GPS: Anyone looking at Garmin ique 3600?

[BKLYNH2]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Amazon.com starts shipping the iQue on 7/30. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'll believe it when I see it. The date keeps slipping. To make your purchase decision even more confusing Garmin just announced two new units the street pilot 2610and 2650. Considering that the nav system requires you to get rid of the six cd player I think the Garmins are the way to go. A week ago I knew what I wanted now I am confused again.

[SJ]

Since I'm also looking for a good GPS, I'll play Devil's Advocate with some positives and negatives:

+ Garmin Name Brand
+ Points of Interest Function
+ Voice Commands

+/- Interface w/ Computer via USB; Most GPS Units Offer This

- Screen is Small
- Waypoints Function is Not Described or Emphasized as With Other Units
- Dual Purpose Devices (e.g. PDA & GPS): Usually Great for Multiple Tasks, but not Particularly Strong With Any One Function.

I'm interested to see one of these up-close when they arrive in local stores. Comparing to other units can't hurt!

Thanks for sharing the information.

[Apex IV]

BKLYNH2:

If you are considering the iQue, you should check out the Navman iCN 630. Similar (a competitor) but has a substantially larger screen (though not as large as an in-dash type unit.) Plus, it runs the much superior WinCE OS (not the PocketPC OS, though PPC 2000 and PPC 2002 are based on WinCE 3.x) Also, this unit is shipping now. I am evaluating several units now (for professional purposes, not personal) but I cannot comment on same at present. Here is a link to the Navman site:

http://www.navmanusa.com/land/icn630/index.html
also, check out their PDF file (link in upper right corner of page)

... and you may find this link helpful. It's a mini-review/comparison between the iCN 630 and the iQue 3600:

http://www.gpspassion.com/en/news/ce....htm#iCN%20630

GPS passion is a pretty good site (make sure you get to the NEW one - link in pop-up dialog when you link to www.pgspassion.com) for folks interested in PDA-type GPS units.

While I cannot get into details on the iCN 360 yet, here's a few technical reasons why I wish the iCN was due out in about 30 days rather than now. The better OS to use would have been CE.NET 4.x (which is current and much faster/efficient) and the iCN uses the Intel PXA250 CPU, which has been replaced by the PXA255 CPU. Boards based around the PXA250 are at 100 MHz while the newer board using the PXA255 are running at 200 MHz. This makes a difference when loading data (like maps!), but not so much on pure processing.

Navman's products are well received in the mobile computing field, but of course people have their favorites for a variety of reasons.

BTW, both the iQue and the iCN use NAVTECH data as their base, and neither unit really lets you rout via waypoints... a big deal for some, not-so-big for others. Your mileage may vary...

If you are considering the use of a PDA device, you may wish to look into mapopolis for your software. Absolutely the fastest rendering software out there.

Hope this helps!

-Randall Garrett-