What type of GPS to get?

[chiefiji]

I'm looking into buying a gps but not sure which type; a pda/gps combo, or a garmin streetpilot type.

I like how the gps/pda systems can play mp3's and can be used as a regular pda. They're generally cheaper than the garmin street pilots too. More expensive doesnt always mean better, so what makes the street pilot recievers better than the gps/pda?

 

[sharp4runr]

My boss has the Magellan RoadMate 700 and I've ridden in it a couple of times and it works great. I like the fact that you don't have to keep downloading maps for areas you want to visit. It has a database of North America so you can just keep driving and it has a map.

It's pretty heavy, but that's because of the integrated hard drive. No compact flash memory here.

 

[spblat]

Note: this post not for those who have decided to bite the bullet and spend $1000+ on an in-dash navigation system.

I'll tell you one thing not to try: a PocketPC (like an iPaq) and a Delorme Earthmate, running Street Atlas Handheld, 2005 Edition. Wow! Hard to load maps, really hard to set up routing and navigation assistance, rotten interface, poor tracking while autorouting, couldn't find local businesses, really bloody rotten interface, yuck! Tried it today for 15 minutes before sending it all back. (Got started down the iPaq path when I was recently given a used iPaq. Gorgeous bright vibrant screen, but bleeachhhh!)

I have been using a Garmin GPSmap 76S for a year or so, which isn't bad. Enough memory for a reasonably large amount of street and topo data, but it can't auto route. I have just decided to replace it with a Garmin 60C, which has double the memory and does know how to autoroute (though it lacks voice prompts). It should be perfect for me because it draws maps faster, and has an extremely bright (and in color) screen compared to my 76S. The 60C is perfectly suited for yanking out of its mount and wandering off hiking or Geocaching. This is better for me than the Streetpilot, iQue or RoadMate, because those are way more expensive, and not suited to the more rugged activities I put my gear through. And MP3? Got that covered separately.

Speaking of mounts, I'm forever hooked on RAM Mounts. See Picture1 and Picture2. Ultimate in shockproof.

For more information:

http://gpscity.com/ is a good company to do business with regardless of what you choose, and they have real people you can call to find out what RAM parts you need to mount your GPS.

Here is an extremely detailed review of the 60C.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hitman]

My boss has the Magellan RoadMate 700 and I've ridden in it a couple of times and it works great. I like the fact that you don't have to keep downloading maps for areas you want to visit. It has a database of North America so you can just keep driving and it has a map.

It's pretty heavy, but that's because of the integrated hard drive. No compact flash memory here.

The newer Street Pilot (2620, I think?) also has an integrated hard drive with North America already mapped.

There was a pretty good comparision article of dashboard-mounted navigation systems in a recent issue of Motor Trend magazine. I believe it was the October issue.

 

[chiefiji]

The newer Street Pilot (2620, I think?) also has an integrated hard drive with North America already mapped.

There was a pretty good comparision article of dashboard-mounted navigation systems in a recent issue of Motor Trend magazine. I believe it was the October issue.

did a search on www.motortrend.com and it redirected me to this article: dashboard gps vs handheld gps .

it doesnt address the pda gps vs regular handheld recievers. i was reading some reviews on amazon and one of the complaints about the pda gps's is that the battery life is really short, something to consider when making long road trips. i guess the solution is to buy a car kit.

 

[darktiger]

Build yourself a CarPC, and hook a GPS Reciever to that.. Awesome...

 

[chiefiji]

Build yourself a CarPC, and hook a GPS Reciever to that.. Awesome...

my friend has that setup too and he likes it except for the bootup. id do the same except i dont want to lug my laptop around like that, its bulky and not as portable as id like it to be.

 

[the irishman]

A friend of mine has the Magellan RoadMate 700 and it's a fine unit, however I went with the Garmin 2620 for one big reason....it has off-road capability!

That said, I think the Magellan has a little better display. The Magellan also has "wineries" in its list of Points of Interest. This is important to a wino like me, but the off-road capability of the Garmin ultimately won me over.

 

[Pennywise]

I purchased a SP3 (Street Pilot 3) when it first came out (a while back) and absolutely love it. I continue to wonder how I ever found my way around before I had it.

One little gotcha to watch out for. I'm not sure if Garmin still requires the use of unlock codes or not, but if they do, I would highly recommend just purchasing the entire US unlock region. They may have package deals where you could get the entire unlock region with the GPS.

At least with the SP3, you get one unlock code (you decide which one) and you register it with Garmin. This will unlock a certain set of maps that could be downloaded to this particular GPS unit. I ended up going to the ocean and bought a single unlock code for $80 (the entire US was $225 at the time) and I was strapped for cash. Now I have 2 of 7 regions unlococked. This is fine since 99.9% of my travel resides in these areas, but if I leave one of the regions, I'll have the basemaps, which are much more generic and really only show main roads.

If you have any particular questions on the SP3, feel free to ask!

Pennywise

 

[the irishman]

Oh, and another reason the Garmin 2620 won me over vis-a-vis the Magellan StreetPilot....the Garmin displays altitude. Very helpful when going off-road!

 

[chiefiji]

Oh, and another reason the Garmin 2620 won me over vis-a-vis the Magellan StreetPilot....the Garmin displays altitude. Very helpful when going off-road!

i hope the answer isnt too obvious, but how does knowing the altitude help when off-roading?

pennywise: thanks for the heads up. i know garmins higher end systems like the 2620 have the maps already installed. $225 is a lot of dough just for maps. i wonder if thats where garmin makes their money on.

 

[Pennywise]

I'm sure that Garmin makes its fair share of money with selling the maps. I still don't understand why they don't supply the maps when you spend hundreds of dollards for a partable mapping device?

I usually make my Garmin purchases through the site www.tvnav.com. They sell only Garmin devices/accessories, but have been pretty competitive with their prices in the past.

Pennywise

 

[the irishman]

Chiefiji -

The altitude reading is helpful for me because most of the off-roading I do in SoCal is in the desert. Of course none of the many fire roads/maintenance roads that criss-cross the desert show up on the GPS, but the altitude reading, along with a semi-decent topo map, allows me to determine where I am.

Oh, and the Garmin 2620 also has a "bread crumbs" feature. This is excellent when traversing a desert area that doesn't have too many significant visual features to navigate on.

Mapsource (a subsidiary of Garmin?) sells a topo map of the entire USA that can be loaded into the 2620. If both the street maps and the topo maps are selected, the 2620 will display the topo info overlayed on the standard street maps. Too cool.

 

[chiefiji]

im seriously considering a higher end model like the 2620 now after todays commuting fiasco. :goinposta:

i have the tendency to exit the freeway when it starts crawling to look for an alternate route. long rambling short, i should know better and stay on the freeway instead of getting lost trying to take local streets.

 

[whitney8]

SP III

I have been using the Garmin SP III, for a year or two now, and love it. I ordered through GPSNOW.com and the full unlock was included. Keep in mind the this unit and the 2620 units are for in car use only.

I used the included bean bag mount for a while, until I decided where I wanted to put the adhesive mount. The RAM mounts are great, I got one for the motorcycle.

Oh, and if you have a route/destination entered and you hit a back up on the highway, go ahead and exit and the unit will reroute automatically! (this of course depends on if there is an alternate route!)

 

[d3cypher]

I posted the same question on my Dodge Forum site. I've looked at and used:

Garmin eTrex Legend
Magellin SporTrack Map

They are okay, no detailed maps..

I have the Garmin GPS V that a guy gave me last week, I'm waiting on the MapSource City Select CD. I like it because it does routing.. So where am I going with this?

I'm getting the Garmin 2610 StreetPilot for Christmas, yes it only have Compact Flash unlike the 2620 with an internal HDD, but the 2620 is $400 more.. I can get a 2GB Compact Flash for $130 and if it dies I can get another one. Surely I can load a ton of stuff on a 1 or 2GB CF card. I don't like the idea of a HDD in that 2620 that can fail, have heat problems, etc. But that's just me..

That and the fact that I can get a 2610, after rebate for $618.. You just can't beat that, and the weighted 'sock' they have for it should work okay in the Dodge, I know it will in the Runner.

That's my $0.12 worth...

-john

 

[chiefiji]

i just picked up the garmin ique 3600 from circuit city. curiously, the sales guy "watched out for me" by voluntarily price matching the ique on amazon. i wonder what's the catch. the final price was $525 including tax.

anyhow, i havent opened the package yet. i'm waiting to buy a sd card first and holding out for a better deal on the ique or another system. the reviews on amazon for the ique is pretty good, 4 out of five stars from 136 reviews. the major complaint is crappy battery life and the routing software. battery life shouldnt be a problem as i dont plan on taking this thing hiking or anything. the routing software problem seems to occur with other garmin gps systems too (not choosing highway routes for "fastest route", not choosing the correct terms for turn left/stay left).

i'll have a better review for the ique after i actually use it

 

[Damlaker]

Garmin Street Pilot

I have the Garmin Street Pilot III. While I cannot compare it to some of the other GPS systems listed above, I think that it is great. The Color screen makes it very easy to see day or night. It has basically 3 display modes: (1) map, (2) turn by turn directions, and (3) a trip odometer. I really like the trip odometer as it has a many fields (speed, direction, miles traveled, miles to destination) as well as total travel time, driving time and stopped time (all in one screen). I use it off roading and have it lay a track so if I get lost I can always follow my way back.

For some crazy reason, I paid big bucks for the Nav system in my 03 Limited V8 and the it stinks. It cost 2.5 times the amount of the Garmin and has none of features.

 

[chiefiji]

after using it for about a month, i have to say that the ique is really great. i took a trip up north a couple of weeks back and i did all the planning on the ique. all i had to do was punch in the address i wanted to go to and it would route me to it. it also helped us find a bunch of stores (barnes n nobles, gas stations, restraunts), even some local mom and pop stores. it's almost like having mapquest or yahoo yellowpages in your car, except i think the ique is better than yahoo.

the re-routing calculation is pretty good too. 95% of the time the software is dead-on. the computer does mess up sometimes when it can't adjust for your speed correctly and tells you to exit after you have already made the exit.

also, i'm thinking about getting a PIE adaptor or something else so i can play mp3s. i tried using a cd cassette but the quality is poor. the ability to play mp3s is definitely a plus on top of the mapping software, so needless to say, i highly recommend the ique.