GPS virgin needs SP III info

[johnnybravo]

Just looking to dive into the murky waters of GPS ownership. Don't want to spend a fortune and am looking for something that I can use on bike and car and maybe portable for out walking. Seems to come down to a quest or Streetpilot III, are they comparable? Is the streetpilot horribly out of date? Bike came with a TT mount for the SP III which is an incentive in itself but not so much so that if there's something else much better out there I should get that.

Mostly UK riding but plans for Europe (west and maybe east) and a mac user so I figure that programming whatever I get will be a bit of a grind.

Opinions gratefully recieved...

 

[Fanum]

IMHO you should use the search button.....

 

[Bigtwin]

Started using my SPIII today. Great kit for the vee-hikle, but you really wouldn't want to be using it for walking. 6xbatteries for starters, and it's nearly the size of a brick. Get a gekko - £40ish ebay.

 

[PanEuropean]

Johnny:

It's kind of a tough call whether you should buy a GPSR that is as old as a SP III or not. While some will argue that it does the job and it is cheap, others will point out that you can get a new, 2006 model device for not much more than you will pay for the 2001 vintage SP III.

It will work, in the sense that it will do exactly the things it did when it was new. Just like a 2001 model computer will do exactly the things it would do when it was new, too. That being the case, why aren't we all still using our 286 computers we bought in the late 1980s to surf the internet?

Check and see how old the cartography (maps) that come with the used SP III you are considering are. If they are older than - at most - 2 years, then the used device is no bargain, because after you factor in the cost of buying new maps, you're going to be spending the same amount of money as you would on a newer, smaller device.

A SP III would be suitable for car and moto navigation, many of us have owned them in the past. It's a bit big for use when walking, though - remember what bag phones were like 15 years ago, when mobile phones first came out? It's like carrying one of those around.

Michael

 

[Dellis]

I've previously owned an SP III and currently own a Quest. IMHO there's not much difference in the feature but the Quest is much smaller and therefore a lot less hastle when you park your bike; the Quest easily fits into your pocket the SP III certainly does not and this was the main reason for the change.

I agree with PanEuropean that if the SP iii doesn't have the latest mapping it won't be much of a bargain at any price.

Dave

 

[PanEuropean]

Johnny:

The other thing you need to keep in mind when considering older GPSRs is the capacity that they have for storing map segments.

The SP III originally shipped with a 128 MB data chip. In 2001, you could fit the entire British Isles onto that. Today, you can fit the greater London urban area onto it.

It's a lot like older computers - maybe they still compute just fine, but if they come with a 6 year old hard drive, it's probably too small to allow you to install 2006 version software on it.

The irony of it all is that used GPSRs can be a good buy, but only if you are sufficiently familiar with GPSRs to be able to make a fully educated evaluation of the used item. For newbies, it's a path fraught with peril, and more often than not, the newbie winds up blowing money away, not saving money.

Michael