GPS/Mobile? + Laptop

eper · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 30, 2004 Posts: 7

Hi, I just started work and there making me drive around England(mostly Yorkshire, so theres lots of country roads and stuff). Anyway I'm going to buy a new laptop, a new mobile, and I could do with GPS. Now I'm not rich nor poor, but paying for a laptop+mobile and then a seperate gps(like £600?) seems a tad to much..... Ok this is getting to long now...

Right so I was thinking bluetooth looks nice, now can I buy a phone thats bluetooth or something that'll work with GPS software? I need voice instructions telling me where to go, and it able to adapt if I make a wrong turn..... I don't mind buying an extra GPS reciever but seems a waste when I ain't got a mobile yet(1 cig lighter in car for laptop, so mobiles gona need low energy drain for GPS reciever), that I could save money and get a GPS mobile(if they even exist)? I'm open to suggestions.

Lets not speak about budge lets just speak about "good value for money"

eper · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 30, 2004 Posts: 7

Also, I'd like to know the BEST software for GPS a laptop can use, even if its not value for money just the BEST the crem de'la crem( I can give the boss the bill if its REALLY good software)

DavidW · Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 4:31 am Post subject:

Pocket PCs and the like are really better suited to running navigation software than laptops, because laptops are really too large to be dashboard mounted and don't have a touch sensitive screen.

Your price estimate of 600 pounds is way off - you can get a Pocket PC, GPS, navigation software, memory card and in car mount with money to spare if you have a 600 pound budget. Until I think the end of tomorrow, Dixons and PC World are doing a deal on a TomTom Navigator 3 / TomTom wired GPS / iPAQ 2210 bundle, which I'm pretty sure includes a TomTom Car Kit as well - for 300 pounds. Add a memory card (for which you need pay no more than 50 pounds) and possibly something like a ProClip (20 pounds) for a really neat installation in car and you've got a fantastic system for under 400 pounds.

Admittedly that is a special offer, but even at regular price you can get close to 400 pounds for a complete Pocket PC based system. You have all the other advantages of having a Pocket PC if you go for this - your Pocket PC isn't dedicated to navigation.

Whatever you do, if you're buying a new phone, get a phone with integrated Bluetooth - if you buy a laptop and/or a Pocket PC, get models with Bluetooth built in as well if you can. The flexibility given by Bluetooth is worth having - it makes things like TomTom Traffic possible in-car.

If you really can't stretch to a Pocket PC, you could use the laptop with a USB GPS and laptop based navigation software - though you still have the problem of mounting the laptop in car. Take a look through the reviews on this site to see what's available.

Finally, there are navigation systems that are phone based - there's Wayfinder on various platforms, also there's been talk of TomTom Navigator appearing on some of the Symbian based phones. However, a Pocket PC or, at a push, laptop based solution is probably better.

David

eper · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 30, 2004 Posts: 7

thanks for youe advise, I'm looking at the options now. Reason I wanted a laptop was because it could play my music, and that would save me getting like a £350 ipod mp3 player for the car, also I need a laptop for work anyway. I shouldn't need to look at the screen if its voice guided, but yes a pocketPC would be the ideal option, and is something I will be considering since I found very cheap Centrino laptops. Am I right in thinking a 'decen't usb GPS for laptop is about £100? :\

Can you suggest a bluetooth/usb gps for laptops? Smile

eper · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 30, 2004 Posts: 7

Ok I looked around and the SysOnChip GPS CF Plus, is like £100 so seems like a good idea, I'll proberly get this gps reciever for my laptop then get a palmtop when i can afford one, and use this reciever. Smile

DavidW · Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 5:25 pm Post subject:

So far as not looking at the screen goes, I find I don't need to look at mine much, but it's a huge help on roundabouts, particularly as there can be a discrepancy between the number of exits physically present and the number in the map (particularly if there's building work in the area). There's other times when you really need to glance at the screen to clarify the instruction being given.

If you're thinking of going down the CompactFlash route, consider the Haicom HI-303MMF. Not only can this be used as a CompactFlash GPS, but you can use it with cables (either a PDA specific cable, or a USB cable with a laptop). You can also buy a HI-401 Bluetooth slipper to turn a HI-303 series GPS into a Bluetooth GPS.

I have found problems using a HI-303MMF in the PC Card slot of a cheap laptop - the laptop threw out all sorts of RF noise that meant the GPS reception was appalling. It was just the same if I brought the GPS in an iPAQ near the laptop when it was switched on.

The SysOnChip GPS you mention may be XTrac, which is not ideal for in-car use in many circumstances.

Actually, a better option than both the SysOnChip and the Haicom may be may be to use Bluetooth - for example a Fortuna Clip-On, and, if you can't get Bluetooth built in to your laptop, get a USB Bluetooth 'dongle', which doesn't have to cost much.

Centrino laptops are not necessarily cheap - I ordered a fairly expensive Dell Latitude D600 last week, which I'll be part user of. It had to be the D600 and not the better featured D800 or Precision M60 - portability is an issue so the extra size and mass of the D800/M60 were unacceptable.

The specification is pretty high:

Pentium M 1.6GHz (the 1.8GHz processor with 2MB cache is not yet available, and the extra cost of 1.7GHz over 1.6GHz seemed pointless)
1400x1050 display
512MB RAM in a single module (so if I want 1GB RAM eventually I can put in a relatively cheap 512MB module from Crucial)
60GB 5400rpm hard disk
built in Intel 802.11b/g wireless (I can't see I'll ever need 802.11a support - if I do, I'll either use an 802.11a Cardbus card or change the mini-PCI card)
built in Bluetooth
built in 56K modem (nice to have, even if I never use it)
removeable DVD-ROM/CD-RW (the DVD+RW module available in the UK is only 2x and very expensive - I can always change this module later if I want DVD+RW capabilities on the laptop, though I'd really want at least 8x DVD+RW to make it worthwhile, and I have got both DVD+-RW and network backup capabilities on my network already)
floppy drive - either instead of the DVD-ROM/CD-RW or via USB (unfortunately the other user still needs floppy support)
Windows XP Pro
mains/12V car charger
nylon carrying case
Kensington lock (I know they're not perfect, but they are a considerable deterrent - my dual Xeon workstation and flat panel monitor are locked to my desk using a dual Kensington lock - though I'd like to see a thief get very far carrying the workstation even without the desk attached, as it's rather heavy!)

I can't tell you exactly how much it cost because I negotiated a discount with Dell, and the laptop is on the same order as a video projector. It's impossible to separate the laptop out, for though they're on the order paperwork as two separate items, the discount is showing on the laptop even though it was negotiated on the basis of buying both the laptop with the projector. However, this is something like 1500-1600 pounds worth of laptop.

I may eventually buy a D-View and D-Port to go with the laptop - though, apart from possible savings in delivery charges, there's no price advantage buying those with the laptop. It's a pretty neat idea - an angled shelf with a port replicator, so you dock your laptop to the shelf which is held at an angle, firstly to reduce the desk footprint, and secondly to bring the display to an ergonomic height. You then use the keyboard and mouse you have connected to the D-Port - you usually leave the D-Port's power adapter connected permanently, as well as its wired Ethernet connection

Even if your budget won't stretch to something like this Dell Latitude, it shows what is out there. Of particular note is that the integrated Bluetooth option on the Latitude is very cheap - something like 12 pounds plus VAT list price - but it's a factory fit only option. It's not perfect; so far as I can tell from the documentation there's no support for the HCRP or HID profiles, so I don't think it'll work with a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse, but it does support the SPP profile, so it should work with a Bluetooth GPS.

David

eper · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 30, 2004 Posts: 7

I AM SO £*££($* annoyed with myself, I put off the PcWorld special offer the one with the HP + tomtom combo, deicded "hell yeh its a good deal" click 'buy' and out of stock Sad

I'm so frelling annoyed with myself now!

	PocketGPS
	Web