Looking for a good GPS unit.

[IceDigger]

I know at least one of you guys has a GPS unit on your car. Whats a good model to get under 1k?

[VetBoyZR1]

For that much money check out the Garmin StreetPilot 2610. They sell them at Wal-Mart for under $999. Full color screen, remote control, touch screen, voice directions, all the bells and whistles.

[REDGAR]

I had a Garmin Ique which is basically the street pilot in a palm pilot sized model and retails for about $500.

It serves as a palm with address book, appointments, memos, to-do, mini excel and mini word with hot sync to your desktop.

I sent it back. I found it to be very confusing as it tries to be very detailed on little pieces of road and if it says go east on I-295 and your car is point northeast, it had a tendency to tell me I was off course.

The kicker was it let me drive past the street I wanted to turn on and told me to turn on the next one. Once I turned around, passed it, it recaulated and told me I passed it.

[C5pilot]

James, I use an IPAQ PDA with a compact flash GPS antenna and Mapopolis software. The IPAQ screens are bright, and like Edgar stated, you can do more with a PDA than a stand-alone GPS unit. The Mapopolis software runs about $100 and is updated often with new features. The last update now speaks the names of the roads so you know what you're looking for without looking at the screen.

If anyone would like a great starter unit, I'd sell my Garmin GPS III for $150. It only has major roads and is only B&W but the upside is that you can see it under any lighting conditions, even direct sunlight. It would be great for hunting & fishing too.

[JC,03,Z06]

It's not perfect,but the 2610 Street Pilot is the best out there. Give me a call and I will tell you about mine. (215-348-1428)


John

[IceDigger]

The 2610 looks like it would work out the best. Took a look at walmarts site and its $790 and I get a 10% discount since my dad works there :)

This thing would REALLY come in handy for work since I make house calls. Plus it would be a business expense too.

[IceDigger]

C5pilot, I also have an IPAQ 2215. How big is your Garmin III screen compared to it? I might be interested.

Also does it speak out the directions like the 2610?

[C5pilot]

James, there's no comparision between the newer Garmins and the older GIII. Door-to-door routing, speech and larger color screens came out after the GIII. But you're also talking about a huge difference in price. For street navigation, the GIII is only good for major roadways now-a-days. But it's still perfect for off-road, fishing, hunting, hiking, biking etc. And I've never seen anything electronic built better than my Garmin. Mine looks and works just like it came out of the box.

I'm not as familiar with the IPAQ 2215, but I'm reading online that it already has a CF and SD slot built-in. Since you already own it, you are well on your way to building a better GPS navigator than anything you can buy for $1000. Since your's also has Bluetooth you can optionally choose a Bluetooth GPS receiver... But I don't see the upside when CF slot runs off the IPAQ power. Bluetooth only helps people who don't have 2 expansion slots for maps and antenna. I keep the mapping software in the IPAQ main memory (a few megs) and I keep maps on an SD card.

A CF GPS antenna can be found on eBay for under $100.
Mapping software varies but normally about $100.
256MB SD card at Costco or eBay for $65.
You'll also want a car power adapter if you don't already have one. I fabricated my own dash mount for the Corvette and simple velcro for the Jeep.

But before you do anything, take your 2215 and make sure the screen is bright enough in your car during daylight hours. I'm not sure if all IPAQ's have the same screen but mine is fine.

[IceDigger]

Thanks for the help. I think I will go the route with my pocket pc.

I already have a 512MB SD Card and a 2.2GB CF Card so I'm set for space on it.

[IceDigger]

Just got the gps and the destinator 3 software for my pocket pc. Stored the whole east coast on the sd card. This thing is awesome. Should have bought one sooner.