When The Cab Driver newspaper mentioned that I was testing the new Clarion GPS Navigation system, it let the cat out of the bag rather sooner than I had anticipated! It left me with no choice following a huge number of drivers asking me why I hadn't published anything in Call Sign! I wanted to give it a thorough test first, but the article meant that I had to put my test results in the last issue. I've now had it for two months and I can update that situation.
The system came from Paragon of 280 Mare Street in Hackney and the test was organised with much help from the licensed trade's most famous entrepreneur, Georgie Vyse.
My first words to Georgie were that if it didn't work, then I would say so, just as if I thought that it would seriously damage the Knowledge, again I would say so, although I do not have the power to un-invent this GPS system! He was happy for that to be the case claiming that he had no doubt that this was the best GPS Navigation system on the market and that equally certain, it was no threat to the Knowledge.
"I shall start to navigate" a female voice says clearly - and it does. Occasionally it goes slightly wrong but a licensed cab driver wouldn't have to worry - an unlicensed one with little street knowledge could get lost. Several
things blocking the satellite signal could
cause the problem.
But its prime use so far as I am concerned, is for the guidance
to actual streets out of London - in fact anywhere in the UK - even Europe,
thanks to Le Shuttle...!
Very useful is the ability to find garages, cash machines, and
restaurants - many things you may never have known about. It can, if you
wish, tell you your ten longest trips, fastest trips, slowest trips - it
just goes on.
You can use the screen as a TV, a video or DVD player -
although they will only work if stationary. It also can connect to a CD
changer and it does virtually everything bar cook - and I'm not certain that
it can't do that either! It can be linked to a CCTV system - assuming such a
system
is passed by the PCO - the Clarion itself certainly is.
The lady's voice is rather comforting and she'll speak to you
in yards and miles or
The GPS map can be shown in 3D if you wish and can be used from whatever height you want. You can have it so low that it gives you the names of buildings you are approaching, or high enough to know that if you head towards Tottenham and keep going, you could end up in Norway! Naturally, you can have choices in between the two options.
The database contains some 70,000 points of interest that you can be guided to and has an excellent memory for destinations that you have asked for in the past and may want to use again. All in all, it is a cracking piece of technology that can be a lifesaver if you are heading out of town. And almost as importantly, it cannot be seen if you don't wish it to be - a real boon when parking.
The Clarion Navigation system is priced at £1450 (incl VAT), but if you contact Georgie Vyse at Nationwide Taxis, 99 Dunbridge Street E1, they will be able to offer you the lowest easy payment terms and give you whichever length you want to spread the payments over. Their phone number is 0207 729 8046. Ask for Georgie and tell him that you saw it in Call Sign and he'll look after you...
