Blaupunkt E1

chasr

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Although not strictly relevant to this forum, I thought someone might be interested in my latest toy - the Blaupunkt Travelpilot E1 sat nav - which I've just had fitted in my car. I had been getting frustrated with the plethora of wires needed when using my Streetpilot III in the car. That, and the map (version 5) was getting out of date. The Streetpilot is fine on the bike, providing I turn off the automatic recalculate, and orientate the display North up. I considered the new 2600 series Garmin, but felt that it was a lot of money to spend for an untidy car solution. So I bought the Blaupunkt. The unit costs around £470, around £100 to fit plus a few other bits & bobs (my Audi required a can-bus converter which cost £100). Total cost was £670. The unit is single DIN sized & directly replaces a normal stereo. Since the Audi standard unit is wider, the dealer fitted a couple of blanking plates. There is no screen, just a monochrome matrix display which show roundabouts, turnings, distances etc. Also, 'bitching betty' talks through the car speakers so a visual map display is not essential.

In terms of routing, the E1 provides the usual choices of shortest & fastest. Additionally, it has Dynamic routing for use with TMC (not enabled in UK), and an Optimum choice which balances distance & speed. The map CD, which sits in the unit as in a normal (single) CD player, only has to be in the unit for the route calculation. Thereafter, it can be replaced by a normal audio CD. Any re-routes should be ok because a corridor of 'map' information is loaded. A traffic jam recalculate facility is provided, and all calculations/recalculations are extremely quick.

Destination/POI searches & input are as better as my wife's BMW navigation system, and include 5-letter post codes. Only the UK nav CD was provided, which gives Europe main roads. A France CD costs £93, which is comparable to other sat nav systems but not to the Garmin's Europe wide coverage.

In terms of functionality, it's difficult to compare with the Streetpilot. I've lost the map screen, and the ability to plan on the PC. However, I'm not limited by card memory, speed is much improved & it looks better in the car. The Streetpilot seems much more suited to the bike.

Overall, at the price, I'd give it 9/10 & can strongly recommend the unit as a cost-effective in-car sat nav system.
 
chasr said:
I had been getting frustrated with the plethora of wires needed when using my Streetpilot III in the car. .

Really............:confused:

Go on Dutchman, show how it's done properly.......;)

CC

:cool:
 
What's a Plethora......

.......do Garmin make them......part number anyone.........:confused:

Oh........nearly forgot.........here's my 'wireless' GPS installation in a Scenic.....
 

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Very neat. But you've both missed the point.

The SP is an excellent bit of kit, but not as elegant as an integrated unit (in a car). Either in looks (take away the SP from your photo Duthcman & that's what mine looks like), or in practicality - I don't need to remove mine when parked. Moreover, the 'reach & squeeze' routine is not as simple as a fitted unit's controls.

I too had my SP mounted on the sticky pad. Trouble was it kept coming adrift in really hot weather. My current car has a sloping dash, so it was back to the bean bag.

That said, my SP is still in use on the bike. And I like it. I wasn't suggesting that the E1 is better than the SP.
 
chasr said:
Very neat. But you've both missed the point.

Having re-read your original post..........I beg to differ......... you didn't mention anything about the appearence or having to remove the unit....and if losing a proper screen display is an advantage.......?!:confused:

£100-ish would have got you a professional install for external antenna and power supply as well as a fixed bracket on your dash that could adjust to any angle of dangle........

But hey, what ever floats your boat...;)

CC

:cool:
 
coolcarbon said:
..... as well as a fixed bracket on your dash that could adjust to any angle of dangle........
Which is the opposite of what I was trying to achieve!
 
Oh, and since you're picking holes, I did mention the appearance in my original post.:P
 
Hey Chasr,

The untidy appearence (if it is) was a reference to the 26xx together with the supposed extra expense, not the StreetPilot III that you already own, I thought that it was the Plethora of wires you were anti anyway...

You don't need to justify the expence to me mate, just passing comment on what you think is a better In Car Solution...each to their own as I said

I'd rather have £500 in my pocket and an 'Untidy' unit on my dash with a Colour Map Display and something I could Programm on the Computer that I need to unclip for security reasons from the holder.......;)

CC

:cool:
 
chasr said:
Very neat. But you've both missed the point

I don't think we've missed the point at all.....

.......your main point being that you're trying to justify spending too much on a bag-o-shyte............(thanks for the terminology, CC........:D)

My 'old' GPS has been resident in exactly the same place on the 'sloping' dash for 18 months/20000 miles, including a month in Italy last year in 40 deg+ temperatures & it hasn't budged an inch.......it's very easy to see & the controls are within easy reach, although I seldom find the need to use them on the move.......

My 'new' GPS, a BMW NavII, is similarly mounted on the GS......easy to see, easy to use....... & available from a store near you: http://www.bmwridersscotland.com/Merchandise.htm#R1200GSGPS ;)

My advice: get rid of your new system & get a decent GPS for the car......:)

Cheers

Dutch

BTW: CC, this Nigerian is slipping down a treat.......how's the V&C.........?:beerjug:
 
CC

No worries. I compared the appearance (with the SP) in the last but one para of my original post.

best rgds
 
Where does the Blaupunkt screen appear in your new set up ? Many car systems have a screen which pops out of the head unit so it means the thing you look it is situated somewhere in the middle of the dashboard a few inches above the gear stick.....just where the radio is in fact ;) This is madness because if you look down at the screen to navigate your eyes are well off track for the road ahead. At least with the portable units they tend to sit on top of the dash more or less in your line of sight so you have at least a chance of seeing what's coming up in the road ahead.....:rolleyes:
 
Gecko,

It doesn't have a pop-up screen. Just a 'normal' car stereo screen which shows directions & other info - rather like the non-moving map stuff you get on the Garmins. What little info there is can be picked up in a glance, much like glancing down at the SP screen on the bike!
 


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