fduvall

I thought I would bring this question to some of the "gadget-heads" out there

I can't seem to figure this one out. I have a PDA (Dell Axim X50v running WM2003) and I have a Nokia e60 phone. I would like to use GPS when driving rental cars that don't have one installed. I am wondering if one device would be better vs. the other.

Can I buy any of the bluetooth enabled gps from Garmin/RoyalTek/etc? Since it is BT, any of them should be able to work with my PDA or phone, right?

Does anyone have an opinion about which GPS mapping software works best in Europe or US? (I live in Europe now, but will be returning to US next year)

Last, how about value? Which package/bundle/components do you all feel delivers best value? I just bought a Garmin C340 for family member for US$350, so don't want to spend too much for gps and software.

Thanks for opinions...

fly-yul

I'm currently evaluating tomtom 6 with a holux 240 gps and using it with my Nokia E61.

Your E60 may be compatible. I'm not sure. On tomtom.com it does not list the E60 but I have seen it listed on other sights. Also tomtom lists the dell axim x51 and axim x51v as compatible.

Tomtom offers maps for Europe and North America.

My preliminary conclusion is that while having a portable GPS nav system is better than nothing, it is not a good as an integrated in-car system. While in Europe last month I was surprised at how much better the rental car system (BMW 5 series, Volvo X-country) than my portable system. For example, the car system would still receive a gps signal underground (tunnels, garage etc) while my portable one would loose the signal. Also while in Paris, the car gps was receiving local traffic updates that would then trigger modification to the planned route. I was impressed with this feature. Tomtom navigator list some support for traffic updates but I was unable to get it to work.

fduvall

Thanks for the feedback. I have also seen differing reports on compatibility with E60 and E61. I did not think there would be a difference. Regarding Axim, I have the x50v, which does not use WM 5.0, so there could be an issue there.

I have used several in-car systems in Europe (with Mercedes/BMW/Saab), but not sure what brand I was using. I bought a Garmin c340 for MIL, and used it in North Carolina for a week. It was incredibly easy to use, especially the touch screen. All of the in-car systems were much harder to program (though they had more features).

Still interested in hearing about TomTom vs other software/hardware apps.

Thanks,

fduvall

MBM3

I use a Holux GPS receiver with my Axim x51v loaded with Mapopolis software and it has worked great throughout the US and Europe. I have also tried some of the self contained units (such as Garmin) and like them a bit better as they involve less hassle. I agree with fly-yul that integrated units are much preferred, but then again, they arent all that flexible to move to different vehicles.

fly-yul

The other software option that I'm aware of for the e serises is route 66. At buygpsnow.com they list the e60 as working with the route 66 software. I did not buy my kit from buygpsnow.com as they were out of stock. But they did have the lowest price that I found online for tomtom 6 and the holux 240 gps (199.95$ USD).

The main advantage that I did find with my e61 is the entering an destination with a qwerty keyboard is much easier than turning a dial to select letter by letter with the in-car systems.