Incar GPS Navigation

[chipper]

My dad is getting a GPS for incar navigation as his new job has him driving all over.
He's asked me to find out which ones best, anyone any knowledge on the subject, after a brief look I've seen some garmin ones and tomtom ones but not sure which is best although the screens on the garmin ones look a bit small.
Cheers

 

[dg]

I use Tom Tom 2 on an Ipaq, and I have had no problems.

You could get a PDA setup for under £300, or Tom Tom Go or Navman are self contained but will set you back much more.

When driving, you tend not to look at the screen too much as you rely on the verbal directions. Also Tom Tom (on a PDA) will let you add many additional POIs (Points of interests) which include a regularly updated speed camera database. You can therefore get advanced warning when you are approaching one.

Have you looked on www.pocketgps.co.uk for reviews and forum comments, and POI databases?

 

[chipper]

cheers dg, thing is my dad is terrible with computers and gadgets in general so I thought a dedicated one would be better for him.
I'll go and check out that website.

 

[Frangible]

I'd recommend a dedicated unit. A PDA - GPS, which I've used, has cables running all over, isn't very opportune to use while driving (touch screen), and isn't very easy to mount in a consistently viewable place while driving.

They will both do the same thing. But there's a lot to be said about something that's self-contained and a lot more usable while driving.

 

[dg]

[ QUOTE ]
Frangible said:
... But there's a lot to be said about something that's self-contained and a lot more usable while driving.

[/ QUOTE ]

The PDA touch screen is perfect for tapping whilst driving and TomTom has some large sized [screen] buttons designed to make tapping easy. Plus the 3d effect of navigator is much better than a 2d view when driving and makes good use of the larger vertical aspect of the screen.

For instance, when driving if you come to a traffic jam you just touch the screen and this brings up the options, road block is a big clear icon, touch that and you have more large icons avoid road, avoid next mile etc etc, tap one of those and the navigation map is re-displaid and route recalculated.

All this is done quickly and with minimum time to take your eyes from the road. Its better than the stand alone units for this.

Depending on your dash layout a separate unit and GPS reciever can give more options for intalling, and better reception. Some coated windscreens require specific locating of the GPS reciever

The PDA is easier to remove to prevent any tempting break-ins, and cables are hidded just the same as a dedicated unit.

The only downside is that once you've used (or even seen one in use) you don't want to drive anywhere without it!

BTW, Aldi have a Medion PDA unit on sale at frequent intervals and this is the cheapest setup you can get, and it works straight out of the box with no need for a PC. Watch out for this.

 

[ChopperCFI]

The Garmin 2610/2620 and Magellan 500/700 are all dedicated auto units that speak directions to you. The screens are touch sensitive type and quite usable size, but not huge. All of these plug into a power outlet in the car.

If you want something that can run under its own power, you might look at the new Garmin Quest. The screen is smaller, but it still talks to you. This unit is the same size as the Garmin 76C. I have not personally seen the Quest yet.