PDA w/GPS enabled - Which to get?

[Black88GTA]

I'm looking at picking up a GPS nav system. I want to be able to use it in my car, but take it with me walking on occasion as well. The "must have" features I'm looking for are:

Battery option
Color screen (touchscreen nice, but not required)
Expandable memory
Free / included maps
@$500 or so

So far, it looks like my best bet is a PDA w/built in GPS. I've found a few different ones - the Navman PiN, the Mio 168, the Garmin iQue 3200, and the iQue 3600. I also looked at the Garmin Quest, the Navman icn510, and the TomTom GO - but the Quest has no expandable memory and the icn510 and TomTom are way more expensive than the PDA solutions. Not to mention, the TomTom is kind of bulky.

The PDA part is secondary, as I'm mainly going to be using it for the GPS functions. Does anyone have one of these units, or experience with these? Opinions one way or the other about specific models?

 

[ChefJoe]

I'm using a Sony Clie TJ-37 ($230 at the time) with a Haicom 204S mouse GPS ($100) in my car. Mapopolis Navigator for software.

If you want something you can wask around with you can get a pda with a compact flash slot (maybe an older axim) and a cf based gps though i hear those usually have a smaller antenna.

My bet is that built in GPS is still pretty uncommon and carries a hefty price tag. Better to have it as an added option.

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: ChefJoe


If you want something you can wask around with you can get a pda with a compact flash slot (maybe an older axim) and a cf based gps though i hear those usually have a smaller antenna.

I thought about that, but the PDA w/the addon would be kind of large, heavy and annoying, plus (I would think) would be murder on the battery, since the PDA wasn't specifically designed to run GPS. I don't know much about PDAs (never owned one worth anything) because I never really needed one, and still don't. I just want the GPS nav system, because I get lost going in a straight line down the street.

The dedicated in-car ones are nice, but very expensive and most need the cig lighter power socket to function. The ones that can be operated with a battery seem to have a very small screen, and still cost $100-150 more than a comparable PDA version, which has a much larger screen and offers PDA functions as well. Right now I'm just weighing options.

 

[HappyPuppy]

How often do you get lost while you are walking?

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
How often do you get lost while you are walking?

Heh, not often - but I would like the option to pop it out and carry it with me if I want (when I'm visiting a new area, for example). This will mostly be used while I'm driving.

 

[wildting]

I'm selling my Garmin PDA on ebay. Item number 5737727906

 

[dakata24]

i ended up getting a Dell Axim x30 High & a Belkin bluetooth GPS. works pretty well. about $150 for the gps and $300 for the pda.

 

[neonerd]

is there some software you can get for a treo to have it connect to tzones and show you where you are? well, turning it into a gps that is

 

[Stark]

i have the CoPilot Live 5 kit that works on the Axim X5 i got free from Dell.

It works ok, but the axim freezes every once in a while and requires a reset. If i had to do it over (or didn't already have the axim) I'd probably get the iQue.

I don't think I every want to take another road trip without a GPS (especially when my wife is the "navigator")