Hi all,

Looking for a system that I dont need to install that would be of good value. I see the Garmin Street Pilot III on Overstock and of course on Ebay. Basically I would like something that would be able to give the turn by turn and auto re-route for USA mostly NYC and State and parts of Canada like Toronto. Can anyone offer advice on whether or not something like the Garmin Street Pilot is the best thing going or are there other less expensive options out there that might be worth a look? I appreciate the advice!

I am a big fan of the Magellan Roadmate 300. It is cheap (from as low as $425), is easy to mount and remove, and has the same cool "ping" as Hertz Neverlost

I would also like to ask if anybody has recent experience with the DeLorme Earthmate GPS LT-20, which costs $99.95 and plugs in to a laptop for use in the car.

DeLore is advertising that a new version is coming out in August. I called the company and they're not accepting orders in advance. The rep said that if it's purchased now the upgrade in August will cost $39.95 so I'm planning to wait.

In the meantime, is it a reasonable choice if one already owns a laptop? It certainly appears to be the cheapest option that I know of.

I use the Garmin 18 with nRoute software. Approx C$150. Installed on my laptop.

Maps cover all NA. Great detail.

Look also at Microsoft's map product and gps antenna -- similar price.

I've tried all laptop and PocketPC based products, and not a single one of them come close to a dedicated nav unit.

I have to agree with you, but it is kinda convinient using a PocketPC + Bluetooth GPS for car navigation vs. having to carry around a dedicated car nav unit. It saves space and chargers as both the PocketPC and Navunit use the same car/ac charger. Plus you will have the PocketPC at your finger tips when needed.

Well, I have used PocketPc products for years, testing new versions of many of the big competitors. I find the nicest and currently most user friendly is the Copilot 5 from ALK. It has pretty good maps (this you will find is one of the major differentiators of mapping companies) and the interface is nice, fast and simple. My #1 1K GF picked it up in about, oh five minutes. Similar to most, one "loads" map data for a region or area that they are driving in.

pros: fast acquire time, uses Bluetooth, so no hockey puck necessary, and BT receiver can be best placed for pickup. Re-acquire of signal is very fast, no WAAS, but I can live without that.
cons: volume on directions is a bit weak, but the text to speech is nice.

that said, we picked up a NAVMAN ICN510 last year for about 300$, which is nice for the second car and for travel and for when we BOTH are driving cars.

If ScottC likes the Magellan, that is a good plug, currently there is a refurb version available from ebuyer, for 389$ delivered. IT WAS 359$ yesterday.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...uct_uid=196988

I have bought from ebuyer, but not this product.

I tried a magellan about 1.5 years ago, and found the interface a bit slow, and the map paint a bit slow. I also found the signal acquisition was slow and the re-acquire was slow. This is a problem in cities, tunnels and really cloudy days. Problems you might encounter in and around the NYC area. I do like the DING, reminds me of driving Hertz cars back in the early 90's, when this type of technology was whizz bang.

After all that, I am just about to go dedicated in my primary vehicle with a Pioneer AVIC-N2, which has large map data, uses satellite data for current traffic conditions and has a large slide out screen. Costs a bit more though, I picked up one on ebay for 1200$ complete and new. Product seems fine, came from an LA seller.

I'd stay away from anything palm related, they just don't do GPS well. And I would not buy anything that is laptop only, that is never really going to work for a car system. A dedicated like the Magellan or the PocketPc solution is best for portability.

Of course, with a PocketPC ones needs the PPC, and THEN the program, which ramps up the cost 2-3x.

What are the criticisms of laptop installations? (The only ones I can see are the inconvenience of the laptop which must be connected to the antenna or the open laptop, or power and stowing the laptop so it won't get stolen on arrival at a destination.)

The advantages of laptop are: The display software and USB drivers are also upgradeable easily. The maps are updated yearly at little or no cost.

I always travel with a laptop, and so the antenna is always with me. A trip can be plotted easily with different routes easily. Phone nmbers and addresses are always available. (I was just in Seattle and wanted a route from hotel to a restaurant and phone so worked it out. Prevously landed SMF and wanted best route to Davis, CA. Easily worked it out while in the air. In March plotted routes from Ottawa, ON to Stowe, VT for ski trip. Needed restaurants or ski shops near to the inn.) All of this is on the dedicated in car unit, but in the air or in my house or hotel room can easily work out a number of possibilities.

On my boat I have both a dedicated chartplotter connected to a gps and my laptop with marine navigation software. I don't see a quality or accuracy issue.

1) Power - need a power cord for long trips

2) Address entry - not as quick and easy as on a dedicated unit

3) Large - my Magellan is mounted on a nice mount

4) Startup time - I can start the car and be navigating in 20 seconds, doing that with a laptop is impossible

5) Theft - I don't mind leaving my Magellan in the car, but I'd never leave my $3000 laptop behind

All in all I simply don't see the practical side of a laptop as a navigation unit. Perhaps for the once-a-month trip, but most certainly not for daily use.

Hey, what is your read of the Mag 300? Good, would you get a differant one today? For 359$, I might just spring for it, but didn't really like the past experience with another magellan, I think the 700 it was.

I am really happy with it, it calculates extremely fast, has good rerouting, decent POI database and the combination of the touchsceen/buttons is very good for entry.

I also got an external GPS antenna for it and a dashmount kit from promount.

I am really happy with it, it calculates extremely fast, has good rerouting, decent POI database and the combination of the touchsceen/buttons is very good for entry.

I also got an external GPS antenna for it and a dashmount kit from promount.

Sounds like the decision should be based on usage:

1. Local area with some roadtrips leads to selecting a fixed, dedicated unit for convenience.

2. Travel -- some dedicated units will be easy to manage but laptop installation provides good use.

What we really need is to have it interfaced and overlayed with radar and realtime automatic road reports with wire drive so we can get from here to there without having to watch the road!

The TomTom to go units (in Europe) can connect through your GPRS cellphone and download traffic information, speedtraps and other data. The TomTom online service isn't available in the US (yet).

Having your unit tell you to take an alternative route because of traffic is amazing.

I was seriously considering getting a TomTom to go 700 till i found out that it doesn't have an external GPS antenna connector

Won't be too long 'til it's here. That will be a very helpful innovation.