WV(0)IIIIIII(0) wrote:
I am looking for a GPS that will give me information on the road and off the road. I would really like it to be like a navagation system, where I could plug in an address and it would find it. I would also like it to be able to track where I am on a trail and tell me elev., cords, and such things as this. A lot of help needed on this. Like I said I know not a thing about GPS but would like to get one for the trails and trips.
Thanks
Chris
Garmin has a lot of things going for it. They have nicely packaged map sets with decent (not always up-to-date or the most accurate) coverage. Their maps usually have good set of "points of interest" as well (such as hospitals, restaurants, parks, water/land features, etc.)
I bought an iQue 3600 and while I wouldn't recommend this model to other people, it has mostly worked out great for me. The problems I have with this model are: (1) the software is somewhat buggy, and (2) the unit consumes too much power.
You have a lot of choices when it comes to GPS hardware. You can get standalone hand-held units, or you can get GPS receiver and plug it into your laptop. The key to your selection is not the GPS unit itself, but rather, the maps. The positioning data alone without maps (and value-added maps, at that) is not worthwhile except for specific situations. Without maps, you don't have street-level navigation.
If you go with the handheld route, you eliminate the choice of OS from the equation (you get a finished product). If you go the laptop route, you (unfortunately) have to use the Evil Empire's OS (Windoze) or at best, Macintosh.
I chose the iQue 3600 route because it's also a PDA and I can develop in PalmOS and use it for controlling my media box as well. It's a multifunction gadget