SPIII?

[cookie]

i'm thinking of buying a sat-nav of some sort for use on bike & in car. nothing too fancy, read: pricy

should i get an SPIII or is there some other option?

where should i buy one?

what RAM, maps, features etc. do i need?

i know very little about these things, so any info suitable for a total n00b would be welcomed

 

[PanEuropean]

Cookie:

The best suggestion I can give you is to browse through all the posts that have been made in this forum over the last 4 or 5 months (you don't have to read all of them, just read the ones that catch your eye). After having done that, you should have a pretty good idea of what the issues are, and what the pros and cons of the different units are.

Then, if you post a specific question that indicated you have done a little bit of homework on your own first... someone will probably take the time to answer it.

PanEuropean

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

Depends how much you want to spend ?

sp3 = colour screen - voice nav and re-routing. Great piece of kit 90% of the time - but i find it a bit too slow in cities and and re-route calc time . Ideal unit for vehicle vavigation - not so good for hand held walking around stuff.

next best is 2650 - same as above, just newer and faster - haven't used one but its the logical successor.

sp3 is about 550 ?
2650 about 650 from the states.

if it was me and i could afford it - 2650

i got an sp3 from staples as the 2650 came out at 900 - no choice then.

 

[cookie]

.......Then, if you post a specific question that indicated you have done a little bit of homework on your own first... someone will probably take the time to answer it.

PanEuropean

i DID look back a few pages, nothing catching my eye. after which i thought info might well be out of date.

i have also looked at some stuff in here in the past. i still don't really have an answer, but motomartin's is pretty good start (ta!).

if i'd wanted an answer like yours, i'd have been looking to post in the condescention forum.

 

[Banjaxed]

Cookie

Hope I can help (on my third GPS, so have been through many of the questions you have...).

Motomartin's first comment is the most important. Assuming you don't have an unlimited budget, start with how much you want to pay. After that, consider the following:

Turn-by-turn navigation? Do you want the unit to just show you where you are, or have the ability to select a destinationa and guide you there, showing you where to go at junctions, etc.? This adds quite a bit to the price and complexity, but is MOST useful. If you choose this, you'll get a unit with maps and software that you must load onto a PC. You can then choose which maps you download to the unit.

Memory? Detailed road maps take up a lot of space and if you need the turn-by-turn feature, they take up even more. So, will you use this for mostly local use or are you likely to cover longer distances and (especially) are you likely to use it abroad? If local only, there are units with 'fixed' memory - there's a chip inside that stores the maps. More expensive units have 'removable' memory that allows you so store more maps.

 

[Banjaxed]

Next...

Consider the screen size (and as a result, the unit size). Do you want a big screen that shows a large map area, or would a smaller screen be OK?

Power? Is this JUST for use in/on a vehicle (12v supply needed), or do you want it to have batteries for use on foot or in a boat? Big units with a big, colour screen need more batteries and are heavier. Smaller screen=lighter weight and decent battery life.

Phew! Nearly there...

Do you want something cheapish/simple to get started with and accept that you might end up selling it (at a loss!) and trading up? Or do you convinced of the benefits and want to buy something that will last for a few years?

Remember the First law of Electronics - as soon as you have bought it, the price will plummet.
Remember the Second Law of Electronics - as soon as you have bought it, the manufacturer releases a MUCH better model with the features you REALLY wanted.

Think about these questions and I'm sure we can put our heads together and give you some decent advice - and the best place to reduce the effects of the First and Second Laws of Electronics...

 

[Banjaxed]

And look at...

The inimitable PanEuropean's last reply in this post.

 

[cookie]

i thought of the spIII 'cos lot's of people in this club appear to use them, so they must be of some use.

this is what i want:

a device that calculates routes from A to B & tells me where to turn audibly.
i will be using it in my car & on my bike. i may take it in my boat, so battery power would be a small advantage.

a big screen would be nice, but could probably work from smaller one.

what i want to know:

where should i buy one? should i go to a shop that knows about such things & provides advice? i could get the advice here and then go somewhere cheaper perhaps?
i googled for sellers but found few.

i have a friend visiting from the states this month. i could ask him to bring one over, but it will have american maps i assume. also, i would be asking him to smuggle it in, which i am not that happy about.
can european maps be obtained without paying £130 for them?

whatever i buy will need extra's: power leads, mounts etc. where is a good place to go for these & how much extra is it likely to add to total?

if i were to buy a spIII i would like to ensure it has enough memory for my needs as it appears they have dedicated memory units only available at silly money. i think 2610's (not seen a 2650) use compact flash which is much cheaper

i can't work from the set budget first, then see where that leaves you angle. in my experience that leaves you with an inferior product & regrets.
i decide what i want & if i can't afford it i may trade down or just not buy anything.

spIII's seem to be available from about £600 where i've looked so far. staples don't do GPS at all, at the moment.
i have no access to costco which has been mentioned on this forum before.

right off to do my homework on 2650's

 

[richie]

Cookie don't get an SPIII it is an old model these days. Try and get the 2610 or the 276. If you are going to use it on the boat go for the 276.

Try www.sportextreme.com for the best prices. By the way (you may have read) I have a 60C which does everything I need. But it won't hold the whole of europe and it does not (hooray) speak to me. I will use it on boats and handheld and thats why I chose it. (plus price)

For a memory example the whole of Belgium is 39Meg so I am fine for memory. And I don't tour for two weeks as I have a wife and kids and would not leave them for that long. When I do go on holiday I take a portable with me so the kids can watch the DVD. And I therefore have the whole of europe on my HD.

As for maps why not offer cash for someones second unlock code. (how much) Or buy the software and make the same offer...
(I have my brother in laws second code for free, even better)

 

[cookie]

2650 is installed unit only AFAICT so i think the one i want is the 2610. £899 or $749. usual rip off britain scenario. why am i not surprised?

i did think the spIII was a bit old hat & had been around for ages. thought they should be a lot cheaper than 620 quid really.

i will give it some thought.

ps. sportextreme website times out

 

[richie]

Sportextreme is indeed timing out try again later as they might well do you a good deal. I bought mine from them and had good service...

 

[cookie]

sportextreme do the 2610 for £759 inc. VAT easily the cheapest i've seen.

http://www.sportextreme.com/Se_Shop/Product.Asp?SpecialID=823x10267yusd/&Currency=GBP

still seems a lot of money though. thinking on....

 

[Banjaxed]

It's the maps...

It doesn't cost Garmin that much to make its units in Taiwan, but they have to pay NavTech a lot of cash for the maps. That's why the SPIII is still quite expensive.

General consensus is that the 2610 is a great unit for the car or bike, but it's £180 more than the SPIII. Same mapping, cheaper (& bigger) memory, faster and easier to use. No batteries, but hang on - the batteries in the SPIII will only last a few hours - that big colour screen drains them fast.

The 276c looks great - don't forget to budget for the software or the 'Automotive Kit' (memory, software, mount, cables, etc.). You'll soon find out that the 276 is more expensive than other units and has (somewhat) inferior mapping (City Select vs. City Navigator).

This may sound crazy, but what about buying TWO units?!! For your boat, a small, cheap(ish), waterproof handheld might do the trick. For the road? If you can afford the 2610 - go for it. We can help you out with info on mounts and cables for the bike later.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

just remembered about this.

http://www.brokenlegdave.com/Manufacture/Garmin/2610.htm

$749 US

Do a search for

Mr Tickle and 2610 - he paid £400 -ish for a 2610 !!


( what's happened to him lately ?)

 

[PanEuropean]

Cookie:

There is some additional discussion of the "SP III versus SP 26xx" question in this thread: SPIII or 2610.

Sometimes, the less expensive (and one generation old) SP III can be the best choice for a rider who has limited and well defined needs. But, you have to be really careful to do the "due diligence" properly - identify your needs, and identify the capabilities of the different GPSR's, as well as the downsides such as processer speed and memory capacity - before you buy an "older generation" unit.

Having said that, the other side of the coin is that you are not always safest just throwing money at the purchase, as my recent experience with the GPSMAP 296 proves.

I don't know exactly what needs you have for marine navigation. If you have a rowboat or canoe, and want to mark fishing spots or picnic areas, then the SP III would be more than enough for that. If you plan to do serious bluewater navigation every weekend, then you should be looking at a "primarily marine, with secondary automotive capability" unit, such as the 276C, that will show track offsets, different datums, and has specialized marine features such as water speed inputs, anchor drag alarms, etc.

PanEuropean

 

[cookie]

i will read the thread you mention.

my current feeling is that i could be very happy with spIII. it's not something i'm going to use a hell of a lot, but would be nice to have when i do.

however, the 2610 seems a better unit & if bought at sportextreme for £759, not thatmuch more than the price of the (nearly obsolete??) spIII @ £579.

can't help thinking the spIII should be cheaper. in fact i think they should all be cheaper

and of course, i have to add on the cost of a fancy ally mount

ps. marine use is limited to seeing how fast my little speedboat goes.

answer: not as fast as the little rib i was racing the other week

pps. looking at touratech brackets. would i need the anti vibration mounts, or are the ordinary ones OK?

 

[PanEuropean]

Hi Cookie:

Sounds like you are doing pretty well gathering information so far.

The SP III is not really "nearly obsolete", any more than last year's cell phone or last year's laptop computer is "nearly obsolete". True, it's been knocked from its position at the top of the heap by a newer, more powerful model, but so has the E39 series of BMW automobiles (the 'old' 5 series) - but I don't think the owner of a 2002 BMW 540 would agree that his car is 'nearly obsolete', if you know what I mean.

If you think your GPS usage will be casual, and not intensive, and if you don't plan on doing a lot of international travel, then there's not really a whole lot to be gained by spending the extra 180 GBP on the newer model. But, if you are the impatient type, if you want things to happen "right away", then you might be happier with the SP 26xx series. But - the SP 26xx has no batteries, and Garmin does not make a battery pack for it (because it is intended for "pure automotive" use), so you will need to jury-rig up a power supply that can deliver between 8 and 30 volts to it if you want to use it on your boat.

It's easier to comprehend (though perhaps not easy to agree with) the quite small difference in price between the two if you look at the input costs. Both units ship with the same navigation data in them (the CityNavigator CD), and Garmin has to pay the same fees and royalties to Navteq for either unit. This map data makes up quite a significant part of the cost of the GPSR package - if you look at the handheld units that don't come with street data packages, you'll see they are about 1/4 the price of the StreetPilots.

The hardware costs (manufacturing costs) are pretty much the same for both GPSR's. By way of example, I bought a top of the line Apple Macintosh SE computer in 1987, it cost me CAD $6,000 - came with 128K of RAM and two floppy drives. I ordered a new laptop this week from IBM - a top of the line T42p ThinkPad - and guess what, 17 years later, the damn thing cost exactly the same amount, CDN $6,000. The cost of implementing features goes down, but the number of features goes up, so the net cost stays pretty much unchanged year over year. You'll see the same pattern with other (higher-end) consumer electronics.

Shipping costs (Taiwan to point of sale) are the same for either product, they both weigh about the same amount. And as far as the retailer is concerned, they want the same percentage markup (or dollar markup) no matter what model the thing is.

You WON'T need a fancy Touratech anti-vibration mount, no matter what unit you buy, unless you plan to do some really heavy-duty off road riding - like the Paris-Dakar rally. In fact, if you wind up buying a SP III, I have a spare moto mount left over that I don't need any more, I will give it to you free of charge. All you will need to buy then is the RAM backing plate, a RAM arm, and something to attach the RAM arm to your moto with (e.g. a RAM ball).

You might also want to consider buying a used SP III from someone who is trading up to a different model. Check on eBay to find what they are going for, the price of used ones varies quite a bit, depending on supply and demand. Just be sure that if you buy a used one, you get one with an Atlantic basemap in it, and you take careful note of the size of the memory chip offered, and the version of the CityNavigator CD that comes with it. These issues have a great influence on the value of a used unit. There is a discussion somewhere on this forum from about 3 months ago concerning how to do due diligance when purchasing a used GPSR.

PanEuropean

 

[Taff]

I'm glad that ones sorted then.