in car nav system

Originally Posted by ZrByte

Are there any subscription costs/annual charges, for any of the methods suggested? I quite like the sound of the tom tom & XDA combo.
I'd like to do something similar you see for when I get my car due to my poor sense of direction, I can aford it if it is a one off expence, however if there is any subscription of any kind I wouldnt be able to afford it.
Except ofcourse line rental for the XDA, since im allready with o2 for my contract I could just use my current sim.

None at all mate, the XDA and Tom Tom workk great with each other, sorry about not responding

Missed this bit, yes you can use your current sim in the XDA, it will help you with Tom Tom real time. Real time is, if there is a accident ahead of you TOm TOm will send a message to your XDA telling you there has been a accident, it will tell you how long the delay is in minutes and re-route you. There is no charge for this.

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by Nidge

Missed this bit, yes you can use your current sim in the XDA, it will help you with Tom Tom real time. Real time is, if there is a accident ahead of you TOm TOm will send a message to your XDA telling you there has been a accident, it will tell you how long the delay is in minutes and re-route you. There is no charge for this.

Sorry I should have been a bit clearer, I know I can use my current sim but will I be able to sell my current phone to pay for the xda? im thinking the answer is probably no with me still being under contract.

[garyparson]

Originally Posted by greencreeper

A girlfriend with a map maybe?

This is the exact reason why I got mine!!!!

All off eBay
Dell Axim X5 £150
CF GPS £80
256 secure digital card (for the map) £30
Cradle for the car £10
Tom Tom 3 100% discount off Bit Torrent

That's about as cheap as it gets.

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by garyparson

This is the exact reason why I got mine!!!!

All off eBay
Dell Axim X5 £150
CF GPS £80
256 secure digital card (for the map) £30
Cradle for the car £10
Tom Tom 3 100% discount off Bit Torrent

That's about as cheap as it gets.

Not a good idea to promote such activities on this site but thanks a lot for the rest of your info

[Frank]

Originally Posted by th'engineer

Anyone got one what works whats the cheapest way to do this

If you have a laptop, 45 quid for a gps "mouse" off eBay. Get some software such as Garmin Mapsource (nice sofware) with Europe maps, or MS Autoroute Europe. If you want interactive directions with voice prompts then you are looking at Routis or I.Guidance (products based on intellinav - http://www.intellinav.com/)

[th'engineer]

Originally Posted by Frank

If you have a laptop, 45 quid for a gps "mouse" off eBay. Get some software such as Garmin Mapsource (nice sofware) with Europe maps, or MS Autoroute Europe. If you want interactive directions with voice prompts then you are looking at Routis or I.Guidance (products based on intellinav - http://www.intellinav.com/)

Thanks frank know you would, be thinking done my lines i like it will start the procurement process.

Luckily also have aerial allready

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by Frank

If you have a laptop, 45 quid for a gps "mouse" off eBay. Get some software such as Garmin Mapsource (nice sofware) with Europe maps, or MS Autoroute Europe. If you want interactive directions with voice prompts then you are looking at Routis or I.Guidance (products based on intellinav - http://www.intellinav.com/)

Will the same gps module that works with a laptop work with a pda once I get one? using my laptop would be a nice temporary measure if I cant afford the pda straight away after getting the car you see, though only if it will work with the pda once I get it.

[Frank]

Originally Posted by ZrByte

Will the same gps module that works with a laptop work with a pda once I get one? using my laptop would be a nice temporary measure if I cant afford the pda straight away after getting the car you see, though only if it will work with the pda once I get it.

No I don't think it will, unless the PDA has a USB port. PDA's usually use CF type-1 GPS receivers, the same type of card used in digital cameras. You can PCMCIA adapters to use a CF GPS receiver in a laptop, but I dunno if this is worth the cash. Depends on your circumstances.

Apart from the portability advantage of a PDA, the advantages of a laptop are larger screen and way more mapping memory so you can store say the whole of europe/world as opposed to just the UK. You will probably need a laptop fag lighter charger tho, but you can get these on eBay for about 20 quid brand new.

If ya gonna get a PDA then I would wait as you do need to buy some stuff for the laptop to set it all up. The software is different too, and is not interchangeable between laptop and PDA. Hope this helps.

[Frank]

Originally Posted by th'engineer

Thanks frank know you would, be thinking done my lines i like it will start the procurement process.

Luckily also have aerial allready

Well if you have an aerial then I don't think you could use the gps mouse, you'd need something else like a garmin or megellan with an aerial socket. My GPS "mouse" is just a small round solid black box with one usb cable coming out of it and a magnet on the underside for sticking to the car roof. Seems to work okay apart from in the city center where it dies sometimes

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by Frank

No I don't think it will, unless the PDA has a USB port. PDA's usually use CF type-1 GPS receivers, the same type of card used in digital cameras. You can PCMCIA adapters to use a CF GPS receiver in a laptop, but I dunno if this is worth the cash. Depends on your circumstances.

Apart from the portability advantage of a PDA, the advantages of a laptop are larger screen and way more mapping memory so you can store say the whole of europe/world as opposed to just the UK. You will probably need a laptop fag lighter charger tho, but you can get these on eBay for about 20 quid brand new.

If ya gonna get a PDA then I would wait as you do need to buy some stuff for the laptop to set it all up. The software is different too, and is not interchangeable between laptop and PDA. Hope this helps.

Thanks for that, I hadnt even thought about the software side of things.
So I guess its one or the other then, The laptop route would be much cheaper but much less practical, think I should way up the pros and cons
Laptop
Pros
Enough memory to fit every map I will ever need
Larger screen
cheaper

Cons
its not safe to leave the laptop in the car (Too big to hide effectiveley)
its far too big to put in my pocket
Cant mount on dashboard for easy viewing

PDA
Pros
Small and portable (Plus if I get an XDA it will replace my phone)
can mount on dashboard
Can test run it with my bike while I wait to pass my driving test

Cons
Smaller screen
to fit all the maps I will need I will likeley have to buy more memory (Possibly a lot more)
about £150 - £350 more expensive than laptop

IF you deduct the cons from the pros they are both coming up at an even 0 each , if anybody else can think of any more pros or cons for either It would be appreciated

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by Frank

No I don't think it will, unless the PDA has a USB port. PDA's usually use CF type-1 GPS receivers, the same type of card used in digital cameras. You can PCMCIA adapters to use a CF GPS receiver in a laptop, but I dunno if this is worth the cash. Depends on your circumstances.

Apart from the portability advantage of a PDA, the advantages of a laptop are larger screen and way more mapping memory so you can store say the whole of europe/world as opposed to just the UK. You will probably need a laptop fag lighter charger tho, but you can get these on eBay for about 20 quid brand new.

If ya gonna get a PDA then I would wait as you do need to buy some stuff for the laptop to set it all up. The software is different too, and is not interchangeable between laptop and PDA. Hope this helps.

I understand the software will be different for both so I wont even insult you by asking that again , however, Im wondering if a Bluetooth GPS adapter will be inter-changable between a laptop and a PDA?
Not that it matters really, as im sure you may have seen from my thread 'PDA Capabilities' that I am quite set on buying a PDA now anyway for other reasons I'm just curious really.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by ZrByte

<snip>however, Im wondering if a Bluetooth GPS adapter will be inter-changable between a laptop and a PDA?
<snip>

Should be will just need pairing on both devices, depending on how it works it may get confused / upset if you are trying to get both devices to recieve information from it at the same time, but otherwise yes.

[altis]

One thing you may want to consider is a Compact Flash based device. These can plug directly into some PDAs and, using a simple (cheap) adaptor into a PCMCIA slot of a laptop. This would work well with a PDA mounted on the dashboard but perhaps it would not be so good in a laptop inside a car. Mind you, I've found my 'wristwatch' GPS works reasonably happily well inside a car so this may not be a problem.

Here is one example complete with software:
http://custom1.farnell.com/cpc/searc...eyword=IT44475

Manufacturer's site:
http://www.haicom.com.tw/

[lemarsh]

Just as a small warning, there is a small 'glitch' with the following combination:
Ipaq 2210, TomTom & Bluetooth.

If you have TomTom on with Places of Interest (i.e. Petrol stations etc), with Bluetooth, it tends to freeze, and can be difficult to reset, without doing a full reset (not recommended when driving!!). However, with POI turned off, this is not an issue, and works great - giving full voice instructions, and 3D views.
Well worth it (especially as I had an Ipaq).

I believe this is only an issue with Bluetooth - wired systems work without this glitch (and given you they are normally connected, as both need power, then it would probably be easier to go for a wired version)