Jealous of standalone GPS... why do we get shafted?
I'm an iGuidance (v2.1) user. Along with my x51v and BT-338, I always thought that this solution was 'good enough'... until I used my cousin's Garmin c320 standalone system. What a difference! It was incredibly responsive, ridiculously easy to use, and just all around a pleasure to operate. And at only $350, it's a great deal too. No, I'm not trying to advertise here for Garmin; I'm here to ask:
**Why can't there be something this good on my PPC?!***
To anyone that's used a c300-series unit, have you come across any PPC software which even comes close to the usability of the Garmin? I'd like something that a total newbie (i.e. my wife) could operate without needing to take a course. Something that responds to keypresses in under three seconds. Something with a decent way to find POIs. Etc., etc. Sorry to rant... I just have SO many devices, and I really thought the PPC could take care of the GPS for me. And besides, I just don't understand why software written for the standalone would be SO much better than what I have on my PPC.
Because it was written JUST FOR the standalone unit, and optimized for that system alone.
The PPC does a descent job with GPS as well as hundreds of other things. Just buy your wife the c300 then.
I use iGuidance 2.1.3 and like it just fine - it's fast on my x51v. Version 3 has been released and looks nice (based on screen shots - I don't have it yet). I've checked out TomTom (load time is ridiculously long) and Navigon and the new iGo for Europe. I have to say iGo has an impressive GUI and graphics. I heard they're coming out with a U.S. version soon.
It sucks most of these programs don't have a trial/demo version.
Just today I was playing with sony's new standalone navigation system. To be honest, except for the convenience of a built-in GPS receiver I didn't think functionality wise it offered anything that TomTom/iGuidance/Navigon doesn't on a PDA. And it costs around $650 CAD.
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I have both iGuidance 2.1.3 and Mapopolis 4.70. My wife loves Mapopolis w/ a wired iGPS 360 solution. And this is running on V50x with WM5. She has looked at the other solutions including the single use machines and just likes the simple direct interface of Mapopolis.
The new Tomtom stand alone units are really impressive, especially the Tomtom Go 910, it would nice to see some of the software improvements come over to Tomtom Navigator.
The stand alone unit costs more money, you pay for the convienence. I bought the x50v, iGuidance and the holux setup because it was better than carrying a seperate unit. I have bever had a problem and would rather use this than get one more device. Anything that is proprietary tends to run faster and cleaner.
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The stand alone system is designed for one purpose. Bloated coding, excessive power use and memory-hogging are not an issue since the system doesn't have to share resources with any other functions. Although an identical program could be written for the Pocket PC, it would make the unit practially unusable for anything else.
I like that I can use my Axim for street navigation, boating, hiking, fire department use, weather updates, email, internet browsing, listening to music, storing photos, writing documents, storing files, games, recording meetings, geocaching, and many other purposes. Can you imagine if I paid $350 per item for task-specific units?
Sure, the benefits of a completey closed, embedded system, and the limitations of a system like WM5 are significant. The PDA runs circles around the standalone GPS in all sorts of other ways. However, there are plenty of UI/usability issues in the nav apps for the PPC. In fairness, I haven't had hands-on experience with many of the apps (agreeing with Solara, above, a trial version of some of these apps would be huge), and I'm basing my argument partially on screenshots and reviews... but still, we're at least three years behind where we should be. I wonder if it'd be realistic to build a nav solution around Flash, which might make a nice marriage given its native vector graphics features, tendency to be used by those with a good eye for UI, and multiplatform support.
The new Tomtom stand alone units are really impressive, especially the Tomtom Go 910, it would nice to see some of the software improvements come over to Tomtom Navigator.
TomTom Go units basically have the same software as we have on our PPCs. I think the 910 will come with TomTom 6, so we can expect a new version coming out for our PPCs as well.
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Show me a gps that can play movies and games. Plus imagine paying all that money then a new model comes out... We can simply upgrade our versions... Can one do this on a gps system?
I have to say iGo has an impressive GUI and graphics. I heard they're coming out with a U.S. version soon.
Really, i'd buy IGo in a heartbeat. Best looking interface so far!!! Where'd you hear this info? Or was it hearsay? Too bad they use teleatlas.
You know what, i think i'll email them and ask. Maybe have them get together with Oncourse navigator since they lost their dealings with navigon. Maybe OCN will use I-GO. Just a thought, everyone business is out to make money, if OCN can get them into the american market. I'm sure they'll give it a thought.
Plus imagine paying all that money then a new model comes out... We can simply upgrade our versions...
When i had the Garmin eMap, they released updates for that thing for years after I bought it. We're talking about new features, not just bugfixes, and updates were always free. Compare that to iGuidance. As far as I can tell, calling the new version "3.x" is pushing it -- I haven't yet found anything which is super compelling for me to upgrade, especially at that upgrade price.
Anyway, my point is only that I want software for my PPC that more closely resembles what they write for the standalones. Maybe I need to check out TomTom again. The last time I checked (about a year ago), they were pretty buggy under WM5 (or was it VGA that was choking it up?).
"I'd like something that a total newbie (i.e. my wife) could operate without needing to take a course."
You need a course to learn how to use iGuideance? I found it very intuitive and learned how to use it while driving away from home in an unfamiliar area. No biggie for me, and I am no brainiac.
"Something that responds to keypresses in under three seconds."
I have an x51v with IG 2.1 that responds in nearly real time. The only thing that takes more than a few seconds sometimes is locking on the my BT339 signal when I first turn it on. If the car is moving at all that can take maybe up to 30 seconds.
Could there be something wrong with your PDA?
"Something with a decent way to find POIs."
Again, my experience is only with IG and I've never used the Garmin unit, but I don't find that searching for POIs all that odious of a task.
Really, i'd buy IGo in a heartbeat. Best looking interface so far!!! Where'd you hear this info? Or was it hearsay? Too bad they use teleatlas.
You know what, i think i'll email them and ask. Maybe have them get together with Oncourse navigator since they lost their dealings with navigon. Maybe OCN will use I-GO. Just a thought, everyone business is out to make money, if OCN can get them into the american market. I'm sure they'll give it a thought.
The other factor is being waterproof, I can use them on my bike or kayak and not be concerned about rain or snow.
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