PC*MILER Navigator 430 Vs COBRA GPSM5000

PC*MILER Navigator 430

$299.99-$349.99 (Low price was at a Pilot, High price was at a T/A. I Originally obtained my unit at a Loves for $349.99)

FEATURES
4.3 inch screen (Diagonally). Actual screen size is 2.25″ high x 3.75″ wide

Routing: Practical, Shortest, 53′/102” Trailer, HazMat, National Network and Toll Avoidance
13′ 6” height, 48′ length, 80,000 pound weight and 96” width restrictions

Truck-specific, loud spoken Dock-to-Dock directions throughout the U.S. and Canada

Easily detour around unexpected congestion and avoid specific roads

Miss a turn? Fast automatic route recalculation.

Truck stops, rest areas, weigh stations plus 6 Million additional Points of Interest

Easy-to-see Driver Safety Screen; flexible and clear 2D and 3D map views

Pre-installed software and map data, works out of the box

PRACTICAL USE

This is the highly anticipated GPS model that is designed to be used by Truckers (it took me about 4 months to find a Truck Stop that actually had one in stock!). It allows you to create “user profiles” that can contain such things as; Vehicle Length, Vehicle Height, Vehicle Width, and Maximum Gross Weight. Profiles can also include such things as; Preferred routing settings, such as your individual preferences to types of roadways. For example, do you prefer Interstates to Highways, care a little, care a lot? Or, do you need routing that is legal for Hazmat Loads? Or allow/disallow Toll roads?

These preferences, contained within your profile settings (switching profiles is very easily performed, if you have more than one) are then utilized to properly calculate your routing directions. Viewing your routing (which I will also refer to as a “Turns List”) can be easily performed by touching your finger to a “button” on the main screen.

On this same main screen you may also select whether you wish to use a 3-D or 2-D map presentation. There is also a VERY handy presentation called “Safety Mode”, where all you see is a very uncluttered blue screen with a large yellow directional arrow, Turning Instructions ["Stay on I-75 (Larry McDonald Highway) as GA-5 Splits off"], Miles remaining until that turn, and smaller info presented for ETA to destination and MILES to destination. A very useful screen indeed! I like this screen very much and, since I have TWO GPS units in front of me at all times (specific reasons for this will be found in the SUMMARY at the bottom of this GPS evaluation), this is my DEFAULT Screen on this unit.

This unit is quite fast with its route calculations (and re-calculations). Its computed total trip miles and ETA to destination figures are very accurate.

I find its smaller screen, however, to be hard to see, And the tiny “buttons”, used to control operation, “hard to hit” with my fingers.

Its visual “turn information” is quite easy to see and easy to interpret. However, its audible instructions are very difficult for me to hear clearly and to understand.

Once I’ve compared its “Turns List” to my other GPS, and to my Atlas, I write out a backup routing list (old fashioned pen and ink!) with the resulting routing and the mileage to the individual turns. Once I’ve done that, other than to monitor my UPCOMING NEXT TURN (using the Safety Mode screen) and to verify what the CURRENT road is (the Cobra will NOT do this), I find I have no use for it. It DOES make itself quite useful though if I need a very quick re-route (for road closures, wrecks, high water, circumventing stray dingos or sheep, whatever) OR if the Cobra should “White Screen” on me! See info on “White Screen” below in the COBRA “Practical Use” section.

I can NOT trust the routing that it gives me to be TRUCK SPECIFIC!! Once my given routing directions took me onto a street that briefly became a Bank ATM lane!! Hmmmmmmmmm! Think I could have made a very quick and easy “withdrawal” had I taken that route!

The unit will also, frequently, emit a very loud (and quite annoying) “eeeeeeh eeeeeeh eeeeeeh” warning alarm. This will be accompanied by a pop-up screen stating that, “CO-PILOT has identified this road as truck restricted. Always obey locally posted regulations”. This alarm will often occur when I am following the very (truck specific) routing that the GPS has calculated for me to travel! Also, these routes (when the alarm occurs) can be MAJOR INTERSTATES! I can also get the warning sound (jolts me right up into the air) when on roads to shippers, consignees, or even access roads into, or out of, Truck Stops!! I get these warning so often that I just ignore them altogether now! I call this ignoring phenomenon “User Fatigue”!

PRO’s

The processor chip in this unit is very fast. It can calculate your entire trip routing in 3-5 seconds! This fast CPU (Central Processing Unit) is particularly useful when you deviate from the unit’s proposed routing and it needs to re-calculate your route.

Safety Mode Presentation Screen, see description above.

Rock Solid hardware and programming. I have never experienced ANY error messages nor erratic hardware behavior from this unit.

CON’s

Do NOT trust this unit to give you routing intended for TRUCKS!! See Evaluation above for details.

Clumsy and unintuitive user interface. I find myself “lost” in the menus when trying to invoke a feature, or find trip info.

Small screen size also equals very small “buttons” and keyboard “keys”. I very frequently “miss” hitting a button at all, or worse yet, hit a “button” that was not intended.

Squawky and, at times, unintelligible sound quality. There are multiple “voices”, that you can select from, but only a couple of those are intelligible enough to suit me. Unfortunately, those clearer “voices” do NOT include Street Names when they tell you to make turns. Seems that speaking clearly takes so much effort so as to not being able to afford specificity. “Take next Right Turn” and not “Turn Right at Main Street in 1/4 mile”. Or, specific turn instructions like “Take Exit 45 ahead for I-75 South”. For the more detailed turn instructions you must select (to me anyway) one of the less intelligible “voices”.

COBRA GPSM5000

$349.99 or less (List price is $499.99)

FEATURES

5 inch screen (Diagonally). Actual screen measures 3.0″ high x 4.0″ wide.

The 5” OptiView Ultra-Bright Touchscreen provides the best view of your map screen under extreme lighting conditions, and the widescreen display lets you see more of it

The larger size allows for a much larger speaker for best clarity.

Over 7.6 million points of interest

The Cobra GPSM 5000 provides easy hands-free communication for Bluetooth enabled cell phones.

Speed and red light camera alerts.

Adjustable speed warning, magnified turn details, route comparison, SmartPower, customizable menus, automatic re-routing and more.

Pre-installed software and map data, works out of the box.

PRACTICAL USE

Comparatively speaking, this unit is a dream to operate. ALL GPS manufacturers could take a lesson from Cobra’s user interface. Most of the features and capabilities can be utilized right out of the box and without any reading of the User Manual. There is even a video (with sound) tutorial that plays automatically the first time that you turn the unit on. As part of the unit’s setup, you can specify (or remove) additional Help prompts.

The user interface is very well thought out and very easy to use. Just about any feature, or trip info that you desire, is just a few “finger clicks” away. This includes getting into the “guts” of the operating system to control setup, optimization, customization, and nice features like the Address Book. Don’t look for any Address book capabilities on the PC*Miler, much less a way to Save/Restore your addresses. Another very nice feature is a driver info screen (programmable) with Six Selections. Things like; Sunrise/Sunset times, Altimeter, Average MPH, Drive Time, Stopped Time, Current Date/time, and more! Another feature that I just haven’t found on ANY other GPS manufacturer, without regard to price.

Another capability that I just love (and use several times daily) is a “Favorite Brands” list. You can add to this list things like; specific Truck Stops, Restaurants, Retail Stores, and Institutions. My Favorites list contains; Flying J, T/A, Walmart, Best Buy, and Olive Garden. You can add many more brands (and categories) than I just listed, but those suit me fine. You can, for example, select the category of Restaurants. It is then broken down into things like; Fast food, Italian, Mexican, American, Seafood, etc. Once you select a category, it then presents you with a list of specific Brand Names. This feature is very easy to configure, and once setup, it takes just two “finger clicks” to get all of your favorites. Once you click on a specific favorite, this unit “finds” all locations within a radius of wherever you are at the moment. If any of the resulting locations are on your current route you will see a special icon next to that result. All of the “results” (whether on your current routing or not) are presented in another list which contains an “arrow”, indicating the direct of travel, and the mileage to the location. Once you specify a particular location, the unit will give you the address and phone number and allow you to either start navigating to that location, or merely place the brands logo on a flag marking its location on your current trip’s map. You can also select to CHANGE your current location to any other City or State, and THEN invoke your Favorites List. This is very handy if you are making a delivery in noname city and you want to find out if you should wait until you deliver, or if you should find a Walmart (etc) before you arrive there. The Cobra models are the ONLY manufacturer of a GPS that has this particular feature! This SINGLE feature, to me, is worth the price of the unit alone!

This is, by a very wide margin, the best GPS unit I have ever owned (or tested)! There are some behavioral issues that I have with this unit that make it frustrating at times, one of the MAIN reasons that I have TWO GPS units operating at all times.

The larger screen size (looks much larger than it actually is) is very well laid out and the “buttons” are quite large in comparison to just about any manufacturer of GPS units I’ve seen.

PRO’s

Large Screen Size
Large Buttons
Customizable strip at top of screen that displays YOUR choices
Intuitive Programming
Easy access to many types of information and program features
Very Clear Audio and “voices”
Save able Address Book
Favorites List

CON’s

I’m not sure if it’s just my particular unit or a characteristic of the Brand. I get occasional Hardware and software errors, sorta like any version of MicroSoft Windows I’ve ever owned! The PC*MILER seems to be immune from such things, rock solid in its operation. Several times a week I will get what I will call “White Screens”. All visual information is GONE. The unit, however, continues to function and give its audible commands. To recover from this, I just power it down and back up again. I get a screen asking me if I want to continue with my previous route or select a new one. One “finger click” and the unit recalculates the trip and you’re right back where you were. The PC*MILER is much quicker at recalculation because of a faster processor. Just so that you know what “quick” means, we’re talking about a few seconds vs 15-20 seconds!

The Cobra is not “truck aware” and CAN route you on an illegal route. It gives the same routing for cars, trucks, planes, boats, camel back, and even if you are on foot!

SUMMARY

Both units can generate a “Turns List”. However, the PC*MILER tells you only what road you will take, and for how many miles. That’s IT! If you want a quantity of total miles (say you’re using your speedometer’s “trip odometer”) before the next turn, then you’d better break out a calculator!!

The Cobra model presents the same information but adds to that the capability to “finger click” each individual turn on the Turns List. Once you click on an item it will then take you to a separate screen that will show you the TOTAL miles you will have to travel to get to that location, but will also allow you to “show on map” and get a small map (or large – you can also zoom in or out) showing you the roads leading into (or out of) that particular turn. Again, ANOTHER feature that is almost worth the price of the unit in, and of itself!

The Cobra’s bigger screen is definitely better for my tired old eyes. Everything is so much more legible. The Cobra can easily zoom in/out and a scale of miles can be configured to display on each map screen. While the PC*MILER can also zoom in/out it does so with tiny little buttons that are very hard to “hit” with your finger. There also is no scale of miles capability, so one has no concept as to how much distance you are looking at when zoomed.

Both units allow you to select different types of map displays. The PC*MILER has more selections to choose from than the Cobra, but I find ANY of the Cobra selections to be better than ANY of the PC*MILER’s. This, of course, is a matter of personal preferences and tastes.

Both units can do either a 2-D or a 3-D map presentation. Although the PC*MILER has the additional “Safety Mode” presentation, of which I run it in almost exclusively. This display is very nice if you just want a quick (and SAFE) glimpse of what to do next, and when. I like this PC*MILER feature a lot.

Both units allow you to select routing that is based on your preference of “Quickest Time” or “Shortest Route”.

Both units contain a rechargeable battery and can be used on foot if you like.

Both units can be configured to present separate map styles dependent on Night or Day operation.

Both units can display ETA and Mileage to Destination.

Both units feature “type ahead” often saving you entry keystrokes.

Again though, if you are purchasing the PC*MILER because it is “Truck Aware” DON’T! Do NOT trust it for “Low Clearances”, Bridge Weight Restrictions, etc. In most cases, I find that both units will frequently recommend virtually identical routes anyway. AND… don’t EVER RELY on ANY GPS for your routing anyway. ALWAYS plot your routing manually as a primary “tool”. A GPS should only be used as “backup” for a sanely planned (by a real human) route. ALL electronic devices can either FAIL unexpectedly OR make choices for you that border on the insane!! I always check my GPS routing against a map AND write my routing down on a piece of paper!

My “truck aware” PC*MILER has attempted, many times, to take me onto roads/streets with weight restrictions of “less than 10 tons”. Or instructions to make right angle turns that a 10 Wheeler would have trouble with. So exactly WHY did I take the time to input my truck length, max weight, height, and width for anyway? Expecially if the unit is just going to ignore them! That was my SOLE reason for buying the PC*MILER in the first place. And I will submit to you, is the main reason why ANY of you will be attracted to it!

In the end analysis, these units are more alike than they are different. But each unit has its own particular strengths and weaknesses. THAT is why I have TWO GPS units hanging in front of me my dear reader! Combine the two units and what you have is, in this writers opinion, the perfect GPS unit! If I had to select only ONE, it would, without hesitation, be the COBRA 5000.

Story by Dennis Dearborne