rpmoore2

Hello everyone,

Can anyone comment on all the GPS Units listed below and then my questions on GPS software.

Sorry for bringing up this question for the best of again , but I've read all the threads here and forums in GPSPassion (lots to read), and I still can't come to any conclusion. I am beginning to think I will need to buy multiples of everything to get what I want.

I am currently leaning towards the AVL or iTrek BT-15 and iGuidance v2.1 (then buying Mapopolis later on as well when the new beta version is released). Then more longer term maybe jump into the SiRF III.

For Hardware choices:
--------------------------

-Haicom BT Slippler HI-303S XTrak II (The reviews say this is a reliable unit but accuracy says 25 M CEP without SA. That seems wrong. Is it?)
-RoyalTek RBT-1000 XT XTrak II (Expensive and older SiRF II XTrak II but good GPS sensitivity ; reported accuracy on specs at 10M RMS without SA. Better than HI-303S.

BTW The current review on this site on the RBT-1000 referring to the XT has the wrong stated price at $129. The XT version is $169 on all sites BuyGPSNow and Semsons. The ST version is $129. At $169 the BT-338 seems way better.)

-The new GlobalSat BT-338 (Will it be reliable? Looks really amazing. The price is good with OCN4.)
-BT-15 ( Might be a good short term solution for a year until BT-338 has been out for awhile and bugs worked out if any. Is the BT-15 too cheap and unreliable? There were a lot of comments in GPSPassion regarding the BT connection problems and AC adapter plug in issues.)

Here are my main needs for a GPS unit.
1. I want reliable BT connections with the x50v.
2. Position accuracy at the claimed 10-15 M for non WAAS is okay. I live in Milwaukee so I am not even sure if I can get a WAAS lock. I've been told that WAAS is not that important for driving.
3. Long battery life is important so I can carry it around in my pocket if I am walking.

For Software choices:
--------------------------

1. I have an x50v so VGA support is important.
2. I really like Mapopolis 4.50.45 Beta version for the flexibility and frankly the ROUTE THROUGH option for route control. I have been testing the demo version and it looks pretty stable without a GPS unit. Is it ready for prime time with a GPS unit?

3. iGuidance v2.1 is nice for the user interface, but I understand there are lag issues in reporting the position. There is a great deal on Storage Media web site for a bundle price with BT-15 and iGuidance 2.1 for $174. Nice price.

FYI see http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/t...TOPIC_ID=25087 for the thread on iGuidance 2.1 and the lag issues.

4. TomTom Version 5 is not released yet. How does TomTom match up against iGuidance and Mapopolis?

5. Not sure about Destinator 3. Will it work with VGA and how does it compare to Mapopolis for routing customization. I’m not concerned with the quickest vs no toll road etc parameters. I like the Route Through in Mapopolis to control the route if I want to.

6. I am not impressed with OCN4 after reading their user manual on online demos. Too many interfaces and I am not confortable with support from one source only BuyGPSNow.

Sorry for the long message.

dlweston

I was torn between iGuidance and OCN4 myself. I picked OCN4 myself and I love it. I will admit the interface was a little weird at first, but once I used it, I really like it. The deciding factor for me was map sizes and loading. I like OCN's 8 regions (don't really need Hawaii) and having all the maps on the PDA. iGuidance does it by state and they will take 1886MB.

Mapopolis - I took on look at how they handle maps and said no thanks. They finally and figured that out also, because I have read there is going to be a new utility for dealing with the maps.

I also have Memory-Map Navigator. I take quite a few canoe trips every year. My family expects me to always know where everything is, how far to the take-out and ect. as I take more than everyone else. After taking all the different trips with the Earthmate BlueLogger, and Memory-Map Nav, I should have all the information I need to be that expert.

You have not stated what you want to use the GPS and sofware for. If all you want to use it for is street navigation, then all of the above GPSs are fine and any of the software packages will get you where you want to go. If you want to use it for topographic, nautical or aviation mapping then you might want to look at a GPS with WAAS.

rpmoore2

Originally Posted by dlweston

I was torn between iGuidance and OCN4 myself. I picked OCN4 myself and I love it. I will admit the interface was a little weird at first, but once I used it, I really like it. The deciding factor for me was map sizes and loading. I like OCN's 8 regions (don't really need Hawaii) and having all the maps on the PDA. iGuidance does it by state and they will take 1886MB. Mapopolis - I took on look at how they handle maps and said no thanks. They finally and figured that out also, because I have read there is going to be a new utility for dealing with the maps. I also have Memory-Map Navigator. I take quite a few canoe trips every year. My family expects me to always know where everything is, how far to the take-out and ect. as I take more than everyone else. After taking all the different trips with the Earthmate BlueLogger, and Memory-Map Nav, I should have all the information I need to be that expert. You have not stated what you want to use the GPS and sofware for. If all you want to use it for is street navigation, then all of the above GPSs are fine and any of the software packages will get you where you want to go. If you want to use it for topographic, nautical or aviation mapping then you might want to look at a GPS with WAAS.

Thanks for the reply

My main use will be for street navigation. Especially if we drive down to Chicago for a weekend. Secondly, we bike a lot in Wisconsin and it might be handy to see where you are on a bike path... Other than that I like to look up a POI and be able to drive to it.

I'm really glad to hear about the Map Utility in Mapopolis. I have been following the threads on Mapopolis and this seems to be an issue with lots of people.

You really don't mind the user interface in OCN4. :exc:

What about Route Control? There is a feature I tested in Mapopolis and I notice in iGuidance (to some degree has it to) to route around roads you want to avoid.

I was trying to figure out if OCN had this feature other than adding stops or waypoints when setting up a destination. I’m not sure if this feature is similar to iGuidance or Mapopolis. The detour option seems pretty limited in OCN4 since you have to be in Navigation mode and on the road you want to detour.

I do notice the buttons are pretty large in OCN. Are they easy to work with in the car? That is certainly an advantage over Mapopolis.

I do agree with your observation with the cross state maps. OCN really does this well especially their utility on the desktop to customize a map area. However, this really is not important to me.

Regarding GPS Units - It sounds like they all have their positives and negatives and no one unit really stands out in the crowd. It certainly depends on your needs and mine are street navigation.

I guess we’ll see soon enough if the BT-338 beats the crowd for all around capability.

I really would like to hear about any negatives on the BT-15. Is it a okay unit for the price? I.E. Reliability or BT Connection issues..

Thanks

dlweston

OCN is a little limited in its routing, but most routes it gives me are fine. In fact, I have changed my route to work since using it to and from work. It showed me a route than saves me about two minutes on my way to and from work. For most people that would not sound like a big deal, but I have lived in KC for 30 years and worked at the same place for 18 years. I am known for knowing the best alternate routes in town and I did not even think of this route.

You do not have to be on the road to block it I think, but you can tell it to avoid a section of road for x miles. I am not completely sure how it works, because I have not had to use it yet. I do know it is only in effect for that use of the program though. As soon as you close OCN, that avoidance is gone. I hope this is something they improve on.

As far as routing, here are your options. First I have heard it chooses different routes based on your speed profile selection. The choises are car fast, car slow, car normal, motorcycle and truck. I have never changed that, so I am not sure if it does. Frankenbike says that if you pick motorcycle, it will prefer to not put you on an Interstate around town.

You have three route types, fast route, short route and pedestrian. The last option is nice if you are walking, because it will send you the wrong way on a one-way street.

For each route type except pedestrian, you have three selections and three options for each. The selections are Interstate, Ferries and Tollways. The options are Permitted, Avoid and Forbidden. What is unique about pedestian is the only option on Interstate is Forbidden.

If you want to take a particular route, the easiest way I have found to do it is by creating waypoints. Normally the route it suggests is fine, but I did have to use it on one route. It preferred to take a two-lane road for about 105 mile to save about 14 miles on the way to a friends house in Canada. No thanks, I will just stay on the Interstate. A couple towns slow you down to 25 on that road and are known for their speed traps.

OCN is definately not for everyone, but I like it. We have started travelling more, so I like having all the maps on the PDA and not having to carry a laptop. One the way somewhere, if we see something of interest that is not way out of way, we go see it. When we came back from Oregon last May we had another problem. We planned on stopping at Crater Lake on the way home and had directions to it. My uncle asked how we were getting there? When I told him, he said I could not go that way, because that road was never open before Memorial Day and some years it was not open until the 4th of July.

rpmoore2

If I create waypoints in OCN, does the software prompt at the waypoint once you arrive.

Meaning you have to interact with the software to continue on.

dlweston

Originally Posted by rpmoore2

If I create waypoints in OCN, does the software prompt at the waypoint once you arrive. Meaning you have to interact with the software to continue on.

Your option really. First, you do have to be on the road to block it. You have the option to block the next 300, 600 or 1600 feet or .6, 1.2, 3.1, 6, 9, 12 or 31 miles. I tried it on the way to work. Now for your question, in setting --> Itinerary, you set it to "Proceed automatically to the next destination". It deals with everything as a destination, so you set a destination and not a waypoint. I have tried this in OCN. If you sent it to no, it assumes you are stopping at that destination. If you set it to yes, it will just immediately route you to the next destination in the list.

rpmoore2

Originally Posted by dlweston

Your option really. First, you do have to be on the road to block it. You have the option to block the next 300, 600 or 1600 feet or .6, 1.2, 3.1, 6, 9, 12 or 31 miles. I tried it on the way to work. Now for your question, in setting --> Itinerary, you set it to "Proceed automatically to the next destination". It deals with everything as a destination, so you set a destination and not a waypoint. I have tried this in OCN. If you sent it to no, it assumes you are stopping at that destination. If you set it to yes, it will just immediately route you to the next destination in the list.

So no prompt or any interaction needed with "proceed automatically" setting on. That's exactly what I want. Does it give you any voice response you're at a waypoint? I would prefer it wouldn't since I'm just arbitrary picking any point to force the routing into a different path. Anyway you're beginning to sway me over to OCN vs iDestinator v2.1. I would still buy Mapopolis as a back up when the beta is released for its real simple user interface.

Now if I could just decide on the right BT GPS..

dlweston

Yes, it says you have reached your destination, but then immediately starts send you to the next destination. I really like OCN, but iGuidance V2.1 is a nice program also. I was really torn between which one to get myself. I also really liked Pocket Map Navigator (PMN). Mapopolis lost out as soon as I saw how they did their maps, what a pain. PMN lost out, because of all the complaints about the accuracy of their maps. That left iGuidance and OCN. A couple things made the decision for me.

1. The regions OCN has are real nice. I can get the whole continental US, Canada and on a single 2GB CF card. That makes much longer routing possible on the handheld. I really do not want to take a laptop.

2. Map compression in OCN is much better than iGuidance.

3. My wife's best friend lives in Canada and iGuidance only had limited map in V2.0. That is one of the improvements in V2.1, but it is to late now.

4. It had all the features I really wanted. I would like to see them improve the ability to block or prefer certain roads, but I can work around that.

After getting it, the voice guidance is superb. So far, I have never missed a turn unless I did it on purpose. It sometimes takes different routes that the one I would take, but they are still very good routes particularly if you did not know where you were going. One thing I wanted was to not have to look at the screen and you never really have too. That said, everyone I have shown it to says how nice the maps do look. I am sure I would have been happy with a couple of the other programs, but I love OCN and do not plan on trying any others now.