New fan of Anquet

TheSquare · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 07, 2004 Posts: 12

Hello! I have just found this forum while browsing for GPS advice. First of all, I would like to say how impressed I am with the Anquet maps. I have invested in the GB 1:50,000 maps and 4 1:25,000 areas. (Why are the Brecon Beacons not included?) I chose Anquet over MemoryMap because of a recommendation by Stanfords. (They said the firm was small and friendly and the software had the ability to continuously move across different areas.) I am enjoying planning walking routes and developing my walking log to include details of past routes. It is very easy to use. Thumbs Up

I have ordered an HP iPAQ 2210 and will be interested to see how the maps work and look on the PPC.

I have a question. I would like to upgrade my GPS to be able to talk to my PC and PPC. I have a choice of bluetooth (BT), compact flash (CF) or a standalone one. As I want to use it for walking, I am seriously thinking of a standalone one such as the eTrex Vista or Magellan Meridian Platinum. Has anyone any advice on which would be most suitable? I obviously want a GPS with OSGB mapping. It would save batteries and be more flexible if I could use the GPS independently. These GPSs have more functionality than the BT and CF GPSs. However, this has the disadvantage of needing a cable to connect them. On the other hand, it would seem unnecessary to go for a colour GPS with large memory as they are available on the PPC.

I have discussed this with walking and GPS newsgroups but without coming to a definite conclusion. Any advice or comments would be gratefully received.

Mike Elcock

PS I would be very interested in helping to build up a database of walks. I have so far sent one to Anquet.

lbendlin · Posted: Mon May 17, 2004 1:19 pm Post subject:

Ideally you would use a handheld that has a BT connection. But so far the handheld manufacturers haven't come up with such models (except for one).

Eventually a dumb GPS receiver paired with a Pocket PC is much more flexible than a sophisticated but proprietary handheld... And, you can always get rugged cases for the Pocket PC (plastic bags and condoms are other alternatives) to make it watertight. Not sure about the floating on water, though...
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BBB · Regular Visitor Joined: Feb 24, 2004 Posts: 206

Hi TheSquare

I share your interests and am looking for a similar spec bit of kit.

Anquet maps on a PDA are pretty useful - I used them in a recent week long hike in the Highlands. The only drawback I found was that the PDA screen was a bit dull in bright sunlight on top of lots of snow.

But even then, the paper map we took was almost shredded and it did not have half as much use as the PDA based maps. For the first couple of days we took both the PDA & paper based map. That soon changed as confidence in the PDA grew with day to day use.

I used PDA to integrate with Anquet on a laptop (the laptop came in handy for some light entertainment DVDs too :-)

To cut a long story short, integration seems to be the key feature - Anquet maps at the moment on a PDA will not allow creating a route. Displaying a route = yes, creating a route = no.

(somehow I am sute they will fix this sooner or later) (support is excellent)

My shortlist GPS unit is a BT with onscreen maps. At the moment I think there are 2 present sources

Fortuna Smart Bluetooth (not heard many good things about this option)
and
Silva (I think) had an online AVI about a bluetooth unit.

I have my fingers crossed the both Magellan and Garmin will do something along these lines soon. I also hold out the hope that they will ditch proprietary issues in preference for kitwise integration and functionality confident that if they do not do it soon most likely someone else will.

HTH

the bagal has landed

TheSquare · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 07, 2004 Posts: 12

I have taken up a recommendation to get the SysOnChip compactflash GPS with the 2210, so I have ordered one. It remains to be seen how easy it is to use for walkers and what the battery requirements are. Otherwise, I suppose a standalone GPS is the only answer at the moment.

icsys · Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 5:22 pm Post subject:

Hi,
I use Anquet with the 2210. I can say the maps look and work great on the PPC.
Yes, there is scope for improvement with the Anquet PPC Companion software. As this is a fairly recent addition to the Anquet offerings I am convinced there will be some welcome updates to it soon.
As BBB said, Anquet support is very good and they are prepared to listen to suggestions and feedback.

My only comment on your purchase choices are that a CF GPS receiver will take it's power from the iPAQ and therefore the battery will be quickly drained.
I use a BT receiver which has it's own power supply and I can get about 5-6 hours usage out of the standard battery (900mA) dependent on usage - backlight etc... I know someone who uses a handheld GPS connected to a PPC and therefore gets the best of both.

RoyC · Posted: Fri May 21, 2004 7:18 am Post subject:

I have just changed to Anquet from Fugawi. I recognise that currently the PPC part of the product is still in it's early stages of development but , in my view, is already the equal of Fugawi and , like others have said, I have seen that the Anquet support is excellent and I really do believe that they are listening to suggestions for improvements - unlike Fugawi. The other choice is MM but I felt they were just a bit too expensive although I do recognise that they are more developed at this stage.

I use a CF GPS (Holux) and it works well with both Anquet, Fugawi and TomTom. When walking I have left it on and got about 3 hours before it started to moan about the battery but I now only turn it on to look at the map and this way the battery life isn't an issue anymore. The only approach with this method is that Anquet currently doesn't restart the GPS after a power off situation but I am confident that they will fix this.

I don't use the Extrex Summit anymore and am open to offers on it.

Roy

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