The LN740 ships with NAVTEQ mapping data from 2006 Q2, so while it's great that LG is using NAVTEQ maps, I'd like to see more current mapping data from 2007. The two largest mapping data providers are NAVTEQ and TeleAtlas (for more detailed information on both NAVTEQ and TeleAtlas, check out "NAVTEQ vs. TeleAtlas, Which one is Better?"). NAVTEQ is more accurate and complete in North America, so it's preferable to buy a GPS that uses NAVTEQ rather than TeleAtlas (as of this writing).

However, there is a lot more to a routing engine than just the mapping data provider. How a given GPS will determine the "best" route is the result of not only the mapping data, but also how many additional data points, or attributes, are factored into the equation.

For example, are certain roads closed after hours or on the weekend? What is the average rate of speed for a given road? Statistically speaking, more accidents happen when making left turns as opposed to right turns; is the GPS unit factoring that into the route? Each company takes all this data and compiles it in different ways. The number of attributes used varies depending on how much money the manufacturer is willing to spend on their mapping data.

To test the routing engine on the LG's LN740, I entered several destination addresses of varying distance and compared the results to a similarly priced GPS from Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom. I also compared the results to Google Maps.

Routing engine algorithms are complex, and typically require multiple revisions before a GPS company perfects the engine. Much to my surprise, LG's routing engine was actually the BEST engine in the roundup, and even surpassed Garmin's excellent routing engine in some cases.

Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I even tested LG's routing engine in some very rural areas with lots of connecting back roads, and once again the LN740 routed me flawlessly. Color me impressed!

12. Photo Viewer and MP3 Player

Figure 59: Accessing LN740's Photo Viewer & MP3 Player

Like most new mid to high-end GPS devices, LG's LN740 includes a photo viewer and MP3 player. Unfortunately, in order to access either the photo viewer or the MP3 player, you must exit the navigation application, making it impossible to listen to music while driving.

By comparison, both Garmin and TomTom allow you to listen to music or an audiobook while navigating, and have even integrated the audio application so that it will pause the song/audiobook when a navigation prompt is announced, and then resume playback afterwards.

Making matters worse is that when you exit the navigation application, all maps are unloaded from memory and you have to wait for the entire application and maps to re-load when you exit the media player and want to get back to the navigation area.

I suppose this could be a conscious decision on LG's part, as part of the "don't think and drive" campaign to prevent playing with gadgets while driving, but personally I found keeping the two applications completely separate rendered the media player of little or no value.

Figure 60: Launching LN740's Photo Viewer & MP3 Player

After tapping on "Media Player", the LN740 unloads the navigation application and two large icons appear on the screen: Music and Photo.

Figure 61: LG's Photo List

The photo application is a standard photo viewer that can read JPG formatted photos from an SD memory card. Note that no SD memory card is included with the LN740 (you don't need one unless you want to use the music player or photo viewer), so you'll need to provide your own if you want to make use of either the music player of photo viewer.

Figure 62: LN740's Music Player

LG's music player supports all the basic music playback functions, including a loop mode for continuous playback.

Note that if you pause a song or audiobook, position memory is not remembered if you exit the audio application.

I also noticed that LG's music player had no "night mode", or dimmed color scheme for use at night in the car. Instead, LG has provided a brightness button. I'd prefer to see LG integrate the music player with the navigation application, and make the player observe the same day/night mode settings as the navigation application.

13. Configuring System Options

Figure 63: Setup Menu

Many aspects of the LN740 can be customized to suit your personal preferences. Tapping on "Setup" from the Main Menu accesses the settings page, shown above in figure 63.

Figure 64: LN740's Display Settings Menu

The Display settings menu allows you to specify the following settings:

• Dimension: Allows you to specify whether you prefer to see a 2D or 3D map screen
• Day&Night: Day mode always displays the bright, standard color scheme. Night mode always displays a dimmer, darker color scheme suitable for viewing at night in a dark car. Auto automatically switches between day and night mode based on ambient light conditions. This is a nice feature, as most GPS units switch between day and night modes based on the time of day rather than the actual lighting conditions. For example, if you enter a long dark tunnel during the day, when set to Auto, the LN740 will automatically switch into Night mode until you exit the tunnel. Annoyingly, Night mode only changes the map screen, and had no effect on all other menu pages, making the menus very bright in a dark car at night.
• Map Display: Pedestrian mode will allow the GPS to route from point A to B making maneuvers no allowed if you were in a motor vehicle.
• Brightness: Sets the screen brightness

Figure 65: Setting the Units & Time

The Units & Time settings menu allows you to specify whether the GPS should use Kilometers or Miles, and set the appropriate time zone. The GPS automatically receives the correct time from the GPS signal.