Andy B: Stay away from the 276, it's not an appropriate choice for someone who intends to use it for primarily automotive (including motorcycle) use. The base 276 kit that you saw advertised is complete and ready to use for marine applications, but for automotive applications, you need to buy a fairly expensive automotive kit, which includes the CitySelect (not CityNavigator) software and a data chip to store the maps on. Even if you spend all that money - which takes you up to pretty close to the price of a SP 2610 - you are still stuck with a GPSR that only has 128 megs of memory for map storage, and a maximum of 256 megs if you want to spend another £150 on an additional chip.
If your budget doesn't allow for a SP 2610, then have a look at the smaller handheld GPSR's in the
"Outdoor" product line. Some of these support automatic route generation and come with the cartography (CitySelect) included.
Don't make the mistake of looking in the "Marine" product category for a less expensive substitute for an "Automotive" category GPSR. That's like deciding you want to do off-road motorcycle riding, and then buying a 1200cc crotch rocket because it's cheaper than the new 1200GS. Better to buy a 650GS instead, if you get my drift.
David Emmett: Your comment about waiting a while until the price of a new product decreases (the 'early adopters' premium) is valid for any consumer electronics, GPSRs included. But, the remark you made about "not buying the fastest chip, but the second or third fastest" doesn't transfer over to the world of GPSRs. In the computer market, there are probably 30 different chip speeds to choose from, so buying number two or number three still leaves you in the top 5%. In the GPSR market, there are only about 3 different speeds in production at any one time, so buying the second or third fastest could easily leave you 3 years behind the times. The third fastest GPSR available right now is the SP III.
Richie: Do you think there might be a reason why all these dealers are blowing out the 276s right now? Think about that carefully, especially in light of the recommendations I have made recently about 276s.
Read between the lines, OK?
Finally, if anyone wants a remote control (i.e. additional buttons) for a SP 26xx on a motorcycle, spend £3 on some Velcro and stick the remote that comes with the SP 26xx on the handlebars. That's what I did about 5 months ago - works great, I have never removed it, and it's a heck of a lot less expensive than either the BMW Nav II or the Dutch product. If you discover that you love the extra buttons, but really truly want them right beside your GPSR, you're only out of pocket £3. If you discover that you really don't use the extra buttons that much, you've saved £200.
PanEuropean