Garmin IQue M5 PDA

best device I have ever purchased

By Mike  Apr 26, 2006 | 2 out of 2 found this Garmin IQue M5 PDA review helpful

Pros: GPS/PDA Combo, efficiency, Tech support,

Cons: Not compatable with many after market programs

I have had three PDA's (including the M5) and this is the best one on the market, bar none. The GPS is extremely accurate as expected from Garmin. The PDA works great and syncs quickly compared to the other two PDAs I owned. This is the second M5 I o...wned. The first one had some internal issues and upon contacting Garmin directly, they never hesitated in replacing it and sending me another one. After-market software add ons are not friendly with the M5. I tried adding some software that were Pocket PC compatable and it either slowed the device or caused other problems. Windows Media Player is great and with a video compression program to compress DVDs the device is great, but try adding super solitare and the system has issues. Use caution when purchasing aftermarket software for this device. I purchased the Europecity Mapsource v.7 and it was very user friendly and operation on the device was very accurate. I have yet to become misoriented or lost since I began using this device. One thing I would recommend to Garmin is to have an additional port for charging. When you travel with the device, you can either sync or charge it but you can't do both at the same time. Syncing using battery power drains it rapidly. Also, add a USB port to download MS Word or Excel documents from a pen drive. And finally add a WI-FI device for wireless Internet to eliminate having to purchase an aftermarket SDIO card, which are hard to find for the M5. My recommendations for this device do not change my appreciation for the device. I take the device with me everywhere and use it constantly. My other devices I rarely used for numerous reasons. I showed my M5 to various friends and family members and several have purchased it and loved it. Read more Less