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These days, GPS (global positioning system) navigation systems are becoming less of a luxury, especially since the capability comes with (or can be added to) most PDAs or smartphones. If you happen to be considering the purchase of a Palm Treo (or already have one on your hip), the latest Palm GPS Navigator smartphone edition can turn it into a full-fledged navigation device.

The $299 GPS Navigator smartphone edition works with the Treo 650, 700w/wx, and 700p and includes everything but the smartphone. You get TomTom Navigator 6 software (on a single DVD), a 1 GB SD card, Bluetooth GPS receiver, suction-cup windshield mounting cradle, vehicle power adapter, and finally, a USB-based SD card reader for transferring maps from a PC.

Installation
Getting the navigation software and maps onto our Treo 700w was an exercise in utter simplicity. Since both the TomTom application and maps are pre-loaded onto the memory card, the DVD and SD card reader turned out to be superfluous. In fact, the software automatically began installing as soon as we popped the card into the phone.

If you have Internet access through your cellular carrier, you can register the software right from the phone (otherwise you can do it from a PC). A TomTom link is added directly to the Windows Today screen so you don't have to dig through the Start menu to find it, though it's probably more convenient to keep the software running even when not in use, since each time you fire it up you're forced to acknowledge a legal disclaimer message before you can proceed.

After spending a few minutes specifying some general configuration settings including the language used for the display text and voice prompts (for the latter we're partial to UK female) we were ready to hit the road.

GPS Software
We found the TomTom Navigator 6 software to be quite user-friendly, and the GPS data highly accurate. The software's interface makes excellent use of the limited amount of screen real estate you get on a Treo (relative to a standard PDA or dedicated navigation device).

The top 70 percent or so of the display is devoted to the 2D/3D selectable map, while the remainder is divided into two sections that show information on the next turn and a variety of miscellaneous trip data such as estimated time remaining and arrival time.

Interacting with the software from the driver's seat is easy. Pressing each of the three display sections—they're easily large enough to do so without the stylus—brings up relevant configuration menus, including a convenient on-screen volume control.

You get lots of customization options when planning routes—you can navigate to one of thousands of pre-defined points of interest, or to an address in your contact list, and avoid things like toll roads, for example. The software also offers plenty of ways to visualize your route; you can even preview it in motion before you depart.

The TomTom software comes with maps for all of the U.S. and Canada, plus Guam and Puerto Rico (if you happen to be heading that way). The GPS receiver synched up with the phone very quickly (usually within seconds) and route recalculations were always speedy as well.

Unexpected Trips
Although the Palm GPS Navigator software is easy to set up and use, we weren't quite as enamored with some aspects of the product accessories.

The Bluetooth GPS receiver uses a removable and rechargeable Li-Ion battery that Palm says is good for about five hours of life. On the plus side, the cigarette-lighter power cable can charge both the Treo and the GPS receiver simultaneously, and the receiver uses a USB type-A device connector so it can also charge through a USB port (but the appropriate cable isn't included in the package).

Unfortunately, the compact and lightweight receiver—which is about the size of a matchbook, weighs about 2 ounces, and is intended to sit directly atop the dashboard—proved highly prone to taking trips of its own.

In spite of three small rubber feet designed to keep the unit in place, it never stayed in place for very long. Even leisurely turning maneuvers invariably sent it tumbling off the side of the dash. (Keeping the receiver tethered to the charger cable did make it easier to retrieve off the floor.)

This problem might be ameliorated through the use of an external GPS antenna, and the receiver does have a connector for one. But unfortunately Palm's Web site doesn't offer an external antenna for sale, and a Palm representative had no information about the availability of one.

We experienced a similar problem (albeit not as severe) with the GPS Navigator's windshield mount device cradle, which rather than being designed specifically for Treo devices, is a "universal type". Although you can adjust it for width, instead of locking in place the phone simply rests against padding which doesn't hold the Treo particularly securely.

A positive aspect of this arrangement is that it makes the Treo very easy to remove from its cradle with one hand and almost no effort. The flip side is that on at least one occasion, our phone popped out right of the cradle during modest acceleration from a stoplight.

Bottom Line
There's a lot to like about the Palm GPS Navigator smartphone edition—the preloaded memory card makes it extremely easy to set up, the well-designed TomTom software is a breeze to use, and the $299 price tag is quite reasonable. We'd recommend it unreservedly if we hadn't had problems keeping the phone and GPS receiver firmly in place. Overall it's a good package, but with an improved phone mount and a more substantial way to affix the GPS receiver to the dash, it would be a great one.