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Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 7:50 pm Post subject: PDA / GPS / Mapping questions-questions-questions!!!
Sorry guys but I'm just starting to look for my first PDA/GPS system and as you know there are "umpteen" out there - so I'm not 100% sure what to go for but have narrowed a few down to meet my needs.
OK - Simply, I want a PDA to host GPS software for use in the car which is also compatible with the speed camera download on this site but also whilst out walking with the missus "as I can't rely on her directions".
Hardware I've been looking at:
Mio P550 - On the face of it this looks quility - although I've heard mixed reviews and have some reservations regarding the battery life whilst out walking.
HP IPAQ 2490 & bluetooth GPS receiver - Maybe the best spec PDA I've looked at, but will the battery life be any better than the Mio being that the GPS receiver's not intergrated?
Navman Ique M4 - The cheapest option but does not have wireless capability "then again how often will I use a wireless connection", I've heard that speed camera download does not work as well with the Navman and that also Navman have it locked down so that only certain software may be installed onto it?
Niggling questions I have regarding all of the above is that out walking with the PDA / GPS receiver in my pocket will a signal be maintained and will the battery last long enough.
Software:
OS - Windows mobile 5 and Windows mobile 2003 se "will I notice any difference / what are the benefits of Windows mobile 5".
Driving - Which one to go for Tom Tom or Navman etc... - I think the HP IPAQ comes with Tom Tom 5.
Walking - Again a real mine field - I've been looking at memory map discoverer 2004 but I'm unsure just how expansive this is for each area - seems to be the chapest I can find though.
I'm hoping that there are others out there that have gone through this same scenario that can offer advice. I'd appreciate it if you could offer advice on the above including any other PDA's you would recommend or software for driving / walking.
Thanks in advance - sorry for the long winded post....
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:39 pm Post subject: Re: PDA / GPS / Mapping questions-questions-questions!!!
Welcome to the forum, quite a list of questions, but we have all been there at some point I guess.
pmaths wrote:
Hardware I've been looking at:
Mio P550 - On the face of it this looks quility - although I've heard mixed reviews and have some reservations regarding the battery life whilst out walking.
You can always supplement the battery with an external pack, some PDA's offer better battery duration than others, also you can turn off the backlight when walking to further extend the duration.
pmaths wrote:
HP IPAQ 2490 & Bluetooth GPS receiver - Maybe the best spec PDA I've looked at, but will the battery life be any better than the Mio being that the GPS receiver's not integrated?
The 2490 is indeed a nice device (we have one in the office at work) quite a decent performance for speed, and the battery duration is very good.
pmaths wrote:
Niggling questions I have regarding all of the above is that out walking with the PDA / GPS receiver in my pocket will a signal be maintained and will the battery last long enough.
Don't worry about the GPS battery, so long as it is charged up you will get a full days walk out of it, some, more recent devices (the i-Blue for example) will give over 28 hours from a full charge! - Bluetooth signals will easily transmit through your coat to maintain the link. As for the GPS receiver being sensitive enough for picking up a signal in your pocket - make sure you get a SiRF-III equipped device - you won't have a problem then.
pmaths wrote:
OS - Windows mobile 5 and Windows mobile 2003 se "will I notice any difference / what are the benefits of Windows mobile 5".
WM5 offers "Persistent Storage" so if your battery dies the programs and any stored data will be retained, with a WM2003SE device if you loose the battery power you loose all stored data - not good, although you can mitigate this by installing a decent back-up application.
pmaths wrote:
Driving - Which one to go for Tom Tom or Navman etc... - I think the HP IPAQ comes with Tom Tom 5.
I find the TomTom package the easiest and most intuitive to use, but this is down to personal taste, see if you can try the different software to get a feel for what it is like in use - before purchase. Also a number of vendors will supply a package comprising of the PDA, GPS and Navigation software so make sure you shop around. There are other navigation packages in addition to the ones you list which could be considered.
pmaths wrote:
Walking - Again a real mine field - I've been looking at memory map discoverer 2004 but I'm unsure just how expansive this is for each area - seems to be the cheapest I can find though.
There are other topographical maps for walking, I use Memory map - cost is £50 for one area 1:50,000 scale and the areas are quite large these days - if you want 1:25,000 scale then this can get very costly. Remember a GPS system of any type is no substitute for a magnetic compass, paper maps and the skill base to use the traditional method of navigating, the GPS aids the situation but should not be relied upon 100% - if the batteries fail or you drop/ damage the device you need an alternative solution with you at the time. Mike
For my six penneth on this topic. I'm currently using a Mio P550 with MioMap v2 for road style navigation and Anquet Maps for off roading, thats either green laning in the Landrover, on the mountain bike or by foot.
I have no complaints.
MioMap is quite intuitive, although some of the options can take a little getting used to, like the fact that you can only do a 4 didgit postcode search then have to scroll manually to find the exact location you require. Works well with the Speed Camera data available here.
Anquet Maps are good, however it is designed to be run from your desk/lap top PC and then download what you require to your PPC of choice. They are also quite expensive at the 1:25K level, OS National Parks are 80quid each, however you can get all the 1:50K OS maps (Sept 2006) on one DVD for 160 quid.
MioMap is quite intuitive, although some of the options can take a little getting used to, like the fact that you can only do a 4 didgit postcode search then have to scroll manually to find the exact location you require. Works well with the Speed Camera data available here.
Could you please tell me how you were able to use the speed camera database with Mio Map V2 as I also like the software for day to day use??
Could you please tell me how you were able to use the speed camera database with Mio Map V2 as I also like the software for day to day use??
You need to purchse the POI-Warner software from http://www.navigating.de, this costs 31.90 euros (£22ish) This integrates seemlessly with Miomap v2 (in my case). Just start the POI-Warner software, then running 'start monitoring' will automagically start the miomap software.
The .asc & .bmp files from the speed camera datbase then get put in the POI-Warner pois directory, configure POI-Warner to read the relvant data and there you have it speed cameras and warnings overlayed on your Miomaps.
The POI-Warner software has 3 versions, none of which list the P550 and I cant for the life of me remeber which version it is that works but you can try all for your money and only one version installs using the active-sync connection, probaly the A701 version...
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