PDA vs dedicated unit

andyjenkins · Regular Visitor Joined: Apr 02, 2005 Posts: 74

Hey all,

I've been convinced by the virtues of getting a GPS system for sometime now, and was at first convinced by a PDA based solution, but then tempted by the new TTG 500 (when it comes out). Now I'm not so sure again.

My quandy is that I'm struggling to find any decent resource to offer some obvious (and not so obvious) comparisons between a PDA based and a dedicated (ie TomTomGo 500) unit.

Any takers ?

I appriciated that this is really a horses for courses type question, and the obvious statement comes in the form of "am I likely to use the PDA aspect of a PDA based GPS system?". For sure, but from what I'm feeling, a dedicated GPS system (ie TTG) offers a better GPS solution, no? I could theoretically buy the best unit for the GPS and buy the best solution for a PDA ... costs more, I know though.

Can anyone offer some realistic points on a comparison between the two styles ? Pro's and con's etc ?

lbendlin · Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 11:01 pm Post subject: Re: PDA vs dedicated unit

Bodo · Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 10:29 am Post subject:

A PocketPC solution also has the advantage of being able to load another software package.
I am sure you know the feeling - a week after you bought your gadget, the new, much improved one is available, giving you EXACTLY what you had previously wanted and could not get
My personal experience was to change my software from Destinator to TomTom. This was relaticvely cheap, as no hardware upgrades were required.

andyjenkins · Regular Visitor Joined: Apr 02, 2005 Posts: 74

Interesting and both points I take on board. So PDA based GPS is the order of the day it seems. Would be interesting for a poll to see what users are thinking ...

"Which is the preferred GPS hardware : a) Dedicated GPS unit (like TomTom Go) b) PDA and 3rd party software".

Now I just need to work out which PDA ... IPAQ's seem the most common .. will do some investigation in that direction next. Anything specific for IPAQ's that a GPS wannabe needs to remember ?

lbendlin · Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:16 pm Post subject:

Good speaker (difficult) , nice fast processor, Bluetooth. For starters the 3970 is a good entry level machine.
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Lobo · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 4:32 pm Post subject:

I used TomTom3 with my HP iPAQ 5450 and hated the quality of the speaker. I could not hear the instructions when playing music (I never play very loud) and read that the 5450 is known for this. About two months ago I bought a Qtek S100 (also known as iMate JAM, HTC Magician) and now I have to lower the volume in TomTom two notches because it's too loud! Except for the great speaker, I think that the S100 has got about everything that I need, including a phone Smile

If you're thinking about getting a new phone as well, then look no further. Regarding price, I paid about $700 US for the S100, but I think they're quite expensive in Sweden. Look around.

andyjenkins · Regular Visitor Joined: Apr 02, 2005 Posts: 74

Well, maybe I'll live to regreat it, but due to business trip and an impulse buy, I'm now sat next to a iPAQ HX4700.

Impressions are pretty good so far (but its been a while since I've owned a PDA - last one was a Palm m505!).

As for speaker quality ? Well MP3s sound a bit tinny - but then I guess thats to be expected. As for loudness ? Well it sounds pretty loud - but then I've nothing to compare against.

Anyone know if there's any GPS software I can get on a trial basis ? I accept that I dont have a GPS receiver yet, but I'm interested to see if I can trial some software - listening to the instructions as a test of the 4700's speaker.

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