To converge or not to converge...

[ajhscott]

Just interested in others thoughts and experience; I'm contemplating purhcasing either TomTom 5 (Bluetooth) to run on my MDA Compact or the Mio 269.

I need UK and European maps but the main thing I'm interested in is how others find using their phone/PDA in the car as their GPS device?

Is it better to have separate devices (I'm usually a convergence fan hence the MDA compact) - to have a device solely for navigation - screen size, can use the phone separately, etc.

All views/thoughts/experience welcome.

Thanks

[spangelsaregreat]

Hi,

I use TT5 with my MDA Compact without any problems.

The screen is a good size and voice prompts are loud enough to be heard over engine noise (you can connect the device to your car stereo using a tape or FM adapter if you want to play it through your stereo for more volume).

I have basic Halfords windscreen attached holder but a vent mounted unit would work just as well (I have a Skoda Octavia and the vents are a bit fragile for vent mounts).

I use a £50 eBay bought GPS unit which works fine with both TT5 and Memory Map (for use on my mountainbike).

Battery life is okay. I get about 4 to 5 hours of continious use out of the MDA Compact when using it on the bike. Obviously in the car I can use the charger but I rarely do to be honest unless it is a long journey or I am going to be using the GPS on the bike afterwards. The BT receiver has simliar battery run times.

Convergence is the way ahead. I am sure in a year or two most PDA phones will have GPS built in.

Regards

[spangelsaregreat]

Forgot to mention about the phone usage.

I do have a slight problem in that I get a bit of interference in my BT headset if I use it at the same time as the BT GPS. I am not a big phone user in the car so it is not a big problem.

I am not sure if this is a one off or if others have similar problems.

Regards

[mikealder]

I use the O2XDAIIs which as yet is still running their (supplied ROM) software, I have found it most reliable using a BT headset for the phone aspect and a cabled GPS unit for the sat nav, not sure if the compact will accept serial devices though.
Overall as a single device to do all tasks it works for me I had some problems at first (compounded by a faulty handset) but I now love the devices capability when out and about on the road, in the fells or even the pub / hotels - (still stay connected to the internet wherever you are) - Mike

[ajhscott]

Thanks for the replies. I know the latest HP has a built in GPS receiver so it seems to be the way to go.

How about the MDA Compact screen size? Does this work OK? Come to think of it - does TomTom 5 support landscape?

Still not really decided - also quite like the fact you can access the Mio 269's OS (being a MobilePro 900c owner....) and the fact they're releasing a free update in October (which will probably thwart the hacking!).

Input appreciated....

Cheers

Andrew

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