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Originally Posted by Northants Girly Does anyone have a PDA that they use with GPS software? 
I'm looking to buy a PDA that I can load GPS software onto.
I really need a PDA and so I think this would be a better option than buying a standalone GPS unit.
Can anyone give me any advice at all or recommend a decent PDA (I think I need one that has Windows on it so I can link up to my Outlook address book)
and what about GPS software?
whats good and what's not so good?  |
I just bought on EBay a magellan sleeve to go with a Palm M515 - this is "old technology" and I bought it to understand the capabilities of the technology. I don't do enough driving to invest £400 in what seems to be the "sweet spot" for PDA/GPS packages - although I was tempted by an all-in-one PDA/Phone/email client/GPS- thingy.
I would not recommend the Magellan/M515 for several reasons. The main motivation to buy was to have one of these wonderful car-based navigation packages - and I feel that the voice-prompt "Turn left in 400 metres" is by far the least distracting and hence least "dangerous" method to get your routing instructions. The Palm solution is to present a 2D map
without voice prompts ... This approach is not present on current car-packages so shouldn't be an issue.
I travelled to Wales with a guy who had a Nokia 6600 with "Route 66" software. It also had "GPRS" enabled on the SIM and a free subscription to a "traffic server" - the idea being the planned optimum route is modified if the software receives info that there is a major hold-up on your planned route. We travelled from Slough to Snowdon and didn't refer to a paper map once. The voice prompts were timely and clear.
There are lots of dimensions affecting which is the best package but some I have thought of (remember this is all IMO and biased to car use)
-are the routes up-to-date - and can they be "dynamically" updated?
-are one-way and blocked streets correctly identified?
-can you manually insert "blocked routes" if the traffic server is not accessible? and get the device to recalculate a route?
-How "efficient" or "effective" is the routing algorithm?
-Can the GPS receiver quickly get a signal from several satellites to maintian a good and accurate fix? How quickly can it change the satellite sources it uses if you lose line-of-sight due to building obstruction etc?
-Does the device tell you it has lost satellite fix so you know the displayed position is unreliable?
-Can you see the route end-to-end? For example with the (old) solution I have, you have to swap between intra-City (think A to Z) for routing within a town and inter-City (think London to Glasgow). Can the software "Stitch together" maps so the route is planned end-to-end.?
- How much extra memory will you need to buy for the PDA to store all the maps you want on the device without reloading maps from your PC?
-Can you plan "Points of interest" route? For example, I want to go from London to Glasgow by road but via my Granny in Stroud, and I want to avoid Stoke?
-How easy / distracting is it to change display options while you are driving?
-Do I want to use the GPS for non-road activity? e.g. walking? I think the car-biased packages will probably be pretty useless for a walk in the country. It maybe possible to use a "conventional" eTrek or Garmin as the GPS info source to the PDA display then take the "stand-alone for your walking / cycling if it can be loaded with OS maps - don't know the capabilities. Lots of wires in the car for connectivity or power or needs setting up of Bluetooth
I have used the following site
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/menu_reviews.php for clear, systematic reviews of the options available.
Can you borrow someone's device and try on a couple of local known routes with one-way steets, and roundabouts to see how you get on?
Regarding the PDA - I think Pocket PC is probably the dominant standard - and it just comes down to personal preference. If you want email and browsing on the move I think you need a device that will accept a phone SIM with GPRS Enabled (O2 XDA 2i/s or Orange SPV range). I don't know about the "Wi-Fi" or hot-spots technology or coverage to give you internet access without using GPRS.
I'm sure others will have conflicting advice and experience - my exposure is limited and using old technology.
HTH
Clive