Garmin South Africa recently announced a new satellite navigation device known as the OVERLANDER. As the name indicates, it is a multipurpose satellite navigation device aimed at the 4×4 market. It is a rugged street navigation unit that can take the knocks. I believe that its large 7 inch screen makes it ideally suited to the recreational market – large enough to see the content, but not big enough to obscure your view of the road. The Overlander was launched on Monday the 16th September 2019 in South Africa. Initially we started with the well-known Garmin GPS V and then moved onto the Garmin Quest but both these device’s limitations were their small screens. In 2009 Garmin launched the Quest the Nuvi 500 which was a favourite in the 4×4 community in its day. Times have changed and technology has advanced. Garmin have brought out other products but none could compete with the Quest and Nuvi 500. Now we have the Overlander and even the name is synonymous with its applications. Before going any further with this review I must state that I do not consider any cellphone or tablet navigation program /app ideally suited for 4x4ing. They are not designed for the off-road lifestyle as they have limitations. For example, when you travel beyond existing infrastructure they become problematic. Some are also limited in terms of inserting waypoints – which is essential in the off-road environment. They are made for street navigation and only street navigation. So, what makes the Overlander more appealing than any other current off-road satellite navigation device (other than the Garmin GPS MAP 276 Cx which can be rather costly when all the extras are added) For me, the Overlander’s 7 inch touch screen is a winner for a start. Whilst a touch screen has not always been my preference, this one is nice and convenient. (The 276Cx is not touch screen). The device is built to IPX 5 standards (dust proof) and MIL-STD-810 (a USA Department of Defence test standard). It is a street navigator that is made for the outdoors (4x4ing) that will not break if it falls. Unlike other makes, this device will navigate you to your destination even if there is no mapping information between you and your destination (by using a bearing). This device is able to get GPS, Glonass and Galileo signal – which means that if one system goes down (as recently happened), the device will continue navigating with the satellites from the other two systems. The battery life is quoted as “up to 3 hours” – depending on the backlight usage etc. This is an improvement on most street navigation devices, but limited when comparing to a Montana or GPSMAP 276Cx (which have removal batteries). The standard maps loaded are Europe, Middle East & Africa including Tracks4Africa data. I am not certain if this is a full version of Tracks for Africa, but as I have often said before, travelling into Africa without Tracks4Africa is equivalent to getting lost. The Tracks4Africa mapping is not upgradeable (quote the Garmin helpline). This device is loaded with Topographic maps but I am not sure that these are contours. They are more likely representation lines to indicate relief. There is 64GB of internal memory available for additional mapping but it also has place for a micro SD card for additional memory. This is a massive improvement when comparing it to devices of 15 years ago which only had 243Mb of memory and no place for memory cards. It has the new magnetic tight-fitting Garmin Bracket AND the box includes a compatible RAM ball adapter. Something I have not seen before…. it has Pitch and Roll gauges which add value. The Overlander can pair with the Garmin inReach communicators (sold separately) for two way messaging. A feature that I have never seen before in a Street Navigator is a digital compass (unlike the previous street navigators where direction was calculated from your positioning therefore you would have to move to be able to get a bearing). It also has a barometer to give a better height accuracy and is not reliant on satellite positioning to give height (which could be out at times). The device includes Traffic reporting capability – which is very useful in congested cities. This feature has drastically improved over the years. The device is also compatible with the Garmin BC 35 Backup camera but I believe this is a “nice to have” – not a necessity. I believe that this device has a very uncomplicated and understandable menu logic, which makes it extremely easy to use. Never seen before, the Overlander has 65 408 track log points. The 276Cx is limited to 20 000. One point that did disappoint was that the device could not take an external antenna but that is not necessary for most people. Currently there is nothing in this device’s price range that can match its capabilities and features for which it is designed, especially when considering the included mapping. The Overlander is not the Alpha and Omega of off-road navigation but does come close to it. As I have written many times before, when travelling in remote areas please make sure that you have a backup navigation system as things can go wrong. A second navigation device (in another vehicle) or even a paper map will assist if things go wrong and you become lost for some reason. As the rules for navigation say : Know where you are, Know where you are going, Know where you have come from, Keep orientated, And always have an alternative route. A point that should be remembered when purchasing this device is be sure that the sales person upgrades the device’s firmware as well as updates the maps to enable you to get your free map update before leaving the store. If buying from NavWorld it comes with well-known unmatchable backup support. Additional Comment : Recently Galileo (the European Satellite Navigation System equivalent to GPS and Glonass systems) did crash due to problems experienced at a Base Station in Italy, but in Galileo’s defence it is still under development and has not been declared operational yet. By Kevin and Christopher Bolton Edited by Jacqui Ikin

Who needs a GPS? Is it the end of the road for GPS navigator devices, or do they still have a place in the overlander’s kit list? Long-time contributor and GPS expert Kevin Bolton gives his opinion… A lot has changed in the GPS world in South Africa since I last wrote an article on the subject back in 2016 (with the exception of my January 2019 review of the Garmin GPS Map 276Cx, which I consider to be my ideal 4x4, general navigation and outdoor lifestyle device). While back in SA from my work detail in Turkey, I decided to touch sides with a few people in the GPS navigation field. On my visits to a few retail outlets, there was a very obvious lack of street navigators (PNDs) on the shelves. Next, I noticed one could not find a TomTom street navigator anywhere. The Garmin street navigators were available but demand has clearly lapsed. The reasons for this are two-fold. First, general street navigation in and around town is easily and accurately done on most cell phones (which are sold with numerous standard navigation apps). Second, a lot of new cars, including the less premium ones, are sold with built-in navigation systems. Many in the industry believe that PND’s (Street Navigators) will not be around for much longer (two years at best), mainly because mobile phone navigation apps and in-car systems will get you around the town perfectly. In my opinion, however, these are not true navigation systems and they are definitely not ideal for the outdoor lifestyle. The track log (or electronic breadcrumb) given on the Garmin street navigators is where the true value of these devices lie, showing the route you have just travelled. There is a story in a recent YOU magazine recounting how a couple visiting Italy drove round and round in circles without realising it. The breadcrumb feature on a proper GPS device would have showed them something was wrong. But back to Tom Tom PNDs and sports watches. Unable to find them on retail shelves, I discovered comments on the internet to the effect that the company no longer had a local head office or support centre. I contacted an overseas support centre who confirmed that Tom Tom no longer had an office in SA and had stopped PND and sports watch retail sales I also read that the Tom Tom Fleet management operation had been sold to Bridgestone. I was able to confirm that Tom Tom Africa (the TomTom mapping company) is still in South Africa and growing from strength to strength. I have always considered their mapping to be among the best available for southern Africa. On the Garmin front, the company management has changed in recent years with many people being promoted into senior positions in the broader company from the South African ranks. Garmin are still going strong in the Outdoor, Fitness, Marine and Aviation fields – these markets are growing and sales have increased. The PND market is also down for Garmin, but there will have been some local boost resulting from the Tom Tom exit. It’s this time of the year again when Garmin launches new products, among them the Garmin Drive 52 and Garmin DriveSmart 55 and 65 series devices (the new name for a Nuvi/PND device). This announcement was made on the Garmin American website, so it is not clear which devices will be released in South Africa. There is also talk of new and/or upgraded outdoor products. Globally, the good news is that some of the new Garmin devices are not only receiving the American GPS signal and GLONASS (the Russian satellite navigation signal), but also the Galileo signal (the European satellite navigation signal). Having three satellite navigation systems will both improve the accuracy of the devices (to within 3-5 metres), and will give the signal more integrity and provide back-up if one system was to fail. To date I have not heard of the American signal failing but have heard of the Russian system failing on two occasions. Meanwhile, happy GPS adventures.