From a newbye...Help !

[brando]

Dear Friends,

Please help me to choose the best hardware for my PDA, taking into account that I use a lot of rental cars (not possible to mount and dismount things every time).

I own a HTC QTEK 2020 Andes ( or O2 XDA II ) with 1 slot SDIO and 1 slot CF ( on the extension backpack, slot in the bottom )

Reeding the reviews on the site, I think to buy:

a) a socket/emtac BT gps receiver or a fortuna Clip-On BT gps receiver (or another one you could suggest, more sensitive)

b) a Destinator 3 Navigation software, hosted in a 1gb or 2gb CF Sandisk
card) ( It seems to have better maps in less space )

Questions:
1) Are they all (PDA+GPS+Softw) compatible whithout problems ?
2) (May be) it is better to use instead a SysonChip CF Plus receiver, with Destinator installed in a 1gb SD Sandisk card ? ( But the CF slot is in the bottom (antenna pointing to ground) and not in the top, it is important ? )
3) Could you suggest any other compromise ?
4) Do I need any other accessory ?

Please, if you are able to give me the a good suggestion, tell me also WHERE I could buy GPS and software, hoping they are ble to ship to Italy.

NOTE: I tried myself, with no experience at all, to identify the best compromise; please, if you think I am wrong, do not hesitate to give me other suggestions: as you imagine, travelling a lot, I need something to keep in my pocket...And, up to now, the only constraint is the PDA.

Thanks to you all for your help,

[lbendlin]

1) yes, no problems
2) Go for the BT receiver. You never know if your rental car has a tinted windscreen, and you may need to put the receiver into the back of the car or into the sky window (the sunroof)
3) Place your maps onto the SD card. THat way you don't need the extension.backpack
4) get a windshield suction mount for the phone - it can quicky be mounted and dismounted in rental cars.

Our friends at www.Pocketpcitalia.com will probably be able to suggest some good pricing deals for where you live.
_________________
Lutz

Report Map Errors here:
TomTom/TeleAtlas NAVTEQ

[brando]

Thanks, Ibendlin !

But, now:

2) What is better for an inside car environment, Socket/Emtac BT GPS, Fortuna Clip-On or another one ?
3) I already owns the extension backpack so, may be, it is better to maintain the SDIO slot free for other applications . But...Someone told me that Destinator 3 has difficulties to find a CF slot when there is another (SDIO) one...Is it true? With my PDA device also ?

Supplementary questions:

a) Long car trips...Is there a way to feed BOTH PDA and GPS BT receiver ?
b) In your site there are several software belonging to different categories (navigation, way points, etc...???!). Did I do a good choice or there is a better alternative for my target (To know where I am going...)?

Thanks

[lbendlin]

2) THey work equally well. Please see our comparison database for details on what is different between the receivers
3) Destinator has problems with non-english directory names, and with storage media names that change. This is a nuisance and can be fixed in the registry. (or by recreating the configuration at install time). But you are right, Destinator has a very weak point here. See if your storage card is called "Storage Card"/"Storage Card 2" or "SD Card"/"CF Card"

a) yes, there are Y-cables that can split one power cable into two. Most cars nowadays have more than one cigarette lighter socket. Or you can buy a socket doubler at O'Reillys (or the equivalent body shop where ever you live)
b) You want street navigation, not topographical software. You're in the right department already ;-)
_________________
Lutz

Report Map Errors here:
TomTom/TeleAtlas NAVTEQ

We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
Have you considered making a donation towards website running costs?.
Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!