stevec
06-24-2005, 06:16 AM
I was looking around for a GPS mapping package for myT5 - mainly for use in the UK but also one or two countries in mainland Europe. My shortlist came down to two:
a) Navman 4470, and
b) tomtom Navigator 5.
A business trip to Berlin this week, and the need to drive myself around, moved the quest up a notch. tomtom ruled their Navigator package out as their website still says "available soon" - even though they're emailing to say updates to teh software are available - confusing messages. Navtec's package is probably the best value for a single country but, in order to get a second country, they told me I'd have to buy the full map package - they won't sell single country unlocks to Palm users (the package comes with all maps, but only one set unlocked)!
Somebody on this forum mentioned viaMichelin in a posting and I downloaded one of their city maps to see what it was like. Looked good (especially as it also runs on a PC/laptop), so viaMichelin went onto my shortlist. Now for the GPS...
Navtec's 4470 is available solo, but there are others. The new Holux GPSlim236 looks very good and I ordered one - only to be told they weren't yet in the UK (delayed due to firmware patches needed, apparently); it should be a good GPS to look at when it arrives. However, I still needed a unit and found a dealer selling the new tomtom Bluetooth unit - so I bought it.
The viaMichelin maps work great and directions, rerouting, etc do just what you want when driving.
The tomtom GPS unit works great, too. It tracks fine just lying on the car dashboard (or in my trouser pocket when walking around the city) - never noticed it lose its track, other than when I was sat in a queue in a tunnel - and it regained its position almost instantaneously when I got out again.
The viaMichelin map package, as I said above, works on a PC as well, so I can rough out routes on that. You don't need to load all the maps (or even a whole country) on your Palm if memory is tight - you can select areas and level of detail on the PC and just HotSync what you need. With a 512MB SD card, however, a couple of country maps are no problem for me.
Drawbacks? Buying separately costs more. And the tomtom GPS, whilst Bluetooth and is recognised by my laptop's Bluetooth software (native XP SP2), I can't get it to work with the maps on it. tomtom tell me their GPS will not work with a PC - not sure how/why they've made it like that but I asked and they confirmed it won't work.
Recommendations? The viaMichelin maps are well worth putting on your shortlist. The tomtom GPS is a very nice unit, well designed and ideal for use with a PDA. However, if you want one to use with your PC/laptop as well, look elsewhere - I'd probably give the Holux 236 a try if I was buying again.
a) Navman 4470, and
b) tomtom Navigator 5.
A business trip to Berlin this week, and the need to drive myself around, moved the quest up a notch. tomtom ruled their Navigator package out as their website still says "available soon" - even though they're emailing to say updates to teh software are available - confusing messages. Navtec's package is probably the best value for a single country but, in order to get a second country, they told me I'd have to buy the full map package - they won't sell single country unlocks to Palm users (the package comes with all maps, but only one set unlocked)!
Somebody on this forum mentioned viaMichelin in a posting and I downloaded one of their city maps to see what it was like. Looked good (especially as it also runs on a PC/laptop), so viaMichelin went onto my shortlist. Now for the GPS...
Navtec's 4470 is available solo, but there are others. The new Holux GPSlim236 looks very good and I ordered one - only to be told they weren't yet in the UK (delayed due to firmware patches needed, apparently); it should be a good GPS to look at when it arrives. However, I still needed a unit and found a dealer selling the new tomtom Bluetooth unit - so I bought it.
The viaMichelin maps work great and directions, rerouting, etc do just what you want when driving.
The tomtom GPS unit works great, too. It tracks fine just lying on the car dashboard (or in my trouser pocket when walking around the city) - never noticed it lose its track, other than when I was sat in a queue in a tunnel - and it regained its position almost instantaneously when I got out again.
The viaMichelin map package, as I said above, works on a PC as well, so I can rough out routes on that. You don't need to load all the maps (or even a whole country) on your Palm if memory is tight - you can select areas and level of detail on the PC and just HotSync what you need. With a 512MB SD card, however, a couple of country maps are no problem for me.
Drawbacks? Buying separately costs more. And the tomtom GPS, whilst Bluetooth and is recognised by my laptop's Bluetooth software (native XP SP2), I can't get it to work with the maps on it. tomtom tell me their GPS will not work with a PC - not sure how/why they've made it like that but I asked and they confirmed it won't work.
Recommendations? The viaMichelin maps are well worth putting on your shortlist. The tomtom GPS is a very nice unit, well designed and ideal for use with a PDA. However, if you want one to use with your PC/laptop as well, look elsewhere - I'd probably give the Holux 236 a try if I was buying again.