Anyone have a good GPS solution for a Car

[bozack]

Hello,

Looking into some type of GPS solution for my car, I don't know if I should look at software and hardware for a laptop, a handheld solution with a PDA, or a standalone portable unit....really want something that is good for on road navigation to calculate and recalculate routes and that also has voice commands...I drove in a friends MDX that had a factory system that I liked but realize that something like that is mega bucks...any info would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Confused]

Check out MP3Car.com forums Also have a check of the link in my sig


Confused

 

[MrBond]

The StreetPilot series from Garmin are really cool, plus they're portable from car-to-car. That's one of the cheaper routes you can go. NFS4 uses his pocket pc with a GPS module, but that can be expensive (nowhere near as much as an in-dash kit though). If you had other uses for a PocketPC, you could go that route, otherwise I'd get a StreetPilot III (if cost is a concern) or whatever that new Garmin unit is.

 

[bozack]

how well do the pocket PC solutions work? do they have voice nav? that would be an option as I might be able to get a discounted Pocket PC. Thanks

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: Confused
Check out MP3Car.com forums Also have a check of the link in my sig


Confused

thanks chacking them out now.

 

[techfuzz]

My best friend built into his Maxima a Mini-ITX computer that handled GPS navigation via a small USB connected receiver he bought at a very reasonable price. He mounted a 6" LCD under the radio on the instrument panel that displayed via mapping software his exact location received from the GPS receiver.

You could get the USB GPS receiver to connect to your laptop when you're in your car. It came with the mapping software, but you could probably use it with other software that supported GPS navigation. Voice navigation I'm not so sure about, that might entail having some special voice recognition software.

techfuzz

 

[UNCjigga]

Do you already have a PDA? If you do, I recommend whatever fits your PDA's specs (wired if you don't have bluetooth, wireless if you have bluetooth, etc.) If you don't already have a PDA, you really can't go wrong with the TomTom Navigator. I think its like the best one out there. However, if you're impressed with the MDX, you might like the Belkin bluetooth kit. I have one, and the software that comes with it mimics the older style MDX navigation software quite nicely (though Acura changed software a bit in 2004 models.) I believe it even has the same female voice, so I suspect they were developed by the same company.

 

[NickE]

I've got Tomtom Navigator 2 at the moment (waiting for the upgrade to 3) running on an iPaq 3660. It's excellent software, works very well and is very flexible in terms of Point of Interest databases, addon programs such as speed camera warnings etc. Addressing goes down to house number, so it truly is door-to-door.
If you don't have a PDA (or need one), then the new Tomtom Go is the best option - same functionality but in a standalone unit. Nice feature is the built-in accelerometers so that navigation continues even when it loses satellite lock.
If you go the PDA route, my preference would be for the wired GPS, since you then have charging for the PDA whilst in use and no worries about BT GPS batteries running down when you need them. Also, TTN3 has a Traffic feature that receives live traffic information (Trafficmaster etc.) via GPRS on your phone and then automatically reroutes around any jams.


Tomtom site
TTN3
Tomtom Go

 

[Kyteland]

http://www.garmin.com/products/iQue3600/

All in one PDA/GPS product. Looks very nice.

 

[B00ne]

The best solution would probably to get one of those car stereos with GPS navigation.

The pocket PC solution is only viable for direct routes - the reason is u need quite a bit of memory for all the maps. So usually with pocket PC your only store the route that u want to take (sometimes with a corridor around it) or some small area - and if u want voice commands u would need even more memory - but I guess as flash memory becomes bigger and bigger it will be possible to have good nav in a pocket PC but then aigain a pocket PC with 2 gigs of flash memory is awfully expensive.

Besides u are in the US which are slightly bigger than Germany so I guess u would need alot more memory in your pocket for the same detail maps ....

 

[bozack]

sorry with voice commands I didn't mean the ability to give commands but rather a unit that will dictate directions to me via a speaker or something...the acura system did that and I thought it was very nice....I will check out the Tom Tom system thanks

 

[NickE]

Not too bad actually - the whole of the European map set occupies about 1GB, so a single flash card/microdrive.

Total sizes for USA are given here

 

[hamburglar]

Originally posted by: Kyteland
http://www.garmin.com/products/iQue3600/ All in one PDA/GPS product. Looks very nice.

I have this and its great!

 

[AnMig]

I have a IPAQ 2215 and a IPAQ blue tooth gps and it work pretty well.

Its pretty much choose a destination (option for favorites) you have options for fastest/shortest/toll roads ect.
It talks to you as you drive "in 1000 meters turn right" "bear right"
It recalculates if you make a wrong turn or choose to go another way.

The cool thing about it is you can actually browse thru destinations in your area e.g nearest hospital/restaurants gas stations.

I think it cost around $250 and since its a blue tooth device there must be a way to make it work on lap tops if ou want a bigger visual interface.
But once you get used to the voice commands you pretty much do not need to look at the map all the time

peace

 

[zixxer]

What is some good software for the laptop to use? I have a friend who bought something from best buy and it really sucks.

(earthmate 2003)

It's not good at plotting routes at all, not good at telling you when to turn, not good at dealing with the issue of passing up where your supposed to turn.


It only works well if you have someone in the passenger seat capable of using the crazy confusing software, and you in no way get lost or pass up a turn.