PDA with a VGA screen?

Thanks, I'll have another look at Tom Tom. CoPilot was looking ok to me.

TomTom (Navigator 6) is a fair bit more costly than Copilot 6 and I couldn't find much detail on it on the Web.

Copilot has favourable reviews and costs $299 from GPSOZ. It comes with both the Copilot Live CE software and maps on a 256mb SD Card which self installs when you insert it into the PDA slot and also Copilot live software and maps on two CD's to install on a Laptop.

I have only just purchased mine so am a "rookie" as far as operation and functionality goes, but the ability to plan a trip on the Laptop (bigger screen) and then download it to the PDA via "ActiveSync" looks good to me.

Since you seem to have a good setup and I was looking at the Dell Axim, can i ask you a few questions?

1. Do you need a separate GPS plug in unit (or bluetooth unit) with the Dell?

2. Does the software (TomTom or Copilot) provide voice prompts, etc?

3. Does the software have moving maps and what are the maps like? ie do they have tracks rather than just city/main roads?

Thanks
Juzzy

Yes the Dell will need a bluetooth GPS to work

TomTom and Co-Pilot provide voice prompts

Both have moving maps and both are pretty good, IMHO TT is a tad better but CoPilot allows using waypoints to set routes, TT just gets you there the most direct route it thinks to go.

Hi Juzzy,

To answers your questions, as follows:

- Yes, a bluetooth GPS is required
- Co-pilot does have voice commands. I turned it off as it was annoying.
- Co-pilot has a map to show you where you are going. For outback trips, you will need the Explorer CE, and convert your raster maps to ozxf3 format

Please feel free to ask any other questions

Thanks

TonyG

As I have an Axim, I have also wondered about this.
From the posts above, you say it needs a bluetooth. Can it also work as well with the CF type unit or does that drain batteries too much?

I saw the other day here at the shop the Iblue757 and it seemed to be a reasonable solution being solar powered etc. Does anyone know if that is the case?
It would be a bit bulkier than a CF unit though as that fits into the CF slot and then you would need two hands if you are bushwalking.

I want to set myself up but there are too many options.

Cheers Cam

in my opinion the CF unit sucks too much power, reduces the PDA run time and is only PDA useful, a BT GPS will also work with Oziexplorer with a BT enabled notebook PC and theyre also a cool gadget!

Camoco,

You really need the CF slot for stuff like OziExplorer maps.
I have a 4gb card which held all MATMAP Premium Raster 250k maps and still has room left for additional storage.

Both Ozi and CoPilot are installed in the Axim's onboard storage but there is a limit to how much can be loaded.

Noticed SD card capacity is also increasing, with a 4gb card now available for a reasonable price, so you can have the option of either a SD card GPS or a CF card GPS but if it uses too much battery power when not connected to the vehicle supply, you will be limited to how long you can use it.

The better solution is to use a bluetooth GPS which can also run off the vehicle supply, or has an internal rechargeable battery of its own.

Several options, you just need to work out what suits you best.

yes I agree. saw an 8gig SD card last night for $179, so that may solve one problem however its more the battery life that would annoy me runing the CFGPS and the PDA too. Rather go for a BT GPS with its own batt and then it'll also work with your laptop etc.

WARNING

there are a very large number of fake and counterfeit SD cards on Ebay at the moment. Mostly counterfeiting the brand Sandisk Ultra

Speaking from experience. i got burnt.

jeepers Bonz, I liked your 'new' PDA I saw the other day, a little bigger than the other PDA of course but sweet ;-)))) Same size screen as my laptop.

I know there is some software that allows you to alter what you see in VGA. Some seem to like it and some don't see any point. That's why I'm asking before I commit the $$.

PS - forgot to add.
I do run Oziexplorer for out of city and CoPilot for in the city.
The Asus has inbuilt GPS.

I'm looking at the option of a PDA with a VGA screen. There aren't that many to choose from but I was wondering if it is a worthwhile feature to consider. They tend to be in the 3.5" to 4" range.

Money is an object but if the benefits are there then I'll consider it. Not to keen on false economy.

What can I say but ......awesome ;-)

That's already on the list so I can run Copilot in the background while I look at Ozi.