10. Data Entry And Touch Screen Usability

The Magellan device really shines when it comes to entry and identification of routes. Users enter an address in a multi-step process involving the input of the city, street name and street number. Letters and numbers can either be entered via the touch screen or physical scroll keys on the right side of the screen. Each entry is simplified through a fool-proof auto-completion functionality that dramatically reduces the time for finding a destination. We loved the perfection of this feature that only could see slight improvement through a larger screen and the option of a QWERTY keyboard.

Almost perfect: The Magellan simplifies city and street selection with auto-complete and grays out letters for the completion of city and street names.

Lowrance's iWay 500c requires the user to enter all address data (street number, street, city, state) at once on the screen. This can be a lengthy process, since an auto-complete feature is absent and spelling errors are more likely. Closing in on a particular destination takes considerably more time than with the Magellan unit, even for users who are familiar with the device. The missing auto-complete also requires the user to know the exact address of his or her destination, including street number, street and city.

A simple travel route for example to Atlanta, Georgia, can not be generated with the iWay and requires the user to guess existing street names and numbers. The Lowrance unit does not offer a QWERTY keyboard.

Room for improvement: The iWay provides a larger keyboard, shown here for the entry of the street number. But the device lacks an auto-complete feature.

Both units allow users to specify intersections of two streets as the destination of a route, which is particularly useful for arranging meeting points. While this feature once again requires the user of the iWay to know both street names, the Roadmate assists with auto-complete. Strangely, the Roadmate does not offer this feature if one of the two streets is an interstate road.