It’s been since I’ve been fascinated with the idea of watching my location on a map as I move. The price however has been a big deterrent specially when you know that craze for such devices gets over the within a month of buying it.Nonetheless, I came across a GPS device costing 7990/- from Map my India. It was the basic version with navigator only in 3.5’’ screen, no accessories included expect car charger and car windshield mount. When I called them for a demo, I went for a short test ride, I was amazed and could not believe how accurate & user friendly the device was.They also had better versions with multimedia add ons like car handsfree Bluetooth, video player, audio player, FM transmitter, etc but all starting @ Rs.15000/- upwards. Too much price to pay for such a thing. Just before placing the order for the basic one (called Roadpilot), I just browsed e-bay to check if I could any better deals. There were plenty but mostly Chinese so I could not reply on the maps being used. This is important as the most important feature in a GPS device is the map in terms of accuracy, coverage of maximum towns, etc. And then I came across GoGo India GPS. Seemed to good to believe- Indian company, fully loaded with all features, MRP 14,000 but offer price of just 7000/-. I went to their website, seemed impressive, saw a video demo on youtube, searched and found that they are using Satguide maps as well!! But I wanted a demo before buying it. Well, reaching out for a demo and purchase was a nightmare. None of the numbers mentioned on website worked, so finally I came across the number of a partner in a company mentioned in one old press release by the company. Finally a demo was arranged and I immediately bought it.
About the device: It is a state of the art device for the price! Features and their experience is as follows :GPS Navigator: Extremely accurate. Just search a city, street, point on interest (ATM, petrol pump, restaurant, etc) and select. The device will you take you there from wherever you are. You get both real timemap directions and voice commands for the turns. If you take any turn not suggested by the device, it automatically recalculates the route and suggests from the road you are on. Too good to be true these devices are. As you are driving down to your destination, it’ll show you various banks, ATMs, schools, etc, etc, etc you are crossing along with names of road. It shows your real time speed you are moving at and also altitude. The maps are fairly accurate and one cannot expect better.
I have already been for multiple trips and tested it. First was a trip to Bordi, Daman, Silvassa (all 3-4 hours from Mumbai). Daman was not mapped but rest of the towns were. Then I had gone to Pune, and found it quite impressive. Handfree Bluetooth: Just connect your Bluetooth enabled mobile phone to this device and you can make/receive hand free phone calls. The device has an in built speaker and mic. The sound quality heard by other person is not so good. The speaker quality is very good.
Music and Video Player: The device can play videos and music via memory card hat comes with it. Just load your movies/music on to it and start playing. FM Transmitter: If you want to hear the sound of the video/ audio/ or GPS navigator directions in your car’s audio system, you can do wireless pairing of the 2 via FM transmitter that comes in this device. Photo viewer: Also displays pictures that you can load in the memory card like a digital photoframe. The screen quality is very good.
Overall Look and feel, reliability:The look and feel is average. The battery is decent. However the device does remind you of being Chinese after all. Hangs sometimes. Inclusions: Device, Car charger, regular charger, earphones, car windshield mount, white colour carry case. Service:The company seems to have shutdown and it would be difficult to find after sales support. Seems like some old stock is lying with some dealers and they are liquidating it at dirt cheap prices.Verdict: If you want to go in for a GPS device, just go for GoGo India device. At this price and features, it is an unbelievable deal.
