Product Review
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Gophers VISI-O Navigation
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October 2010 - Asian Auto Issue 10
Winning its way into Malaysian hearts, Gophers, Malaysian manufacturer of PC.com's Best GPS Device of the Year 2009 understands the need of having commercial maps installed in their devices rather than community maps such as MalSing. As such Gophers became the first local company to collaborate with Aapico ITS, which was named the Frost & Sullivan Award for the Most Promising Car Navigation Company in 2008. New QuatrO and VisiO navigation devices will now come pre-installed with Aapico ITS's Powermaps software. For a start the Powermaps is a notable improvement over the MapKing navigation software it replaces. On the 5-inch VisiO Lite unit, graphics are crisp, clear & easy to understand be it day or night rendering, with up to four direction markers given for drivers to plan ahead. The Powermaps' database is comprehensive with most roads accurately mapped out and important landmarks such as banks , petrol stations and government offices marked out.
http://www.gophers.com.my/faq/faq.aspx
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Power of Powermaps
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Issue 7/2010 - 4x4 Magazine
FLYING to the city of Bangkok is a quick and easy two-hour affair that we often forget how far the Thai capital really is from Kuala Lumpur.
For Chong Lee Siong, director of product development for Gophers Technologies, the challenge to drive up to Bangkok from Kuala Lumpur was something he couldn't pass up, and neither could we.
Chong, who has no prior experience driving into Thailand, had planned to reach the capital in two days with the use of the latest Gophers Visi-O GPS (global positioning satellite) navigation device and Powermaps.
Powermaps, a navigation software and map database created by Thai-based Aapico ITS, has been in development since the company started in 2005, and is now regarded as one of the best digital navigation maps in Thailand.
The journey would entail 1 ,497km of the North-South Highway and Thailand's regional highways, with only a hotel reservation in Bangkok at the end of the journey.
Between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, we were at the mercy of the Powermaps program, but Chong was confident Powermaps' Thailand map database would guide us to our destination.
With the latest Thai maps installed in our Visi-O units, we set off for the Thai border just outside of Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah.
The first leg of our journey was a 340km drive to Juru Autocity, Penang where we stopped for lunch as it was easily accesible to the North-South Highway.
Then we crossed the border into Thailand and covered as much distance up north as possible to reach the Thai capital as early as possible the next day.
Due to a hiccup at the Thai border control we only set off from the border in the late afternoon. While the national highway known as Route 4 would head west towards the popular tourist destinations of Krabi and Phuket, we stuck to Route took us up north and deep into the Thai countryside.
With night quickly setting in we decided to make Surat Thani, a city located 35km from the tourist destination of Ko Samui, as our next stop instead of Chumphon which was another 190km north.
This was where the Powermaps' Thai maps proved indispensable as the local populace could barely understand a word of our English which made queries for directions and location a near impossibility.
Powermaps' comprehensive database enabled our GPS unit to easily locate an obscure motel near the city centre.
Called Palm Garden Resort, individual rooms come attached with its own parking lot in front, which is ideal for travellers who are driving.
Due to time constraints the next day, we only managed a quick tour of Surat Thani before setting the Visi-O for Bangkok and started the 637km journey.
Stopping only for food and fuel outside the city of Prachuap Khiri Khan along the highway, the Powermaps software guided us from our SuratThani motel doorstep right up to the hotel lobby of Arnoma Hotel, which was located right in the heart of Bangkok city.
With some detours along the way we noticed that direction re-routing was noticeably slower.
But the software's re-routing didn't take longer than a minute despite having to sort out more than 500km worth of road.
When we entered the bustling city of Bangkok, the Powermaps' 3D landmark renderings did cause a slight lag in the Visi-O's 3D view when rotating, but this problem was quickly alleviated by selecting the 2D view option or switching off the 3D landmark view option all together.
To give us an idea of how large the Thai maps are, Chong says data on the Thai maps are five times larger than that ofthe Powermaps we receive in Malaysia, which covers the whole of Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak included) as well as Singapore.
Going by the smooth Thai journey, we can say that Powermaps is easily one of the best route guidance software and navigation maps packages out there.
- AC Syndication
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A Travel Companion
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November-December 2010 - Cars.my
The Gophers Visi-O provided the much-needed directional assistance on our way to Swiss-Garden Resort and spa. The global positioning system (GPS) module sports a five-inch pressure- sensitive touchscreen, which inevitably made it less strenuous on the eyes.
Apart from the normal routing functions, the Visi-O also has a photo assistance function; a photo pops up on-screen before an intersection to further help navigation. It also has a points-of-interest (POI) function; select from a list of categories in the GPS and it will immediately provide a list of tourist/interesting places in the immediate vicinity.
The module is laced with rubberised paint, and it actually feels good in one's hands; no fear of it slipping when holding the gadget. The black paint, however, does make the entire GPS module rather hot, especially under the Malaysian sun(i.e. on the windscreen).
The Visi-O that we had came with the PowerMap package, and it does what it's meant to do quite well indeed. The travel to Kuantan gave us the opportunity to test the PowerMap package well out of the trodden paths, and its information held out pretty well. We utilised the POI function extensively, especially when searching for food, and it never failed.
While the Visi-O does have its quirks (i.e. CCTV interference, low touchscreen sensitivity, and a not terribly exciting or sexy navigation voice), for its price and package, I do not think any other established GPS provider comes close. It does what it is meant to do, which is to get you where you want to go.
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Meals on military wheels
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24 October 2010 - Starmotoring
A brief history lesson on GPS meanders into a look at the locally made Gophers' unit with a big screen.
HERE'S something for all you trivia mavens out there. GPS was designed as a navigation tool for the US armed forces.
That's right, the sat-nav in your car or even the GPS in most modern mobile phones were originally designed to allow GI Joe to rain heavy munitions with pin-point accuracy on some enemy of the state with much shock and awe.
Shock and awe are certainly emotions you'd feel when you first see Gophers' VISI-O GPS unit.
With a whopping 5-inch screen, it's certainly one of the biggest satnavs I've ever seen. It makes my existing GPS unit from another maker feel almost inadequate and dysfunctional. According to Gophers' own website, the new VISI-O is powered by the latest and best SiRF Atlas IV GPS receiver in a compact and slim rubberised casing for better durability. The unit comes pre-loaded with Mapking 3D Landmark software with maps of Malaysia/Singapore as well as free MalsingMaps for Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.
Other features include junction views Lane guidance, automatic day & night, and zoom display, trip computer, 2D and 3D map display and multiple route options.
Yet, this being Gophers, and given previous experiences with its devices’dislike for tinted windows when trying to get a GPS lock on position (long-suffering readers of this column will remember instances of me sticking the unit out of the window just to get a signal) you will be glad to know that Gophers seem to have sorted out that little bug bear.
According to the firm, most sat-navs aren't too happy with tinted windows any way and the installation of an external aerial more often than not would clear most things up.
With the new VlSl-O, getting a lock on position has gotten faster in spite of tinted windows. But while it is faster than before, it isn't going to set any industry records.
Still, as most of us aren't leading a squad of marines to attack an entrenched enemy in deepest Afghanistan, a slower start-up isn't going to be too big a problem and with a screen of that size, it certainly overrides any other consideration, right? Big is beautiful, no? Well, yes, but to an extent.
Gophers' previous units that I've tried have always impressed in the sense that, graphically, they stand out. Sharp, clear and easy on the eye, the firm's units have previously been intuitive and relatively user-friendly and, for tile most part, the VISI-O doesn't disappoint.
Visually the bigger screen was also a plus point, making things look ... well, bigger. Gripes? Just a couple, like the 360 touch screen button. For some reason when I pressed it, it caused the display to spin like a whirling dervish in a religious trance, the lack of options when it comes to voices, a very inflexible mounting system, and a whole new set of icon touch screen buttons that need some getting used to.
The biggest gripe? It's too big. Having a big screen is a good thing but when it's too big it does have a nasty habit of getting in the way both in terms of blocking your view of the road when you stick it up on the windscreen as well as when its huge screen acts as a massive solar reflector that effectively blinds you .
So, how does the VISI-O operate in real world solutions? Could it be used by 007 types to infiltrate North Korea to steal state secrets?
Could a squad of Navy SEALS use this sat-nav to move behind enemy lines? Can it get a foodie to food? Most people who buy sat-navs for their car usually want a device that can get them from Point A to Point B without getting lost. The military uses GPS to navigate to and from a target area.
This writer often uses his Garmin to locate popular food stalls. The Star has, over the past couple of years, released a series of guidebooks that tell foodies where the good street stalls are. My own sat-nav has, over the years, helped and hindered me to find some really good places to eat. After all, it once told me that I was outside a particular restaurant when the actual place was 500m down the road .
So, in the great Klang Valley foodie road trip, how did the VISI-O fair? Like other GPS units, very much a hit and miss affair. The joys of yong tau foo at Foong Foong Restaurant and fish ball noodles at Restaurant 138 were easy enough to find using the satnav, given their locations along Jalan Merdeka in Ampang but finding a pan mee stall in Jalan Pasar proved to be an exercise in frustration.
Ditto too Restoran Yang Kee in Overseas Union Garden and its famed beef ball noodles and beef brisket with white radish, which the VISI-O indicated was in a shop lot on the opposite end of where it actually was while the infamous wantan mee at Restoran Meng Shiang in Taman Cheras it found spot on.
Ultimately, the accuracy of the VISI-O is dependent upon its navigation software and periodical upgrades are available, which means, that if you're looking to find the perfect meal or meals and need to have the guidance of a relatively large black box that once would have been used by Delta Force to seek out and, destroy enemies of the Free World, then the RM598 VISI-O could just be that box you're looking for.
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GOPHERS VISI-O LITE
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July 2010 - Protuners Volume 7.0
Gophers has once again, delighted us, with one of their latest products, the VISI-O Lite GPS. The first thing I noticed when I opened the package was all 5 inches of its huge LCD screen. This is probably one of the most noticeable upgrades from the QUATR-O's 4.3in LCD which was released last year.
It feels sturdy and gives me the impression that it can take some abuse. The device is coated with a soft casing that has a rubbery feeling for grip and rounded edges for better durability. Measuring in at only 16mm in terms of thickness and weighing in at 240g, the device is slim and easy to carry around.
Made to be bigger, better, and faster, we see some improvements in the spec list alone compared to its predecessor which was released in the middle of last year. Gophers upgraded the OS from MS Windows CE 5.0 to 6.0, it is also powered by the new SiRF Atlas IV 500mHz GPS receiver and has 128mb flash memory which is double the amount of its predecessor's.
MapKing and Malsingmaps are the two mapping programs which provide coverage for Malaysia and Singapore. Its maps are constantly updated by contributors, and though not perfect, they are simply the best amongst the choices we have. If you want better reception, there is a jack for an external antenna which is particularly useful if you have windscreen tinting.
For those who are not familiar with this system, searching for a location involves identifying a category that it is in.
Beginning with state, you then decide on which class it's under, like Restaurant, Government, Shopping and such. Once you've got that down, a list of suggestions will appear, but you can choose to enter keywords for more accurate results.
The stylus pen is precise but I found that I can do just fine with my fingernail. The interface design is pretty simple with nothing much being changed in the controls, and it wasn't long before I felt familiar with it. Unless you are a 'techy' adept, I would imagine that it'd probably take some getting used to, just as any other gadget would but once you are, it's pretty simple to navigate.
When you're driving, there will be times when it would be safer to keep your eyes on the road and rely on voice instructions from the GPS. The speakers on the VISI-O can be cranked up quite loudly. It was fairly audible, even when I drove with the windows down.
Voice instructions come in several languages while the interface can be viewed in English, Mandarin and Malay, so that should be able to accommodate most of everyone. I would recommend this GPS for entry level users for its simplicity, though it is important to understand that the nature of such devices would naturally require some effort in familiarizing.
For more information, please refer visit www. gophers.com.my
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