For many would-be portable navigation device (PND) users, particularly with the economy the way it is, price can be a sticking point. Fortunately for us, the cutthroat competition in this market in recent years, coupled with the current economy, has caused prices to plummet from what they were just a few years ago. So if PNDs have dropped to a price where you think they are affordable, there is the question of what to buy? Spend a little more on a top-name brand, or gamble and spend a little less on an unknown quantity? Well, I can tell you that if you opt for Space Machine’s PND-428A, it won’t be a gamble — it’s a worthy device.

Space Machine actually contacted me a couple months ago to inquire if I would be interested in reviewing the PND-428A. The company has made navigation software and systems for some years, specializing in commercial fleet and mobile workforce applications; only recently has it began selling its software as a mobile application for consumers, as well as its own brand of consumer navigation hardware.
I had not actually heard of the company before, and to be honest, just assumed it was one of the many fly-by-night PND brands that have been coming and going pretty quickly in the last few years. But of course, if the company wanted to ship me a unit for review, I’d be happy to take a look.

The PND-428A is the company’s widescreen, 4.3-inch sat nav; it retails regularly for $149.95; if you look around you may find it even cheaper. As such it is one of the cheapest PNDs you’ll find with a 4.3-inch touchscreen; if you want to go cheaper odds are you’ll have to settle for a 3.5-inch screen. You would be hard pressed to find a mainstream brand device for around $150 with a 4.3-inch screen and the thin formfactor that has become a de facto standard. I’m not saying you can’t but you’d probably have to look long and hard, or else get lucky and stumble on a sale or some other deal.
After using the PND-428A for several weeks now, I can say that it’s an excellent option for someone looking for an inexpensive PND. I’d further add that it is ideal for a casual user that may not take that many car trips out of town, and so doesn’t want to spend money for a lot of features and specs that they wouldn’t utilize. You could describe the PND-428A as a no-frills widescreen PND, but its navigation is not completely frill-less. In fact, Space Machine’s history in navigation software reveals itself in the 428A; its navigation software is where the device shines.

It’s true the PND-428A doesn’t provide spoken street names. In this sense, it kicks it old school, as the kids say. I have to admit, I’ve quickly been spoiled with spoken street names, but for the casual user, it’s easy to live without. And the Space Machine’s navigation software offers a lot of other frills that one would normally find on high-end models: alternate map views including 3D views and lane assist, for example. It also provides a count-down feature that provides a stack of bars that gets smaller and smaller as you get closer to your turn, helping compensate for the lack of spoken street names.
Among the other frills is a trip computer feature, which can keep track of your trip distance and driving time, as well as average speeds. It also features a visual and audible speed limit alert (that you can turn off, naturally). An interesting aside — PNDs with this function always seem to consistently say that I’m going about 5 mph slower than what my car’s speedometer says. I wonder if it’s some quirk of computing speed based on GPS coordinate readings, or is my car’s speedometer off? Any readers want to chime in on this with their own observations, please do.

The PND-428A’s auto-rerouting also works excellent; in fact I found it works quicker than some fancier, brand-name models I’ve used (and doesn’t seem to protest as much when I decide that I know better than it). Furthermore, it often routed me on local streets that other models usually miss when I would deviate from their route in favor of my own knowledge of local haunts. This can be a two-edged sword – could conceivably be iffy if you’re in a strange place and don’t know the roads, but generally I don’t see it a as problem; in fact I think this is better for the casual user.
The PND-428A’s user interface is pretty straightforward; the unit the company sent me didn’t include a manual and it doesn’t need one (although it usually comes with one, according to the company’s online store). Programming your home location and destinations (it will accept up to 10 for one trip) works just like any other PND you’ve tried, and is fairly intuitive. Even if you have never used one before, any reasonably intelligent person should be able to get rolling pretty quickly with this device.

The only drawback that I found as far as the navigation software is with its points-of-interest (POI) database. Space Machine boasts that the PND-428A has more than 2 million points of interest; nevertheless, it frequently couldn’t find my destinations when I would search by name. It did fine with the usual stuff – looking for a Starbucks or a Subway sandwich place was no problem, but anything beyond the big-name chains of restaurants or gas stations seemed to befuddle the PND-428A — local book stores and coffee shops, for example.
But if you know the address of your intended destination, the Space Machine PND will get you there with no problem. Again, I took it on many local trips that I make frequently, and it does as good at routing as mainstream brand PNDs that I’ve used, and in some instances does better.

Takes a Licking, Keeps on Navigating
The PND-428A is also no slouch in the hardware department. I should note here that the first device the company sent me apparently had a problem with its onboard SD flash memory card, where its map data is stored, but the second time around the unit I used performed flawlessly. Even after I dropped it getting out of the car after the second time I used it. Seriously.

It was a classic fumble (please see the dramatic recreation over on the left) — I jumbled it several times along with a bag of groceries and my car keys before it hit the driveway so hard it popped out the orange molding in the lower left hand corner of the device (which you can see if you look closely at the picture above). On top of feeling like my normal cloddish self (poetry in motion I am not), I figured that I had just bought a PND I didn’t need (and one that was now broken), cursing so loud I scared the neighbor’s cat. But like a proverbial Timex watch, the PND-428A kept a licking and kept on ticking.
If you’re a clumsy oaf like me, and you will routinely be removing your PND from the car when you get home or otherwise arrive at your destination, this is definitely the PND for you.
The device is built around a SiRF Atlas-III module, which is rather surprising in a device in this price range. The Atlas series is the chip maker’s entry into multimedia processors for car navigation systems; the devices have a GPS baseband processor incorporated with an ARM central processor and a digital signal processor – and I’m revealing my roots as an editor for a semiconductor trade pub.

So rather than geek out, let it suffice to say that if anything, the SiRF Atlas III is probably overpowered for what the PND-428A does; as such it is zippy and responsive. The device boots up and is ready to go in less than a minute, and usually got a satellite lock (on a cold start) shortly thereafter. And it does an excellent job of reestablishing a lock on a warm start — say after you stop at a gas station or to grab a bite to eat — usually it was only a matter of moments after booting up that I would hear that telltale chime indicating a satisfactory number of GPS satellites were in view. When you tap the touchscreen — did I mention that the PND-428A has a touchscreen? Another feature you won’t always find in a device at this price — the response is immediate.

One aspect of the device I should mention here: it doesn’t have an auto start or shut down, like some new models of PNDs have. Not a big deal, you’ll just want to remember to turn it off when you get home and you don’t remove it from the car.
The screen is another plus for the PND-428A. It is nice and bright and unlike many devices, wearing polarized sunglasses while driving doesn’t wash out the screen’s appearance too much (unlike many other devices I’ve used). I’ve always assumed this is probably related to the anti-glare treatments some devices have, but I don’t really know – haven’t really thought about it until I put on my sunglasses while using the Space Machine device and was pleasantly surprised.
The only other quibble I have is one I have with all PNDs, particularly the touchscreen models: there is no simple volume on/off toggle. You can turn the volume up and down easily enough with up and down arrows on the side of the unit, and with a few screen taps turn it off. But I’d like to see just a simple on/off toggle button that I can engage with one tap of the navigation screen. This seems like such a no-brainer to me; when you’re near home or otherwise in familiar environs, or if you’ve got many miles of superhighway ahead of you, you don’t need the voice instructions. Yet I’ve never seen or heard of any model with this feature.

So, bottom line: if you drive frequently out of town and the price isn’t an issue, I’d suggest a device with a larger POI database and spoken street names. On the other hand, if price is an issue, or if you don’t drive/don’t drive to parts unknown that often, Space Machine’s PND-428A is an excellent choice. Or if you’re new to using PNDs and don’t want to spring right off the bat for a high-end model, I don’t think you’ll go wrong with the PND-428A.
What’s more, you don’t have to take my word for it. Space Machine has a PND rental program through its Pocketmap online store; it costs 5 bucks a day to rent one, so you can try before you buy. Otherwise, you can find the PND-428A at the Pocketmap store or on Amazon for $149.95; you can also find someone selling it for a bit less via our own GPS Maniac shopping pages.

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