Quest or 2610?

[Possu]

Looking at treating myself to a GPS of some sort.

Anyone care to list the pros & cons of both the Quest & 2610?

Am I right in thinking that the Quest allows you to walk about with it?

 

[Wreford Miles]

Just used my quest for a cross country route through germany... I'm mighty impressed at it's ability to take back roads through small towns.

However in the UK it's not as smart as me!

 

[swebb]

beer & buttons...

There has been huge amounts of discussion on these two units...

I personally went for the Quest... many coming new to GPS are opting for the Quest as a smaller, neater more general use option... but then "GPS old timers" (no offence intended) still tend to stick with the 2610....

My suggestion would be to grab a few beers.. click the search buttons... and enjoy an evening of reading......

This site has loads of info, regarding specs, use, pro's and cons etc......

good luck, i'm sure you'll be happy with either unit.....

HTH..

Stu

 

[markie_wales]

Steve

I'm afriad there is no one answer to this, it's horses for courses.

I went 2610 fo rthe following reasons:

- I need more than 250MB of memory. I catch a ferry to Spain, come back on the tunnel 2 weeks later, and have NO IDEA where I'm goingto go. All over France, or the south of Italy. So I like to be able to load the whole of the EU and forget about it - bugered if I'm taking a laptop on holiday!

- I like the bigger screen.

- I've not need to use the 2610 off the bike, or away from a AC supply. I don't do hiking

BUT if you do want to be able to do route planning anywhere, need it for hiking etc, don't need more than 250MB of maps, then the Quest is a lovely unit. I used one in the US earlier this year, and it was fine for what I needed then.

There are both very, very good bits of kit. Just different.

Mark

 

[thauma]

After much deliberating 2610 / Quest. I went for the Quest purely on a cost basis. I'd never used GPS, and didn't know how much I would use it. I travel in the UK so it would be handy. For european trips, I don't mind the advenure of map reading - but at the end of a long day, I always seem to make a pigs ear of finding the hotel - so GPS seemed like the perfect solution.

Make sure you know what YOU want it for, and HOW you are going to use it.

QUEST.
small therefore portable
own battery therefore mobile (on foot)
hard to get power for motorbike - but people are working on it
243MB usable memory (in Europe) not upgradeable

2610
larger but still very portable
no separate battery therefore not mobile (on foot)
memory - your choice.

I bought mine for UK & Europe. with Mapsource v6 I can get all UK & Ireland & some of northern france on Quest. If I planned a European trip (and dropped UK except route to Ferry) I could get all of France and the border areas in the 243 MB. On 2610 with enough memory I could get all of Europe.

When upgraded to Mapsource v7 there is more detail, so needs more memory. So I can get MOST of France, but not all on the QUEST. I think it is enough for most trips, as you can load just the map sections that you need. For me it wouldn't be a limitation, but I can see how it could be for anyone planning a complex, multi country route taking a couple of weeks.

Both units have mounts for bikes and cars. both seem to be excellent.

Good Hunting.

Cheers

Dave#...

 

[Possu]

Thanks for the replies.

I've read various articles on both that list all the features but seeing as I don't know how important each feature is, I find it hard to judge them.

I was thinking of getting a Quest but I've been to Eastern Europe twice & would appreciate the greater memory of the 2610.

May have to go the 2610 route.

Any idea of the cost of mounts & power cables needed to fit it a 2610 to an 1150GS?

Does the 2610 have voice commands?

If so, how useful is this feature & does the kit come included in the basic package?

Thanks again

Steve

 

[judge]

Steve,

I've done a couple of workshops on GPS of late and for them produced some handouts part of which is a menu of parts and prices for mounting/powering the units and the spec of the units themselves. Did this for Quest & 2610, if you want them then PM me an e-mail and I send the PDF's

 

[MikeO]

Steve - it sounds like you'd benefit from some 'hands-on' with both systems.

GSClubUK run the occasional GPS Workshop in various locations (I'm taking part in one tomorrow afternoon, here in Norfolk, but it's probably a bit of a hike for you at short notice).

If you go to one of these, you'll get chapter & verse on how well/badly they work and on their strengths & weaknesses from people that have been using them for a while.

Mike

 

[Possu]

PM'ed you re: GPS PDF fileS.

Steve,

I've done a couple of workshops on GPS of late and for them produced some handouts part of which is a menu of parts and prices for mounting/powering the units and the spec of the units themselves. Did this for Quest & 2610, if you want them then PM me an e-mail and I send the PDF's

 

[Possu]

Thanks Mike

Bit of a hike at short notice but would appreciate being kept informed of future workshops.

I only want to buy a GPS once & would hate to find out at a later date that I've bought the wrong one.

Regards

Steve

PS. cheers for the ST advert recently

Steve - it sounds like you'd benefit from some 'hands-on' with both systems.

GSClubUK run the occasional GPS Workshop in various locations (I'm taking part in one tomorrow afternoon, here in Norfolk, but it's probably a bit of a hike for you at short notice).

If you go to one of these, you'll get chapter & verse on how well/badly they work and on their strengths & weaknesses from people that have been using them for a while.

Mike [/QUOTE

 

[Banjaxed]

You only want to buy a GPS once?

Dream on!

Gadgets are addictive and as the new features arrive, so your desire for the 'next-best-thing' will increase...

GPSIII
eMap
SPIII
2610...

See what I mean?

 

[Possu]

Re: You only want to buy a GPS once?

Spaek for yourself but......

I'm not a gadget freak, far from it in fact. I'm never tempted by the latest must have toys & I never suffer from "cash burning a hole in my pocket & must spend it" syndrome.

If I was a gadget freak, I'd already have a BlueTooth configured topbox etc.

Dream on!

Gadgets are addictive and as the new features arrive, so your desire for the 'next-best-thing' will increase...

GPSIII
eMap
SPIII
2610...

See what I mean?

 

[markie_wales]

.

Any idea of the cost of mounts & power cables needed to fit it a 2610 to an 1150GS?

Does the 2610 have voice commands?

If so, how useful is this feature & does the kit come included in the basic package?

Cost for mounting & powering a 2610 is around £50. Thats a handle bar u-bolt / RAM arm & RAM cradle with a power / audio lead. You'd then need some cables and head phones to actually hear the voice guidance. 100% Autocom solution say £50, but I'm sure you could do it MUCH cheaper.

As already alluded to, the 2610 does have voice commands.

How useful? I use voice in the car and it's great. Currently don't have it on the bike, and have had a few "off route" misses. I'm getting it linked into my Autocom in a couple of weeks time for a trip to EU land. I think it's useful, but can some times get a bit annoying, at which point I turn the audio off. Example "Route Home" - when I get within 20 miles of home, I know where to go, and the voice is a bit of a nusiance, and gets turned off! I can't remeber who said it, but if you know where you're going, you don't need a Sat Nav. But at 11:00pm, in Paris, in the dark, in the rain, don't know where the hotel is, I'll be glad of voice this year :

Mark)

 

[thauma]

"I can't remeber who said it, but if you know where you're going, you don't need a Sat Nav. But at 11:00pm, in Paris, in the dark, in the rain, don't know where the hotel is, I'll be glad of voice this year : "

I've been using the Quest on the bike and car, and it'll be exactly the same with the 2610. Voice is certainly useful, but I've found it annoying. So I turn it off!!!!! I'll certainly be glad of the SatNav, The jury is out on the voice

With the unit mounted above the speedo (I use a combination of RAM mounts, but the Migsel mount looks pretty damn useful too), it gives enough information to allow you enough time for navigation. I guess the voice is "belt and braces" I must admit that could be really useful.

Ultimately, you've got to decide what's best for you.

Cheers

Dave#...

 

[Possu]

What's the difference between the RAM & Migsel mounts?

 

[MATKAT]

2610

must say for a non tekno person i've been very pleased with my 2610. Purchased in December, use it in the car and on the G/S and the 'Pan'. Brilliant piece of kit , I do a lot of outdoor stuff to and did consider a quest for its portability but have no regrets in going the 2610 route, and the fact you can put in all Europe is a bonus.
Dood'

 

[Wreford Miles]

I used the quest at night (on the bike) to find a hotel in Belgium... it's great it's says dark until it needs to give direction then the back light comes on which is all you need to remind you.

You can also just stab the toggle switch to get the light on if needed.

With a 20 hour batery life I'm in no hurry to hard wire in or get the voice into my intercom.

IMHO the quest is all you need...

It even routed me down a dirt track the other day... top gear!

I don't really trust it enough though... I ride from St Albans to Bracknell and have found a great route. When I ask the quest to plot the same it comes up with a real shitty route through the worst traffic.

And even if I promt it to go via my way it still can't do it.

It's my understanding that it's not the unit that does this but the mapping software so the 2610 would be the same... Im waiting to get V7 to see if that's better

 

[thauma]

What's the difference between the RAM and MIGSEL mounts?

Well the MIGSEL mount gives you a small ball shaped mounting pont above your speedo - looks good, and seems to me to be an ideal mounting point. You would need the RAM mounts to connect the GPS to the ball.

without the MIGSEL mount then you'd use one of the RAM mounting options to attach to the handlebars, or other available spots, then connect the GPS to the RAM mount.
So you'd end up using RAM stuff one way or another.

I guess there's probably other options, but I've got to say that the RAM stuff is pretty solid

I realise that this isn't a very good description, but if you check this site, or the RAM mount link at the top of the page you'll see the options. IMHO one of the best people to talk to about your mounting requirement would be RAM man. He's a straight-up guy, and would give you good advice. He certainly helped sort out my Quest mounting options.

I hope this helps

Cheers

Dave#...

 

[Possu]

How does the 276C compare to the 2610?

Just looked at the T/tech catalogue, it seems just as good with the added bonus of being able to carry it about in your hand like a Quest.

Is the memory expandable like a 2610?

I take it there's no "touch screen" like a 2610 - good or bad? I assume that the extra buttons on the 276C fascia do away with the need for a touch screen?

All feedback appreciated