Garmin I3 Or Tom Tom Go 300

[+kph100]

Dear all,

 

Toying with buying a gps for in car usage.

 

I have a palm Tungsten e2 pda but bit put off with the bluetooth compatibility route, so

looking at garmin i3 or tom tom go 300

 

Anyone have any of these set ups ??

Pros and cons ?

suggestions please.

 

Also can you add Geocache waypoints to all these set ups ??

 

Thks Ian.

[+Woody's Wanderers]

I bought a Garmin i3 a couple of weeks ago.

 

My job takes me out and about to peoples houses during the day (sounds exciting, but I work in insurance - hey! it pays the bills!!). Lately there has been a lot of new building in my area, Surrey/Middlesex, and the old A-Z was getiing a bit tatty with loads of notes in the margins about new roads.

 

I chose the i3 cos I've got an Etrex Legend and have been very impressed with it. The i3 is excellent! Sits neatly on the windscreen, has a nice clear screen, not too big to be an obstruction and not too small to be unclear. It pops off easily enough to be stowed away in the glove box when I'm out of the car. It comes with a USB so you can update it from the Garmin site and hasn't missed a beat in all the time I've been using it. It locks onto satellites very quickly and has easy to follow maps as well as clear spoken directions (which you can turn off!)

 

Just like the handheld GPS, you can store favorites on it and it keeps a list of the most recent 'finds.'

 

Only downside is that it has a tendency to lock up very occasionally (it's happened twice since I had it), which necessitates unplugging and pulling batteries out to clear. I'm sure this is just a software glitch which can probably be sorted with a download, I just haven't bothered to look yet.

 

Oh, and it runs off a cigarette lighter. I put batteries in to facilitate faster satellite pick up from cold. You don't need to use them.

[+Sue and Bernie]

...on the other hand, since you already lug one box around, would it not be more convenient to pursue the bluetooth (BT) path and get as much out of it as you can?

 

We have accumulated a few GPS solutions - a Vista C, a StreetPilot 2610 and most recently, an Ipaq Pocket PC with a BT GPS unit. Each has its pros and cons. The Garmin units are (after being setup of course), switch on and go. Easy-peasey and Sue's preference.

 

Me, the gadget geek, I love the Ipaq. Before that I used a Palm, mobile phone, a camera and the Vista C to do our driving and geo-geeking. I was going to get one of those sleeveless things with a hundred pockets all over it just to hold all the bits!

 

Now I have the Ipaq. While the PDA functions of the Palm OS are more refined than the PPC, the combination of PDA, phone, OS mapping, car-routing, games machine and mp3 player all in one box is a winner! It can be a bar steward to set up and even takes a while to get it all working first thing each day - but when it's up and running - it is brilliant!

 

I now drive along, steered by the Ipaq, chat (via BT earpiece) on the phone on the Ipaq, look up the best parking place on an OS map (Memory-map) on the Ipaq, play games while Sue shops on the Ipaq... blah, blah, blah! You get the picture.

[+Sue and Bernie]

... oh yeah! I forgot to mention, the Ipaq know where all the "safety" cameras are sited too.

[oddsock]

Have you checked out the "TomTom One - MP3 and in-car navigation system" ?Its coming out next month @ around £270 I think... http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?...9736&highlight= what ever you get,if your going to keep it in the glove box make sure you stow the mount out of site as well..Gps theft from cars is on the up!!

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?...9561&highlight=

 

 

Dave

Edited October 25, 2005 by oddsock

[Moss Trooper]

Hi.. lets see..

 

I have a Garmin 60CS I use for geowatsiting, an iPaq with blue tooth gps and just about everything on. and in car a TomTom 'Classic' (the origional tomtom)

 

The Garmin is OK at routing but the screen display isn't a patch on the tomtom. I jump in the car, start up, tomtom starts up and off you go.

 

With the tomtom the screen is clear, easy to use, you can play around with the map colours, mine is pretty much in line with OSGB colour scheme. And the best boon is the postcode search, Brill.

 

I use the iPaq on my quad, as I can have memory map or tomtom running.

 

But when it comes down to it, it is all down to personal preference.

 

Moss T

 

PS a good site for the tomtom series is Here

Edited October 26, 2005 by Moss Trooper

[+Learned Gerbil]

Anyone who leaves their sat nav in the car (even hidden) is a bit dim if you ask me. Would you leave the replacement cost in cash there?

[+The Northumbrian]

Anyone who leaves their sat nav in the car (even hidden) is a bit dim if you ask me. Would you leave the replacement cost in cash there?

it's just the same as leaving your wheels and tyres on the car, We always take our with us when tramping over the moors, Mrs Northumbrian straps them to her back

Nige

[+Woody's Wanderers]

Anyone who leaves their sat nav in the car (even hidden) is a bit dim if you ask me. Would you leave the replacement cost in cash there?

...but the police always advise you to lock things out of sight in your glove compartment or boot.

 

Not so dim after all....

[+Woody's Wanderers]

I forgot to mention that the i3 has postcode search for GB and most of Europe as well.

 

Not bad for £199, but I understand Halfords have got it on offer at £179 at the mo.

[Moss Trooper]

Anyone who leaves their sat nav in the car (even hidden) is a bit dim if you ask me. Would you leave the replacement cost in cash there?

So yer got yer Sat Nav in yer pocket .. get back an yer car is gone!!! Shoulda left cost of replacing car on seat.!

[+Learned Gerbil]

OK - so the solution is, leave all your valuables locked in your car so when it is nicked you have nothing? When something weighs less than a gerbil, I say put it in your pocket!

 

As for the "lock everything out of sight" message - I thought the police recommended "never leave valuables in your car". I realise some things need to stay in the car, and should be out of sight, but if one in ten cars have a satnav in the glove compartment it will only encourage thieves to go look for them.

[oddsock]

I forgot to mention that the i3 has postcode search for GB and most of Europe as well.

 

Not bad for £199, but I understand Halfords have got it on offer at £179 at the mo.

Comet and Staples had them on Sunday also @£179

 

Dave

[+Woody's Wanderers]

OK - so the solution is, leave all your valuables locked in your car so when it is nicked you have nothing? When something weighs less than a gerbil, I say put it in your pocket!

 

As for the "lock everything out of sight" message - I thought the police recommended "never leave valuables in your car".

If your car's going to get broken into, it's going to get broken into whether you lock everything out of sight or take it with you. Do you take everything of value out of your house when you go out? I expect not, and yet your house is more likely to get broken into then your car (I know from experience - my job involves sorting out insurance claims for both!)

 

If your're happy to lug all your stuff around with you, then fine, but please don't criticise other people for doing what they do and there really was no need to resort to name calling! People aren't 'a bit dim' and I don't recall anyone asking for your opion on the matter! Comments like that are not helpful and are uncalled for. Best keep them to yourself in furture!

 

Anyway, back to the topic in hand....

Edited October 28, 2005 by Woody's Wanderers

[+kph100]

Woody,

 

Youre way out when you say you are more likely to get your house broken into then youre car.

 

I take these crime reports on a daily basis. Its fair to say a lot of crime is avoidable by the public listening to crime prevention advice. But generally most people arent stupid there just lazy and think it wont happen to them.

 

Walk down any high street and look into cars and see how many phones, bags, coats are left in unattended cars.

 

So................. which is best Tom Tom or Garmin I3

[Moss Trooper]

Well call me biased but I'd go for the TomTom..

 

Bigger Screen, and all options are from touch screen.. no need to scroll down menus.

 

That being said there is the price to consider

[+Learned Gerbil]

The TT IPAQ 1710 combo is about £260 and you get a Pocket PC so can run Memory Map or Fugawi on it as well as TT.

[+Woodbury Walker]

Keep clear of TomTom is my recommendation.

 

I paid them £50+ for the safety camera and it wont work

 

If you phone, the line goes dead as they say they are busy!

 

Emails are never answered!

 

Letters I wrote (four) are ignored.

 

And what’s more it’s not very good

 

ph34r:

[+Learned Gerbil]

You paid TT £50 for the camera database when http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/ has a perfectly good one that is free and easily updated automatically using POIEdit?

 

BTW POIEdit can also automate uploading and updating the GCUK TT Cache database.

 

I agree that TT as an organisation is not perfect, but from what I se, their navigation products do appear to be more advanced than their competetors in the main.