Product test
iPhone 17 review: are my Plus days over?
by Florian Bodoky
Garmin Overlander sat nav tested: old hardware, great software
8.10.2019
Translation: machine translated
Does a sat nav still make sense in the age of Google Maps? Yes, if you want to arrive more relaxed. Do you have to leave almost 700 cent for it? No, not really. Nevertheless: a test of a brand new GPS car navigation system from Garmin.
The advert promises a lot. The Garmin Overlander navigation device is supposed to open up the world to you. No corner should remain hidden. You should never get lost. Because, according to the voiceover in the advert, people are not made for barriers and borders. We are meant to discover.
I highly agree with the statement on the topic of "discovery" on an idealistic level. Get out of your comfort zone. Do something that you don't expect yourself to do. You don't necessarily need a sat nav to do this, but if finding your limits involves a car journey, then it can help. All right, back to the topic. Garmin Overlander. A thing that is something between a tablet and a GPS.
The test is a good idea, because I have to get from Zurich to Munich within a few hours to a hotel I've never heard of. The reason for this is another device that also runs Android.
Luckily, I have a car with the right engine power. And one that I've taken to my heart forever. Whoever buys the Dodge Challenger: I envy you. So tight.
Or a BMW 320d. I was quickly in Sweden in that. Also quite a nice car.
What's inside the Garmin Overlander?
It is drop-proof up to 26 times from a height of 1.20 metres, because the Overlander is MIL-STD-810 certified, which says exactly that. Among other things. The version of the 810 test is not given, but I'm just going to assume that it's version G, as F was declared obsolete in 2008.
In other words, there are tablets that cost far less and are far more stable. But before you drop a lot of money on a tablet, wait a moment and finish reading this article. As soon as we're done with the tech blah-blah, here comes the big "but".
If you want one that is just as big as the Overlander, but can withstand significantly more, but costs a lot more, then the RugGear is the one for you.
The Overlander would have benefited from slightly more modern hardware. Above all, the price would then be more justifiable. Furthermore, we are used to the somewhat sluggish performance of sat navs, but does it have to stay that way? A flagship sat nav would have been perfect to end this decades-long trend, wouldn't it?
Drive: On the road
The maps are displayed in two ways. Drive mode is your classic sat nav, as you know it from other devices and as offered by Google Maps and Apple Maps.
- Screen elements are enlarged so that you can recognise them while driving
- Rest stops and car parks are marked
- Correlates maps with road views to show you the speed limits
- Measures your speed
- Has a voice output
Drive mode is what the Overlander excels at. When it comes to sat navs, the question always arises as to why you should buy one. Can't Google Maps and the competition from Apple simply replace the sat nav? The answer is Drive mode. The best way to explain this is with a comparison.
- Google Maps with Google Auto says on the motorway "Keep left at the next fork"
- Garmin Drive says "Stay in one of the two left-hand lanes and turn left towards Zurich at the next fork"
It is also slightly annoying when the sat nav has decided on a route. It takes a relatively long time for her to change her mind. For example: the most sensible route from Zurich to Schwägalp according to Garmin is via Winterthur, Gossau. But if you want to return to Zurich via Ricken and Rapperswil, Mrs Garmin is still obsessed with you turning round and driving home via Gossau and Winterthur until you reach the Ricken Pass.
Explore: When you have arrived
At some point, even the nicest journey comes to an end. If you're driving on the open motorway in Germany, it usually goes faster. What a pity. Somehow not. At your destination, you can press "Explore" on the home screen. This will show you points of interest in the immediate vicinity. Petrol stations, service stations, campsites, places of interest.
The question of price again. We are currently looking at an old operating system, old hardware, a lack of waterproofing and superior navigation. Now useful environmental data may be added. And you pay 750 francs for that.
It's worth it for the navigation alone. But the question is whether it could be cheaper. The answer is yes. You can. With pretty much any other Garmin sat nav. This one, for example.
This doesn't have Android on it, but the map material that the sat nav accesses is the same.
Or, of course, you can somehow manage to rip the navigation software from the Overlander. I'll have a look...
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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