PDA GPS technology
Submitted: Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 18:06
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Sand Man (SA)
For those of you that may be considering a PDA/GPS approach to providing enhanced operation away from the vehicle, think again.
I have recently returned from Hong Kong where I took my PDA and bluetooth GPS to use while I was there. The PDA is loaded with TomTom and the Map for the country I was in.
Well, it worked very
well for a SHORT period of time, until the PDA's battery expired that is. I wasn't aware of the amount of power required to run the PDA and bluetooth connection to the GPS.
This setup has worked
well in the vehicle, but away from it, the 1100 mA/h battery in the DELL PDA just doesn't cut the mustard. Suffice to say, I was somewhat disappointed. I didn't get a chance to determine how long it lasts but it was
well short of 8 hours.
The GlobalSat Bluetooth GPS however performed very
well, establishing connection to the satellites quickly and reliably. The GPS also switches itself off automatically after determining the PDA is no longer interested in "talking" to it.
So, back to the "drawing board" either with a higher capacity battery, or forget using it away from the vehicle for an extended period of time.
The PDA turned out to be nothing much more than an over-qualified calculator for converting HKD to AUD.
BUGGA!
Reply By: Member - Kim M (VIC) - Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 19:40
Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 19:40
Sandman
This could be an opportunity for me. Couple of months ago I purchased a HP iPAQ hw 6965 PDA. It's loaded with Tom Tom and Exloros? software. Payed about $1200 for it.
Only problem is that I'm an old fart, and can't get my head around the technology.
Anyone willing to bid over $650 will get it.
Regards
Kim
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Follow Up By: RustyHelen - Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 20:49
Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 20:49
G'day Kim
I am real interested.
Where in Vic are you?
We are
Healesville
Rusty
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Follow Up By: Member - Kim M (VIC) - Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 21:19
Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 21:19
Rusty
The distance is'nt a problem, I'm up your way quite often.
The unit comes with additional carry holders, computer interface etc etc.
As previously mentioned, I don't have a good head for new technology. Therefore, the unit is sitting in the original box gathering dust.
I won't accept an offer under $650.
If your still interested, give me a call on Monday at 97055647.
Regards
Kim
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Reply By: The Explorer - Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 20:50
Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 20:50
Yes the battery life of PDA's is sad compared to a "normal" GPS but the advantages of a PDA (can) out way inconvience. Battery life is actually
well documented in specs for all the PDA's I have ever looked at and they seem to be relatively truthful - 5 or 6hrs. Battery life is however very dependant on certain things. If you wish to achieve or extend documented times then you must keep backlight as low as possible and turn sound down (or off if you dont need it). Running Bluetooth/wireless, I assume, will also lower documented battery life.
I use PDA all the time out of car (think I may have mentioned that before), there is no GPS that does what I want - so have little choice but to solve the problem for jobs were lack of battery life would be being an issue..and el-cheapo (~$10) "battery extender" from eBay was the solution. Takes 4 AA's and will charge device or keep you going all day (or longer if you have extra AA's handy). Assume there is one for most PDAs - list on eBay seems extensive.
Maybe not everyones cup of tea but works very
well for me - consider it a relatively cheap option to try before reverting back to basic GPS.
Cheers
Greg
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Reply By: Muddy doe (SA) - Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 21:14
Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 21:14
Having recently acquired a Garmin Nuvi 660 I have to say that I would go with a dedicated device that does the job better than the PDA setups I have seen.
The beauty of the Nuvi is that its primary function is as a GPS Navigator. It also does a number of other things (MP3 player, Bluetooth phone kit, FM Transmitter and a few other whizzy things) but its reason for being is to navigate.
If I was to be getting a PDA I would want it to be really good as a PDA with the navigation stuff being really secondary. Yes there are devices that do just about everything but I find that in doing this there are always compromises and limitations whereas the Garmin, because its focus is navigation, just does it so seamlessly and easily.
People seem to try to get ONE thing that does EVERYTHING where as I prefer to find a couple of devices that do their individual primary jobs really
well and MAYBE can do extra tricks.
Just my 2 cents!
Muddy
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256772
Follow Up By: Member No 1- Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 21:35
Friday, Aug 10, 2007 at 21:35
phones are phones
gps's are gps's
and navigators are the next the next best thing to a gps?
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Follow Up By: The Explorer - Saturday, Aug 11, 2007 at 14:31
Saturday, Aug 11, 2007 at 14:31
Hello - The Garmin Nuvi 660 would without doubt be a good choice for some though I am not sure PDA devices are so bad. Another example of horses for course I suppose. A lot of people have been required to head down the PDA path because they wish to use OziEzplorerCE (
well I did) in addition to maybe using a in car voice navigation system such as what runs on the Nuvi, when in cities (near on useless in bush).
So if you need to run OziCE and have a PDA, pretty hard to justify getting another device to run a dedicated voice navigation system. PDA's will do the job fine - the actual software you choose would be more important. So definate advantages of having a PDA as you can run variety of software packages to suit variable needs - I dont see this as a comprimise - if you have a NUVI you have to be pretty sure it will do what you want as you are stuck with the maps and functions the software provides as i dont think it will run any other software (not sure).
So
shop around and see what you need - some dedicated in car navigation systems are certainly great and will suit some perfectly ...but may limit other peoples options, especially if you head bush, actually get out of the car and if you have a budget of any type. Some issues do arise when you take your PDA out of the car though (such as the battery life, not
water proof ..but there are work arounds) so they are not perfect. Still waiting on the ideal outdoors GPS device...maybe next year.
Cheers
Greg
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