GPS suggestions?
 

I believe it is time for a GPS. Just for grins. I'm going to do some research but I figured some of the slackers around here have been playing with them. A few musings....mac compatible? easy download of way points? any gotchas? go standalone or get a pocketpc/palm addon?

One of our reserach projects does a very cool blog/gps thing, so I'll bug them too.

What do you want to do with it? Hike? Bike? Fly? Boat? Annoy friends and family with a contiunous lat/lon update while outside? They are great for both getting lost and providing a nice distraction at the same time. I have three of the freaking things, they do a nice job of occupying a drawer.

Seriously? Garmin eTrex Vista.

The Garmin StreetPilot is an excellent standalone unit.

I'm trying my Ipaq with a bigger SD card and updated Navtech mapping...hopefully I wont be disappointed again. Connecting to the Bluetooth receiver is usually a frustrating adventure.

I also purchased a powered windshield mount. Between all the wires and do-dads it kind of looks like a 1950s computer room. A standalone is becoming more and more attractive.

You may want to also consider a laptop solution as well.

http://i4.ebayimg.com/01/i/04/08/0b/8f_1_b.JPG

Garmin -

This is the one I'm going to order after a bit more research...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31387&item=5006542 881&rd=1

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1119636563.gif

I don't want one that requires a car mount, as I'd take it on my bike too. Mostly its for messing around to see what kind of interesting things I can do.

The Ipaq and other "pocket PCs" will work with no mount. Just not convieniently in a car or on a bike. The more mounts available the more versatile. Haldlebar mounts are pretty inexpensive.

anyone have/know this one?

http://www.thegpsstore.com/Detail-Garmin-Quest-GPS.asp
http://www.thegpsstore.com/images/la...es/GA00306.jpg

If no one here chimes in here's a couple of opinions... http://www.epinions.com/GARMIN_010_00306_00_Quest_Compact_Portable_GPS_GPS _Receiver/display_~reviews

I have a Garmin that I use while flying.

A word of caution: Don't forget to look where you're going! Pretty easy to watch the moving map, and play with all the gizmos it has. The sky is pretty big. It's only moderatly idiotic in an airplane, but absulotely asinine in a car, and fatal on a bike.

I have a Garmin iQue (Palm PDA) that works very well with a car cradle. I believe there is also a bike mount solution.

Now that the novelty of the Palm has worn off, if I had to buy a new one it would be Garmin's Quest that you pictured above. For some reason the European version has more memory than the US version, but then you'd have to buy the US map separately.

Any GPS without some sort of car cradle mount is useless, IMO. It just becomes a toy. With the proper add-ons, it becomes a useful tool.

LeRoux

I don't have a lot of experience. I think my Palm GPS was a garmin with Rand Mcnally interstate software.

This past week I used a "Never Lost" in a Hertz Rental. I was extremely impressed with it's map storage and the accuracy of the directions. It was a NL III by Magellen. I'm not sure if these are available outside of Hertz.

Same here. We had the Neverlost in our rental when we were in Palm Springs last week and it was VERY impressive. I was using it at ease in seconds. It was very accurate and it gave good directions and was clear on where it wanted you to turn.

I priced a Magellin unit that is similar and it runs 800 bucks. While its a bit steep I feel its worth it due to the fact that I would happily use it. I have some other off brand add on version for my Pocket PC and its still in my desk drawer. I could never get it to install and work correctly.

I just got a Garmin 10 with City Select map software, It uses bluetooth to work with my IPAQ... the main benefit of using a Pocket PC based GPS is the Memory stick allows you to have more detailed maps with you. Installing the software took some time and a phone call to Garmin to get it right... but the bluetooth has been problem free and the software easy to use. The software takes up some space on the pocket pc though... about 10mb... but you can move some of the program files to your memory stick after it is installed... then it only takes about 3.5-4. mb. If you already use a PDA then the bluetooth receiver is an economical option. I have used a Magellan meridian for a few years, and found it to be dependable... but the auto routing, and detail of the maps make the Garmin my favorite.