Levi Wallach <> scribbled on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 10:38 PM: When I said "make out the route" on the treo I meant it's not really visible, ie to small to just glance at it to see how the road looks ahead.
Switching a stand-alone GPS like the Navigon between cars is easy; just het two holders and move the gps. Simple. Or did I misunderstand you? As for charging the gps, most better stand-alone gps:es have a 12V-adapter, you can leave it on in your car, or only while driving. The battery won't go flat in the device. I mainly use my gps while on vacation and a dozen or so times a year when going to somewhere I've not been to before. As it is, I think I use the gps not that often really. Navigating without the support of a gps, you're kinda' left out to whatever country's whims with road-signs is. Navigating through Belgrade, Serbia this year, made me quite happy to have a gps as a support despite the bad coverage in-city... Signs in the city is bad at best, like if you know where to go, you don't need signs anyway or something to that effect... Same goes with other countries in Europe, only exception is Germany really. Their road-signs, and the abundance of them along the Autobahn, is great! > I don't mind using my Treo (with TomTom) for maps, but then I've not > tried a big GPS. Anyway, the routing is just the first part of your > usage and really should be done while you are stationary anyway. > Once you're on the road, a lot of what should guide you are the voice > prompts. TomTom has a great selection of voices, but WHEN it tells > you is not optimal. I've gotten used to it, but I think initially it > was a pain. > > When I bought TomTom a couple of years back, all other stand-alone > GPS's were $500+, many significantly more than $500. Actually I > think the stand-alone TomTom was the cheapest back then at $500 or > maybe it was $600. It seems like there are now lots of 4+" screen > stand-alone GPS's for under $500, some WAY under, which makes me a > little tempted to make a switch. The only advantage to the TomTom on > my Treo I can see is that I can move it from car to car, where that > might be more difficult with a stand-alone. Then again, I don't use > a GPS very often, and when I do, 98% of the time it's in one car. My > main reasons for switching would be: > > a) bigger screen > b) ability to get map updates regularly and not have to deal with > TomTom's horrible installation process > c) better selection of points of interest > d) use my phone and the GPS at the same time - at best you have to > pause TomTom when receiving a call, then go back to it when you're > done. > e) to remove GPS from my phone. See below: > > > Yes, I know it kind of goes against the whole idea of a smartphone > where everything is contained in one device, but at least for GPS, I > don't mind it because I only need a GPS in one place - my car. If > the Treo had built-in GPS or you could get one that fits in its SD > slot or something, it might be different, because then you could just > have GPS functionality anywhere. But as it stands, you need to carry > a GPS receiver with you and keep it charged separately from your > phone, so I don't see carrying around a separate device just in the > off chance that I'll need it at some point. Not having a GPS on my > Treo would kind of be like not having all my eggs in one basket. So > if my Treo dies, I can still use my GPS. Or if I want to get a > different phone at some point, even one that doesn't have GPS, isn't > compatible with my TomTom software, etc., I don't have to be > concerned about it because that roll will be played by a device > dedicated to it. > > Of course the chances are pretty low that I'm going to buy one any > time soon. I just don't use GPS very often, and when I do it's not > really a necessity. For example, I drove to Chicago a few weeks ago > and used my GPS until I realized that I only had the northeast map > installed on my SD card, so once we got to Ohio (from Virginia), no > more GPS! And yet I was able to get around fine! Imagine that! Of > course Google Maps helped out a great deal :) > > > From: [email protected] on behalf of Sorin Srbu > Sent: Tue 8/7/07 2:32 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: [Treo] Treo and GPS > > > > Alli <> scribbled on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 1:30 PM: > > I've pondered getting a gps for my treo 650 for a while, until I > finally went > with a stand-alone gps (Navigon PNA7000Te) with a 4,3" wide-screen. > Comparing > the screens, the one on the treo is like a movie-screen for > mice(...), while > the Navigon one is actually very usable even for the back-seater. > > Using anything smaller than 4" in a car is IMO a definite no-no, as > it takes > to long to make out the route on the smaller treo's screen compared > to the > bigger Navigon - it's a security thing. > > BTW, I only use the gps in-car, rarely while being a pedestrian.
