DeLorme PN-40

DeLorme has announced a new GPS that they are dubbing a “serious tool”. I’ve had a chance to play around with a pre-production version of the PN-40, running beta software, and here is what I’ve discovered.

Much of what is new about the PN-40 is under the hood. A tri-axis electronic compass, barometric altimeter, and a processor that is dramatically faster. Also not readily visible as a new USB 2.0 interface which will enable map transfers to happen much faster, and a higher sensitivity GPS chipset. Under the limited testing I’ve had so far, I haven’t had a chance to test many of those. But here is what I have seen.

Update - Satellite Reception

I have now had a chance to test the satellite reception fairly extensively on the PN-40. The new chipset is indeed much stronger than that found in the PN-20. But how do you quantify something like that? We performed an NVM reset on both devices with clears out all of the ephemeris data. The devices then are in a state where they would be as if they came from the factory. We turned them on, side by side, to see how long it would take each to get a 3D signal.

As you can see from the video, the new PN-40 is much faster. From a cold start the new PN-40 took just one and a half minutes to get a satellite signal. The PN-20 cold starting from the same configuration took nearly eight and one half minutes– over five times as long. Our field testing yielded similar results in acquisition time and quality.

First Impressions

The first thing you will notice is that simple tasks like paging through menus now happens instantaneously. The PN-20 wasn’t a total dog in this regard, although it might feel like it now in comparison to the PN-40. Nearly as soon as you tap the page button, the new menu page is displayed without delay. Just working your way through the menus is considerably faster.

The second thing you will notice is how fast the maps draw. With the PN-20 I used to take some of the advice I had received about map storage, trying to cut smaller maps and putting them in the internal memory when possible. I don’t think anyone will need to worry about such “map management” anymore. Even loaded with several USGS topo maps, color aerial imagery, draw layers, and running the maps in “hybrid” mode the map redraws very fast.

Panning the maps is also much faster… even the cursor tracks faster across the screen. When you pan across large areas, the map will still “disappear” until it is redrawn, as opposed to live “dragging” of the map, but it is a stretch to call that a serious complaint.

But the real magic happens when you start moving. The PN-20 will track you up a section of screen, then when the cursor gets close to the edge the map will make a big pan, a sluggish redraw, and then re-center on your current position. How does the PN-40 do? Amazing.

Like a typical auto GPS (and many other non-DeLorme handheld models) the PN-40 will now constantly keep you “centered” on the screen and the map will pan around you. It won’t wait until you get close to the edge of the screen before it pans. So just how fast is this refresh rate? I found it to be within 2 seconds with a device heavily loaded with maps and in hybrid mode. So every two seconds the device will recenter and redraw the maps on your current position. You hardly see it happening and it tracks very smooth.

Like the menu interface and map redraws, the speed of the device extends to other tasks as well. Need to search for a POI? the page of search results will fill-up within a few seconds now rather than the “search and wait” days of the PN-20.

I played around with the electronic compass and barometric altimeter a little bit. I failed to properly calibrate the compass on the first try, but got it the second time around. Not unlike experiences I’ve had with other electronic compasses. They do have a really nice way of showing you how to move the device through the calibration process by showing an animation on the screen.

Simply put, the DeLorme PN-40 isn’t dramatically different from a static picture point of view from the PN-20, but everything it does… it does much. faster. Someone asked me “So, is it a bit faster than the 20?”. No, I replied… It is much faster.

The Electronic compass and barometric altimeter really don’t get me excited. But the dramatically faster processor and the increased sensitivity chipset will make the PN-40 a much more powerful tool for GPS enthusiasts.

Original Release notes:

We’ve written tons and tons about the DeLorme PN-20 so we are excited to hear about the future release of the DeLorme PN-40. Here are some highlights of the new device, we can’t wait to check it out!

• NEW! Super high-sensitivity 32-channel Cartesio chipset by STMicroelectronics delivers near-instantaneous signal acquisition and ConstantLock™ satellite retention
• NEW! Dual-core processor for rapid screen re-draws, even with large aerial imagery files
• NEW! 500 MB of onboard Flash memory (1 GB total hard drive)
• NEW! 3-axis electronic compass with included accelerometer performs when held in any position—while in motion or standing still
• NEW! Sensitive barometric altimeter for reliably accurate altitude readings
• NEW! Supports SDHC high-capacity SD cards—32 GB or higher
• NEW! Fast USB 2.0 data transfer to internal memory or SD card in device
• NEW! More detailed onboard base map data for the U.S., now with secondary and connector roads (along with major highways and thoroughfares for the entire world)
• 65K-color daylight-readable TFT screen for clarity in any light conditions
• WAAS-enabled for accuracy within 3 meters
• Topo USA 7.0 software with complete U.S topo and street maps included—no extra purchase required. Also displays USGS 7.5-min quads, aerial imagery, and NOAA nautical charts via online download from DeLorme
• PN-40 scheduled for Fall 2008 release

Many of those improvements seem to address the few issues we saw with the PN-20, so we are super excited about the possibilities the PN-40 will provide!

Located in DeLorme, GPS on Jun 25, 2008