
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