Polaris GPS, can you help me please my son, info please

Barbara, he might do just as well to get some information from the Polaris website. While he's doing that, tell him to check out the Brash Imports website. They do identical units several hundred dollars cheaper. A search on the LCool website (Toyota Landcruiser Forum) will bring up a bit of info on both Brash and Polaris.

Brash Imports


Cheers Mick

Hi Barbara,

I have had the Polaris for 3-1/2 years and while it was good value at the time I bought it, there are better and cheaper alternatives now. I recently bought a similair unit for my wifes car at about 1/2 the price from AutodvdGPS . Brash imports is also another great place, but they did not have the vehicle specific Mazda CX7 model I needed.

My wifes unit works better than my Polaris, but Polaris too have newer models out so I would expect them to be on par performance wise. But the biggest issue with Polaris is the zero customer support, they didn't return my emails or phonecalls when I had an issue with my unit, so didn't even try to contact them when buying a unit for my wife.

Cheers

Captain

Hi Barbara
Firstly I must confess that I am a "Garmin" man, so am bias.
I, family and mates have several Garmin units, which we all like very much, in saying that, last year I won a Polaris "in-dash" GPS unit.
I've also owned and set up, for mates, several generic Chinese GPS units, to run OziExpCE with off road, raster maps.
You didn't say if your son was after info on the "in-dash" units or stand alone windscreen mount units, and after one primarily as a "street navigator" or for "off road" mapping.
I will assume he is after info on the "in-dash" units.
The Polaris unit comes std. as a street navigator, and runs Sygic software, which does not appear to be a popular operating system, in Aust.
As a street navigator, it is probably reasonably comperable to a Garmin Unit, the few times I have used it,I tend to use the Garmin all the time.
Having used both, my main concern is that with my Garmin unit on the windscreen you don't have to take your eyes too far off the road, where as you have to actually look down, away from the road and refocus on the in-dash Polaris unit.
The Polaris is fine when using the radio, music on a usb stick or ipod input and reversing camera etc.
My Garmin has several POI (points of interest)files loaded, mainly for caravan touring, some from the net,and some personally compiled.
Some are: Camp Aust Wide Free Camp sites, Oz Camps, Dump Points, National Park Camp Sites, Public Toilets, free WiFI Sites, and Laundromats etc.
I have compiled my own poi lists of all Fire Hydrants in our brigade area, and all Fire Stations in our region, these are easily loaded into the Garmin unit, but not on to a Polaris running Sygic.
I have tried, and also checked with Polaris themselves, but to no avail.
The Polaris can be purchased with OziExpCE as an extra which will allow to load raster maps such as: Hema, Natmap and Spatial Vision mapping etc.
Although having the Polaris in the cruiser, I still run a Garmin ,as a street navigator and a generic chinese unit (7") for off road mapping, on the windscreen.
Would I buy a Polaris ?, ........ probably not.
Would I buy another generic 2 din unit ? ....... maybe, if I could load a mapping system that will take extra poi lists.
But, I do like my x 2 windscreen mounted units, works for me.
Cheers
Neil

Barb
Are we talking about an in dash polaris system or a Rockwell Collins product