In car <span class="highlight">GPS</span>

Doug, what is wrong with Navman? Do they have hardware / software issues or something? What other GPS' do people use / recommend? Apparently the Pioneer is pretty good to but price is to high in this case.

Hey....if you want a Navman ...go for it , but go back through the archives and do some more reading and research , I told you what I think, that's what you wanted , you got an answer, now it's up to you to make a choice , make the right one , actually your boss needs some educating on GPS too, why has he not got Garmin in the list .

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Don't know why he don't have Garmin on the list. Actually, I can put it on the list I suppose. Thats just a few he mentioned. My response re navman was merely info gathering, I wasn't having a go at you or anything. Geez, you gave me a GPS complex now.

Louie the fly
You'll be right mate, couple of Panadol will fix it

Any of the Nuvi units would be a good start

Garmin Nuvi 250W


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Garmin Nuvi 660 is THE best!

Had a look at a few today. What maps packages can be loaded onto the Garmin for example? From there, can you use the maps on the SD card in place of the embedded maps software? Its all to confusing. I don't just want to end up with a glorified (electronic) street directory.

Louie the fly
If you don't just want to end up with a glorified electronic street directory as you call it, I would strongly suggest you go and buy a Book directory ,

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Doug, I looked at the Nuvi 250W yesterday - it seems like a good unit, user friendly, and around the price range, except the sales guy didn't seem to know much about any of the GPS' they had in the store. On the garmin website they say you can store alternative map software on the SD card. Can you then use these maps to navigate by or do the maps have to be in the internal memory? If so then they would be reference only? If you have something like OziExplorer does it run from GPS or from a computer linked to GPS?

So many questions but I want to make the right choice first time. Also heard you're the Garmin guru.

Thanks

Louie the fly
I don't care much what others say but I think OziExplorer is a bit behind , OK in a laptop only, you can't use it in a GPS , only a PDA , Forget it.
Your on the right trail with Garmin, the 250W would be a great starter.
I agree the bloody sales people know crap all .
Yes , if you add OZtopo V2 to a 4GB SD card you can navigate with it , but you won't get voice guidance, Read this Info HERE
and it will explain.
Remember when delving around in the internals of a Nuvi be careful NOT to delete any files , I keep a back up copy on my Hard drive .
People should compare the size of OZtopo V2 at Approx 1700 MB to OziExplorer , i don't know how big it is but it sure won't be anywhere near 1700mb so OZtopo must have an enormous of information data in it and the beauty is it will run on a GPS ,

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Louie the fly

People might wonder why I suggest a 4MB card.
When OzTopo is added to a 2GB at 1700 MB that only leaves 300MB left.
123 normal songs is 299MB + or - song lengths, Then you might have a heap of POIs , some Photo's ,
That's why

Thanks Doug. I just spoke to a lady at GPSOZ in Sydney a short while ago. She was really very helpful and also suggested Oztopo as an add on.

Apparently you can also partially load it onto a card as required, as follows; "How big is OZtopo V2? Approx 1700 MB for all of Australia but partial areas, as small as 50km x 50km, can be loaded. (As a guide, Qld-350MB, NSW-270MB, Vic-110MB, Tas-48MB, SA-192MB, WA-432MB, NT-220MB) TBC " This could be a useful feature in itself.

So, for my 1st GPS I will get the Garmin Nuvi 250W and Oztopo V2.

The last time I used a GPS was for work back in the early 90's, a Trimble TransPac II. State of the art technology back then and really expensive. Just got to get the boss man to grab it for me before Chrissy now so I can start using it.

Cheers, Louie TF.

Louie the fly
OK good , I know you will enjoy it, anytime you want some info, all you gotta do is ask .I'll even do screen shots of things to show the way

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Louie,

How come the restricted choice?
Can you convince the Boss to allow you to select based on price?

The TomTom one will not give you "off-road" capability with any great detail, I think.

I have a TomTom Go 720 but have yet to test it in a remote situation. I use OziExplorer and NATMAP Premium running on a PDA for this use.

The TomTom is primarily for metropolitan area use, with it's voice controlled guidance, it is hard to beat. I have made a country trip and it showed very good detail (York Peninsula, South Aust.) but I have doubts it would be of much use in real remote areas.

For Australia wide use in remote areas, there is really only two choices that I am aware of.

1. A PDA running Windows mobile 5 Operating System, allowing you to run OziExplorer, additional Maps such as the NATMAP series and for City/Metro travel, something like CoPilot 6, or TomTom's Navigator 6, for voice guided trips.

2. A Garmin unit, which although of a proprietary nature, comes complete with voice guidance software for City/Metro areas of Australia and the ability to add something like Tracks 4 Australia, or the newly released Oztopo V2 maps, for Australia wide coverage.

I'm sure Doug can fill you in on the Garmin Quest, or Garmin Nuvi range of GPS units.

The just released Garmin Nuvi 760, at around $769 from Johnny Appleseed would probably be the best choice for what you want from a GPS, even if you need to purchase Oztop0 v2 separately and add to the Nuvi.

Perhaps your boss will grant you XXX dollars and you can top up the rest to buy the 760.

You can also read more about this device at Johny Appleseed


Or wait for Doug to fire up again, now I've waved the flag for him.
Actually, Doug has his own url dedicated to all things Garmin and what we are talking about here.

Good Luck.

Not so much a restricted choice as they are just some he saw in a catalogue. If I want something different I'm sure he will oblige. I just looked at the Garmin Nuvi 250W on the web and noticed it doesn't have bluetooth. I don't know if thats a big deal or not. Not easy picking a GPS. Do they all need the maps upgrade for more remote driving?

Louie,

To my knowledge, only the Garmin GPS allows the add-on of Maps suitable for driving in remote areas. How practical this is, can be answered by member Doug, who is proficient in this use.
I don't believe this feature gives voice directions, but neither does any others and let's face it, you would hardly require this feature in the bush.

No other equivalent GPS device provides this capability to my knowledge. That's where a PDA running Windows mobile comes into it's own, allowing multiple programs to coexist on the one device.

Although I have no personal experience with the Garmin product, the one big plus over a TomTom GO product is the ability to install "add-ons".

The TomTom GO 720 which I have is a very very good product, but it is largely restricted to built-up areas. In this use, it is hard to beat for functionality and ease of use.

For a "one shop do all device" the Garmin Nuvi 660 (now 760) would appear to be way out in front.

I have buggered around with several options and configurations and have ended up with two separate devices.

A TomTom device for voice guided and visual use as an on-line street directory for cities/major towns use.

A PDA running OziExplorer and map coverage of all of Australia for travelling the wide open spaces.

When I think of the total cost of setting up this hardware/software combination, the Nuvi 760 at $769 is a bargain, even if it cost another $300 or so, to buy the Oztopo v2 addition.

Ben,

TomTom certainly does text to speech. You just need to select the correct voice option to use this feature.

Personally, I believe text to speech is overrated and not all that practical anyway.

As for announcing a turn, you can customise TomTom to give a warning at various times preceding the turn. You just didn't configure it properly.

I have both CoPilot and TomTom at my disposal and they are "line ball" so far, both having advantages over the other.

I prefer the Australian Female voice on CoPilot for clarity and "naturalness"

The 3D view on TomTom is vastly superior to CoPilot, however I hardly ever use 3D view.

Both are very good at guiding one from point A to B.

If you've been a really good boy, check out the new Magellan Crossover.
http://www.ryda.com.au/Magellan-Crossover-GPS-Navigation-p/gpsmagpnd100.htm
It has voice guidance for streets, topo maps, is water resistant for boat use (you can buy an optional card with marine charts) & has an inbuilt rechargable battery so you can take it walking. It is around the $820 mark or as a package with DiscoverAus streets & Tracks for around $1000.