GPS/COMPUTERS

Have a look at PDAs with VGA (640x480) resolution screens.

Maps and aerial photos in OziExplorer look great. But so do photos and movies.

Hi Andrew,
I have both Laptop and PDA.
The PDA is great, compact, easy to hide from bad people.
The unit is a HP iPAQ hx 2190. Cost about $500 new
Some specs as follows
- Intel PXA 270 processor 312MHz
- Integrated Bluetooth (v1.2)
- Secure Digital expansion slot (supports SDIO/MCC cards)
- CompactFlash Type II expansion slot
- 3.5 inch transflective TFT display with 64K colours
- 64 MB RAM
- 128 MB ROM (up to 80 MB user available)
GPSOZ can supply cables or purchase a compactflash GPSR it plugs straight in (no cables)
OziExplorer CE, and I use a 512MB SD card to stor maps and data
It's a top set up and cheaper than a laptop.
Regards Graham

I have a garmin V which has 19mb storeage for down loaded maps which allows me to load approx 30% of Aust, It works great but its black & white and has a small screen.
I was lucky enough to get an HP4700 which has a large 4" colour screen, it has a SD and Compact Flash slot, so you can load maps on the SD card and use the Compact Flash slot for a plug in GPS card if you wish.

Since you need power to power the unit in the car, I connected my unit to the GPS, which is also connected to the 12volt supply.

Very happy with it, I run Oziexplorer CE and mainly Nat Maps (cheap at $100.00)
Also have Desinator on it which gives me street level maps and Voice turn by turn instructions.
At work we have just got a new large Plan Printer which also scans colour, I am playing around, scanned a High Country map, calabrated and down loaded into the PDA, looks good, only thing is the map started out at 7mb at 200dpi and ended up at 13mb when converted to work on the PDA, but not a problem when you use 1 or 2GB SD cards.

Happy shopping
Dennis

Where are you Based ? I am in Sydney.

Andrew B

Wouldn't be without my moving maps - lots of fun, and informative too.

I am using an iPaq 4700, 640 x 480 screen (I think), 624 Mhz processor, about 96 Mb memory, with 1 gb SD card and 1 gb CF, for maps. I am using it with a Magellan Sportrack for the GPS, and running power and data via cable from cig lighter, supplied by GPSOz. If I was starting again, I'd have a blue tooth GPS, but I have had the Magellan for a few years, so made sense to use it. I have both on the dash in suitable brackets, and use the Magellan while I am driving as a digital speedo and altimeter.

I also recently bought a reradiating antenna (also from GPSOz) which has improved wet/tree/poor conditions markedly. It is mounted on the bullbar. I run the lot from a double cig adapter wired directly to the second battery, so it is ignition independent.

Using Oziexplorere CE - works great. Also TOMTOM for street level directions. Have the full version of Ozi on a lapto, so that is where I do pretrip planning, map conversion etc.

Thought about a laptop, but the bride would have to manage, and the ergonomics/crash worthiness, mounting issues etc, eliminated it from consideration.

Been using this set up for about a year, works very well. Screen size obviously smaller, but you still know where you are, and the display on the 4700 is the largest of the PDAs (no longer available, I understand), and the iPaq is used for many other things as a digital diary etc in its other life.

Hendo

Guys,

Check out the new Sony Ultra Portable PC - the UX series. Runs a full version of XP Pro and is only mabigger than a PDA. Saw one at the Sony shop the other day and even as a bit of a tech head I must say I was VERY impressed.

Muddy