GPS Solutions

[Scottch]

Guys,

Looking for a little (more) steering input on this one.

I'd quite like to get some sort of dead easy, dead flexible GPS system for our mini.

I was in Comet the other day looking at Handheld PC's with TomTom bits and bobs and smartnav this and that, then off to PC world to look at other handhelds.

So, I've come to the conclusion that I'd like to get a wireless bluetooth handheld and navigation, but then it gets a little fuzzy :I there's soo many handhelds and a few GPS add-ons

So, rather than gamble my own money ;) I was hoping to pick your brains and see what you guys already have and what you'd reccomend.

As ever TIA

Cheers!

Scott

[Mini Me]

smartnav !

[Scottch]

Iain,

Don't think Smartnav is quite qhat I'm looking for - I would prefer to go the handheld route so that I can easily move the system from car to car/bike/motorhome and at the same time have some way of retreiving e-mail when we're on our travels.

Thanks for your input though!

Cheers!

Scott

[3GGG]

I use TomTom Navigator and Compaq iPaq with a wired GPS receiver. When I got mine a couple of years ago you had to buy all the bits separately to get the best deal, but my brother recently bought the TomTom receiver with software and mount complete and got a refurbished iPaq from another online place.
Bluetooth might be a neater solution in which case TomTom do the kit for that now
Have a look here (http://www.tomtom.com/products/category.php?ID=1)

[3GGG]

For details of how I fitted my iPaq see here (http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/mini.php)

[Mini Me]

quote:Originally posted by minime

smartnav !


Sorry ,tried to read your thead to quick and without me specks:eek:

[Scottie]

quote:Originally posted by Scottch

Guys,

Looking for a little (more) steering input on this one.

I'd quite like to get some sort of dead easy, dead flexible GPS system for our mini.

I was in Comet the other day looking at Handheld PC's with TomTom bits and bobs and smartnav this and that, then off to PC world to look at other handhelds.

So, I've come to the conclusion that I'd like to get a wireless bluetooth handheld and navigation, but then it gets a little fuzzy :I there's soo many handhelds and a few GPS add-ons

So, rather than gamble my own money ;) I was hoping to pick your brains and see what you guys already have and what you'd reccomend.

As ever TIA

Cheers!

Scott


Scott,

Depends how much you want to spend. If your not in a hurry I could rake the cupboard i've got the tom tom and a couple of Garmins could give you them to have a muck around with might help you to make your mind up.
In the red min I have a Navman hard wired and I really like it.
Let me know.

[Scottch]

David,

Great article mate - I think it's something like this I'm looking for. However, I never considered the volume of the voice directions before :dead: Do you feel it's neccessary to play them through the stereo or are they loud enough?

Maybe it would be possible to wire the audio through the stereo phone connection (if it has one) so it would mute the stereo automatically when the voice directions were playing?

Fi - Thanks for the offer pal, I might well take you up on the TomTom ;) The budget is reasonably flexible, but certainly not bottomless. What I want is a capable handheld PC that has wireless networking and bluetooth and more than able to run GPS navigation software.

My Dad has a garmin streetpilot which I've borrowed before and thought it was excellent - though we really must have somethng that does more than GPS.

Is your Navman standalone or Pocket PC based? And, since I gather you had TomTom before, why did you go for Navman this time?

Cheers!

Scott

[3GGG]

I have since done away with playing the voice through the stereo, I actually really only intended it to play mp3 files on the iPaq, but have since got an iPod and iTrip hence no longer use the iPaq for playing music. The volume of the internal speaker of the ipaq is fine for voice directions.

[Craig]

Scott,

I have recently bought 3 Ipaq 1710's with tom tom on them for 3 of our top persons at work and they will be installed in their cars in the next couple of weeks and we will be testing them, before letting them loose on them. They were a bargain (i think) at about £300. This included all the GPS gear, holder, car power lead, sync and power for the house and a wireless keyboard. Will let you know how this goes if you are interested. (got them from pdamods.co.uk for your info - fantastic service!)

[Scottie]

quote:Originally posted by Scottch

David,

Great article mate - I think it's something like this I'm looking for. However, I never considered the volume of the voice directions before :dead: Do you feel it's neccessary to play them through the stereo or are they loud enough?

Maybe it would be possible to wire the audio through the stereo phone connection (if it has one) so it would mute the stereo automatically when the voice directions were playing?

Fi - Thanks for the offer pal, I might well take you up on the TomTom ;) The budget is reasonably flexible, but certainly not bottomless. What I want is a capable handheld PC that has wireless networking and bluetooth and more than able to run GPS navigation software.

My Dad has a garmin streetpilot which I've borrowed before and thought it was excellent - though we really must have somethng that does more than GPS.

Is your Navman standalone or Pocket PC based? And, since I gather you had TomTom before, why did you go for Navman this time?

Cheers!

Scott


Navmam looks much cooler but it's just a sat nav nothing else. The best gps I've used is the garmin much of the usage is in europe and because the garmin is the only system that allows you to set up what type of vehicle you are is a godsend for us as we have a 26ft caravan on the back of the touareg and do not want to be taken any unsuitable roads the map of europe is very detailed the tom tom and go was very limited to main roads only.

Is there any reasin why it must be bluetooth and a pocket pc

[3GGG]

You can get detailed maps of Europe (and USA) for TomTom as well. You only get main roads for Europe if you buy the UK version as standard however. My brother managed to do the Italian Job this year with the TomTom European basic maps and he says it worked better than the Cooper S SatNav which kept taking them the wrong way!

[Scottch]

quote:Originally posted by ScottieCoop
Is there any reasin why it must be bluetooth and a pocket pc


Fi,

Bluetooth and pocket PC so that we can also use it to connect to a mobile phone without cables and then get online to download e-mails / web access when we're on travels. Wireless network just for the same if we're lucky enough to find someplace with a wi-fi hotspot.

Also, I thought bluetooth would be best for an external GPS receiver so we wouldn't have cables running allover the dash.

Hope this helps you understand our quandry ;)

Which pocket PC though? Palm or Ipaq?

Cheers!

Scott

[Scottch]

quote:Originally posted by craigd

Scott,

I have recently bought 3 Ipaq 1710's with tom tom on them for 3 of our top persons at work and they will be installed in their cars in the next couple of weeks and we will be testing them, before letting them loose on them. They were a bargain (i think) at about £300. This included all the GPS gear, holder, car power lead, sync and power for the house and a wireless keyboard. Will let you know how this goes if you are interested. (got them from pdamods.co.uk for your info - fantastic service!)


Craig,

I saw a deal for the navigation and the Ipaq 1710, but I thought the 1710 didn't have bluetooth or wireless networking so that kinda put me off.

I guess going by my specific requirements for the PDA I could narrow down my options a bit.

Is TomTom the right route to take?

Cheers!

Scott

[3GGG]

quote:Originally posted by 3GGG

You can get detailed maps of Europe (and USA) for TomTom as well. You only get main roads for Europe if you buy the UK version as standard however. My brother managed to do the Italian Job this year with the TomTom European basic maps and he says it worked better than the Cooper S SatNav which kept taking them the wrong way!


Just to clarify, with TomTom you do get detailed Maps of the whole of the UK, not just the main roads. It is just the Continental Europe maps that are less detailed.

[Scottie]

quote:Originally posted by 3GGG

You can get detailed maps of Europe (and USA) for TomTom as well. You only get main roads for Europe if you buy the UK version as standard however. My brother managed to do the Italian Job this year with the TomTom European basic maps and he says it worked better than the Cooper S SatNav which kept taking them the wrong way!


It was the tom tom & go that I used can only tell you the experience I had with it and for my purpose with the caravan and the camping sites we wanted to go to which were of the main roads it was no good down by venice way it was really bad and naples it was no good.

[Scottie]

quote:Originally posted by Scottch


quote:Originally posted by ScottieCoop
Is there any reasin why it must be bluetooth and a pocket pc


Fi,

Bluetooth and pocket PC so that we can also use it to connect to a mobile phone without cables and then get online to download e-mails / web access when we're on travels. Wireless network just for the same if we're lucky enough to find someplace with a wi-fi hotspot.

Also, I thought bluetooth would be best for an external GPS receiver so we wouldn't have cables running allover the dash.

Hope this helps you understand our quandry ;)

Which pocket PC though? Palm or Ipaq?

Cheers!

Scott


I don't know boys and their toys:p;)

[3GGG]

TomTom Go and the iPaq version of TomTom must be different then. With the iPaq version you can buy detailed maps of individual countries other than your own and they show all of the minor roads and tracks.

Another nice feature of TomTom on an iPaq is the ability to run third party software such as CheckPoint which can contain databases of speed cameras and you are warned as you approach a black spot. (All integrated into the TomTom application, very nice).



quote:Originally posted by ScottieCoop


quote:Originally posted by 3GGG

You can get detailed maps of Europe (and USA) for TomTom as well. You only get main roads for Europe if you buy the UK version as standard however. My brother managed to do the Italian Job this year with the TomTom European basic maps and he says it worked better than the Cooper S SatNav which kept taking them the wrong way!


It was the tom tom & go that I used can only tell you the experience I had with it and for my purpose with the caravan and the camping sites we wanted to go to which were of the main roads it was no good down by venice way it was really bad and naples it was no good.

[Scottch]

Thanks for all the input guys - went out today and bought an Ipaq 4700 and TomTom navigator 3 with bluetooth receiver.

Have spent tonight doing a couple of required downloads and all seems to be working fine - just need to get a car cradle now with the 12v adaptor.

David, where would I download that speed camera POI mate?

Cheers!

Scott

[MartinSullivan]

PocketGPS Forum (http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/tomtompoi.php) should be a good place to start. Lots of good stuff on there

[Nenah]

quote:Originally posted by Scottch

Thanks for all the input guys - went out today and bought an Ipaq 4700 and TomTom navigator 3 with bluetooth receiver.

Have spent tonight doing a couple of required downloads and all seems to be working fine - just need to get a car cradle now with the 12v adaptor.

David, where would I download that speed camera POI mate?

Cheers!

Scott



Scott - I have the exact same SatNav TomTom 3 Bluetooth and iPAQ hx4700 PDA colour screen (with 512MB extra memory expansion card) set-up in my car. You'll need to keep it plugged into the power on the go and the cables are a pain but other than that, the system is fantastic!

I also got Wi-Fi/ethernet connection set up to access internet/emails on the go. If you have a Bluetooth hands-free connection too, make sure you set your PDA to only syncronise with TomTom paired device, as I found my mobile used to syncronise with the TomTom Bluetooth 1st and not iPAC and transmit a deafening signal through my stereo (which is always turned up loud!!) :eek:

TomTom website has lots of free upgrades downloads for Points of Interest which I've found making trip planning a breeze ie BP/Shell stations for petrol stops based on fuel consumption/average speed, speed camera warning, next McDonald's ;) and Starbucks or Best Pub Food Guide! :D

Enjoy and happy navigating!

[X30YES]

Had a navman Pin and thought it was good enough for my needs .......till some Btd nicked it at Abz airport

[Scottch]

Nenah,

How did you mount your Ipaq in the car? Is there a 4700 cradle out yet? (I couldn't find one yesterday)

I found this on Mini2, and fancied something similar, I'd rather not stick onto the window or mount it down low on the tubey things.
http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/Restyle/pr-1-.jpg

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/Restyle/mini-uni-post_-2_011.jpg

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/Restyle/mini-uni-post_-2_013.jpg

Cheers!

Scott

[Gismo]

I'm sure mikeythemini has a top dash mount, one that attaches to the rev counter above the steering column, can't find the pic just yet, but try on MINI2

[MartinSullivan]

Was at Mikeys over Xmas period - the top of his rev counter is like a utility belt , its got bits for his ipod and his phone

http://www.newministuff.co.uk/mini%20ipod%20rev.JPG

Pretty sure he would be able to get you a mount for your setup Scottch, try his website NewMiniStuff (http://www.newministuff.co.uk/) or email him at mike@newministuff.co.uk

[Scottch]

BS/Martin,

We have the chrono pack (speedo & rev counter on top of steering wheel) so, don't think that will work, thanks for the help though!

Cheers!

Scott

[MartinSullivan]

No probs Scott, still might be worth emailing Mikey, he will probably come up with something

[Scottch]

Already have mate ;)

Cheers!

Scott

[3GGG]

quote:Originally posted by Scottch

Thanks for all the input guys - went out today and bought an Ipaq 4700 and TomTom navigator 3 with bluetooth receiver.

Have spent tonight doing a couple of required downloads and all seems to be working fine - just need to get a car cradle now with the 12v adaptor.

David, where would I download that speed camera POI mate?

Cheers!

Scott



The Safety Camera POI is available from the Pocket GPS World site, you should get hold of the program called CheckPOInt which runs in the background with TomTom and gives you sound and visual alerts of Safety Cameras.

Get CheckPOInt form here (http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=3)

There is also a service called POI sync on the PocketGPS site

Details here (http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/PocketGPSPOISync.php)

Some general info here (http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/menu_gpsspeed.php)

Lastly the camera database is here. (http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/uksafetycameras.php)

[Scottch]

Yer a diamond mate!

Cheers!

Scott

[Scottch]

brain picking required again guys!

Tomtom has been great so far really impressed with it

So now we're looking for the map for Italy but we need this kinda sharpish and I was wondering if we needed to buy the whole western europe disc or if there was someplace I could download even a city specific map.

As ever, your help appreciated

Cheers!

Scott

[3GGG]

Sorry, I can only really direct you to Tom Tom's site for help on this one, did you not get the basic maps for the continent with TT ?

I have just found this site that sells the maps
here (http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/1592)

[mgemie]

i'm currently using the XDA IIs as my phone/pda gizmo...how can i transform this xda into a satnav gizmo? what software/hardware etc do i need? anyone else using one of these?