whats the best gps sysyem?

[Pthagonal]

ok looking for a gps system for my gs,
plan to travel europe but would use it for ireland mostly..

whats the handiest, best priced, easiest to use, whos got maps of dublin and ireland..

any ideas folks..

its just its probably easier for me to ask here than spend ages researching all the different brands

garminseems to be the market leader..gps v is this the best for biking?
the streetpilot is abot 650 euros here, the color one is about 1800 ouch..

anyway woudl like some advice..

im just looking for something simple that wont cost a fortune to
get maps for ..

ok enough..

regards

pthagonal

 

[Ian]

Basica mapping, no autorouting, get the garmin emap.

Package deal with whole of europe, bike mount and bike power, shouldn't set you back more than 300 quid.

 

[Howard Millichap]

Ther's no difinitive answer to your question Pthagonal.
I have an e-trex vista. 24MB map memory. Navigated all over europe with it. Small screen size lets it down for bike use. Otherwise it's a superb unit.
I'm thinking of a Garmin 196MAP. Unlimited memory (data cards), bigger screen, auto routing, cheaper than the Street pilot III Deluxe.
You've really got to take the plunge and buy the one that you think best suits your use that's within your budget.
HTH

 

[Paul G (BHT)]

Garmin 176 £429 (e680'ish) from www.gpsw.co.uk although it has no routing (who needs it) it's an excellent picece of kit

 

[Banjaxed]

Pthagonal ...

... sent you an e-mail re GPS in Ireland. Get back to me if you need more info.

 

[judge]

If its mostly for use in Ireland, save your money as the mapsource offering for the Republic is poor - outside of Dublin the routing is as it is for Base map i.e. main roads only. I used my GPS V back in August but had to use it in combination with a real map. Having now shelled out for an SPIII I can assure you despite the increase in cost and all that - the mapsource software is no different in detail.

 

[Pthagonal]

anybody got the gps ariels for their pdas?

http://www.gps4fun.com/pda_compaq_3800.html

heres gps navigation for your compaq ipaq 329 dollars..

might be handy..

 

[John Armstrong]

If its mostly for use in Ireland, save your money as the mapsource offering for the Republic is poor - outside of Dublin the routing is as it is for Base map i.e. main roads only. I used my GPS V back in August but had to use it in combination with a real map. Having now shelled out for an SPIII I can assure you despite the increase in cost and all that - the mapsource software is no different in detail.

On the Garmin web site under cartography and a few other links you can see what they show on the MapSource CD's. Wether it reflects what is actually shown....

 

[RussellAisbitt]

anybody got the gps ariels for their pdas?

I've got a Compaq IPAQ Navigation system which comes with Pocket CoPilot software and the Navman 3400 which comes with SmartST software. I've tried both on a Compaq IPAQ 3850. They both use the same GPS jacket made by NAVMAN (which uses the Jupiter GPS chipset). The SmartST software is far superior to the CoPilot software in terms of ease of use, reliability and the maps look superb. SmartST covers United Kingdom and Ireland (With very good coverage of Dublin) and a free upgrade should be winging its way to me for most of the rest of Europe in the next few weeks. The Navman 3400 package is about £380 pounds and includes software, GPS and mapping. The IPAQ 3850 is available for around £400. Other models are suitable e.g. the 37XX, 38XX and 39XX and range in price from £350 to £500. If you already have a NAVMAN GPS you can buy the latest software and maps with European map coverage to follow for just £140.

Check out NAVMAN