Seperate Hardware or Bundle? (Newbie Alert!)

Stoofa

Hi All,

When justifying my PDA purchase to myself one of the features I knew would come in handy would be GPS and the ability to be shown how to get to different locations.
I love to drive, we love to go places - we just aren't so keen on the getting lost bit!

I have been the owner of the following hardware items for a couple of weeks now:

iPAQ 4150 (Windows Mobile 2003 Premium)
512MB SD Card

After reading through numerous reviews it would appear that the Tom Tom software is some of the best available - however I am still in the position where I can easily be swayed!

I see a lot of bundles - I can buy say Tom Tom 3 in a box and it also comes with either a wired or Bluetooth GPS device and I plug everything in, install some software and off I go.
Sounds simple enough and I guess the best way to go....or is it?

Would I simply be better off purchasing the GPS hardware seprate from the software, does this give me a better choice?
Is there much in the different GPS hardware solutions available?
They seem to range in price from around £100 to a lot more.
A Bluetooth GPS device would be the best choice for me - or again, would it?
I could use either with my 4150 but I'm guessing the Bluetooth option would be best?

As you can see I'm a total newbie to all this so I'm seeking advice.
I know I've got the base hardware in place, the 4150 and 512MB SD Card should allow me to run the software and install plenty of maps etc.
I now need to know if I should purchase a particular GPS hardware device and then make a final decision on the software package to use or simple purchase a bundle and have done with it?

Ta

lbendlin · Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2004 3:31 am Post subject:

Eventually it's a question of budget. If that's tight, go for a bundle (for example TomTom and BT receiver). If not, go for a better receiver and other software. You will need to understand your own preferences for street navigation - this will then help to find the right software.
_________________
Lutz

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Stoofa · Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2004 10:55 am Post subject:

Are Bluetooth GPS devices reliable?
As soon as I mentioned GPS systems to people here at work I got from two people "Make sure you purchase the wired solution, not a bluetooth one".

That of course leads me to another quick question.
As I said at the beginning I have the 4150.
This has the SDIO slot but not the CF slot.
There is a 528MB SD card in the SDIO slot - if the wired solution also plugs into this, what is done about the extra memory required for maps?

Ta

lbendlin · Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2004 1:09 pm Post subject:

"wired" means serial connector - normally at the bottom of the Pocket PC, but most of the newer Pocket PCs don't have a serial connector any more, so you don't really have a choice - BlueTooth it is.

If you go for the trusted and true brands (for example Emtac) then there's nothing to fear. If your budget is tight and you go for the TomTom bundle - that receiver may not be so stable...
_________________
Lutz

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