Friday, Nov 27, 2020 at 10:58
My response is partly against the grain of the thread to date..... but only partly.
In explanation .... my 'default' navigator ' is a Hema HX1. ie. not on a tablet. In the limited space of our GU Patrol ute we simply don't have the space to permanently mount a tablet without a sense of 'overcrowding'.
It is hard to beat the convenience of glancing regularly at a GPS navigator which shows your position on a map as I drive through remote country & the HX1, fits the bill space-wise, incorporating a useable turn by turn navigator as
well, making driving through unknown towns & cities so much easier than it used to be.
No room to mount a tablet (that I want to clutter up) &for the same reason no wish for a separate navigator for 'in town' use.
The HX1 comes at a premium price, & is promoted as state of the art. My view is that the products software design is a little clunky & non intuitive to be considered state of the art, but familiarity with it has made it an essential in our rig. Newer offerings from Garmin may supercede it. The hardware side needs some quality improvement, mainly in regard to it's charging cable/port design. This was improved when they changed to a right angled USB plug, but on a $600+ 'off road navigator' I shouldn't need to use a strip of masking tape to maintain the charging connection on corrugated dirt roads!
Not yet having used
Exploroz Traveller as extensively as I've used the HX1 I think it's off road navigation software is better than the HX1 in most ways & if it came packaged in a dedicated 'navigator', together with a reasonable 'in town' navigator as on the HX1, it would make an HX1 replacement I'd buy.
As it is, it is useful to have both. There have been occasions where using both simultaneously has been very helpful . In circumstances where there are multiple tracks through an area, Hema tends to only show the 'main' route, whereas the
EOTopo shows all the tracks. Sometimes it makes sense to follow what 'looks best' through the windscreen, as opposed to what the navigator shows. A recent example of doing this had us travelling across country where there was no track shown on the Hema. However we had the reassurance of being able to 'see ourselves' on a track on the
Exploroz Traveller, & so knew where we were headed. Without the
Exploroz Traveller we most liklely would have turned back.
We also have Hema's 4wd app on the ipad, same maps as the HX1. Never use it any more, but keep it as a 'back up'.
But having the tablet in my wife's hands, & needing to stop to look at it (as the driver) lacks the convenience of the windscreen mounted HX1.
AnswerID:
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