lawman

Oh, one more thing. The beta software offered in the GPS10 folder is similar to the M4 UI. But the original GarminQue is slightly different. The GarminQue UI is not as digit friendly like the beta software or M4 software from Garmin. But I find it OK for my needs anyway. Its the features that it has over all the other software and its intuitive to a user. It has a route list thats pretty good.

Greymane21

A pretty knowledgeable idiot, I would say, Lawman. As always, thanks for the great info.

gatownsend

Ok...I've read this thread with great interest since the Garmin software has piqued my interest. I spent about a half-hour at their web page and reading this thread trying to figure out exactly what they have available (it shouldn't be that hard). What I've figured out is:

• You can buy one of their receivers, such as their GPS10, which comes with Mapsource City Select NA. This is the older software Lawman referred to that he is using.
• They have a beta version out for software that is similar to what is on their iQue called Mobile XT.

Are the above two observations correct?

Now my questions. :)

1. Does the basemap that you can download from their website work with both of the above softwares (City Select NA and Mobile XT)?
2. If I wanted to demo the City Select NA software using my Haicomm 303MMF I would need to use GPS Proxy to convert NMEA to Garmin, correct?
3. What level of detail is on the basemap?

I still haven't found software that I am completely happy with, and would love to give this a try for a few days to see how it would work out for me. Any pointers from Garmin users would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Gary

lawman

Hi gatownsend,

When you get the City Select NA, it already comes with basemaps. Actually four of them. The basemaps included are the same as the ones online in the palm link I indicated in one of the messages in this thread.

1. Basemap lite version covers USA
2. Basemap standard version covers USA
3. Basemap for Atlantic covers Europe (this one is not provided online)
4. Basemap for whole world covers everything

You really only need basemaps for #2 or #4.

To your questions;

Answer#1. Yes, it works for both. But Mobile XT is beta, so avoid for now.
Answer#2. Yes, you'll need GPSProxy or a similar proxy program. The reason is that the basemaps are already unlocked, and therefore does not require to be unlocked.
Answer#3. You'll need to view the basemaps as they have slightly varying details. They are not able to provide street to street (of course), but can provide highways between cities. Also, basemaps do not have the accuracy of the MapSource maps. So, it 'might' show you driving parallel to the hwy eventhough you are on the hwy. Essentially, its good enough to tell you which hwy# to take, and even some major roads. It has some names of familiar areas. Try it out.

So, its actually a fully functional GPS software and the basemaps does not have the street mapping details e.g. addresses, telephone numbers, names of POIs, etc. I would recommend getting the City Select NA.

gatownsend

Hi Lawman,

Thanks for all of the info....I really appreciate it. I will probably download it and give it a try in the next day or two.

One other question....will I be able to try out the voice prompts with just the base map? I don't care if I can actually do guidance (which I'm guessing I can't since you said the base map is missing addresses, etc.), but I'd at least like to be able to play some of the voice files through my Arkon mount to hear how they sound.

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,

Gary

gatownsend

Well, I downloaded everything and got it working pretty quickly tonight. So far the only thing I've noticed is that it doesn't look so hot on my VGA display. Everything is kind of jagged. Because of that I went ahead and downloaded the beta software, too. It looked quite sweet in VGA. I also got to hear the voice prompts....they were pretty decent.

It looks like the Que software has tons of features. I'll have to dig deeper into the menus over the weekend. The Mobile XT software looks really promising.

Lawman....do you have maps of Ohio installed on your device. I would like to try a test route. It's a route that I consider my 'acid test' since it trips up quite a few software packages. If you'd be willing to enter the route and report back what the software calculates I would really appreciate the help.

Thanks and regards,

Gary

pmforester

Can you run both the beta XT version and the Que software on the same machine?

And lawman ... what are the bugs you see with the XT version?

Thanks - PM

lawman

Originally Posted by gatownsend

Well, I downloaded everything and got it working pretty quickly tonight. So far the only thing I've noticed is that it doesn't look so hot on my VGA display. Everything is kind of jagged. Because of that I went ahead and downloaded the beta software, too. It looked quite sweet in VGA. I also got to hear the voice prompts....they were pretty decent. It looks like the Que software has tons of features. I'll have to dig deeper into the menus over the weekend. The Mobile XT software looks really promising. Lawman....do you have maps of Ohio installed on your device. I would like to try a test route. It's a route that I consider my 'acid test' since it trips up quite a few software packages. If you'd be willing to enter the route and report back what the software calculates I would really appreciate the help. Thanks and regards, Gary

Sure, just tell me from where to where. I'll punch it in and let you know. I think there are ways you can change the voice files and customize it. You might like a Trinidad&Tobago slang in your voice prompts... heheheh!

lawman

Originally Posted by pmforester

Can you run both the beta XT version and the Que software on the same machine? And lawman ... what are the bugs you see with the XT version? Thanks - PM

No, you can only run one or the other. The website does not mention it, but the Garmin XT and Garmin Que are not meant to run side by side.

Also, if you run the Garmin XT, the s/w needs to update your GPS10 hardware thru the BT connection. Also, its missing some features that the Garmin Que has. So, you lose some features. The bugs are unique from PDA to PDA and ROM version to ROM version. This is my educated guess from what other people are experiencing vs what I got.

I would recommend try out Garmin Que first. Get used to it, then uninstall and try out Garmin XT. And you'll have a better feel for the difference.

gatownsend

Originally Posted by lawman

Sure, just tell me from where to where. I'll punch it in and let you know. I think there are ways you can change the voice files and customize it. You might like a Trinidad&Tobago slang in your voice prompts... heheheh!

Ok...here's the route I'm interested in:

BEGIN: Intersection of Shorthorn Drive and Bishop Way in zip 44067 (it may be under Sagamore Hills, OH or Northfield, OH if you search by city - I'd try Northfield first since that's where the post office is and that seems to be what most software uses).

END: 24601 Center Ridge Road, Westlake, Ohio 44145

I'm interested in see what it does at the intersection of Canal Road and Pleasant Valley Road (about 5 miles into the route). There's an odd cloverleaf type intersection here that a lot of software has problems with. iGuidance is the only one that has handled it completely correctly. Mapopolis routed it correctly, but the voice prompts were so-so. OcN routes it correctly, but the voice guidance and on-screen turn prompt is completely wrong (at one point prompting for a u-turn instead of a sharp right). PocketMap was a disaster here and usually just tried to route around it (I think partially due to TeleAtlas maps not showing the ramps as one-way).

Also, I saw your last post about installing both softwares - I installed both last night. They both seem to be working ok.....I had Que running all the way in to work today and was going to try Mobile XT on the way home tonight. I'll report back if I find anything weird or if one stops working. (I've installed both to my SD card).

Thanks again,

Gary

lawman

Originally Posted by gatownsend

Ok...here's the route I'm interested in: BEGIN: Intersection of Shorthorn Drive and Bishop Way in zip 44067 (it may be under Sagamore Hills, OH or Northfield, OH if you search by city - I'd try Northfield first since that's where the post office is and that seems to be what most software uses). END: 24601 Center Ridge Road, Westlake, Ohio 44145 I'm interested in see what it does at the intersection of Canal Road and Pleasant Valley Road (about 5 miles into the route). There's an odd cloverleaf type intersection here that a lot of software has problems with. iGuidance is the only one that has handled it completely correctly. Mapopolis routed it correctly, but the voice prompts were so-so. OcN routes it correctly, but the voice guidance and on-screen turn prompt is completely wrong (at one point prompting for a u-turn instead of a sharp right). PocketMap was a disaster here and usually just tried to route around it (I think partially due to TeleAtlas maps not showing the ramps as one-way). Also, I saw your last post about installing both softwares - I installed both last night. They both seem to be working ok.....I had Que running all the way in to work today and was going to try Mobile XT on the way home tonight. I'll report back if I find anything weird or if one stops working. (I've installed both to my SD card). Thanks again, Gary

Here is the info. I captured it in gfx format so you can see what it looks like.

gatownsend

Thanks Lawman,

That's the same route Google Maps calculates - which goes straight through the oddball spot I mentioned instead of routing through the turns. About half of the online services go that way, the other half route down Pleasant Valley Rd. to the freeway. Either would be considered an acceptable route.

Interestingly enough, most of the PDA gps apps I've tried have attempted to route through the cloverleaf turns, ultimately causing some problems with the guidance.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,

Gary

lawman

Still not sure if GarminQue did it correctly. Did GarminQue route correctly?

gatownsend

Originally Posted by lawman

Still not sure if GarminQue did it correctly. Did GarminQue route correctly?

It picked one of the two routes that I would describe as "preferred". It did not pick the route that most of my other PPC gps software usually picks, but I don't necessarily consider that a bad thing. The online mapping services are split about 50/50 between these two preferred routes. If I was unfamiliar with the area either route would be an acceptable way to be routed for this trip, but the route calculated by Que would be an easier drive for someone unfamiliar with the area because it avoids the goofy ramps at the Canal Rd/Pleasant Valley Rd interchange.

I alternate between the two routes in actual driving based on time-of-day/traffic-patterns that the GPS wouldn't be able to know about. Like I said though, if I was unfamiliar with the area, the route Que came up with would probably be the best (which I believe is what's most important in evaluating how the software performs).

Thanks again,

Gary

jimbo32

Originally Posted by lawman

As AximTT said, the beta Garmin software offered as a beta test to GPS10 owners is similar to the M4 above. But I would not recommend it yet as there are bugs of course... that's why its still beta. I would call it early beta.... heheheh!

Thanks to this thread, I am trying the new Garmin beta software on my Ipaq 2215, and I like it better so far. I haven't run into any of the bugs yet, except for the dicey installation. I really like the improved visibility and the stylus free operation. I don't really miss the moon cycles or hunting and fishing data from the Que software, plus the Mobile XT supports uploading your own custom POIs with Garmins free POI loader. For those who crave 3D, the new beta software does have a 3D mode.

I still have the Que software on my Axim.